Face Your Fear of Technology By Being Yourself

Facebook and Twitter, along with other digital media sites have one thing in common. They are all just tools.

They are networks of real-live people.

You seek out the ones who already know you, who are already your disciples, who are like-minded, have the same interests, and perhaps friends of those individuals. You would treat them the same as you would in a face-to-face environment: with respect.

+David Meerman Scott describes social media brilliantly in his book The New Rules of Marketing and PR. He likens social media to a cocktail party. You wouldn't go to a real event and start (spamming) feature-dumping and "buy my stuff" your business to anyone who will listen, even if you just met. Or would you? Or would you be someone hiding in the corner with your face to the wall, hoping no one will talk to you? That reflects the people who set up profiles and then never engage or visit their networks.

You will have the best time at the cocktail party when you take the time to say hello (connect), get to know other guests (see what others have posted, like and make a positive comment on their feed), and share good stories (make your own posts interesting and ones that will elicit engagement).

When it comes to working the networks to promote your brand, think like a content creator, not like a content consumer.

Do You Have A Name In Social Networks?

The Artist Formerly Known As Prince

Findability is something we should probably think about when we are picking a Twitter handle, Skype name, or Facebook page.

If you've ever been in Foresquare, you'll notice very few people use their full name. Add to the fact that a lot of them don't use their own image. It's just a tad frustrating when you are trying to find people to connect with--or if they try to connect with you.

Karen with the kitten avatar and no explanation--who the heck are you?

When a lot of us first joined Twitter, using a crazy name or a different avatar seemed kind of clever, in our own minds. The thing is, the longer you use it, the more connections you have, the more you are stuck with it. It doesn't always make sense when you switch your personal use of Twitter to professional later on.

It's the same with an email address.

If you set up your profiles in 2009, chances are it is too late to change. You are stuck with it. You can change your avatar, but not your name. They are all taken.

Why is this a big deal? (Hey, I'm no better. My other gmail is gridironchick.)

Lately, I cleaned out my two Twitter accounts, unfollowing a host of followings that were not serving me any value. (Their day-to-day activities about having a coffee and putting the kids to bed did not interest me as much as the meaty information and links I get from others.) That exercise took some time and the one thing I noticed was that identifying people was a crap shoot if they didn't use their name, their likeness, and especially if they did not post any information about who they were. Zap! If they protected their tweets, zap! Please. Anything you have to say cannot be that interesting that you have to put a lock on it. Stay out of social networks then and don't waste our time. Just saying.

It felt good to clean house and fine-tune the followers that were more specific to the purpose of each of my Twitter pages.

I'm using a similar philosophy in Google Plus. Instead of blanket following everyone, although I still do that to a certain degree, if someone is not giving me anything worth looking at, or continually posts offensive content, I feel no guilt whatsoever in zapping them.

However, if I've zapped someone I knew and liked because I couldn't identify them by their avatar or name, please accept my apologies.