Archive - Tools RSS Feed

Brogan’s Google+ for Business: How Google’s Social Network Changes Everything

February 6, 2012 in Book Review, Connecting, Tools with 0 Comments

I have been in social business as a guide sharing what I have learned about engaging, connecting and communicating with a digital world for almost a decade now. One person I continually learn from is Chris Brogan.  I’d say his book Trust Agents, co-written with Julien Smith, has influenced not only how I do business but also how I approach much of my world in an open and involved manner. When someone asks where they should start in digital communications, I hand them a copy of Trust Agents quickly followed by either  Seth Godin’s Meatball Sundae and/or Tribes.  I don’t even know how many copies I have gifted. So when Chris Brogan published his latest I quickly added it to my book stack.

Google+ Book

This last summer I got an early invite to Google Plus. At first I was skeptical of the tool. Google Buzz was for me a competed failure.
I even deleted all my Buzz posts after my streams ended up being saturated with spam and content irrelevant to me or my community.  After exploring and seeing the sharing and content tools I started to see it as potentially changing everything.  It contained in it’s functionality all I had wanted from twitter and Facebook.   Brogan had not published his book yet so like every other early adopter I had to go about exploring on my own.  Fortunately you don’t have to.  Chris has brought his excellent business acumen and social business skills to the new platform and walks both the seasoned online user and newcomer through all the aspects of Google Plus from sharing, profile creation to making original posts.  Best of all he invited many other professionals to share their experiences on the tool as well as some early stories of success.

For me Chris’s stories are the most valuable.  Stories are still rare because Google Plus has only recently been made made public.  I expect Brogan to release a new edition as throngs of users continue to join.  I highly recommend  Google+ for Business: How Google’s Social Network Changes Everything for anyone planning to use the tool for building community and engaging with customers.  Personally I am using the book as a reference text. Others who have already established social network platforms will benefit from the same use.  Those just now engaging will find it to be a valuable tool.  Brogan presents the material in a way that is very digestible in content and his methods that are easy to implement.

 

No way to compliment

January 20, 2012 in Company Culture, Connecting, Customer Service, Rants, Tools with 4 Comments

This week I had a great customer service experience while arranging for my warranty covered notebook to be repaired. That is not what prompted this post though. The reason I am writing this resulted to from the response the rep gave to a question at the end of our online chat.  I was a happy customer. My computer was going to be fixed and returned free of charge in 7-9 days. The rep had answered all my questions, was polite, and most of all human in their communication. As a result, I wanted to give them a shout out.  I asked how best I could do that via Twitter, Facebook or Google Plus.  The response was frustrating.  They told me that I should expect a survey shortly and I could reflect my satisfaction by filling it out. Ok, wow. I hate filling out surveys.  Likely it will in no way help out the rep that gave me stellar service.

This was not the fault of the rep.  As company leaders we have broken systems. The bigger the company the more broken they are.  What I understood from the end of my chat was that there was no way for a customer to compliment them. The rep had no channel or tool outside of a boring survey to give to a happy customer.  With engagement being the currency of today’s business economy HP appeared bankrupt. Unlike the rep I know that they could have said the following:

Oh, that is great?  Yes we have a Facebook page located at http://www.facebook.com/HP or you can mention this on Twiiter. Our twitter account is https://twitter.com//hp.  We are just starting out on Google Plus but you can engage there as well.

Everyone is learning in this ever changing social space. Customer service reps are the front line heroes.  If you have the power give them some as well.  Hire employees you trust and give them flexibility to engage as well as the training to do it well.

Tweaks in communications: Google Plus, Focus and More

January 16, 2012 in Connecting, Social Networking, Tools with 3 Comments

Last week my good friend Mary Breslin Nichols of Karmic Marketing asked me how I was managing post  on Google Plus (G+) as opposed to Facebook and Twitter.  Since before Christmas I’ve really cut back on my social media time and blogging mainly because I have been in the middle of a big game launch for Wind Up Robots (check it out as Gaming App of the Day on Kotaku and one of the Android Apps of the Week on Gizmodo last week). We also launched  Santa’s Giftship.  After all, if we do not ship we run out of anything good to share, right?

As I re-engage I have thought a lot about Mary’s question, not just in regards to G+ but all of my communication tools and practices.

This summer as I explored G+ as an early user I decided that it would be a good place to curate and explore my passion for technology, design and art (mainly as it pertains to tech and games and consumer mobile tech).

Twitter, since my first post, has an extension of my blog where I talk and discuss communications, leadership and company culture as well as publishing. Tech fits in there as many gadgets are meant to be communication tools.  There is much that I like to share that does not fit into that grouping.

For two years now I have curated many of my tech musings on my Huffington Post Blogger page. I try to keep those posts focused on the “bigger ideas”. G + seemed like the perfect place to daily seek out information as well as post what I find.

I think I came to this conclusion because Google itself has innovation and tech at its core. Google’s integration of so many tools makes it easy to share information via photos, links and video.  Add to that the power of hangouts, search, geo-location and you have a great tool.

Facebook is….well it is Facebook, a whole different beast. My personal account is for close friends (and yes I have a lot of them). Pages are where I can engage with devoted fans of the companies and brands I represent.

I do cross feed some of the information. If I do I try to tailor it for the audience and not inundate them with chatter.

Here is an example of my day on G+:

I usually check into some of my searches to see if anything relevant has happened over night. Then I read through the streams of some of my favorite tech resources, one of which is +Robert Scoble . Next I usually try to keep tabs on some of the brands that I work closely with like +Intel . I also track conferences or events as well. Right now +International CES (Which I am missing this year) and Mobile World Congress (I have not found an account or circle yet) are on my radar. For CES I have been watching Robert Scoble’s CES Circle.

Truthfully I am still thrashing to find the sweet spot here. It can seem like a jungle at times since Twitter is so familiar and has been a treasure for me. It will come though. Right now Chris Brogan ’s book on Google Plus  is helping me organize things greatly. I highly recommend it.

I post the most interesting things I find and try to personalize the message. I always try to attribute the person I found the information from. I am also trying to funnel the stories I find throughout the day.

And if you are wondering if it is worth your time as a business person I think yesterday’s example will be of value.  I commented on a post and the author responded back asking if I would mind being quoted in his article.  I obliged.  I soon found out that he is the Senior mobile analyst for PCMag.com, Jamie Lendino.  His article “Hey, Google: Here’s What Fragmentation Means” , largely built around my quote ended up being on the front of PCMag.com all day putting my two companies names Code-Monkeys and Soma Games in front of thousands of people.  This happens more often than you would think.  Just engage and be honesty. Put your best out there and build relationships. You will eventually stand out.  G+ is a great tool to get you there.

One last thing. I use G+ within Chrome while at my desk or on my MacBook Pro. While mobile I use my iPhone G+ app. I am still trying to find a fit for the iPad.

You can find me on G+ at http://gplus.to/johnflurry.

 

Some Things Shouldn’t be Automated: Authors Engaged Online Revisit

December 12, 2011 in Connecting, Publishing, Tools, Twitter with 0 Comments

For a long  time I have wondered how I could better automate a twitter list (Authors-Engaged-Online) I created out of one of my most popular blog posts: Chatting with Hemingway in your study .  This post explains why I created the list. A while back I created a paper.lithat pulled from that list and also sent out a message promoting the top story from that list (I am still not sure how it picked a top story).  Some people love it and I am glad it added value to your day.  Some people hated it.I realized something when I sat down today to dig into some ideas of how to better automate what my favorite authors say .  The number of Authors that actually do engage with their readers on twitter or any place for that matter is very small.  It really is a great resource.  Why then should it be automated?  If it is as valuable as I think it is then I should be the one picking the top story posted from that list.  I should be the first one who drinks from the well.

Some things just should not be automated.  So here is what I plan to do.  I will be pulling something everyday from that list (it may include something I found from them on Google Plus, their blog, Facebook or any other site they frequent, (or even their books!).  It will supplement instead of replace one of my regular blog slots on each day.  I will try to write a short summary of why what they posted is being highlighted.

So there you have it.  Instead of automating the list I have moved it up into something I touch everyday.  Why? Because I think it is that valuable!  I think you will too.

Why are you hiding?

September 27, 2011 in Connecting, Rants, Social Networking, Tools with 6 Comments

I just read probably one of the smartest assessment of the continued privacy discussion I have seen in a while. Brian Solis’ post found via friend Clay Hebert’s twitter  stream this morning, covers much of what I have written in regards to being responsible with our own privacy online. Brian says so much more. I love this one quote:

“it’s up to us to help another while taking responsibility for what we do and say online. At the end of the day, we can’t blame Facebook or developers when those whom we care about change how they see us.”

In the past I have written several times about privacy, with my Unboxed You post being my favorite right up there with my Privacy of Jesus post on Liquid Cloud 11.  I continually come back to this. I seek out a time where I am online the person you meet offline, meaning what I have to offer and all I stand for are the same as the person I am behind closed doors (or for you behind a Facebook ever-changing privacy curtain).  Out of who I am I hope to add not take away, strengthen and not weaken those around me. If I continue to filter, categorize and box I am really just posing a person unlike the real me. I know there are real concerns with safety and those concerns are valid.  But I believe there is a much more important issue here. What matters most is being honest with ourselves and others regarding our true selves. This is what probably drives Zucherberg hate the most. We fear lost control of the person the world sees as compared to the person we truly are.

A while back I was advising a company with their online presence.  One of the main employees who would be managing the Facebook page turned to me and said “ I am not on Facebook”.  Curious, I asked him why.  He replied “because I don’t want people (meaning employers and such) seeing pictures of me doing dumb things at parties”.  I had one reply for him “don’t do stupid things at parties”.  At the time I had one of those gut instincts about this person. Gavin de Becker writes about this (thanks again Clay for the book) in The Gift of Fear. We all have them. I should have acted on it. He turned out to be a criminal and had plenty of reason to keep his personal life hidden.  Do you though?

Wasting our words on folly

September 7, 2011 in Connecting, Social Networking, Tools with 8 Comments

Reading through blog posts and other platforms like Google Plus this week I began to notice something common.  When someone asks a valid question many of the responses just add nonsense to the comment stream instead of  answering the question or offer solutions.    Now let me be clear, I have done this as well. It really is just folly.  Like chattering, folly is described as lack of good sense; foolishness. Sometimes I wonder how many words are spent on it. It happens in blog comments, Google Plus, Facebook and in personal conversations on the phone or in person.  Do we adequately evaluate what we are saying before we say it?  What it would be like if we were limited to a ration of words a day?  How valuable those words might be to us?  I know I would dole them out with care and art.  Would we speak to each other in kinder ways offering value instead of filler?  One reason I love brevity is that it makes us think about the words we choose (or not).

I am thinking about the words I speak in valuable time with friends in any context or tool. I want to make them count, and not for folly.

She’s a communications manager! Now what?

August 31, 2011 in Connecting, Customer Service, Marketing, Social Networking, Tools, Twitter with 0 Comments

Today a friend contacted me with great news.  She was recently hired as a communications manager for an event center.  She has reinventing herself. So at the outset of this she asked what advice I could offer as she ventures out into this new space.

Not wanting to overwhelm, I decided to keep the first steps really simple.  So I shared these three principles: Listen first, engage, and most of all promote others.  Yes,  it is much more complex than that.  What I see too often is communications made too complex.   So here is how I broke those three down for her.

Listen:  Gather all the interested parties that exist in your business world (customers, collaborator/partners, vendors, champions, friends and colleagues. Never discount anyone as the contact database and scope is developed.  It is hard to gauge who will be a valuable contact. Sometimes the most unlikely ones will be the best.  Hangout where the community gathers, both on and off line.  Really learn about the community before you jump in.  Use tools like Rapportive to gather all the outposts they use.

Engage: Once you have a feel for the community, begin to engage and add value. Be sincere and open.  Don’t be afraid to take risks.  Some things will work and other won’t.  Only trying will tell.  Don’t assume that a tool like twitter is the one to use.  Fill the toolbox with what the community already uses.  Most of all give them a place to gather; preferably your home base (like a blog) where the attention gained can easily be guided to the things you want to offer.

Promote Others: Luckily this principle is a staple in the event business.  Other than just being a good practice because it is the right thing to do, you will become known for someone of value, someone to be connected to.

Please add more since this is an ongoing conversation.  I am so excited to see where she goes with it.

Where are you headed?

August 29, 2011 in Connecting, Social Networking, Tools with 2 Comments

Where are you going next?

I want to know whether it is a conference you are attending, a keynote you are giving or simply the coffee shop you plan to visit today.  Checkin tools like Foursquare, Gowalla and Google Places  (and yes Facebook) are great for telling others where we currently are (here is another post on why I use checkin tools). But how much better is it if our connections can know in advance where we are going.  I have used Tripit for a while to announce major trips I am embarking on.  This past week I started thinking of creative ways to make this more of a habit.  A few people have been doing this well on their sites with published calendars like Mary Demuth’s  speaking schedule and Peter Shankman’s public Google calendar.  I saw Gary Vanerchuck this week posted his calendar publicly through Plancast.  Forecast launched their Foursquare App which allows you to now announce where you are headed and post the estimated time you will arrive there.  I have been using it for a week now and really like it.

Beyond meeting up with connections it is a great way to get the word out that you speak, promote your own events as well as alert others to places and events that might add value to their own future.

So how are you telling others where you will be?

Choose Wisely Mr. Cameron

August 12, 2011 in Connecting, General, Publishing, Social Networking, Tools, Twitter with 8 Comments

Yesterday Britain’s Prime Minister announced that he has asked security forces to consider a way to limit the public’s use of social media sites as a way to curb or prevent rioting, looting and other thuggery. As soon as I heard this news I was at first shocked that a member country of the free world would even consider such a move. Yes, communication tools have been used to spawn horrible acts in the past, probably the worst in current history was the use of the media, both print and radio, to spread the Hutu’s message of ethnic cleansing across Rwanda in 1994.
Today with connectedness having become far reaching with tools like Twitter, Facebook and now Google Plus, we do have a greater responsibility in measuring the impact of our words and messages. But to go as far as limiting communication, in my opinion, turns what is a small event compared to genocide into a mark on the freedoms of the British people that will not be easily forgotten. Worse yet I think it shows a lack of understanding what social media really offers. For decades the media has been carefully controlled and even scripted by politicians and governments to execute policy-driven messages. The White house and Downing Street has for decades been very careful to share and suggest what images they wish the media to use and what sound bytes or speeches they wish to be publicized. The journalists that adhere to this policy are the ones given special access or first knowledge of breaking news. The ones that violate it quickly learn to adjust. (read more on how policy is shaped and controlled through the media. This article was written in 2005 and does not include the greater changes since the growth of social media). With new media though, there is no control over what is said. Large media companies no longer have the podium they used to have over blogs, celebrities and others that have risen in popularity. Events are reported as they happen through open channels of communication.

Before Mr. Cameron decides to give social media a heavy hand to curb thuggery, I hope he considers the true power he holds. Just as King George VI used the radio to calm his realm and prepare them for the battle that was before the nation, Prime Minister Cameron can choose to use the powerful reach given him just as it is given to every citizen he is considering silencing. I hope he chooses wisely.

LinkedIn got it right

August 5, 2011 in Connecting, General, Marketing, Tools with 4 Comments

It takes a lot to catch my attention through email. LinkedIn did it this week, and they did it well. They did a brilliant job in perking my interest in both my closest connections and their recent stories. As a professional networking site, most of us see it as an interactive resume. Users barely log in more than once a week or even once a month. On Wednesday I got a message that displayed a shot of several of my closest connections that have either changed jobs, started something new, or were promoted. During a time when bad news seems to be everywhere, LinkedIn got my attention by showing me something remarkably hopeful. Not stopping there, they made sure somehow that most of these people are more than just business connections. Each face in the picture comes with a great story.

I have posted recently on friends seeking jobs. I have created a twitter list honoring those who have left mediocre jobs to venture out into something new. I love stories about linchpins changing the world. Linkedin tapped right into that for me, and they even got me to click through “to find out more”.

Page 1 of 612345»...Last »