Magpie: So now, you can have ads inserted into your Twitter stream. How to lose friends and alienate people, come to life! But look– I could make almost $4,000 a month! Provided, of course, that i don’t lose followers by selling out, and that advertisers actually get their value and stay on board… sheesh. I spoke to one advertiser this week that said it wasn’t worth it. Twitter will have to monetize somehow, and this independent effort may poke some holes n some of the methods. Me? I’m inclined not to touch it.
Obama needs a social media strategy? President-elect Barack Obama was very conspicuous and successful in his use of social media during the recent campaign. Did he win because of social media? I think the social media-for-Obama theme, and the Senator’s embrace of social media for the campaign, were more symptoms of his victory than a cause. Government will remain top-down, but the ability to engage public and test the waters of opinion is now greater than before. Maybe Twitter or Facebook will be the new Fireside Chat.
I Don’t Care About Your Personal Brand: Oh yeah? I don’t care about your not caring about my personal brand. In his post, Geoff Livingston is actually talking more about people who use personal brand as a business strategy. I agree, creating a cult of personality does not close business (except when it does!). But I would not want people to skim this post and think personal brand in itself is a bad thing. For individuals, it is essential for networking and career advancement. Buied in Geoff’s several points, bt the best advice, is that any personal brand needs to have the authority or expertise to back up what the brand stands for.
Surfing social networks could be good for you (via Mashable): A thorough, well-thought-out defense of the use of social networks in the workplace, put together by UK-based researchers Peter Bradwell and Richard Reeves of the think tank Demos. The report, “Network Citizens: Power and Responsibility at Work,” seems to concentrate on the value of networks involving employees of a company. I would like to see more of what people say about the value of “social” networking with people outside of your organization. Perhaps the word “social” is a turn-off for executives? It is the business networking benefits of the Facebooks, LinkedIns and Twitters of the world that build the argument against blocking these tools within companies. I should add here that Shel Holtz is the blogger I know who most frequently and passionately writes on this topic.
Are you a Reporter? Why yes; yes, you are: Christopher Penn shares an anecdote from his voting experience that led him to write that he– and we who blog, etc.– are indeed all reporters. We are creating content and people, no matter how few, consume it. Christopher hints at the “responsibilities” of the power of being, essentially, a citizen journalist. What are those responsibilities? I suppose that is a matter up for argument, but a general tip is to remember your audience. Don;t always assume they know you are kidding, and while you may not be held to professional journalistic standards frequently, the more you know about them and apply them where it makes sense, the more seriously people will take you.
Technorati Tags: obama, magpie, twitter, social+media, social+networks,
Here’s one, Doug:
Maybe whitehouse.gov or change.gov or some other dot gov site will be the new Fireside Chat.
Imagine hundreds of thousands of people – everyone who “friended” Obama on the collective social networks – coming to a dot-gov site to be engaged in real time by Obama and the senior cabinet. Talk about re-focusing the federal budget.
Thanks, Doug. There’s a difference between infusing personality in your marketing and a shameless personal brand. Most folks aren’t able to delineate to subtleties, dirnk their own kool-aid, and thus engage in shameless self-promo. That’s the problem.
I think that the personal branding thing has definitely gone too far. You see it in self-important and self-appointed social media gurus who think they need to “manage” their brand by incessantly tweeting us and bombarding us with information overload.
Ari– I do think Obama will do something– I just think the emphasis will be on the people as a resource,while keeping the “command and control” nature of government in the end. I don;t think that’s a bad thing.
Geoff– it’s such a line to walk– and when people praise the “personal brands” they start to believe it. I am steeling myself for the day someone actually says something flattering about me…
Allan, I think personal branding often goes too far. I’m not sure what we can do about information overload, except to manage the information and each of saying, “do I really need to Tweet/blog/whatever that?” I do that every day, but not enough I’m sure. As for others, i have learned to tune out unless I want to tune back in. It’s the only way.