Putting Decorum to the Chatter

As more people “discover” the ins-and outs of social networks either for professional reasons or personal I can’t help but think it is time to put a little decorum to the chatter.  After all, how many times can I be invited to join the fan page of someone I don’t know?

So, this thought really started with Facebook–and someone who insists they know me from my high school years, although we went to different high schools.  At any rate, this person is some kind of a social media consultant now.  Great.  (I won’t let my personal take on someone who professes to tell people how to use Twitter taint my opinion).

This person also has a Facebook fan page.  Not sure I see the need, but again great.  And I was invited to join.  And I made full use of the ignore option.  I really did not think much more of it.

Until I got an invitation every other day for three weeks.  Now granted, I still have the full option to leverage the ignore button.  But enough.

Plus it got me thinking-there is something overly vain and just off with that.  Randomly I join fan pages–usually of people who I have worked with over the years or someone I am actually a fan of.

So now I have two specific suggestions as it pertains to Facebook fan pages, and I think at least in my little social network world, I will follow these.

1. Only one invite to join a fan page.  If I opt not to its my decision.  I think if I get multiple requests, then its clear this person is just culling their friends list, and I will solve the issue by de-friending.

2. I am more apt to join and participate a fan page if I am actually a fan.

Which now brings us to Twitter, FourSquare and Gowalla.

As I mentioned in my “Can You See Me Now” post a week ago these IRT sites, where I am sharing my actual location with people are becoming popular.  I’ve decided to limit myself on these sites to people I actually know.

It’s not that I don’t want to meet you, its more that internet safety 101 type thing going on.  It seems kind of counter-intuitive to broadly share where I am with thousands of people who I actually don’t know.

So, feel free to friend me up on Facebook (I never say no) or follow me on Twitter (I even follow back).

And please follow the simple rules above so we can actually get to know one another.

Can you see me now?

While Twitter and Facebook were grabbing all kinds of headlines for much of 2009 a bit of a phenomenon was developing as an off-shoot of both: location based social networking.  Now, I have written about this a little in assorted contexts–I am talking about products like Foursquare, Gowalla and others like Loopt and CauseWorld.  Each is slightly different-CauseWorld being the most distinct- but all have some basic core functionality.

Each of those listed (and a bunch of others I have not listed) leverage social networks and location–and give users a chance to do real time meetings.  This location based social networking has become an early buzz for 2010–but the technology is nothing new and its kind of a natural extension of all those Twitter or Facebook updates.

Foursquare (NYC based) is kind of game where users check in and become mayors etc.  It has a business opportunity to allow game players to get discounts etc at local stores and more.  Over at Gowalla you don’t become the mayor of any place, but you accumulate and trade assorted items like avocados, coffee makers and slices of pizza (all virtually) that you can leave and trade at each location.

The others are somewhere in between–with the over-riding concept being that its more than sharing status; it’s about sharing location.

I was a little amazed a couple of weeks ago when I updated my FourSquare that I was at a Starbucks not far from my office.  Low and behold, a friend was in the area and stopped in for an impromptu cup of coffee.  It’s where my status (and at the time I was the mayor of the Starbucks, although I don’t think the barrister knew it based on the service provided) meets the real world.

So here’s to seeing many of you in 2010 now that I not only know what you are up to, but where.

Can you see me now?

Go Ahead, Ask Away

Messing with Formspring now. Not really sure why, but it seems like a pretty cool little app.

So, fire away, I am on Formspring now.

I’ll do my best to keep up.

Twittering the Hall of Shame

So here it on Christmas Night, and I am trying to catch up on some reading and came across this interesting tidbit.  The DA in Montgomery County TX is going to share the names of people arrested in his jurisdiction on Twitter.   This is not convictions mind you–its arrests.

For me, its kind of a flashback to one of my first jobs at a tiny radio station in Rockland County, NY.  The news director who hired me had a quantity over quality policy.  So each shift, each editor and anchor had a quota of stories they had to write.  It wasn’t about the content, it wasn’t about the journalism–it was about the count.  So, we pulled out press releases from the local DA about DWI indictments.  Stories went something like this:

“The decision to allegedly drive drunk was a bad one for <insert name>.”  We would round out with some basic facts (location of the arrest, score on breathalyzer etc) and we were one story closer to the quota.

But did it serve any kind of true journalistic or community purpose?  When Kathleen Rice was elected DA in Nassau County, NY she ran on a platform of being tough on DWI.  She took to the local papers with the names of those convicted of DWI.

But this is a new twist, and one that has legal bloggers asking questions.  And I have to admit, as a member of the fifth estate I am too.  Y

Yeah, its public information the arrests.  And there are times it can be salacious–but really, is this what we are down too?

What’s next for Twitter or Foursquare or Gowalla?  Red marking the location of sex offenders?

I am never one to promote prior restraint–it’s almost antithetical to being a good journalist.  But in this case, there is no conviction, there is no real asset to the community–I suppose there can be some good PR for the DA–but then he can always name these people a “person of interest” because it’s the same thing.

The People Have Spoken: I’m Not So Bad Off

I very accidentally found out that just when I think things are going as bad as they can, from the outside it may not be so bad.  Perhaps the grass can be greener.

Last weekend a bunch of stuff went on (family, friends, loved ones, holidays)-you know just a bunch of stuff.  I was talking with a friend of mine who reminded me of FML–you know what you may say in a bad situation, “F*ck My Life.”

And as advertising has taught us–there’s an app for that as well.  So, I added the FML app to my iPhone and started sharing the happenings of my weekend and why I feel FML.

And much to my surprise, the community-hundreds of people at a time, determined that things are not as bad as I think they are.

My FML’s have been rejected.

And I think that’s a good thing for me.  After all, here I was thinking, “Wow, I am f’d.”  And hundreds of people didn’t think so.  Its kind of cathartic actually.

While I am not saying that every issue can be helped by simple crowd-sourcing, it is a powerful tool.  Let the people speak and they will determine just how worthy the cause is.

My friends at BNet recently pointed out some of the intrinsic value of crowdsourcing and why it makes sense.

From a business perspective–increased creativity, new voices in the decision making process and a true look into what I like to call vox populi (Google it).  It comes with some downside too, because business can’t control the conversation or the expectation.  Its a bit of sharp edge to walk.

However, it also answers the question–now that I have Tweeted, shared, Digged and Wiki’d everything-what happens?

Well the answer is conversation–and perhaps as I learned, things are not as bleak as they appear, or at least that is what the vox populi is telling me.

Its the same as all the other deals: Location, Location, Location

For the last five years I’ve heard, read or been told that “this is the year of mobile.”  Well, I don’t think it’s a matter of a year of mobile.  Rather I think its a progression of the way data flows and the ubiquity of better devices.

And as data flow gets better (despite what my friends at ATT are saying) and devices get better 2010 may finally be the year of what was called LBS (Location Based Services) a long time ago.  And by long I mean three years ago.

Now there are core mobile based products like Foursquare, Gowalla, Aloqua, Where that let a user find friends, locations, places, things to do all based on current location and a database.

Now this should be hugely appealing to sales folks and brands because when I am in the heart of Manhattan and looking for a burrito chances are the top item closest to me wins–and that has value.  The problem right now is figuring out what that value is.

The other problem is conveying that value.

Yeah, any sales person will tell you its all bout location.

And any brand will tell you its all about proximity

But is this the year it all comes together?

Guess I’ll Have to Go Old School This Time

12/5 UPDATE:  So it took two calls, but got the appointment I needed.  Still, it would have been better to search online for the test–would have cost everyone less in time and resources.

I’d like to think I am pretty tech savvy.  Yeah, there are some things I don’t get and probably don’t need to get, but overall I am certainly more than able to leverage the tools of my trade to do research, fill in blanks and  get things done.

As I tend to remind people though from time to time, at the end of the day we can do 1000 things exactly right, but when you have garbage in, you get garbage out.

Case in point is my five-day quest to find a lab to perform a very specific medical test that my doctor has prescribed.  Now, I don’t think there is anything wrong.  But I did a blood test a few weeks ago and there were some abnormalities–I chalk that up to mostly being north of 40.  So my doctor asked me to go have this test done.

Pretty easy I thought.  My health insurance company has a pretty good website, I am sure I can put in some keywords, locations and piece of cake–data.  Not so much.  I can get a list of labs near my house or near my office but I have no idea if they perform this test.

Sounds like a solvable problem right? Just a quick call, because this data has to exist somewhere in the insurance company database, right?

Yeah, not so much.  After waiting on hold for 15 minutes the guy at my insurance company offered to do the same search that I did and give me a list of places I can call.  So I ask him, “Can’t you search by procedure or test?”  ”No,” is his response.  ”Did you want me to send you a list?”  ”No,” I responded.  ”I already have that.”

So I figure I would ask my pals at Google.  After all Google knows everything right?

Yeah, not so much.

Now, I can do some deep reading and scare the crap out of myself with what if’s about results of this test, but I still can’t find a place to actually get this test done.

So, to the phones I go.  A little old school for you.

IRL vs Social Networks

OK, so today was by all counts a crappy day.  Start with massive network issues in the office that had me chasing all kinds of problems real and perceived.  Add to that being thrown under the bus by a co-worker for no real reason.  Then on top of that I let someone dear to me down and well it’s after 10PM and I am still on my way home so I failed my kids.

But the item that really jabs at me is the co-worker.

And I think the reason why is because I got thrown under the bus (at least in my perception) in real time and never had a chance to respond in real time.

Now this occurred during a very broad senior level managers call, so I have to admit I was caught a little flat footed on being singled out and in my belief attacked.

But what I am wondering now is my email response on the same level as a real time attack?  Can a bell be unrung?

I know the answer to that is no.  But what I hope is that real time/real life reality can trump what amounts to semi-real (but real time) chest thumping.  And I am not sure. It’s a cross point.

This is an email driven work environment.  The conference call is sometimes a precursor to email.  Other times it’s the reinforcement.  But what happens when what is in email is diametrically different from the call? Then where does reality start and perception end? This is one I will ponder this weekend.

Breaking News: The Use Case Model

Like anyone with a conscience and any news professional the events at the Fort Hood Army base in Killeen, TX yesterday were shocking.  For me, they hit a little close to home. When I worked in Dallas 10 years ago I spent a lot of time at the base covering assorted stories about Army spending, homecoming of bodies etc.

Now I get to spend more time in an office and help make sure word of such events is disseminated to multiple platforms, shape coverage and be involved in the planning process of how to cover these types of stories.  Yeah, sometimes I miss the field.

As events unfolded yesterday, there was a great case study unfolding on Twitter in how the story evolved.  There were plenty of straight up posts, hash tags and trending topics.

There was plenty of news being broken on Twitter from news organizations big and small (BNO, CBS News, KWTX etc) but there was also an interesting mix of people in the media looking for information and sources on Twitter.

Now, I am not sure that is the best use of the medium–to put a call out for witnesses etc, but its a use, and thats a good thing.  With the data rolling in, it would b e great to quickly be able to spin up a way to week out re-Tweets (RT’s) and reactions and get into the straight up news.  It’s all part of the bigger story, I get that–but information is so tough to generate in those moments–a clearer path would be great.

In some way, let the community designate “trusted sources” and their Tweets would have a higher weight–and the rest are still there–this is not an exercise in quieting voices.  Rather this is a way to make the voices ring out.

The Social Network v Google

So lately I have come to realize that I can get better information (and get it faster)  by tossing a question out to my social network than I can get by doing a Google search.  It makes me wonder if there is some real possibility that my social network will replace Google as a core source–and probably sooner rather than later.

A lot of brands are spending a lot of money to “work the system” and be in the top three results for Google.  These strategies include among other things SEO, buying keywords and keyword optimization in metadata on sites.

Or, I can just float a Tweet, or post to Twitter, Facebook and MySpace all at once–and sit back and wait.  Generally speaking in the time it would take me to go through the paid placements on Google and get the information I am looking for–I not only have the data I am looking for, but I have a link that is on point for my query.

Try it yourself.

My case study was a search for cool extensions for Google Wave–I am determined to truly figure out how to make Wave work for me and make it a cool experience (this is a subject for another blog perhaps-but I think the framework is there, just need to figure out what to do with it).

As my list of Wave contacts grows–its kind of interesting to see how people are using the product–and how they are innovating within the environment.