Dan's Top Tips on Social Networking
Remember the days when we used to read full-length books like "Homer" or "War and Peace"? (Nope? OK, …neither do I!) Or how about more like "Huckleberry Finn", "Swiss Family Robinson", "Treasure Island", or even the "Hardy Boys" or "Nancy Drew" mysteries?
Remember when we used to wait with bated breath to read the daily newspaper from cover to cover or to peruse the glossy magazines like Life, Look, and National Geographic magazines each month?
Remember when we used to write out multi-page handwritten letters in longhand, address the envelope, stick a stamp on it, and drop it in the corner mailbox to keep in touch with family, friends, that special someone, or even penpals overseas?
That was a chapter written long ago in our lives. That chapter is now over.
Time to turn another page…
In our fast-paced high-tech society today, many people don't have the time to sit down and read a full length book over a period of several days. Today people barely have time for the Reader’s Digest version, or even a quick glance at Cliff Notes. Who has the time to sit down and read the newspaper? Who has time to write out a 10-page letter to a distant aunt or dear old grandma?
Like many others today, I barely have time to take in a full story in a 100 minute movie in a theater or on a DVD, check out the international, national or local news and weather online, grab the most interesting headline stories on AOL, CNN, FOX, Yahoo, or whatever webpage I happen to be surfing at the moment, and shoot off a few quick e-mails and IMs to friends and colleagues around the world.
They say a picture paints a thousand words. Well, if that's the case, then social networking websites with their images, videos, music, bulletins, blogs, microblogs, plurks and tweets literally speak volumes...
High-Tech Social Networking
With our senses constantly bombarded by fast moving multi-media, our attention spans are constantly being shortened by commercials that have been pared down from full 1 minute commercials to :20, :10, or now even 2 second sound bytes! It’s no surprise that our online viewing and personal networking habits have followed suit.
Enter social networking, blogs, and micro-blogs…
Social Networking
Why use Social Networking?
I hear comments from friends who complain they don’t have time to keep in touch with other friends. At the same time, I hear complaints from friends who claim they didn’t hear the latest news or they missed a major event or appearance because they weren’t aware of it or didn’t know about it.
So why use Social Networking?
Because it is there. Because the Internet has evolved to the point where we can USE it to reach thousands of friends and acquaintances instantaneously all at the same time at little to no cost. Because if you AREN’T using it, you’re missing out to those who ARE using it and are in touch with their friends, fans, and colleagues!
So which one should I use?
The answer is not which *ONE*, but which *ONES* to use! Not all of your friends, fans, or marketbase are all in *ONE* place using just *ONE* network. Many of my friends follow me on MySpace, others on Facebook, others on Twitter, and others on a number of the other networks. Sometimes I make new friends and connections on Linked-In or Plaxo. Sometimes I get booking requests through a variety of various connections. The answer is which *ONES* should I use as the best way to maximize my efforts and reach the most of my friends and contacts at once!
Let’s take a look at just a few of the networks emerging today…
Networks of Networks
Of course, nearly everyone who is familiar with the Internet has heard of MySpace (http://www.myspace.com). Since its inception in 2003, MySpace has grown dramatically each month. Today there are over 100 million users in the MySpace database, with an average of over 200,000 new users being added every day! It is projected that by the end of 2008, MySpace will have a database of over 300 million users worldwide.
With the ability to post blogs, bulletins, leave private messages, post public comments, listen to music and view pictures and videos, MySpace has provided users with a free template-driven website, and practically jump-started the whole social networking trend. It is safe to say that MySpace has been by far the most popular social networking site on the Internet over the past few years.
But some users find the content on MySpace a bit frivolous, others find it tough to navigate, while still others find it difficult to edit and customize. With MySpace attracting a higher number of adolescent kids and earning a reputation for being a more-or-less adolescent vanity site, the winds of change have been blowing on the fast-paced high-tech social networking scene.
Close on the heels of MySpace for social networking, Facebook (http://www.facebook.com) is one of the most popular networking sites on the Internet today with over 80 million users. With a cleaner interface and lots of third party add-on applications, groups, events, and hundreds of innovative ways of connecting with old and new friends, Facebook has become one of the most popular sites for social networking on the Internet today.
Other popular and emerging free social networking sites on the Internet include Bebo (http://www.bebo.com), BrightKite (http://brightkite.com), Hi5 (http://hi5.com), Mashable (http://mashable.com), Plurk, (http://plurk.com), Tumblr (http://www.tumblr.com), Xanga (http://www.xanga.com), and many more.
Professional Networking
If you're looking for more serious ways of PROFESSIONAL business networking, try Linkedin (http://www.linkedin.com) This is a no-frills network for professionals that functions similarly to an online address book, but with the added benefit that it allows you to view and reach other contacts in your LinkedIn contacts’ address books. This is a great way to meet and network with other professionals that may otherwise be hard to find or reach.
Another similar site that began early on as an online address book and continues to function as a professional contact site is Plaxo (http://www.plaxo.com). Started as one of the early networking sites several years ago, Plaxo now boasts a network of over 20 millions users.
Yet another emerging networking site for professionals to consider is Perfect Networker (http://www.perfectnetworker.com).
And while we’re discussing professional networking, you might want to check out ZoomInfo (http://www.zoominfo.com), a site that compiles information about you from all over the Internet. Even though it's not a true social networking site, it’s not a bad idea to check out your ZoomInfo profile to make sure that the information it contains on you is correct and update it with accurate information about you!
Christian Social Networking
If you're looking for Christian networking alternates to MySpace and Facebook, try ChristianSpace (www.christianspace.com ), Shoutlife (www.shoutlife.com), Xianz, (www.xianz.com), ZoeCity (http://zoecity.com), MyChurch (www.mychurch.org), or one of my favorites, Faith Freaks (www.faithfreaks.com).
If you're interested in the Christian alternative to Twitter (see micro-blogs below), try Gospelr (http://gospelr.com). And if you're interested in a Christian alternative to YouTube, try checking out the Christian videos on GodTube (http://www.Godtube.com )
(Note: Beware of wolves in sheep's clothing. If you're considering the "Christian" dating site "BigChurch", please realize that this site was developed and is maintained and operated as a commercial venture by the publishers of "Penthouse" magazine. Not all things are always quite what they seem!)
Blogs, blogs and Micro-blogs!
Back in the old days, what used to be known as “journaling” our thoughts and activities in a daily journal is now known as “blogging” (or “logging your thoughts on ‘web-logs’ ”, conveniently shortened to “blogs”).
If you enjoy blogging (or just reading other people’s blogs), check out Google's Blogger (http://www.blogger.com) or Blogspot (http://www.blogspot.com ), LiveJournal (http://www.livejournal.com) or WordPress (http://www.wordpress.com).
Sound too time-consuming for your fast-paced schedule? Time to turn yet another page…
Micro-blogs
With the micro-blog emerging as one of the hottest trends on the Internet today, it’s no wonder that sites like Twitter have taken off (http://twitter.com). A cross between a full blog and the immediacy of an IM (Instant Message), Twitter is a free social messaging utility for staying connected in real-time. Twitter's "Tweets" let all your "followers" know what you're doing immediately in 140 characters of text or less. This is a GREAT way for artists to reach their fans, for companies to communicate with their markets, and for friends and family to keep in touch on a constant basis throughout the day, and it only takes a few seconds to update!
Twitter is by far the most popular micro-blogging site, but Plurk (http://plurk.com) follows close behind.
Ring, Ring… Beep, Beep
If you REALLY want to stay on top of everything right up to the second, you can even receive your Twitter Tweets as SMS (Short Message Service) on your cell phone, or to save you from SMS charges on your phone, you can use a variety of Twitter clients on your phone such as TinyTwitter, Twitterific (for Macs), TwitterBerry (for Blackberry), Blackbird, and a growing number of other Twitter client applications to avoid SMS charges. Other Twitter related sites to check out include TwitterSearch, TweetScan, Twitter2go.com, Locify and more. And TweetBeep.com is a good place to set up alerts on Twitter topics to find out who's talking about you on Twitter!
Another great tip for networking on your cell phone: Try browsing on your phone for the WAP version of your favorite social networking sites by replacing the "www" with the prefix "m" for mobile, such as m.myspace.com, m.facebook.com, m.linkedin.com, m.twitter.com, m.plurk.com, etc.
Consolidate… Amalgamate!
TOP TIP OF THE DAY:
And if this all seems a bit daunting and time-consuming for you, my top tip of all is to create an account at my favorite site, Ping (http://ping.fm) where you can update all the top social networking sites - MySpace, Facebook, Linkedin, Blogspot, LiveJournal, Twitter, Plurk, Bebo, Mashable, Tumblr, Xanga, and many others - by sending a quick micro-blog e-mail from your desktop or cell phone to update ALL your accounts AT ONCE! Talk about a time-saver! And Ping only takes a few moments to set up!
Other sites where you can consolidate and amalgamate several social networking sites at once include Plaxo and Mashable.
And if you really want to make sure you have ALL your bases covered to reach EVERYONE you have ever known in any chapter of your life, you can set up accounts with ALL of the above networking services! But if you start getting writer’s cramp, just realize that in the time it takes to get all of these sites set up, you could have probably read "War and Peace" and written your own best-seller!
Time to curl up with a good blog… after I shoot off just one more Tweet on Twitter…
Excerpts of this article published in “Christian Activities” magazine (http://www.christianactivities.com) and the book “How to Promote Your Book on a Shoestring Budget“ (http://www.promote-your-books.com)
Dan Meyer is an award-winning Sword Swallower, Ig Nobel Laureate, speaker, author and social networking guru who lives in Hartselle, AL when he is not performing around the world, checking e-mail on his Blackberry, or maintaining social networking sites.
Got a favorite social networking or cool tech site not mentioned here? Let us know YOUR favorite social networking/tech sites and we'll add them to the list! Dan can be reached at www.cuttingedgeinnertainment.com. You can follow Dan on Twitter or link to him through the sites below...
So what are you waiting for? Add to your social network by linking to Dan at the sites below:
MySpace | MySpace | MySpace | MySpace | Facebook | LinkedIn | Plaxo | ZoomInfo | Wikipedia
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