Really fascinated by this post as it seems to suggest the thing that drives us to embrace change is “annoyance debt” whereby the user base just gets sick and tired of being annoyed with not being able to do little but frequently performed activities. We don’t want another feature, we just want the features you have to work 100%. The premise is if each release you tend to some of this “annoyance debt” then your users will still put up with some annoying things because at least you are iteratively improving… sucking less each release.
I think this is a bigger problem than many realize. Although there are cases where I didn’t know I wanted a feature until it became available, more often than not I only discover those unscratched itches when my annoyance with a certain application has grown to such a degree that I am open to exploring alternatives.
29-Sep-2009 — @JasonWyatt @michaelbeaver @shadizzle @jcstille Microsoft vision for 2019 I mentioned yesterday http://bit.ly/vt9R0 29-Sep-2009 — RT @MikeMoran When at IBM and they didn’t take my advice, I was frustrated. As a consultant, I find cashing check relieves all frustration. 25-Sep-2009 — iphone mms comes tomorrow to att http://bit.ly/4aPail 24-Sep-2009 — need inspiration? check out the TechCrunch50 winners for the best Web 2.0 start-ups in 2009 http://www.techcrunch50.com/2009/winners/ 23-Sep-2009 — @jasonwyatt not sure ui design expertise needed til u are directional correct. 2 much $. The Good Enough Revolution http://bit.ly/K4H1d 23-Sep-2009 — RT @andrew_chen: YouTube Comes To A 5-Star Realization: Its Ratings Are Useless http://bit.ly/8r33y > another data quality battle 23-Sep-2009 — RT @JasonWyatt: UI Team division of labor http://bit.ly/XbSA0 > I’d argue u can cut middleman unless supergloss needed (and most don’t) 23-Sep-2009 — RT @kellypuffs: RT @opencalais: #tt09 10 Ways to Get Started with OpenCalais http://bit.ly/zuTpz >> help for info overload? 21-Sep-2009 — Checking out tumbler. – Need a little time to absorb what this is and where it fits among others in similar… http://tumblr.com/xk5374y7a 12-Sep-2009 — @BerryGiant RT @eric_andersen: “Determine your niche…good content attracts right followers” http://j.mp/BXxqT >> good tips joe 10-Sep-2009 — RT @dnastacio: Great blog posting on “Why do people resist leadership” -> http://of8vg.tk #fb 10-Sep-2009 — @robinhowlett depends on who you want to be on Twitter. Personally I love most off-theme tweets… More human to me 05-Sep-2009 — Just tried bump app on iPhone. It’s cool 04-Sep-2009 — @terrigriffith agree with mix, clear goal not so much. Vague goal allows more creativity esp when react to inevitable change. Need flex! 04-Sep-2009 — Building a team, what’s the most important trait – skill/experience, talent, or passion? 04-Sep-2009 — really enjoying genius on itunes… just built playlist from ‘don’t let’s start’ from they might be giants 03-Sep-2009 — RT @dhinchcliffe McKinsey Global Web 2.0 Survey for 2009 http://bit.ly/Vu1QZ Faster access to knowledge biggest gain reported. 01-Sep-2009 — Wondering if gmail fail will help or hurt expectations for 99.999% availability? Hope we all learn sun still rises tomorrow
29-Aug-2009 — Why does everthing to do with mobile phones need to be so slimy and difficult? Hating AT&T mobile right now 27-Aug-2009 — RT @subdigit intrinsic vs extrinsic motivators and HackDay: http://reddit.tv/#20090825 (rewards destroy creativity) > carrots & sticks sux 26-Aug-2009 — how does anyone get work done with all these instant messages getting in the way? 25-Aug-2009 — i’m certifyable…. err, i mean certified as an IBM Strategy & Change consultant! That was a long process. 15-Aug-2009 — RT @andrew_chen: RT @chrisyeh: Great post: # of product ships (vs. years of experience) is what counts in innovation: http://cli.gs/gV8ZJX 13-Aug-2009 — RT @dhinchcliffe: The CRM Iceberg and Social Software: http://bit.ly/eF7VF 13-Aug-2009 — RT @dhinchcliffe: The Secret of Success: Suck Less – http://bit.ly/14pwhv software that just works beats all the features in the world 08-Aug-2009 — @rawn RT @elsua: @BillIves: Jakob Nielsen on #Enterprise20 Adoption http://bit.ly/jBFBc >> hope u already saw this
30-Jul-2009 — RT @BilalJaffery: It is the people skills—aka social intelligence—that determine our overall long-term success >> luck has influence too 30-Jul-2009 — RT @barbmathers: Don’t ask: “What do I want or what are my goals?” But: “What would excite me?” (via @johanbruyneel) #wordstoliveby 14-Jul-2009 — RT @hksmith: disappointed with 1st session; expected to hear more of a roadmap as opposed to an outline/demo >> i feel same way too much 10-Jul-2009 — RT @saradelekta: Why I love computer scientists: Q&A is really ? & argument not ? & answer. #npuc09 >> applies to so many fields. Ha! 04-Jul-2009 — Anyone else feel like a virtual slumlord? Too many online properties to keep any of them in tip-top shape. Wheres the #do-over button? 03-Jul-2009 — RT @andrew_chen: RT @hoisie best description of twitter i’ve read: http://is.gd/1lOHp >> soooo funny!
Had been meaning to blog this for some time. I love some of the ideas captured in this piece. Simple, inexpensive, fast. Compelling content versus high production quality. Seems to me there are lots of lessons to be learned and/or opportunities to bring even more simplicity if we look to what is happening in emerging markets. I’d like to see more reverse innovation in the enterprise 2.0 space. Of particular interest is what can happen in the mobility space. In countries where there is poor infrastructure, cell phones serve as a key enabler for innovation. Where is that going to take us?
30-Jun-2009 — RT @timoreilly: Scott Berkun on why you should speak at Ignite (with tips on how to do a great talk) http://bit.ly/z2BLx 29-Jun-2009 — RT @timoreilly: Great post by @netgarden: Pattern Recogniton: Makers, Marketplaces, and the Library of the Commons http://bit.ly/NJVC9 29-Jun-2009 — RT @rawn: RT @dangillmor Crap Detection 101 draft – abt testing credibility of webinfo http://bit.ly/qXwfp > a requisite Mgmt 2.0 skill 29-Jun-2009 — Guess I’m below average Twitter user but still happy with value I acquire 24-Jun-2009 — My oldest got a letter from the white house today in response to letter she sent a few weeks ago. Yeah obama 23-Jun-2009 — dear jet blue – please do not send me great vacation deals departing from NY or FL… i live in California. kthxbye 19-Jun-2009 — “‘Remember, there’s a short distance between a pat on the back and a kick in the ass.” Patton #quotes 09-Jun-2009 — RT @sandy_carter: RT WYSEBrazil I rate enthusiasm even above professional skill. -Edward Appleton 08-Jun-2009 — RT @Roonoid – IBM CIO Mark Hennessy on collaboration at IBM, http://bit.ly/EDj6s . Excellent comments about TAP and the use of cloud at … 08-Jun-2009 — reading about new iphone that is more powerful and cheaper… http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/patterson/50893 06-Jun-2009 — pleased to see @berrygiant thriving on twitter. 06-Jun-2009 — coining new word: simtacity = simple + tacit = simple design which makes sharing tacit knowledge easy. 06-Jun-2009 — #iusedtobelieve being good was more important than being lucky 06-Jun-2009 — RT @elsua: my #followfriday goes to @mwesch for changing my whole notion of YouTube on how people use it to humanise the world // indeed!!! 06-Jun-2009 — RT @antattack: I have something to say:http://tinyurl.com/ryoz3j // interesting cloud basics, would’ve commented but site down 05-Jun-2009 — #citibank doesnt allow online access to home equity accounts unless you have a deposit account with them. really? #fail 03-Jun-2009 — pleasantly surprised to see some of my work from 12+ months ago getting pulled off the shelf and revisited 02-Jun-2009 — hearing hadoop buzz continue to grow
30-May-2009 — someone asked me good periodicals to read. my reply was to use twitter. concluded twitter is my newspaper 29-May-2009 — about to head out to participate in panel on consulting at santa clara university. should be interesting 28-May-2009 — just finishing my “twitter power hour” to catch up today. just can’t seem to find time during the day recently 28-May-2009 — RT @kellypuffs: Enterprise 2.0 Knowledge Management http://ow.ly/9bDL // power found in smart people, not just great docs 28-May-2009 — @lbenitez rt to share goodies, favorite to read later 28-May-2009 — RT @dhinchcliffe: Want Innovation? Here’s a “Grassroots Pilot” Plan: http://bit.ly/PZtMo 27-May-2009 — RT @subdigit: sometimes user and developer mindsets just dont mix. Devs really need to be strong users to advocate user over product issues 22-May-2009 — RT @JasonWyatt WOW!!! http://streamy.com/ This is my new Home Page! // me likey too, txs 21-May-2009 — @dnastacio i think linkedin recommender only matters if known by reader… or if they have impressive title. 21-May-2009 — RT @elsua: Watching the Twitter river flow… It’s like arriving at a party where everyone talks except u // and u overhear good stuff 19-May-2009 — hard to believe any file that is 8.8 mb could be called ‘at a glance’ 18-May-2009 — checking out twitterverse RT @olore: twitter + dojo = twitterverse http://dante.dojotoolkit.org/tweeters/ 16-May-2009 — #quotes #teacher don’t try to come up with the right answer; focus on coming up with good questions – jim collins 15-May-2009 — #iusedtobelieve WHAT someone did was more important than WHY they did (or didn’t) do it 09-May-2009 — RT @tomforemski: There is a difference between listening … and waiting to speak. People easily confuse the former with the latter. 08-May-2009 — #iusedtobelieve it was all about me 07-May-2009 — @acoven there’s something compelling about flattening thoughts to 140 characters. 07-May-2009 — @jcasler the #iusedtobelieve hashtag is more abt growth and greater awareness than synicism for me but it does also cover disillusionment 06-May-2009 — #iusedtobelieve one had to explain relatable experiences to be taken seriously 06-May-2009 — #iusedtobelieve loyalty was enough 06-May-2009 — #iusedtobelieve I worked hard to build my life. turns out I am more lucky than good 06-May-2009 — #iusedtobelieve in the loyalty contract between employer and employee 06-May-2009 — starting a new hashtag – #iusedtobelieve – inspired by recent this American life podcast, txs @iraglass 06-May-2009 — RT @andypiper: Wow that’s a statistic – 50% of food grown by farmers never reaches consumers?! #smarterplanet #ibmimpact
30-Apr-2009 — RT @kevinaires: Expose your employees to new ideas, new paradigms that are nothing to do with your core business. Make it part of their job 30-Apr-2009 — sometimes things are just too “intellectual” for easy consumption. hinders audiences from getting it 30-Apr-2009 — inspiring internal call…. I am an IBMer! 26-Apr-2009 — trying shazam app and pretty impressed 25-Apr-2009 — RT @dhinchcliffe: 28 Really Useful Web-Based Tools To Speed Up Your Web Development: http://bit.ly/10bKMi An excellent, must-have reference 24-Apr-2009 — @sachac the ‘when i grow up’ list never stops. happy friday 23-Apr-2009 — how i can search my own twitter stream for a keyword? 23-Apr-2009 — wondering if i’m giving too rosy a picture of one of my projects??? 22-Apr-2009 — @berrygiant might interest u -RT @MikeMoran: New blog post on Dan Schawbel’s great new book: Are you ready for Me 2.0? http://tr.im/iLwX 22-Apr-2009 — @prb112 I continue to be shocked abt what people share without understanding strangers can read it, especially on facebook 14-Apr-2009 — RT @dhinchcliffe: This is the best explanation I’ve seen of the usage, pros, and cons of Open ID yet: http://openidexplained.com/ 11-Apr-2009 — pimped iPhone with skype at airport yesterday. pulled sim card upon arrival. using wifi to call home and not get slammed by AT&T. >3.EASY 11-Apr-2009 — made it to CR. reading ariely’s predictably irrational – muy bueno! 10-Apr-2009 — @elsua in addition to spam? hating newsletters that are graphic rich, just give me the url 09-Apr-2009 — RT @timoreilly: Will Facebook (all but) replace corporate websites? http://bit.ly/bJWi >> food for thought if realtime streams stay popular 08-Apr-2009 — icloud.com optimized for IE??? what were they thinking? 08-Apr-2009 — RT @dhinchcliffe: http://icloud.com launched today. It gives everyone their own free cloud computer with their desktop, apps, and storage 04-Apr-2009 — my brain must be having a rare ‘firing on all cylinders’ morn. already ripped into 3-4 things that have been a-stewing for a few days. FTW! 04-Apr-2009 — now noodling on convo channel change idea @michaelbeaver and @jasonwyatt have been spitballing 04-Apr-2009 — canceling blu-ray from netflix. worth a 1 but not 5 bucks month 03-Apr-2009 — are you a shepherd, sheep, or wolf? http://rtpscrolls.blogspot.com/2009/03/layoffs-sheep-shepherds-and-wolves.html
31-Mar-2009 — checking out http://tv.winelibrary.com/ 30-Mar-2009 — reading open cloud manifesto http://opencloudmanifesto.org 30-Mar-2009 — pimping new iphone with pointless apps. trying out new twitted apps 30-Mar-2009 — First tweet from new iPhone 29-Mar-2009 — wanting a bigger screen than my bb curve offers. thinking abt iphone (again)??? 28-Mar-2009 — RT @timoreilly Ingenuity & innovation in Africa – why West can’t compete. @whiteafrican of afrigadget.com shows slides of extreme reuse 27-Mar-2009 — RT @subdigit the hard part abt an event isnt the event itself, it’s marketing it and getting an audience for it. > same for communities? 26-Mar-2009 — @ragtag @andypiper i liked outliers too esp tie of west virginia hillbilly feuds to ancestor shepherds who had to be macho to protect flock 25-Mar-2009 — RT @jjprojects: Twitter Confirms Paid Pro Accounts On The Way http://bit.ly/qOtg6 24-Mar-2009 — just told “the arrow never lands any higher than you aim it” when trying to manage someone else’s expectations being too aggressive 24-Mar-2009 — IBM’s Mashup Center now downloadable http://tinyurl.com/cx54kd 21-Mar-2009 — RT @NiemanLab College student: “If news is important, it will find me” // your job is plug in and connect else model fails 21-Mar-2009 — RT @reliefbeads “Life’s most urgent question is: What are you doing for others?” Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr #quotes 20-Mar-2009 — RT @dhinchcliffe The correct link for the top 10 software architecture topics this year: http://bit.ly/pfKtt 16-Mar-2009 — RT @andrew_chen post – Friends vs Followers http://tinyurl.com/c94umt (me: what other social models can be overturned to yield more value) 16-Mar-2009 — ‘Society doesn’t need newspapers. What we need is journalism.’ @cshirky post on newspaper death http://bit.ly/18tDhy quote applies to more 15-Mar-2009 — link to @cshirky newspaper post http://tinyurl.com/bpxulr 15-Mar-2009 — ‘That is what real revolutions are like. The old stuff gets broken faster than the new stuff is put in its place.’ @cshirky newspaper post 11-Mar-2009 — impressed with linked in’s ‘people you may know’ feature… 90% accurate 11-Mar-2009 — @wonderwebby innovation certainly doesnt have to do with knowledge on a specific topic, fresh eyes bring fresh perspectives 10-Mar-2009 — @roonoid agree with @michaelbeaver msg deliver doesnt equal consumption. value from consumption 07-Mar-2009 — RT @Nilofer: “Collaboration networks are to businesses what social networks are to consumers” (RT @Padmasree). 05-Mar-2009 — in line at grocery store. perfect twitter time? when’s your perfect time? 05-Mar-2009 — @kevinaires agree about facebook UI. i can’t recall the number of times i’ve had difficulty finding stuff on my own facebook page too #fail 04-Mar-2009 — @MikeMoran thought you might like this recent post… get beyond the twitter hype… how to get value. http://tinyurl.com/bx7mfb 01-Mar-2009 — i love authentic people. eating din at place where owner loves pizza+beer+bluegrass. awesome time
28-Feb-2009 — RT @Ross Twitter Compared to IM, Email and Forums: http://is.gd/lelc > like community definition point-of-view 25-Feb-2009 — Twitter – the why and how (at least for me) http://wolfsblahblahblog.blogspot.com/ 24-Feb-2009 — writing a much longer-than-i-expected post about twitter use and value. will give link when/if i ever finish 21-Feb-2009 — RT @subdigit geocities -> myspace -> facebook -> twitter -> ? 17-Feb-2009 — RT @wkulhanek control privacy settings on Facebook http://bit.ly/164Hj4 >> very helpful, all need to know who can actually see what 12-Feb-2009 — RT @ibmevents Jai Menon at #cle09 on the importance of strong partnerships: “We want both parties to smile … but no one to laugh.” 10-Feb-2009 — giving a web20 overview presentation 10-Feb-2009 — feeling scared of facebook this week… be careful what you share, know who you share with 07-Feb-2009 — wondering how many enterprise apps have even added a field to their data model for twitter ids? lost opptys? 06-Feb-2009 — RT @timoreilly Firefox extension replaces ads on websites with curated art images: http://add-art.org > i must check out 05-Feb-2009 — RT @MikeMoran Gord Hotchkiss post on being Twitter newbie. http://tr.im/etd0 > alas his early adopter analysis right on
31-Jan-2009 — wish i was in @mwesch class – draft of ‘anonymity’ on web sparks interesting thoughts http://tinyurl.com/ccggft 29-Jan-2009 — RT @dhinchcliffe CNNMoney has an great overview of what IBM’s been doing with it’s Mashup Center product: http://bit.ly/ibm_mupcen 29-Jan-2009 — IBM beats facebook and twitter on social network analysis http://tinyurl.com/bkoq6d 29-Jan-2009 — @macker pair programming http://tinyurl.com/yj2ccz 28-Jan-2009 — Gmail Adds Offline Support http://tinyurl.com/d7swbt 28-Jan-2009 — @Macker @hksmith etherpad seems like it might fit in with the pair coding model that agile development advocates? 27-Jan-2009 — RT @dhinchcliffe My new 50 Essential Web 2.0 Strategies post http://bit.ly/50_web2_strategies 26-Jan-2009 — Pimp your firefox for more speed http://tinyurl.com/chfe2s 25-Jan-2009 — #quote the right people dont think they have a job: they have responsibilities. Jim Collins #fortune 25-Jan-2009 — RT @timoreilly Free Monty Python Videos on YouTube lead to 23,000% DVD sale increase: http://twurl.nl/d562rj > giving away can lead to sales 25-Jan-2009 — checking out tweetag – http://www.tweetag.com/ – oh the possibilities 23-Jan-2009 — what i really want from twitter client is ability to tag tweets. hashtags not enough. does such a client exist? 22-Jan-2009 — be careful what you twitter… people are listening #fedex http://tinyurl.com/9r4x4s 22-Jan-2009 — RT @dhinchcliffe How to create a profitable freemium startup (w/detailed spreadsheet model) http://bit.ly/startups_2009 22-Jan-2009 — RT @timoreilly Good reminder from @davidhornik: Innovation Doesn’t Take a Vacation in a Downturn http://twurl.nl/t6c870 Counter to @om post 19-Jan-2009 — @JTPAPE i sorta use twitter in that way. story tweets from thought leaders provide filter for important items 16-Jan-2009 — RT @elsua RT @bhc3: Three Silos That Enterprise 2.0 Must Break http://bit.ly/10NAw 16-Jan-2009 — not happy about having new yahoo home page forced on me 16-Jan-2009 — @jasonwyatt @ragtag tweetdeck gets cash http://tinyurl.com/a53cse 14-Jan-2009 — advanced twitter for business (oreilly webcast) http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/e/1207 14-Jan-2009 — TiVo Your Favorite Shows With a Text Message http://tinyurl.com/9y46c8 10-Jan-2009 — bogle on asset allocation – How much in bonds? A good place to start is a bond percentage that equals your age. #wsj 10-Jan-2009 — dont get how bb can be big sponsor on hulu but you cannot play hulu content on bb. #fail 06-Jan-2009 — 15 Free Tools to Turn Your BlackBerry into a Communications Powerhouse http://tinyurl.com/8t2xqf 05-Jan-2009 — RT @macker IE vs. FF usage statistics, based on tech vs. non-tech blog audience: http://bit.ly/HbqK >> IE still relevant for non-tech users 05-Jan-2009 — @therab regarding allen quote, i think we’re all in the marketing & sales business. education is just part of effort, buy in is key
You’ve heard the hype… maybe you’ve even created a twitter account… but you still don’t see the value or you don’t know how to get twitter and microblogging into your normal routine. Here’s a few suggestions based on my personal experience.
Why even bother…. what’s the value? I mostly use twitter because it brings ME value. Me me me!!! Here’s a few ways I’ve gotten some practical and tangible value since I joined twitter in May 2007.
Stay informed with ease Undoubtedly my favorite benefit from twitter is that I can stay informed on many different things without having to discover them all for myself. Often people will tweet about fresh news, a great article, an upcoming event, etc. The sheer fact that someone else in my network found something to be valuable increases the likelihood I’ll find it valuable. In a sense, twitter helps to filter all the data simply by being validated by the people I have chosen to follow. Another example is people tweeting from a conference I was unable to attend…. by following their tweets I can gain some value from that event as well.
Pick what you want to overhear I decide. I decide who I want to follow (and stop following). As I build a network of individuals I follow on twitter, I am implicitly deciding I am interested in what they have to say. For example, I’m interested in enterprise 2.0 for work so I’ve decided to follow @dhinchcliffe. Similarly, I can follow other users who are focused on topics of interest to me whether it’s people that live in my town, work at my company, went to my school, have similar hobbies, etc.
Pick when I want to listen I love that I can access twitter when I want to. Although it can be powerful for real-time conversation, I mostly use twitter in asynchronous mode where time is not of the essence. Not sitting in front of my computer…. no problem. Standing in line at the coffee bar I can catch up on tweets from my phone.
Build relationships and grow my network Through the course of following individuals and their twitter postings (also called tweets), you can get additional depth about who that person is. You can learn they have kids, like soccer, travel often, etc. This creates additional dimensions through which you can better connect with that person. Likewise, they can also learn more about me. One can also establish new relationships with ‘friends of a friend’ or other community members that have a shared interest. For example, about 50% of the people I follow on twitter I’ve never met in person or worked with but I have come to know them in some way or another. You can also have conversations via twitter (by using @username) to engage specific people as well.
Enhance my reputation Through the sharing of my personal insights and happenings via my tweets, my reputation with others can be enhanced. Followers can seek my advice or suggestion on something they perceive me to be knowledgeable about. Folks can also retweet (or forward) one of my postings to a broader groups of followers that can ultimately lead to a larger unknown group of people that can benefit from something I originally posted.
Social help desk in real time Whether you need help picking a restaurant, getting suggestions for a movie, or finding a piece of code… twitter can help you. A great feature of twitter is turning to your network for advice, opinion, and assistance.
My file cabinet I have almost abandoned bookmarking since I can use twitter as a way to “store stuff” I might want to revisit at some point in the future. Whether its a great quote, an interesting insight, or an incredibly funny video…. I know if I tweet it I’ll be able to get my hands on it again if I ever need to.
Simple and fun Another great value for me is the occasional wisecrack or rant someone tweets. Others send links to fun new games. Many tweet about random things they overheard. All of these things add up to a bit of hilarity and lightness when reading your tweets. I like that!
How can I get started? Who should I follow? Here’s a few simple ways you can learn more about twitter and how to establish an initial list of folks you wish to follow. Before long, you’ll have not only created a list of people you follow but you’ll also grow a list of people that follow you and your tweets.
Watch twitter in plain english Brief video provides a very high level overview of what twitter is. Please keep in mind that this video is geared more towards social use rather than business use but it provides a good context of twitter’s capabilities.
Create a twitter account Creating a twitter account is as simple as picking a username and password. Keep it short if you can. I also recommend you upload a picture or avatar for yourself after all, twitter is fundamentally a place where people can talk so having a personal element to your twitter account is crucial.
Follow a few of your coworkers I work for IBM and there are lots of IBMers that twitter so I can search and find a few that interest me and then follow them. For example, a simple search for “ibm” on the twitter site yields 64 different accounts. Once you find a few coworkers, look at who they follow and chances are you’ll come across even more folks you know.
Find a few non-work people to follow We all have different interests so why not find some fellow twitters who share some of yours? Maybe you like knitting, the Yankees, Shaq, or even your local library…. search around a find a few others that you might find interesting. I follow a few different folks that range from industry thought leaders (@timoreilly) to funny stuff (@someecards) to book authors to conferences/events. I even follow one or two folks from my town that I don’t know… kind of interesting to see what they think of that new restaurant down the street.
Is it safe? Should I protect my updates? In today’s society it’s important to keep in mind that many of the social tools available are by default public and open. This is a good thing and helps you to get value from those you know as well as those you don’t know. However, there are plenty of stories and speculation out there about how twitter and other status-driven tools can be used maliciously. Fortunately I haven’t had any problems (nor has anyone I know) but here’s a few tips just in case.
Be mindful about what you twitter Make a conscious decision about what you will and won’t tweet about. You can keep your tweets totally personal, totally business, or some mix of both. Then you can decide whether you’d want the checkout clerk at the grocery store or your mom to see what you tweet about. Keeping your tweets public allows the entire twitter community (and other applications that use twitter’s API) to view whatever wisdom you care to share. This can help you build a reputation in the community and lead to more and more followers.
Update your twitter settings to be protected I have small kids and like to sometimes tweet about them and our family stuff. For these reasons, I’ve chosen to protect my twitter updates. By protecting my updates, only those people I approve receive my updates. My tweets do not appear on the public timeline. Although the value I provide back to the twitter community is diminished, I still can keep twitter optimized for me me me.
How can I fit twitter into my day-to-day life? We’re already buried with too much stuff…. do I really need more stuff from twitter? There are a few simple ways you can integrate twitter into your normal routine and you can decide how much you wish to.
Visit your twitter home page When you’re at your computer, you can always visit http://twitter.com/home when online.
Access twitter from your phone My favorite way to catch up on twitter is on my blackberry. Any mobile device that has a browser will work. Just add http://m.twitter.com as a bookmark and visit it when you have time. I like to view twitter updates on my schedule so having a quick read when I’m standing in line at the grocery store or waiting for something suits me perfectly. Sure the visuals are minimized but I like twitter for the content so not seeing a person’s picture is OK with me most of the time. There are lots of different cheap/free mobile applications you can install to get a more powerful experience on your phone (like Twitterberry) but I’ve found most of what I need is available from m.twitter.com anyway.
Setup up notices on your twitter account On your twitter settings, you can set up how you’d like to get twitter update notices. You can have text messages sent. You can have emails sent. You pick how you want to be alerted.
Install a twitter helper application You can also take advantage of many cheap/free helper applications to embed twitter into some of your desktop experience. There are browser plug-ins/extensions like TwitterFox allow you to add twitter postings to your browser. There are also plug-ins for Lotus Notes, such as TwitNotes, that allow you to display twitter postings right in your Notes workspace. There’s many more too so you can start by looking at the Twitter Apps page or Read Write Web’s Definitive List of the Top Twitter Clients to find something that works for you.
Well, that should be enough to get you started. Good luck!
Often people think building a community is the same as creating a wiki skeleton or posting a blog entry. Community building takes so much more but especially some passionate few to tend to them. One cannot grow a fruitful garden if nobody is caring for it. An interesting article related to this is Why Most Online Communities Fail.
I actually feel many vendors that are now rushing into “community offerings” are downplaying or altogether ignoring this need for commitment. For example, I recently learned about Oracle’s new “Social CRM” offerings but I became disillusioned since they were hyping the tool capabilities and neglecting the critical need for community management as an ongoing need. Why make investments in technology if you cannot scrape together a handful of committed resources to nurture it.
We’ve all heard the stories about web 2.0 and social computing and the difficulties some have in understanding its value inside the enterprise. Seems like many people are confused or uncertain about why social web 2.0 tools inside the enterprise even exist. They struggle to know where to start and how to apply it to the work they do.
Well, we’re all on the hook to do our annual reviews. And that assessment can have some important impacts on both our personal and professional lives. Perhaps introducing how social computing can help us all tackle this annual review challenge can help to unlock the value for some folks.
Blogs – Lots of folks (including managers) have tips on preparing and documenting your annual achievements.
Social bookmarks – Find pages that others found valuable by searching bookmarks tagged as “annual review”
File sharing – Look for presentations and documents on sites like slideshare.net to help you understand and prepare for the process
Discussion forums & microblogs – Practical real-time discussions about different topics…. A whole community who can help
Once you’ve used Web 2.0 tools to help with a personal / business effort, think how you could use it in other ways.
Planning your career
Doing research for a new project
Learning about a new product
Getting help on a challenge you face
Learning more about the folks you work with
Finding a SME to help you
Etc.
There’s an old saying….. give a man a fish and he eats for a day… teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime. Good luck fishing!
