Getting People On Board (Aka The 7 Second Lamar Edit) by Dave Taylor And Michael Sitarzewski   Download now or listen on posterous 06 Getting people on board (AKA The 7 Second Lamar Edit) 1.mp3 (17572 KB) Boulder Open Podcast Episode 6: Getting people on board (AKA The 7 Second Lamar Edit). Social media - is it good for people that aren't already plugged in? Which tools are best? Not Tweetie vs. Tweetdeck, but more Facebook vs. LinkedIn vs. Twitter vs. Blogging, or a Podcast. What does Michael suggest for his mom? When she was looking for a job, he suggested LinkedIn because resumes are passe - no one really uses them anymore. Her concern was more about people finding her that she didn't want to talk to - the same with Facebook. His advice, just don't accept friendship requests from those people. It can't be an age thing, plenty of people 60+ are on these networks and love being there. Dave's answer? Connect with the people you want to, and pass on the others. It can be a tricky situation - it may lead to awkwardness in meatspace social situations. Friendships are accepted in some cases that wouldn't normally be, but one can just hide their updates from the news feed (in Facebook).There are benefits, but long time friendships (people from the past) may not be a compelling enough reason - maybe a better angle is being able to keep up with other family member happenings. Videos, Tweets, etc. Michael's relationship with his parents isn't one of constant contact, but far more casual - once a month or so via phone. His dad is everywhere (not as participatory as some, but he's there). His dad was one of the six people that bought a Droid too (it's a joke dad, I know you love it!). Not everyone needs these networks of course, but they can certainly be fun. Facebook is the premier social network. You can find some great stuff in the pages and groups. There was a special on the local CBS affiliate - a guy posted a toy drive on his Facebook page and it increased toy donations significantly. Topic two: Which tool is right for you? Dave's a blogger, and tweets, etc. Which is better? Dave dislikes people that feed tweets to Facebook. Now Michael knows why Dave doesn't see his updates in Facebook. Each network has update frequency expectations (no rules of course, just expectations). For LinkedIn, it would be weird if people updated every 2 hours. It would be odd to not update that frequently on Twitter. |-) Seeing the same updates in Twitter and Facebook isn't OK with Dave. Where's the line? If "I" wanted to follow you on Twitter I would, so don't send your Twitter updates to Facebook. Michael has his Twitter connected to Facebook, and *never* updates Facebook specifically. The Twitter Facebook updater doesn't include @replies. There's one app that filters the Tweet and looks for #fb and only populates Facebook with that one. Better filters FTW! Dave thinks the filtering possibilities in the news feed have taken a step backwards. Michael thinks it's fine. Twitter is for short form blogging? Has Twitter replaced blogging for many? Dave says the shorter the message, the harder it is to have a meaningful conversation. Broadcast media (30 years ago) had lots of investigative journalism. Today, stories are a minute or two (and they are all about things blowing up and people dying). The same thing is happening with Twitter. Dave prefers the long form review of a movie for example though there are people that really shouldn't elaborate too much. Pick the conversations that suit you and use that medium. Is regular blogging too much of a pain for the n00b? There are lots of great blogging platforms that make long form blogging relatively easy to set up. Five minutes later you have a platform! Speaking of screwing around.. is Lamar's project up? :) How much time are you going to invest in the conversation? In the beginning, there is none... it takes time to build any kind of audience. Follow people that are interesting to you as a start.