Checked your online identity lately?
Here’s mine…
While relieved, I’m not surprised. It’s taken nearly 15 years to solidify this type of position and know how to duplicate it.
For more info, check out the “Online Identity Calculator“.
All the best,
Chris
Know what people are saying about you online… even if you’re not saying anything?
Would you like to?
Or, have you heard so much about “social media” but are afraid to jump in because you may give a competitor valuable information?
This is where solid business meets Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and blogs.
It’s also full of advice and each chapter comes with an Action Plan for each platform.
The Action Plans are packed with immediate-action tips to keep you from looking like a beginner, even if you are.
They’re also written from the perspective of an executive who has been successful in off-line businesses, but used the internet to augment lead generation.
One tip could save you or make you thousands… or help you combat cyber-squatting and other brand-damaging internet iniquities.
But the key to this book is that it gives you helpful advice to get your team involved and buying in to the concept.
Because if they don’t come along for the ride, you won’t enjoy it nearly as much as you could.
Click the image to order and you will be able to download it immediately. As updates hit, you will receive them automatically. You will also have access to my exclusive newsletter… and this is the only way to get access to it.
All the best,
Chris
This post will be regularly updated with my (and my friends’) app wish list.
The highly popular “Wiferam Alpha” is #4… but I think it’ll be #1 tomorrow.
#1 – Twitter follow spam terminator app
What would it be?
A real-time, side-by-side comparison of who’s following me and who I follow… followed by who “unfollows” me right after I follow them. It would also have a built-in “mass follow/mass unfollow” zapper that would melt the offender’s hard drive.
#2 – Home page ADD-helper cycler
What geek doesn’t have a touch of ADD?
What would it do?
Change my home pages in Explorer, Firefox + Opera on a rotating basis from a pre-determined list I create each time I open it. My interests are so varied (as is the wiring in my brain) that I can’t seem to remember what I favorite sometimes.
#3 – Social Media get-started-profile-auto-filler-outer
This one is self-explanatory.
Make it everything friendly and help me quickly auto-fill profile information. Not so much for me, but for folks I help get started in social media. Once we decide which avenue to pursue (not all of them) it would be incredibly helpful to be able to hit a magic button and launch a presence. C’mon @Loic, @Scobleizer, @ChrisPirillo, @a… I know you can do it!
#4 – Wiferam Alpha
And, yes, this one’s gonna get me killed 
You’ve heard of Wolfram Alpha.
No?
You know, the amazing site that truly appears to be a mathematician’s “best thing since sliced bread”?
Well, guys, help me and my friends out with our marriages
Of course, my wife is awesome (hi honey, I know you read my blogs and subscribe to the RSS feeds… love ya ;0).
But after years of counselling, I’ve come to realize that I’m the one that needs help… or at least when I admit that and take the blame, things go so much better.
Kinda like milk and cookies… wait, maybe not, but I’m hungry and want milk and cookies.
Back to the point – this is what I need -
Let me enter a situation/scenario into Wiferam Alpha and it will run through all the variables… weather, PMS, how the kids are doing in school, is there a cure yet for autism, did I forget to shave… and it will tell me whether or not it’s ok to, say, have a beer, say “hi” or… breathe.
C’mon, guys, you know you want it just as badly as I do.
I think the default answer to queries will be “drink more beer” until the bugs get worked out.
I’m cool with that.
#5 – ?
I won’t be able to think straight until #4 gets developed.
I volunteer for the Beta!!!
Come on, gang, let’s crowdsource this puppy!
Cheers,
Chris
Using Twitter, direct messages can only be exchanged with a follow, but mention spam, or @spam, on Twitter is an insidious way to circumvent this and build click traffic… until you get busted. This helps keep spam to a minimum if you are discerning about those you follow.
But those who understand the value of “@” mentions and track them Twitter through an app like Seesmic Desktop2 or a smartphone app that notifies you of mentions are vulnerable to exposure. It’s somewhat harmless, but that’s where sharing the “follow love” doesn’t protect you.
Here’s an egregious example that prompted me to build a list called “Twitter Spammers.” Notice how a string of @mentions come from wingnuts I do not follow:
Check out my Twitter profile to add the list to your profile and see who the latest twits are.
The dingbats have found a way around the “social” aspect of social media and are exhibiting anti-social spam behavior.
So, what can you do?
Well, report the users for spam, first.
Then, if that doesn’t work, send your suggestions to me and I’ll add them to my list which is checked by our friends at Twitter.
And, you can create a list called “Mention Spammers”, let me know and I’ll follow it and report listees with you.
Why am I doing this?
Because as a University of Maryland-trained journalist, I have grown very fond of the concise quality of 140-character tweets. They get to the point fast and I can decide quickly whether or not I want to dig deeper.
Let’s crowd-source a solution to this and keep the Twitter-sphere unpolluted
All the best,
Chris
Chris is a fan of Jared Rubin’s “The Maker’s Diet” and member of his online network “Living Beyond Organic.” For more information, click here.
What makes me happy?
Well, there’s more that makes me smile than that cute little guy, but he’s one heck of a social media powerhouse.
Looks can be deceiving.
It’s kind of like getting beat up by a little guy, but that’s a different story
What does Seesmic Desktop2 do? I can check and post to all my accounts from Facebook to Twitter to LinkedIn…. and here’s a quick, cropped screen shot:
Notice the “thanks” from @Loic.
You’re welcome, mon amis.
To get Seesmic Desktop2, click here. You’ll need the latest Silverlight from Microsoft, and let me know how it works for you!
All the best,
Chris
@webmindset
Is anyone else jealous of @scobleizer?
Front row, Google Buzz t-shirt, VIP geek access… hey, sounds like where I’d like to be so, congrats Scoble!
But what is the REALLY BIG announcement?
Google Instant
How does it work? Here’s a video to show you… the FIRST YouTube video on Google Instant
How does it work? It is and looks like the main home page we’ve always been accustomed to.
You don’t need to hit “return” and your searches pop right up… now THAT’S instant!
Faster and faster, the web goes, and Google is leading the way again.
As if that were not enough, they’re pursuing the mobile app… now, friends, I have happy thumbs
WORLD’S FIRST GOOGLE INSTANT TRIVIA QUESTION:
If you were in on the webcast with me, whose name is blacklisted?
Irene Slutsky…
Poor Irene.
I bet about a million people just Googled her name during the conference.
I feel a bit sneaky because I do not, nor will I ever, play Farmville… but it’s HOT and the Target-loves-Facebook news is, too!
So, I’m not going to slam it although any doe-eyed baby calves wandering my way better steer clear and learn the lesson of the cute little baby duck who disappeared in a puff of feathers.
Ok, I’m joking, but gaming is far too important to ignore.
I’m in the middle of working with SCVNGR to launch a beta for our brick-and-mortar flooring business and I can tell you it’s already paid off with some positive buzz.
What do you think?
If you are a consumer – would you like Facebook gift cards?
If you are a business owner – are you game to put a little online gaming into your marketing mix?
Let me know and we’ll follow this together.
All the best,
Chris
Twitter is a fad.
Did he just say that out loud?!
That’s what I was thinking when a well-meaning, but older gentleman said that to me at a recent convention.
Want the short answer?
Twitter is not a fad and the valuable 140-character real estate has produced a forced efficiency so needed online.
This video is a good response as well…
Once you’ve established that your tweets are not “twit-like” you can take advantage of the gem that is Twitter.
How?
Circulate and meet people in person before asking them to follow you.
And, you should have a plan before you meet them.
How (again)?
Follow them and read their tweet history.
Once you’ve met them in person and shown that you know at least a little about what they do and like (because that’s what they’ll tweet) you can ask for the follow.
It’s not the fastest way of gaining followers, but I guarantee it’s the most effective long-term strategy for solid growth.
And if you’re really serious, put your Twitter ID on your business card.
What’s a Twitter ID?
Your username.
It looks like this:
@webmindset
That’s my id and yes, it’s on my card, t-shirts, vehicles…
Here’s a real-world situation for you. As I type this post, I’m in the airport (BWI to be exact) and have finished wrapping up an all-day meeting. I overheard a small group talking about social media. When they were finished, I asked one of them what they are doing. This led to a great conversation with @aligoesgreen and we now follow each other.
This is a rock-solid, non-spam way to make it happen.
Cheers!
Chris
PS – want to have some Twitter fun?
Just for kicks, put “Justin Bieber” in
your timeline and see what happens.
Of course, delete it as soon as possible…
It makes life so much easier.
Just go there and enter any url to shorten it to something that won’t eat up those precious 140 characters!
For example:
This blog post link is…
http://webmindset.wordpress.com/2010/08/31/what-the-heck-is-a-bitly-er-uh-bit-ly-and-why-should-you-care/
But isn’t this better?
http://bit.ly/ci6432
Now go on, shorty, and conquer the 14o-character world!
All the best,
Chris
Oh yeah, gettin’ my jump on:
I love tech and I love my parachutes!
@WebMindSet @ 14,000 ft
