Business-Blog-Consultant » social networks

Mashable’s Review of “The Social Network” Movie

jano — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 17:44:19 +0000

Here’s a movie review from Mashable of the new movie – “The Social Network”

Film trailer…

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Why Your Business Needs Facebook Now!

jano — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:59:38 +0000

A must read for every business-owner…

11 Mind-Blowing Reasons Your Business Needs Facebook

Excellent blog post by Jay Baer of the Social Media Examiner….350 Million Users and Counting, 100 Million Users, Average Facebook user spends 55 minutes per day. Read the full post and embrace the power of Facebook to build your online community.

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Awesomeness, Connecting and Twitter – Blogworld Expo 09

jano — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 17:45:40 +0000

I have to admit, my internal struggle with Twitter and blogging in general has been to surrender to the process, let go of my own fears and truly be transparent, less technical, more remarkable and interesting. I am in awe of the people who brilliantly tweet, blog or post a Facebook status in a succinct, intriguing, thoughtful, entertaining, funny and compelling way.

Laura’s talk had several nuggets to share – here is a summary:

Fear is a terrible motivator – don’t make decisions from Fear
What is your superpower?
How to be remarkable – cash in on your passion?
Luck
Believe
Connect
Twitter is overcoming human isolation
You have to embrace randomness to really get Twitter
The real influencer is the message – not you!
Be useful – turn it inside out. Don’t just retweet or post a link – Ask a question, produce value, make a connection, set it up, add something
How to become Awesome on Twitter
- Listen
- Learn
- Care
- Serve
Influence was attracting attention to yourself – Influence IS providing attention and value to others
Be uniquely you
Resources/books to check out:
- Twitter for Dummies – Laura Fitton. et al
- Think Big Manifesto
- Awesomeness Manifesto – Umair Haque
- Crush it – Cash in on your passion

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LinkedIn Surpasses 50 Million Users

jano — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:31:14 +0000

As we reported yesterday, growth for some of the world’s biggest social networks — like Twitter and Facebook — appear to be flattening . One site bucking that trend though is LinkedIn , which saw a 5.68% growth in traffic for the month of September, according to Compete. It’s not just traffic that’s growing, users are increasing too. In a blog entry today, LinkedIn reports that it now has over 50 million users worldwide. As the company’s announcement points out, it took nearly sixteen months for LinkedIn to reach its first million users. The last million took only 12 days.

LinkedIn says that while 50% of its users are based in the US, 50% are international. This is an impressive stat that speaks highly to LinkedIn’s continued growth. As more and more social networks start to expand their focus and go after more types of users, we like that LinkedIn has continued to reinforce its mission of connecting professionals to each other. Sometimes having a solid target and niche can be more effective and lead to greater consistent growth than trying to be all things to all people. What do you think about LinkedIn? Do you use the service more than you did a year ago?

Continued here:
LinkedIn Surpasses 50 Million Users

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The Facebook Love-Hate Relationship

jano — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 00:47:10 +0000

So , I came across this hilarious video by Julian Smith when I found this excellent blog by Michael Hyatt who agrees (as I do) with Julian’s 25 things. Check it out if you haven’t already seen it.

I am actually a fan of Facebook – and recommend it as a must have for all of my business clients who want to implement a social media strategy. Besides the obvious business networking and relationship building that Facebook promotes, what I LIKE best about Facebook is:

The ability to keep up with friends, relatives and business connections in a quick and efficient way – on my terms and time. I would never be able to know what’s going on with everyone via phone calls – there’s not enough time in the day!
I have found that Facebook has helped me be more social!
The interesting and informative links and posts that show up on my wall (in between the annoying Mafia Wars and other inane quizzes)
How I can share my blog posts in a convenient way to people I am connected with
Facebook, along with Twitter really does help you become a better writer and sharer of information. I am in awe of how some people can be so entertaining, pithy, and interesting in one or two lines. I strive to emulate that… a definite work in progress.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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Benefits and Business Uses of Twitter

jano — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 00:44:19 +0000

Twitter definitely has been adopted by the business world in the past year. The biggest indicator of Twitter being used for business marketing is the recent release of Twitter 101 for Business – A Special Guide..by Twitter!

Chris Brogran wrote 50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business and his first idea of simply getting a Twitter account and listening to the conversation is the perfect advice to experience Twitter. I also like his #11 idea:

Instead of answering the question, “What are you doing?”, answer the question, “What has your attention?” This question really broadens the possibilities of tweeting more interesting comments, questions and information. This post is packed with some great ideas and advice on how to use Twitter for business.

Here are a couple of other must-read posts to help you figure out the whole Twitter craze and decide if it’s something for you…

Twitter Guide Book - Mashable’s Comprehensive resource guide
Use Twitter to Find Customers - Inc. magazine
How to Use Twitter to Grow Your Business – Copyblogger
Twitter Explained for the Real Estate Blogger – Jim Cronin, Real Estate Tomato
20 Must Read Beginner Twitter Tips for Small Business Owners – Darren Rowse of Problogger

The bottom line about using Twitter for business will probably come down to whether or not it’s a tool your clients or potential clients are using now or may use in the near future. Also, it is not an instant lead generation platform. It really takes time and effort to build a following. You must tweet useful and compelling content, links, photos and not be constatnly selling or pitching your self or your product or service. Social networking is about building relationships and interacting/participating in the conversation.

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To Twitter or Not Twitter…that is the question

jano — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:24:06 +0000

What is Twitter?

A microblogging platform that asks the question…”What are you doing now?“
A communication channel and social network
You post to Twitter in 140 characters or less via your mobile phone or the web
It’s text messaging, instant messaging, and email rolled into one service that allows you to communicate instantly with a group
A potential addiction and time-waster or a unique way to stay in touch with family, friends, current and prospective business clients? Only you can decide that one!

The answer to that controversial question depends on several things, among them:

Are you comfortable with the platform?
Do you have clients or friends who use Twitter as a preferred communication method?
Can you find the balance of following members in your group and what they are doing at the moment and “Tweeting” or posting a comment about what you are doing and the rest of your daily life?

I setup my Twitter account over a year ago when I attended the Real Connect conference in San Francisco. I posted 2 times to it and was reintroduced to Twitter this past weekend at Unchained with Brad and Andy. For me, I see the potential benefits to connecting with others and building my online social network. I just have to find that elusive balance…

Twitter can be an incredibly effective platform to:

Connect and communicate with a group for a specific event, function or gathering.
An impromptu or planned get together or meet-up. Several people have shared stories with me of putting together a meet-up using Twitter – for business or social reasons.
Stay connected with a client and their group of friends during the buying or selling process.
Connect with potential clients by simply participating in the online social networking world.

There are numerous desktop Twitter applications or clients popping up – additional services to enhance your Twitter experience. Here are just a few:

Twirhl – monitor and post to your feed with this desktop client
Tweetscan – a real-time search engine for Twitter
Twemes – use the hashtag (#) to follow a live event, conference or group event
Twitpic – let’s you share photos on Twitter

If you really become a Twitter fan, you can create a widget and post your live Twitter feed on your blog or website to encourage visitors to follow you.

Here are some useful posts I’ve read researching the whole Twitter phenomenon:

Tweeting for Companies 101 - great post about “why Twitter, stuff to tweet about, how to talk Twitter”

12 Reasons to Start Twittering – from Michael Hyatt of “Where I Sit”

Twitter Fan Wiki = lots of useful information on Twitter, applications

Pat Kitano of TransparentRE.com has several recent blog posts about Twitter – check out:
How to fully participate in the Twitter conversation in only 30 minutes

To Tweet or Not Tweet…now that’s the question. Hope this post can help you find your individual answer.

Enjoy this short, simple explanation video on You Tube “Twitter in Plain English ”

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