Friday 25 March 2011

Find Out Who Has Been Favouriting Your Tweets

There is a cool feature in Twitter called Favourites. Its like a bookmarking tool that lets you favourite any tweets you see for reading or saving for later on.

As Twitter search only holds data for a couple of days, it can be hard finding tweets from far into your distant past. If you favourite them then they are bookmarked for later on. Easy!

How do you favourite tweets? There is usually an option within the website or app you are using - here is an example from Twitter web.

You can access all your favourites later on via Twitter web - click on Your Profile > Favourites and they are all listed there.


Often during the day - while standing in line for the barista - I see tweets with links to blogs or articles I want to read. Being time poor, I just favourite these tweets so that I can read them later on at my my leisure, and can unfavourite them as I read them. Its kind of like a reading list.

This is a fantastic feature.... but quite naturally leads me to wonder - is anyone favouriting my tweets? Anyone? Anyone at all?

Favouriting is another great measure of engagement, just as retweets, click throughs or mentions are - and shows you who in your community is interested in your content. This can also allow you to tailor your tweets so they appeal to those who you know retweet or favourite you. Try engaging more with these people -  they share interests with you!

Favstar is a great (free) tool to help you track which of your tweets have been favourited and retweeted.

Just enter your Twitter username and you can see your most favourited tweets, which of your most recent tweets have been favourited, a list of all the tweeps who have favourited your tweets (ever) and the number of times they have favourited you.

This might also be a useful way to check out the most favourited tweets of other people which can potentially be a good source for retweeting content.

Want to receive notifications of when you tweets have been favourited? You can add Favstar into your RSS feeder so you get a notification of who favourites your tweets. Just add the following url into your reader http://favstar.fm/users/username/rss

How do you use the Twitter favourite feature?


Wednesday 23 March 2011

Is It Rude To Unfollow/Unfriend? What Are The Rules?

Photo: NZexporter
If you are following a lot of people on Twitter or Facebook then your news feed tends to get quite noisy. And busy. And to be honest, full of quite a lot of stuff that really you aren't all that interested in.

But the problem is, these people followed you, so you were polite and followed them back (or on Facebook you accepted their friend request) so if you Unfollow or Unfriend them isn't that just a bit rude? Just a teeny weeny bit?

Here's a question for you. If you bump into someone at the supermarket who you haven't seen for years - you might stop and have a good old natter, maybe swap phone numbers and say 'we must catchup'. But after that chance meeting, you don't really have much to say to each other. Will you actually call them? Probably not. And why? Because your life has changed and you are into different things now. Doesn't mean you don't like them, just means you have a lot of other stuff crammed into your life already which takes priority.

Same with Twitter or Facebook. If there is someone there that you used to engage with when you first connected, but not so much anymore.... well maybe its just that you are into different things? And if you aren't engaging with someone and you have different interests then really whats the point in being connected?

I do periodic culls of Twitter and Facebook. On Twitter I also use lists - you don't need to be following someone to list them - so that's one way of grouping them off to one side and taking them out of my main feed. On Facebook, I restrict it to keeping in touch with friends and family (sorry to those people whose friend requests I have never accepted - now you know why). Doesn't mean I don't like these people - just that we don't have common interests right now.

Everyone changes - if we all stayed the same then we'd be boring.

Its not rude. Its not the end of the world. Its just life.

And you will probably enjoy checking your Facebook and Twitter feeds a lot more when its not cluttered up with stuff you don't want to hear about.          

    

Sunday 20 March 2011

Tips On How To Get The Most Out Of TweetDeck

There are a plethora of apps available for managing your Twitter life, and I've used a few but keep coming back to TweetDeck.

Why?

Well, a few reasons. It depends a lot on how you use Twitter, but I find TweetDeck suits me.

Here are my top 5 reasons for using TweetDeck:

1. It has an autocomplete/lookup function for Twitter names of all the people you are following. No need to guess someone's Twitter handle and have your tweet go off into a black hole because of a mis-spelling (on Twitter, there is no bounce back to tell you that you got the address wrong!). And really, who can be bothered to go and lookup the correct name somewhere else? That's one of the drawbacks of Twitter web (which only shows 500 names - and its never the 500 you want) or Twitter for Mac (which shows absolutely none thank you very much).

2. There is an automatic url shortener which can use your bit.ly account (or tiny.url and a few others). Makes it super easy to copy and paste a url, have it shortened and still be able to access the analytics. If you share a lot of links to content (as I do) then this is important. You can also use your Twitpic, Yfrog or Posterous accounts for uploading images.

3. Its got a built in spell check. Admittedly it is American spelling, but its better than none. Might save your bacon one day.

4. You can use the old and new style retweets - you can choose each time you RT. Love that flexibility -  sometimes you want to add a comment onto the RT (if there is sufficient room) and being able to choose how you RT is excellent.

5. TweetDeck shows your RTs. Twitter web doesn't do this very obviously - you need you go to Retweets > Your Tweets, Retweeted to see them - but Tweetdeck will show them in your Mentions column.

Extra Tweetdeck Features
There are also a lot of extra features in TweetDeck that you may not be aware of, even if you are a long time TweetDeck user. Here are my favs:


Friday 18 March 2011

TwitFight: Why Isn't There More Biffo On Twitter?

Recently I observed an argument on Twitter happening between two of the people I follow. What struck me about it was not the content of their disagreement, but that it is rare to see public arguments on Twitter.

Sure from time to time you see examples of a fleeting spat. And there are loads of gibes and digs going on all the time. But on the whole we are a sociable bunch who get along even though there are many here with strong opinions (you know who you are).

The people you choose to follow and engage with are likely to have similar interests, opinions and values as you. If you discover that this isn't actually true then you probably will unfollow them. If they really get your goat, you might even block them. And you may instead choose to follow others who engage with the people you follow.  Before you know it you are in the midst of a circle of people who all chat to each other, share common interests, and run off into the sunset and get married. (Well that last bit doesn't happen very often but it does happen!).

Those people who hold strong views that aren't the same as yours just fade into the background, never to be seen again.

Are we lulling ourselves into a false sense of warm fluffiness where we happily use Twitter to chat to our pals and block out anything bad and wrong? Or is it an insular view of the world where you aren't forced to endure the boyfriend of your BFF - just because you have to - and instead can just cull out all those not like you with one click so they are out-of-sight-out-of-mind?

In real life, you don't get much say over who your family, workmates or neighbours are, so you are forced to learn how to deal with those people you don't see eye to eye with. However online, you just unfollow, block, ignore and they can't do much about it - thats if they even know that its happening.

Is it an easy way out, or just an advanced evolution of natural selection?                                                          
      
 

Wednesday 16 March 2011

The Danger with Scheduling Twitter Posts

Social media is all about being authentic and transparent, right? So why do some people schedule their tweets to a time when they may not even be online?

Well there are a number of reasons why you might do this:
  1. To repeat a post at various times in the day to reach a different audience (for example morning, afternoon, evening) - this maximises your exposure.
  2. It happens to be the middle of the night when you are on Twitter and actually no-one will see your tweet at all (a bit like if a tree falls over in a forest... ????) so you schedule it for the morning 
  3. You know you will be busy at the time you want to post on Twitter so you schedule a post
  4. You are nuts
These may all be valid reasons, but there is a danger with scheduling posts - you just never know what will happen.

Over the past few months there have been several tragic events which have unfolded in realtime on Twitter. During the Pike River explosions, the Christchurch earthquake and the Japan tsumani, the Twitter stream was scrolling out of control with latest updates and retweets on the disasters. Then suddenly a random tweet about something completely different pops up. Whaaaaat??? Why would anyone post a tweet about the latest hot fashions when there has been an explosion in a coal mine in the South Island?
This was tweeted a few minutes after the Pike River explosion that killed 29 miners.


The danger with scheduled tweets:
  1. It looks like you are not listening to your community - at all
  2. They might be inappropriate comments for the situation
  3. Everyone knows you are not online and are faking it
  4. Your community disengages from you
  5. You can't respond to any tweets or mentions as you aren't online
  6. Its not authentic
  7. Its not transparent
  8. Its not relevant
  9. Its not useful
  10. You look like a real dork
Don't second guess mother nature. She doesn't give warnings of upcoming events. 

Just tweet when you are online and be true to yourself and your community.



Monday 14 March 2011

CEOs Who Tweet, Social Media Club Auckland (#smcakl)


The first #smcakl of 2011 kicked off with a bang, by going straight to the top of the corporate ladder with the topic 'CEOs Who Tweet'. The venue was the stylish Koru-Lounge-styled hideaway in the fancy smancy new Telecom/Gen-i building, thanks to the top billing Chris Quin from Gen-i.

There was a huge turnout with lots of new faces, sprinkled with many old favourites. And young favourites. And a few others. I was surprised and delighted to find pinot noir on offer (!!), while many others took advantage of the other beverages kindly supplied by Monteiths.

 
Twitpic as posted by @TelecomNZ, featuring @audaciousgloop, @adagebusiness, @jofajafa and some bloke in a pink shirt. (Note: @rgoodchild is slightly to the right of this photo).



Tweeting and Followers: More Twitter Tips.


Tweeting
Its surprising how many articulate, well educated and confident people suddenly feel quite self conscious when composing their first tweet. “But what should I tweet??” they cry, wringing their fingers over the keyboard, anxiety etched on their poor wee faces. Stage fright. Big time.
Not wanting to burst your bubble but when you do finally send your first tweet, its highly likely that no-one is listening so no-one will even see your cleverly crafted 140 character debut flit through the virtual world. This is actually a good thing. Think of it as a dummy run, a trial. No pressure whatsoever. (I should point out that once tweeted, your tweet is captured in Twitter history forever and one day when you are more famous than Gaga someone will dredge up your first tweet for all to see. But seriously, don’t over think it. Just do it!). 
There are a few types of tweeting styles on Twitter:
  • Some Twitter accounts have tweet counts in the single digits but following huge numbers of accounts - they are either spam orstalkers. Neither is desirable. Avoid being mistaken for one.
  • Some people are conversationalists on Twitter - they spend most of their time chatting to other people and may have a lot of tweets. They probably use foursquare a lot and could be accused of over sharing. If you want to be one of those people you will probably already own at least one iPhone and will need chargers stashed in every corner of your house, car, or workplace. 
  • Some people share content on Twitter - links to blogs, news articles, websites - if you are someone who scours the web and consumes a lot of information, you may be one of these people.
  • Some people provide content - they may be bloggers, thought leaders or respected in their industry and they will provide original posts and tweets to be shared with the community.
  • And some people are just damn famous. You know who I mean.
Decide which one of these (or a mix) you would like to be on Twitter and then get tweeting!





Twitter Overload. More Tips for Newbies


If you read my previous post, you’ll now be happily following loads of Twitter accounts and watching the wave of tweets scroll through your Twitter timeline. Until you become overwhelmed. The common cry at this stage is ‘How do you keep up with all these tweets? I don’t have time to read them all!! This is so stressful!”  
Don’t panic. After all, you are probably following 100 or 200 Twitter accounts. Some people follow thousands, and are still alive to tweet about it the following day along with their breakfast details.
I once read a post (sorry, can’t remember who wrote it. If it was you then thank you!) that described Twitter as ’ a river not a lake’. These are very wise words to remember. Think of Twitter as a river and just dip in and out of the stream as it flows past. Don’t treat it like a lake where all the tweets are pooled and you must read them all. Anything meant specially for you will be in your Mentions tab. Anything else is just meant for everyone. There is not a test at the end.
Of course you will find there are a few people whose tweets you would like to see (or most of them anyway). Its an awkward moment when they say ‘did you see my tweet?’ and then all they can hear are crickets. My tip here is to make a few Twitter lists of your own.
Twitter lists are great. You can choose whether they are private (hidden) or public (allowing other people to see them and follow them).  You might create a list for all your friends and family. Or for competitors in your industry. Or for funny accounts that make you laugh. Some applications likeTweetdeck(my fav) or Hootsuite (my not-so-fav) allow you to view multiple lists in columns across the dashboard screen so you feel like you have your own mini Gatorade Command Centre. Oh the power!


New to Twitter. What now?

Lately there has been a spurt of activity in the office with lots of new people joining Twitter (after a LOT of encouragement). After grumbling for a while, they sign up, follow Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber and then inevitably the question is asked 'Soooo...what now? Who do I follow?'.  So for those of you who are new to Twitter, here's a few tips on finding interesting people to follow.

1. First off, stand up and ask loudly "Is anyone else here on Twitter'. This works best if you are in an office or surrounded by people you know. It works not so well when in the middle of the supermarket or at the doctors. (believe me).  Twitter is rapidly gaining in popularity (over 190m users) so chances are there are a few people who you know who are already very familiar with the ins and outs of this micro blogging platform. Ask them who they enjoy following then check these people out for yourself. Ask your Facebook friends too.

2. Import all your email contacts and let Twitter see if the people who you email are also on Twitter. Instant party. Same with your LinkedIn connections (different kind of party).

3. Go to search.twitter.com and search for topics that interest you. Maybe 'iPhones' or 'photography'. Or 'UX'. Whatever is your passion. Take a look at some of the people who come up in the search and follow them.



4. Go to www.klout.com. Take a look at some of the people who you know of on Twitter by entering their name in the search box. Have a look at who these people are influenced by (klout displays these) and follow them. For example @mashable is influenced by @benparr (one of the editors of the Mashable blog).


Remember The Best Days, As Well As The Worst.

Originally posted on 3 March 2011

[Photo source: www.landscapedvd.com]

February 22 will stand out as the worst day this year. This decade. And for some, this century. Its been a horrific 10 days for the people of Christchurch - and also the people of New Zealand.
For those of us lucky enough to have escaped the earthquake with family and friends unhurt, it gives us pause to think about how fortunate we are, in contrast to how incredibly difficult it must be for those families who have lost loved ones, or those who are struggling in very difficult conditions with their lives literally in pieces around them.
If someone asked you ‘What’s the worst day this year’, undoubtedly February 22 will spring to your mind instantly. If someone asked ‘What’s your best day this year’ - what would you say?
In times of such overwhelming devastation, its difficult to remember those good days - but they are there. Think about them, treasure them, remember what its like to hold that feeling close to your heart.



Thursday 10 March 2011

LinkedIn: A Few Tips. And a Few Grumbles.




LinkedIn. Whats that all about? Isn't it just for people who are looking for a job? 
No. No. No.

LinkedIn is more than that. Its a great way to make new business connections, its your always-up-to-date Rolodex for contacts and email addresses, it's good for discussion groups with like minded professionals around the world and the best part is seeing who has checked out your profile. We all love that bit.

There are now 101 million users on LinkedIn (including 400,000 from right here in NZ). Not quite as many as the 500 million or more on Facebook, but still - quite a lot of people. Nearly 60% of them are male - more than your average social network which tend to be favoured by women. Why is that you ask? Well thats another blog....!!

LinkedIn has a high Google Page Ranking so its worthwhile having your profile there as its likely to be one of the top search results when someone Googles your name. (Try it and see. Go on). 

Through LinkedIn, I've been approached to present at overseas conferences, had some of my blog posts published in NZ magazines, and connected with people around the world in similar industries who I would never had had the opportunity to meet.


Here are a few tips on how to use it if you are new to LinkedIn.



Tuesday 8 March 2011

Online and Offline: Should Your Worlds Collide?




Ever met anyone IRL (In Real Life) who you only knew in the online world? Or should you keep online friends separate from your real world ones?

Its a common complaint that people new to Twitter don't know anyone in the Twitterverse as all their friends are hanging out in the Facebook mall, or worse, on email! But it doesn't take long before you find you have shared experiences and know lots of info about some of the people you interact with, and since its all in real time you may even find you know more about them that your real world friends and family. But how can that be - you haven't met some of these people!

What to do, what to do.

There are basically 3 options:


Monday 7 March 2011

Is Social Media A Race? Or A Journey?



I overheard a conversation recently where 2 people were talking about how long they have been using social media and whether they were ‘ahead’ of others who had yet to join, or who had only just joined.
It struck me that they were treating social media participation like a race. Or an Amway pyramid. Just because you are an early adopter doesn’t necessarily mean that you will be The King Pin. There are plenty of people who I know that have been using social media for years, but might have a small group of people who they engage with. There are others who have burst onto the social media scene quite recently, but have embraced it like a long lost lover and never let it go. They have a huge enthusiastic audience who they actively engage with.
The exception are those personas who have a large following in the offline world as well. Like Charlie Sheen who joined Twitter today, and already has over 600,000 followers after just 11 tweets.  But lets face it, he makes Mel Gibson look normal and boring.
So really, its not a race and it doesn’t matter when you started or if you joined in at Mission Bay like most of Auckland does doing Round The Bays. Its whether you’ve embraced it, and how you use it that really counts.
Enjoy the journey and I’ll see you at the end for a refreshing drink. And a few plasters if you need them.