Connected Well

The BBC has a good article about Google’s free/paid news announcement called first-click-free which enables news outlets to let Google index and show their news, but then limit the number of “free” articles you can read to five per day:

We’ve updated the program so that publishers can limit users to no more than five pages per day without registering or subscribing.

Check out Google to Limit Free News Access over at the BBC with an informative video that I can’t easily embed and a follow-on article called “Did Google Just Blink” by the BBC’s Rory Cellan-Jones:

Rupert Murdoch has made clear his desire to see other papers in his worldwide stable follow the Wall Street Journal’s lead in asking readers to pay for at least some of their online journalism. And he’s also expressed, in forceful terms, his view that Google – and the BBC for that matter – are an obstacle to those plans because they provide a route to so much free news.

In my opinion, Murdoch and other news outlets have only two cards to play: Either make their news so interesting, so exclusive, so relevant and niched, personalized and so amazing that people will keel over and die if they can’t read it, or realize that, if you want to appeal to the masses, the masses don’t want to pay dollars for it… at least not in the traditional sense.

There’s a new economy for news. No longer are todays papers tomorrow’s kitty-litter liner or fish-n-chips wrapper. News comes and goes in megabytes per second, and in 140 character snippets.

The good news is read, shared, commented, revised and rebuffed by its own readers and created into something new and interesting every single millisecond.

The uninteresting news simply never. gets. read.

This is not Google bowing to the publisher. This is Google playing its cards to ensure it has top content in its engine, and when the day comes that the big mass media players finally give in to reality that “pay for access” won’t cut it anymore, Google will already be so far out ahead nobody will be able to catch up.

Geek News Central and others agree with me.

Good luck mass media. See you in the funnies.

Rahhb life, next bbc, google, massmedia, media, murdoch, newmedia, news, newscorp, newspapers, twitter

It’s kinda nice to see blogs being used well by companies.  It almost feels like a conversation again.

Microsoft has done a good job with the Windows7 launch of blogging a lot about what they’ve done, how they’ve been trying to approach the launch, interesting commentary on the evolution of the Windows Taskbar, and now, to refute a rumor that Windows7’s great user-interface was really stolen from the Mac.

This conversation is on-fire in twitter and elsewhere on the web and, without some kind of authoritative response, the rumor could turn into something people just believe without question (though Mac fans will do that anyway, and Windows fans will really deny it no matter what Redmond says).

Decide for yourselves which side of the story is true, or if this is some just corporate legal positioning to avoid a lawsuit from Cupertino, but in the end, I wanted to comment that this is a great way to use your company/team’s blog to openly discuss sensitive and otherwise disastrous Public Relations issues.

You can’t control the conversation, but ignoring it is clearly unhealthy.

Rahhb Social Networking, Tools, blogging tips apple, apple_vs_microsoft, blogging, mac, positioning, pr, public relations, rumors, twitter, windows, windows7

Social networks are powerful, meaningful tools I have had the opportunity to leverage we ll for personal and professional benefit.  Just last week I was trying to find good camping locations and received several good recommendations.

I have also gone overboard at times with my virtual social life by,  for example, facebooking when I should be playing with my kids, or being glued to twhirl instead of my work.

It’s time to make some changes to who and why I follow/friend/add people to these networks.  In the past, I have allowed LinkedIn to be my most conservative network, but time and life dictates that I need to be much more selective about my other social interactions, too.

So, with a hat tip to Shel, here’s my Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook (“TwinkedInBook”?) follow policy:

• As a general rule, I only add/follow people I actually know. That means we have had some meaningful interaction and that your connection aligns with the things I care about.
• I welcome conversations.  If I have said something you want to comment on, please do, but be real, and open about who you are.  I don’t have to follow you to hear you. This is the Internet. @robertmerrill me, and I will find it.  If you really need to reach me, um, my full name at gmail dot com is a pretty good starting point.
• I get that networking is not just socializing [via @jibberjobber]. I like both, but I am primarilly online for networking in the sense of a professional relationship. I believe  networking is about what you give and get.  I wont follow you if I don’t think I can meaningfully give to you and/or that I can receive from you appropriately as well.  By the way, I still believe the appropriate balance is to GIVE 10x what you RECEIVE in any relationship, but I will not follow you unless you’re providing a relevant, useful and thought-provoking connection.
• If I don’t follow you, or just stopped following you, please don’t be offended. Really. It’s not you. It’s me.
• I will follow companies when I want announcements or information. I will follow people when I see relevance in what you’re talking about.  I will unfollow and/or block both when the conversation becomes you selling something, or regurgitating, or just “@username lol!” -ing all day long.
• The things I say are my opinions and beliefs. Yours are your own. Keep that clear and we will get along just fine
• I reserve the right to change this or update it at any time, or at no time, for any or no reason.

And now begins the purging of the accounts…

api Networking, Social Networking facebook, follow, follow-policy, linkedin, Networking, twitter

Twittering takes too long. 140 chars? Plz.

[Hat tip to Richard Bliss for pointing this out]

api Social Networking, humor, life flutter, funny, humor, mock, mocumentory, twitter, video

Last week, Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt said that Twitter is a “poor man’s email system” (live notes) .

… which pretty much means he’s clueless on what Twitter’s for.

And, by the way, how poor do you have to get to use a poor man’s email system… you know, since email is, well, um… free.

(Hat Tips here and here)

api Social Networking, Tools eric_schmidt, free email, gmail, google, morgan_stanley_technology_conference, twitter

Atherton Bartelby at Mashable lists the 10 reasons someone you follow on twitter might not follow you back. Here’s the summary:

1. No avatar
2. No location, website or bio listed
3. Your “website” is a myspace page
4. You’re following over 1,000 users, have 20 followers, and no updates
5. Your profile features any variation of “Internet expert”
6. You’re always pushing your product
7. You auto DM a salespitch when I follow you
8. You say anything like “I need more followers” in your recent updates
9. You constantly argue with everyone/anyone for any/no reason
10. You don’t engage the followers you already have

He also used carbonated and pregnant in the article in unstandard contexts. Nice.

Rahhb Social Networking, Tools netiquette, twitiquette, twitter, twitter etiquette, twittiquette

Half a year ago, I posted “What is Twitter”, which really just linked to a rad video you should see if you have no clue what Twitter really is.

I’ve been tweeting for a while, and I have watched a sub-culture emerge around the tool of phrases, terms and actions people take. Many of these concepts are not new with twitter, but are regaining a popularity since it is (without add-ons like twitpic) a text-only medium.

The following glossary will live and grow as time goes on. Did I miss something? Exercise your inalienable right to a voice and SAY SO in the comments!

Twitter Glossary:

@

This command (pronounced “at”) is used to designate who you are talking to, or referencing, in a tweet. Proper twittiquette says you begin a direct reply to someone with the phrase “@username” and then your message. Example: If you want to direct a comment at Robert Scoble, whose twitter username is Scobleizer, you would tweet something like the following actual tweet:

@scobleizer I’m a huge fan but do you really need to grade yourself on grader.com? I mean…you’re a 100. You will be next time, too.

tweet

n: A message sent through twitter.

v: The action of sending a message through twitter

twitter

“Twitter is a privately funded startup with offices in the SoMA neighborhood of San Francisco, CA. Started as a side project in March of 2006, Twitter has grown into a real-time short messaging service that works over multiple networks and devices.” source

retweet

The action of forwarding or repeating a tweet someone else sent. Usually because you agree and wish to promote what was said, or because of blatant promotion.

twitterfied

Updating yourself on past-tweets that you missed because you turned twitter off, went dark, or the tweets just came in while you were in a meeting or otherwise unavailable to watch the stream.

off

An sms or IM command used to tell the twitter system to stop sending you updates.

sms

Short Message Service, the technical term for sending a text message from your cell phone (or other tool) allows you to keep up with tweets wherever you are. See commands for more information.

IM

Instant Message, a way you can receive and send twitter messages. Currently disabled.

going dark

Turning off your twitter messages so you can concentrate on other things.

stream

Analagous to a river, the “flow” of messages coming to you through twitter

DM

An acronym for “Direct Message”, a message sent directly (and somewhat privately*) to another twitter user. A complicator for this term is that users will say, “If you want more information then DM me…” but the command for sending the message is not “DM”, but simply “D username“.

command

Keywords used by SMS or IM or other applications to change the message you’re sending, change your alerts/updates from twitter, or get information about users or other things. Learn more about twitter commands.

apps

One of twitter’s great advantages is that it has an open platform anyone can write applications to interface with. There are many twitter applications you can choose from. Some update your desktop, others update your iPhone or Blackberry, others allow you to sync your twitter messages with facebook or friendfeed

Rahhb Uncategorized glossary, lingo, retweet, terms, tweet, twitter

Overhearing a few conversations yesterday drove home the point to me that Twitter (or identi.ca or pownce, plurk or even email) is really simply a way to have conversations.

Kumbaya, and all that

This screenshot from my twitter feed shows @cachedout bumming about his speeding ticket (bottom image). Seconds later, @littleidea replies in-kind (see top image). Misery loves company. Speeding ticket recipients are not immune from this most-basic human desire.

What you say is irrelevant.

Who you say it to is highly relevant.

And, the network will pwn you if you say things too far out of context, or without consideration of who you are talking to.

Yet, the network will <3 you if you show up real, human, and relevant. Using twitter for business? That’s a lot different than just using it to catch up with friends on Friday night, or to keep tabs on your family.

Crossover posts? No problem sometimes, but beware the implications. Sharing a great insight from a book to your friends isn’t dangerous. But, joking with your friends about how out of control Friday night got, and your co-workers are listening in… might come back to get you.

Rahhb Networking, Social Networking, Tools communicating, communication, conversation, funny, human, identi.ca, listening, plurk, pownce, pwn, sharing, talking, twitter

Yeah, twitter is addictive. It’s fun. It’s compelling.  Here’s a few tips to help newbies to twitter get the feel of it a little faster:

• SheGeeks’ Twitter 101 post gives pretty good clarification on following other people. In short, give people a reason to follow you before following them. The difference between a friend and a stalker is that you know who your friends are
  “When you first start Twitter, you should build up your stream first. Send out about 20 messages that actually mean something. Talk about your interest, something cool that you like, or something you found out about today. This way, people can get a better feel for how beneficial you’d be to them if they followed you in return.”
• Sarah Hurd points to Jeremiah Owyang (@jowyang). as a great example of twittering “right”:
  “He uses a great mixture of providing helpful and relevant content, championing others, networking, asking questions to generate conversations, providing rundowns of events he’s attending, and laughing about life.”
• Charlotte-Ann Lucas, a journalist, says it this way:

  “Twitter is community.It can be like sitting with your friends on a coast-to-coast couch, eavesdropping on a national conversation.”

Rahhb Networking, Social Networking, human being social, communication, friends, listening, networks, social, talking, twitter

Tamar Weinberg writes a detailed and extensive blog post over at Techipedia titled: “Quantum Entanglements: The Social Media Scandals” where she discusses a recent scandalous social meltdown.

What can you say about a beautiful girl who died?

I can tell you that when I read this news, I cried off and on the rest of the day. I can also tell you that Kaycee Nicole did not, technically, exist. She was created and portrayed entirely by her “mother”, Debbie Swenson, a middle-aged Midwestern housewife with some serious issues. For nearly two years, thousands followed and supported this fictional construct as she fought a deadly disease, an astonishing run when you consider the challenges involved.

Social media, by definition, pulls at you and draws you in. You *want* to trust, you want to believe, you want to participate… and when someone needs something that you might have (money), you want to give.

The old rule still applies to Social Networks, as well as the Internet at-large… and ANY PUBLIC COMMUNITY (even your neighborhood): “Trust… but verify!”

Be safe out there.

Rahhb Social Networking chipin, Kaycee Nicole, phishing, plurk, problems, scandal, social network, Social Networking, socialnetworks, theft, twitter