Are You Committing Twitter Snobbery?

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“I won’t follow anyone back on Twitter who doesn't have a lot of followers.” A friend made this statement to me a while ago.

Is he seeing Twitter as a numbers game or assuming that this person doesn’t know what they’re doing out there?

It’s definitely not a numbers game, but a matter of how you choose to manage your account. Couple of options:

• Following back most everyone: Your public timeline will be messy though, however, you can control the quality of what you see through lists.

• Being targeted towards only those in your industry and/or those tweeps who would be genuinely interested in your product or service. This works, but do remember that you’ll have less reach overall; fewer replies, fewer retweets.

Don’t assume that they don’t know what they’re doing. Granted, that could be the case, however, keep in mind that people are joining Twitter every day and getting their feet wet. They may only have a few hundred followers, but do check them out. Some things to look for:

• A profile photo, not an egg.
• A full bio of who they are and what they do.
• Intelligent and engaging tweets. Okay to have some humorous ones too!
• A URL to a website that is professional and well organized.
• Lack of spammy tweets. Sharing the URL to your Facebook page is not spammy, but touting teeth whiteners is.
• They’re not a bot.
• Their tweets are interesting to you.
• They’re tweeting on a regular basis; in other words, they’re active and not simply just gathering followers.

Now, about giving them the benefit of the doubt, if they’re newbies, they may not be using Twitter protocol as they should be. I made two incredible blunders when I first joined Twitter. One gent firmly but politely corrected me on one of them; it may have been not using @ when replying. I remember feeling very small, but grateful that he took the time to tell me.

I recommend correcting someone via a DM. Save them a little embarrassment. Unfortunately a lot of people just dive into Twitter and try to swim without gaining the knowledge of what it’s about or formulating any strategy first. And many will drop off quickly; others will paddle ahead and some may even start doing the butterfly stroke.

So, what did I say to my friend after he made that statement?

"Give them a break; remember, you were once just starting out too and I'm sure you wouldn't have appreciated that kind of attitude while you were getting your feet wet"

‘Nuff said.

Join modlandUSA on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ …and please do say hello.

A nice place to get your feet wet.

Fake Profiles: To Create Theirs, Just Steal Yours.

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I spent some time in the eighties performing some very geeky tasks, including designing an input process for a “top secret” research survey for my employer. It needed to be created internally because of the sensitive information gathered in the questionnaire.

Back then, electronic files weren’t as freely shared as they today and my final 30 page document, written in WordPerfect, was distributed to just a few folks on hard copy.

Fast forward a couple of years later; a colleague phoned me (we didn’t use email all that much either), and asked about “the documentation that Sharon wrote”. I was confused and said I’d walk over.

And there it was, right on the cover. The document title was the same, but the author wasn’t me. It was indeed Sharon, who left the company the year before. I told my colleague that I actually designed and documented the process and later that day showed him the original file in my computer. A bit of research revealed that Sharon had a secretary retype it word for word. And the secretary kept it secret, just as she was supposed to do.

Times have changed. Now, thanks to our public lives on the internet, we can easily rip off people we don’t even know and perhaps never get caught.

Case in point: The snapshot included here shows a “lady” named Cathy. Strangely enough, the introduction to her bio reads exactly the same as Frank’s on the right side.

I noticed Frank’s post where he stated stumbling upon this gal; he was amazed that he had 100% of his life in common with someone else! Some comments ensued, with the most reasonable theory being of course, that Cathy is a fake profile created from simply plucking public information from cyberspace. Frank contacted “her” to politely let her know what an honor it was to have his profile “borrowed” word for word.  Her description quickly changed; she emphasized her love of coffee, hot sauce and her sons.

Here’s the scary part. She displays characteristics making her appear legit.

In her bio, under other names, “Mapistrano*” is listed. And there IS a gal with that last name that works for Google that Cathy says is her sister. And while Cathy’s profile pic is blurry, there are other photos of her that are much crisper in quality with friends and a son or two. She seems to be a bit of whiner too, especially when the parking lot is plugged up.

But if she is a real person, why would she lift someone else’s bio? Lack of originality, in a rush, just happened to see it and identified with it?

This raises a few points. Do you read the bios of the folks that circle you or do you just automatically circle back? Perhaps this is why Cathy has followers. I enjoy reading them.

Granted a few may have slipped through the cracks, that certainly happens to me on Twitter as well. And if a bio is not available either because it hasn’t been written or isn’t made available to me, I click ignore. I don’t have a high tolerance for the lack of a profile pic either.

Fake profiles are fairly easy to spot on Twitter: Few followers, pretty or scantily clad woman in the photo, nonsense, obvious spam or nothing at all in the tweets, but it may be a harder on Google+ or Facebook. On Facebook, I’ve received friend requests from guys who pour out their undying admiration for me based on a photo. When I google them, nothing in their sparsely populated Facebook profiles seems to correspond with anything I find…IF I find anything. Had to fix that mess; nowadays, only friends and friends of friends will find me in a search on Facebook. No more “admirers” for me. Oh well.

Suggestion for G-plusers: DO peruse a profile before circling back and consider everything that they’ve revealed about themselves; how does it all add up? The introduction (bio) perhaps weighs heaviest out of all the different elements. What does the bio tell you about this person?

Note: Not everyone makes a bio public, including me (if you’re curious, ask me why), but there may be enough other information provided to evaluate whether or not to circle them back; perhaps some of their posts are viewable by you. Incidentally, my lack of public information hasn’t slowed people down from circling me. When I have a few moments, I read a few bios and follow back a few folks.

* name changed.

How Not to Say: “Noooo! My Profile is Gone on LinkedIn!”

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LinkedIn has been in the news in the past few days; most recently because it surpassed MySpace in members. That speaks volumes about the importance of LinkedIn; are you a member?

I didn’t mean to scare you. But in this virtual, digital world of ours, things happen.  LinkedIn is one of THE most important social networks, especially in terms of your career. And yes, just like anything else, your profile could vanish. Is it likely? No. But spending five minutes to retain the important information that you’ve likely spent countless hours crafting and even more time making those connections could be history. Poof.

Let’s prevent that, shall we? Two steps:

Sign-in to LinkedIn. Once you’re signed in go to View Profile. Just below where your public profile is listed, place your cursor on where it shows the grayed out icon and the word pdf. Highlight it so that the color red is showing and click on it. Click on it and all your information in your profile will be downloaded, including recommendations.

If you don’t have Adobe Acrobat Reader (for viewing pdf files) click here.

The good news about pdf files that wasn’t true in the past, you can copy from them. So, in the unlikely event that your LinkedIn profile vanishes into thin air, after exhausting all other avenues, some copying and pasting will help recreate it.

The recommendations in your profile are GOLD. Having a copy of those is perhaps THE most important part of your profile.

Every time your profile is updated to any great extent (beyond fixing a typo) or a recommendation is added, download a fresh copy of your profile for safe keeping.

Step one covers everything except your contacts. And it’s wise to download that information for safekeeping as well. At the top of the Home page, put your cursor on Contacts, and then click on Connections. Scroll down; on the bottom right, click on Export Connections. Exporting as a .csv file will allow you to open up your contact list in Excel; very useful!

Click Export and enter the captcha code(s), save, and you are done!

Here’s what you get: First and last names, email address, a whole bunch of blank fields for addresses (delete them), company name, job title and more blank fields. There is enough information there in regards to communicating your contacts.

Five minutes monthly could save you countless hours in the future. Not saving this information could result in some aspects of your LinkedIn profile that will never be retrieved, unless you have a very good memory. Have I convinced you?

Do you Lament the Lack of a Facebook “Dislike” Button?

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I recently posted a link to a song I enjoy listening to on my Facebook profile. Some conversational posting ensued; apparently I have friends that share my “good” taste. The postings then gravitated into a few jokes regarding an opening band at a show I attended with friends on Saturday night.

So, when I saw the posting that merely said “NOOOOOOOOOO”, I assumed my friend didn’t like my song choice. Actually, that wasn’t it at all. Turns out it was about the anticipated dread of the opening band’s videos on YouTube, which, thankfully, hasn’t happened yet.

But this did get my brain thinking to how many times I’ve seen friends complain about the lack of a “dislike” button and then going on to join a group supporting such a function. And, yes, one can certainly argue this dilemma either way. No need to turn blue in the face though. And no, the issue isn’t anything new, since the “like” feature for posts has been around for quite a while now.

So, what to do if you really DO “dislike” something? Well, you could just ignore it. Posts will continue to appear, and this one will get buried in the stream before long. But what if you’re really compelled to say something. So, post. Go ahead. Post your opinion. It’s okay. Not everyone expects you to “like” everything; who does? Now, here’s an opportunity to be creative. Offer an alternative, a solution, a new way to look at a situation, or an idea. Build upon that post, and take it a step further, encouraging further engagement in a lively way. Friendly debate IS okay!

So what does Facebook have to say about this subject? Well, nothing. They DO tell you how to “unlike” something by clicking again on the like button, but nothing about “dislike”. And, unsurprisingly, a quick search in Facebook yields a few hundred pages that you can join to support the cause for a “dislike” button. One of the most original ones is named “We ask for a "Dislike" button and you replace "Become a Fan" with "Like". We ask for "Become a Fan" back... You give us "Like this Comment" -_-" Thank you facebook.” Whew. What a mouthful.

And, for those of you that MUST have it, there’s a Firefox plug-in offers the capability of disliking to your heart’s content.

And for me, personally? I’ll say to you, in my best Jersey accent “Dislike button… fugetaboutit”. Really! Who needs it?

Who Says Social Media Doesn’t Bring Instant Results?

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A friend of mine on Facebook (let’s call him Sandy) is somewhat green about social media. He never realized that all of his personal information was available for anyone on Facebook to see. That actually proved to be a boon for him.

Sandy recently “liked” an independent movie fan page. He is one of a small handful of people who have shown interest for that page. The creator happened to be seeking some specific services, and apparently started her search by investigating those “likers.” She found Sandy, who has a company in the industry that could provide the services, and sent Sandy a message on Facebook. In that message, she stated that she had researched him prior to contact. The contact could prove fruitful for Sandy; they are meeting next week to discuss a potential project.

Oh, and I assisted Sandy in making some improvements to his settings. After a brief discussion, we both agreed that his info page should remain public, with some data removed and some freshened. However, his wall is now visible only to his friends.

Okay, while this fantastic result took about three weeks, which is pretty fast, how ‘bout an example with mere hours?
A gentleman posted on a LinkedIn group that a friend (let’s call him Sam) is also a member of. The post was made late at night: “Looking for someone to do some XXXX XXXX work. Any recommendations?” Yes, the post was that short!
Sam has a presence on several social media sites and is still a bit of a newbie as far as establishing himself in this medium. He does have a completed profile on LinkedIn. Sam happens to be a very early riser and was up at 4AM. He logged in to LinkedIn and started catching up on some of the groups he belongs to. Sam saw the post and was the FIRST to reply, resulting in getting the work! Yes, the early bird DOES catch the worm. Indeed.

These two gents had never met but had a common bond via a group on LinkedIn. Through the mutual interests and membership of that group an instant business relationship was formed. What’s next? Services are performed. Money passes hands. Perhaps repeat businesses. Recommendations are given.

I’ve often told perspective clients that Social Media is a medium that one needs to nurture before results start happening. Perhaps I’ve been selling it short! I’ll still stand by my position stressing that by displaying expertise, engaging people, and demonstrating passionate involvement over time will produce the results you’re looking for. However, even if you are fairly new to social media, provided that your profile information is filled out so that people can learn about you, expect the unexpected. People are out there. And they are looking, all the time. Be ready for them!

Facebook Privacy Files: Wow! You went to Disney World last year?

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I don’t know you from Adam, but we both know Joe. Couldn’t help but noticing where you took your wife, your son with the Yankees cap, and your daughter with the cute teddy bear tucked under her arm on vacation last November. And your labradoodle is adorable. Nice swing set in the backyard too. Why do I know all this about you? Um, excuse me, but your Facebook is showing.

Indeed, your personal life has unfolded before my eyes. The birthdays, the holiday family gathering, vacations, dance recitals, sport events, and just hanging out in the backyard. The big question is….why do you want ME to know about it? Yes indeed, Social Media is supposed to be social, but to what extent?

Well, one thing I’ve discovered is that good old fashioned ignorance has a lot to do with my exposure to your life. People just don’t realize their Facebook profiles can be seen by all. They just don’t know! In a small way, I’ve attempted to enlighten a few folks about this, with my suspicion being that easy access to their lives is not their true preference.

Whenever I come across an old acquaintance on Facebook that I’ve not yet friended, in addition to extending the olive branch of eternal virtual connectivity, I inform them that their profiles are “100% public”. They aren’t really, but I do need to get my point across. If you’re not a part of Facebook, you won’t see those profiles. But for the millions that are on Facebook, the information is there to taste and digest and do who knows what with.

For the most part the reactions I’ve received sound something like this: “Whoa, I didn’t know; how do I fix that?” For a few others, there’s been no response at all except for the acceptance of the friendship. Well, okay then.

My advice? Check those privacy settings. It takes all of two minutes to do so. And it's fairly intuitive too, almost simple. In the upper right of any Facebook page, click on Account, Privacy Settings, Profile Information, and check your settings. If you want the world to see your information, as least make it an educated choice.