You may be hearing more and more about the “micro-blogging”/social media tool know as Twitter but if you haven’t gotten on the bandwagon (By the way we still have a lot of room so jump on!) and are looking for some interesting reading and love to cast your eyes on or hold what is known as a book here are three links to books about Twitter at Amazon.com via our affiliate program with them.
I found out about the one above via one of the blogs I follow at Twit in Biz. You can download the first chapter as well as the epilogue and see if you would be interested in buying the whole book. While looking at that offering on Amazon I found these two other books you might be interested in checking out.
I have seen Laura’s presentation called Twitter for Business so I’m sure her book linked above would be worth checking out.
I thought I would pass this information along to those who enjoy taking in information in book form. As much I I love to find my information on the Internet in the form of blogs, podcasts, forums their is nothing like have a good book on the shelf or handy to pass along.
I often find that taking a little time to ask oneself very basic questions can spur on incredible changes or prevent disaster or wasted time. Here are some questions you can ask that could help your business or personal productivity in the year ahead.
Is their a way to automate a process that takes longer than it should?
Can I change my routine to avoid conflicts?
Have I tried something new to market my business?
Is their a way I can do two tasks at once and make it enjoyable? - For example recording your thoughts while driving or out for a walk?
Do I have things I need to get rid of that are just taking up space?
Do I have tools (software, gadgets, etc.) that I am not using to the fullest?
Can I turn a weakness into my greatest strength?
Can I turn my hobby into a source of income?
Is their a good book I can read and take notes from?
Can I work with a competitor?
What could I offer so that a competitor would want to work with me?
Do I have geographic neighbors close to my business I am not currently marketing to?
Can I combine exercising with learning and/or socializing?
Is their a way I can get more relevant information to come to me?
What are innovative ways I can grow a very small amount of money?
Is their something I am wasting money on each month?
Am I just putting up with annoying or unproductive things? Can I change that?
Are we or am I doing something boring and routine?
What would happen if I got up 15 minutes earlier or went to bed 15 minutes earlier?
What one food can I replace in my diet with something better?
Do I sell a product or service that could be marketed to another demographic? For example my dad recently bought a cellphone case to better hold his insulin pump.
Have I thrown the fear of making mistakes out the door so I can learn?
Can I take a little time to help, teach or pray for a client, friend, co-worker, etc.
Finally have you taken a little time to try to come up with a list of your own questions? Before I sat down to write this I didn’t know exactly what I was going to say but I am glad I did. I have a list I can work from that I know will help me. Most of course have come from things I have been thinking about or have dealt with in my own life? What questions can you contribute to the list?
Finally getting around to another installation in this series. One of the most fascinating aspect of new media is the social aspect. This of course has really taken off with the Internet and the ability of “everyday people” to connect and contribute to the conversation instead of just being an observer.
What makes the community or rather the social networking aspect of new media so significant? Why are we making it one of the core aspects of what we do as a company? Simple despite technology and all the cool ways on can buy products or services it all boils down to person using using the product or service and how they communicate their passion or dissatisfaction with a product or service.
You can spend a LOT of money on advertising that will blast the message of your company to the public at large. A few may take notice but more often than not it will not stick. I know that even though I may see an advertisement for a product I will usually not buy into the product or service unless I have seen it through the filter of friends, family or trusted experts.
The direct sales pitch is more often than not not going to turn me into a buyer. The recommendation of a person I trust however will. Word of Mouth or WOM as it is often known as is still one of the best ways of promoting a business. The key word is promoting, not simply declaring a business.
In the past two or three years the world of “social media” has taken off like wildfire on the Internet. I admit that like many it was not easy to see these things as business tools but in reality they turn so called, cold calling into warm calling and also promote excellent products the top quicker as the word spreads. Beware however. If your product or service is a bad experience then the reverse can happen. In the past mediocre companies could get by longer but the tools that enable good word of mouth can also encourage bad word of mouth too. I have used this very blog to warn others about companies that have given me bad customer service.
What kind of tools is your company using to both participate and monitor what is being said about you? Did you know your own company web site can employ tools to not only aid people in spreading the word about your product or service but can also help you receive better feedback either directly or indirectly? Are you connecting with friends and family and fellow business people in your community to let them know what you are up to? What are your thoughts on using social media to build community around your product or service?
I’ve got quite a few friends on Facebook, most are friends, family, co-workers or fellow business people in my local community. One comment I have received is, “Wow, you sure do spend a lot of time on Facebook!” Want to know a secret? I don’t spend as much time as you think. Almost all of the time I update my status on Facebook it is via another very popular Internet service known as Twitter and I can also update Twitter automatically when I write a new blog post, add photos to Flickr, etc. via a service called Twitterfeed.
If you see a link to this blog title and post on Facebook realize that I did not log into Twitter or Facebook but have configured both in the past to be aware of such “events.” Yes, I do enjoy actually visiting Facebook to see what friends and family are doing, view their photos, etc. but I’m also big on making good use of my time and being productive.
Twitter is an excellent bridge for channeling information to people in my social networks but it can take a lot of people a while to “get it” even in it’s simplicity. If you could go back and look at my original “tweets” you would see I was trying to figure it out as well. I often describe Twitter as a ticker tape of people instead of stocks.
If you follow me or my wife on Facebook and you don’t know about Twitter or don’t have an account we would love for you to check Twitter out. Common Craft has a great videoexplaining what Twitter is and how to use it. What is unique about Twitter? It;
Encourages you to be concise in what you say
Is great for asking a question and getting a quick response
A good way to get news about events and current events
A good way to learn about people in “bite sized” pieces
A good way to track trends
The consensus of most people is that when you first discover or first start using Twitter is it will not make a lot of sense. When Twitter was first started it was started to ask the question, “What are you doing?” You will often hear jokes or criticisms that often involve someone saying, “Why would I want to know what someone is eating for lunch?” If that is all people posted then yes that would not make much sense unless of course you were keeping a diet diary in order to lose weight. One could however say, “I’m at the Liquid Hwy Coffee Shop in downtown Greenville meeting fellow business people.” I give the example of that local coffee shop because it was through Twitter that I began to discover it was not only a great place to get coffee but also to network with other business people in the local area because they were often “Twittering” from there.
If you are a big facebook user then you may want to read this bit of information that explains how to update your Facebook status via Twitter. If you are already on Facebook then you are already familiar with the concept of status updates. Why not offer the same updates via Twitter and feed them directly into Facebook? It will be easier to update many people via Twitter as they can and chose to receive updates via their mobile devices.
I participate in a local networking group called, GSATC, the Greenville Spartanburg Anderson Technology Council. Every month they have a big meeting in a room at a local hotel and about 100 or more usually attend. The theme for December in recent years has been “Gadgetfest” in which members come and show their favorite or unique gadgets.
this is a link to a page where you can hear an audio recording of that recent event. You can hear me about 17 min and 30 seconds in.
I arranged ahead of time for the meeting to be recorded with the Edirol R-09HR so what you hear is how it was recorded with the Edirol sitting on a table in the center of a pretty large meeting room of about 25 tables or more. Of course the early introductions of visitors, drawing of business cards, etc. are more distant than the interviews later in the meeting.
The host and president of the group, Phil Yanov came to our office a few days later and recorded the intro and outro on mics in our office that ran through a small mixing board and back into the Edirol.
I was also interviewed by a local business newspaper, GSA Business for their “podcast.” The direct link to the gadget fest interview presenters by the GSA Business Newspaper is at;
