Understanding and Using Social Media So many people So many opinions Is any of it for me? Sigmund Fidyke III October 2009

What I Will Cover What is Social Media? New way(s) to communicate Types of Social Media How do I use Social Media? View, participate, contribute Stay in character Expect no privacy How do I get started? 6 stages of using social media

What is Social Media? Online content created by people A shift in how people discover, read, and share news, information and content Moving from monologue (one to many) to dialogue (many to many) Changing people from content readers into contributors and publishers Does not require expensive equipment or a government-granted license

Types of Social Media Blogging A blog (or 10) for every subject Twitter (micro-blogging) Social Networking Facebook, MySpace, Classmates, Friendster, Bebo, Orkut, Hi5 LinkedIn, Plaxo, Xing, cofoundr, naymes Bookmarking sites Del.icio.us, blogmarks, dogear Photo / Video sites Flickr, Photobucket, YouTube Virtual Reality Second Life, World Of Warcraft (WOW) Groups Google, Yahoo!, etc.

Which Are The Most Popular? Network Size* (07) Size* (09) Facebook MySpace YouTube 123 views/day LinkedIn 5 45 Twitter 32 World of Warcraft 11.5 Most Everybody Else < 5 *Millions

Facebook Where you spend time with people you know Part blog / part community – much of what’s on your page is contributed by selected friends You can play with apps and take & share surveys A replacement for Professional networking – sharing what you’re doing and posting examples of what you’ve done Businesses – fan sites where people to learn about the company, follow announcements and find links to the store site for orders

Facebook Fan Site

MySpace Where you find people & bands and share interests Similar to Facebook: blog & online community Unique focus on music industry Buy tickets to performances, track show dates Focus on being found & seen – and finding & seeing Customize look of your profile pages Beyond music, has a younger crowd than Facebook Businesses can display products and link to store sites for orders

MySpace Home Page

YouTube Where you watch & upload videos 14 hours uploaded every 60 seconds YouTube has become an important place for both people and businesses Share videos of personal interest (vacation, pets…) Share newsworthy videos (events, news, politics) Share videos of personal talents (music, interviews) Share business videos (product demos, pretest ads) Find videos about companies, products, people

YouTube Search Example

LinkedIn Where you make business contacts For professionals only – don’t expect anyone who isn’t in (or wants to be in) the workforce Start with your work history and go from there Display your information for others to find Find people who know people you want to meet Special interest groups add community feel Different attitudes on who to connect to Various levels of geographic filtering

LinkedIn Profile

Twitter Where you follow people you want to know For the ADD in you – microblogging A growing area where new things are happening Create your personal or business brand Advertising is out, unless it’s interesting, fun, & expected Opt-in connections – choose who you want to follow Can be trivial or useful If you don’t like what you see, follow someone else Bing and Google now have real-time access to Twitter Searches now, more features coming soon

Twitter – Using TweetDeck

Blogging (Web Log) Where you speak your mind & show your stuff Part diary, part op ed commentary, part real journalism – all with comments from others Started like Twitter – frivolous, personal journals Don’t do it to make money (though it’s possible) Do it to find a career – show your expertise Do it to share a passion – cars, sports, … Do it to document your life – as long as you like living in a glass house

Chris Brogan’s Blog

How Do I Use Social Media? Blogging/Microblogging Show what you know and what you can do Social Networking Connect & stay connected with others Personal interest (music, shopping, sports, travel) Bookmarking sites Share web finds Become trusted source of information Photo / Video sites Share pictures and videos (and search) Groups Business, personal, special purpose

How Do I Use Social Media? (2) Regardless of where you go, remember: Be Interesting! Expect no privacy (fatty paycheck example) Stay in character - ALWAYS Watch first and follow the accepted form Do not advertise or ask for help immediately Give first, receive later Alliance partners – help each other

Using LinkedIn Just a couple of points (way too much said already) Spend more time on profile than on resume Include buzz words for searching recruiters Open your connections to others Try for 360 degree recommendations Keep active! Change status, join groups, answer questions Stay-connected s Look for jobs and connections

Using Facebook Public or Private? (sorry, not a choice) More personal – not direct job search, but staying connected to others Promote yourself and promote others Post recommendations and thank-yous Create fan page to broadcast thoughts & events Stay on topic Be careful! Especially with photos

Using Twitter Know why you are on Twitter (brand) Speak to that topic (and keep on topic!) Set expectations, then meet them Create interesting content Expertise, trends, informed opinions, etc. Keep active Help with viral growth (retweet) Follow others, many will follow you back

Using YouTube What happens in Vegas, stays on YouTube Be careful with your image or name! Great for research Companies: CEO interviews & product demos People: learn from their videos Post your own success stories Proof of success Your product demos

How Do I Get Started? No classes, no books, just do it 6 stages of using social media* Inactive – sign up, do nothing Spectator – watch only (lurking) Joiner – join some groups, still read only Collector – have favorites that you follow Critic – comment on what you read Creator – create original content *Reid Carr of Red Door Interactive

What’s Next? 20 years ago – no Web 10 years ago – no Facebook Today – Web 2.0 and Social Media, but mostly doing old things in a new way Near Future – starting to find new things to do with this new media

References This PowerPoint: My Twitter Feed: sigmund3rd Recommended Blogs on Social Media (they all have Twitter feeds) Guy Kawasaki: Chris Brogan: Peter Cashmore: Ryon Harms: Tim Tyrell-Smith: Neal Schaffer: Lists of Social Media Sites: media-sites-i-have-them-all-here/