I’ve spoken before about the social media “bubble”. You know, this warm and cozy place where all us Twitter-loving, high tech super early adopting thirty and forty somethings spend a good chunk of our lives. We have our own gurus, our special buzzwords, and our own geek-a-paloooza assortment of Dungeons and Dragons inside jokes and bad 80′s references written on t-shirts. Even though we pride ourselves on “openness” and “transparency”, you have to admit, it’s kind of a secret club. Oh sure, anyone can join, but they have to know the secret password (it’s “social media d-bag”).

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

You see, the whole POINT of social media is to create online communities of people with common interests. It just so happens that the common interest many of us have happens to be social media.

We sit inside the bubble, but it’s only one of thousands of bubbles. It just so happens that what goes on inside our bubble isn’t dog breeding, or photography, or banjo playing..it’s social media. And ironically, we’re using the very tools and strategies we love, to talk about the tools and strategies we love.

To an outsider, that must look pretty weird, eh?

There are a lot of people outside the bubble looking at us sort of cock-eyed, I think. They wonder why we yammer on all day about ROI, community building, and measuring sentiment. They visit our blogs to try to understand more, but the backstory isn’t there. It’s on 15 other web sites we’ve linked to, and if they haven’t been head-down reading Mashable and Gizmodo for the past three days, then the point is lost on them. Back to dog breeding, then.

The thing is, do the people outside the bubble care? Not as much as we think (and maybe hope) they do.

While we sit around discussing the merits of having a Fan Page on Facebook, they are probably opening up their flower shop for the day. While we have blogchats and webinars, they are building a house. While we debate iPads and Androids, they are creating policies for health care reform. See what I mean?

We live this stuff, because for many of us, it’s part of our job. My clients come to me because I know a lot about video, web design, and online marketing/social media/whatever you call it. They pay me to help them understand this stuff, just like I’d pay a contractor to build me a new fence when I need one.

There is one problem I have with the bubble, though. Some people are treating it like Fort Knox. They are doing this because they think that by keeping the walls high and inaccessible and staying inside of them, they get to have easier access to the money. And they figure, if they can keep their clients in the dark long enough, about “mysterious” things like Search Engine Optimization, RSS and WordPress, then they can milk more cash out of the wallets of the unsuspecting neophytes. It’s shameful behaviour and it needs to stop.

As my friend Kneale would say, social media ain’t rocket surgery. Yes, it’s a new way of communicating. Indeed, there’s a sea of information to wade through. There are myriad tools and new things to learn. But ultimately, the whole point of social media tools is that the tools are supposed to be easy to use. And they are. Just ask my Mom. She teaches me stuff about Facebook.

If you want to really help your clients, don’t try to convince them that this stuff is complicated. It’s not. Your clients shouldn’t be hiring you to teach them how to use LinkedIN. Nobody needs a $1000 weekend retreat to learn how to tweet. Social media consultants are a passing fancy. Your clients need your expertise in how to use all media to more effectively tell their stories. That’s it.

As for us bubble-dwellers, the best way for us to understand more what our clients need is to step out of the bubble once in a while. There are a lot of cool people doing a lot of neat stuff online, and many of them don’t even know that what they are doing is “social media”. They are just doing it. Social Media isn’t an industry. Social media are a way of communicating.

The bubble is a valuable place for us. It’s where we hone our craft, learn from each other, and geek out. That’s a good thing, my friends. But remember, there’s a whole other world out there. We should try to be part of that one once in a while, too.

[photo credit: Jeff Kubina on Flickr]

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I had a little conversation on Twitter with @SonnyGill last night. Sonny and I don’t chat that often, but we do float around in and out of each others’ radar sometimes. Last night we got to talking about our names. You see, Sonny confessed on his blog that “Sonny” is not his real name. I then confessed to him that “Suze” is not my real name either – it’s a nickname that my Dad gave me when I was a kid. Sonny then joked with me that it was my “personal brand”. And that got me thinking…

When I first got inspired to create my blog (after my trip to Podcamp Toronto in 2007), I raced home to Ottawa, hopped on WordPress, and the first thing it asked me for was a name. I was stumped. I thought, “Well I guess I should make it something sensible”. I tried Sue Murphy, Susan Murphy, smurphy, to no avail, of course, because my name is pretty common. So I thought for a minute, then just typed “SuzeMuse”. Suze, because of the nickname, and “muse” because I figured, well, my blog is going to be (mostly) written, so guess I’d better find my muse, and quick! I then realized that if I was going to be known on my blog as “SuzeMuse”, then I’d better be consistent. I went to a bunch of social network sites and got the username, and also bought the domain. Thus, and quite unintentionally, I might add, the “brand” of SuzeMuse was born.

There are a lot of people out here making social media, personal branding and online marketing much more complicated than it needs to be; to the point where it can be quite intimidating. Making social media work for you isn’t some mysterious secret. It doesn’t require you to be a technical wizard, a brilliant designer, or even a great writer. In fact, the only requirement to be successful in social media is to be…are you ready for it?

A human being.

Stop trying so darn hard. As my friend Kneale Mann says, “This ain’t rocket surgery!”…and I totally agree with him. That’s not to discount all the really smart people that are out here talking in easy to understand ways about social media and how it’s changing the game and making businesses think differently. Social media has fundamentally changed the way we connect with one another. But that doesn’t mean it’s complicated. I think it’s sometimes made out to be way more complicated than it needs to be. Ultimately, there’s really only one way to make all this social media stuff work for you. It doesn’t matter if you are a giant corporation or an individual doing your own thing. All you need to do to succeed in this space is to be yourself. It’s really that simple.

Make time to make it happen. People often ask me how I have the time to run a business, have a healthy marriage, spend time with my family and friends offline, AND work this whole social media thing into the mix. Well the truth is, I don’t actually consider it “working it in”. It’s part of what I do. It’s integrated into my day. I have basically two ways that I work it. I have chunks of time that are totally focused – like hanging out with my nephews or having dinner with my husband. I also have to be entirely focused for tasks like writing a big proposal or strategy. Those times, I am most definitely off-line. But other times, I take an integrated approach, like when I’m checking email or doing a tedious task like rendering video. At these times I tend to flip back and forth – chatting on Skype, popping into Twitter, or commenting on Facebook. I work both things together, and somehow, everything gets done. Does it make me less productive? Actually, I think it has the opposite effect. If I’m sharing what I’m up to, maybe I’m able to help someone else. If I’m checking in on what others are doing, maybe I can pick up something new. It’s all part of how I am just being myself out here.

Make no apologies. Ok, can we do something for once and for all? Can we STOP making such a big deal about making money? How many times a week do I have to listen to people defend themselves online for wanting to actually make a living? I remember Chris Brogan said once “I can’t eat a hug”. (I’m not actually sure where he said that, because dude’s everywhere).

Look – I love social media. I think it’s just great. It’s literally changed my life. Some of the best friends I’ve had in my life I know because I got involved in this stuff. But I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t doing at least some of this because of the opportunities it provides me to make a living. And I make NO apologies for that. Making money should never be your raison d’être for being here – people will find out pretty quick if you are are trying to gain their trust just so you can make a buck off them. But…there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be always looking for opportunities.

Connect with people because you see something in them that appeals to you. Some people will become good friends. Others may lead you to your next big opportunity. Some people may be both friends and opportunities. And that’s okay. If your intentions are good and you do that one simple thing (be a real person), then you’ll be richer in both your relationships and your pocketbook.

If you aren’t reading, you’re not learning. One final tip. If there’s one thing you can do right now to get ahead in social media, it’s to read. I am a voracious reader. I read almost continuously. Sometimes it’s 140 characters at a time, sometimes it’s 500 words in a blog post, sometimes it’s a whole book. But I have learned so much from so many smart people by reading. If I don’t understand something, I’ll first try to figure it out for myself. I’ll draw my own conclusions. Often, I’ll write about it on this blog – that always helps me to sort out my thoughts. I am infinitely curious about new media. I love to think about this stuff. And if I’m still lost? I have conversations. That almost always sorts it out. Read a LOT. Don’t just read what everyone else is reading. Read the stuff that you like to read. Read what you can relate to. That’s how you get ahead.

But most of all, don’t forget, it’s no more complicated than this….

The secret to success in social media is – be human.

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I’ve been thinking about spaces a lot.

There are many different ways we create spaces. There’s making emotional space, for your friends, your family, or that special someone. There’s physical space, as in the space you create for your home or your working environment. There’s the relationship between space and time, where you need to carve out the pieces and chunks of how you’re going to spend your time, and how much space you’re going to allot for all of the various things in your life.

We can’t survive (at least not comfortably) without striking a balance between all of our different spaces. Spaces are critical to our success as human beings.

Think about how you arrange the spaces around you. It might be the way your bedroom is set up to be most conducive to restful sleep. It may be how your desk is arranged so you are most productive. Everyone has different preferences.

For example, my desk is neat and organized, so I don’t often spend a lot of time searching for things. It’s a space that allows me to get things done. On the other hand, my car is messy beyond belief – but it is merely a tool that I use to get around, usually in a hurry, so for me, it doesn’t have to be organized. It’s a space that moves me from space to space.

How does this relate to online experiences? Well this is where spaces get really interesting. In the online world, it’s all about spaces. I have a space on Facebook, a space on Twitter, a space on this blog. I’m filling my spaces all the time with my thoughts, opinions, conversations, and questions. I’m being helped, and helping others inside of my space and inside of their spaces. In fact, the entire Web is just a series of spaces, all linked together. That’s fundamentally what makes it all work – spaces.

So you’ve got all these spaces, now what? Well, consider it like you’d consider your home. Some spaces are functional, like the kitchen. Some are beautiful, like your garden. Others are social, like your family room. But, it’s totally up to you how you use your spaces. Take Newfoundland, for instance – there, kitchens are functional, but they are also extremely social.

There are lots of social media “experts” out here who will try to tell you that Facebook MUST be used for socializing. LinkedIN MUST be used for functional, practical business stuff. Twitter is just fluff. Lots of people want to try and tell us how to use our spaces. Whatever you do, don’t listen to them. They are missing the point.

We are all responsible for creating our own spaces out here. We fill our spaces with the things we are interested in, are passionate about, things that are concrete…or sometimes we just fill them in with fun, silly stuff. Most of the time it’s a combination of those things. But the really cool part happens when we begin to let others into our spaces.

There’s abundant possibility in shared spaces. And this world out here, on the Web, is all about shared spaces.

So…what kind of space are you going to create?

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I’m watching with interest today a post written my my friend Danny Brown yesterday about a fake Twitter site. You can go read the post, and the comments if you like (WARNING: some of the comments contain some off-colour language).

This isn’t a post about the fake Twitter site, and it’s not a post about the silly comments it generated from the fake-Twitter site creators and their friends. This is a post about you.

In his post, Danny asks a very pertinent question – what if suddenly, someone took over your personal or professional brand (or your client’s) and started posing on social networks, saying all the wrong things, treating people badly or spreading untruths about you and your brand?

Think about it. You’ve worked for months, maybe a year or more, on creating a “social media” marketing strategy for your client. (Forget that you shoudn’t be creating marketing strategies focused on only social media, but that’s another post.) Then one day, a few Google searches reveal that someone is trying to damage you or your client through a fake ID, or a fake site. As Danny points out in his post, it would be pretty easy to do with the kind of thing the fake Twitter site was doing (it’s since been shut down, but that’s another story too).

The smart marketers are building contingency and damage control plans into their media strategies to counteract these kinds of threats. I’m not too worried about them. But the whole idea’s got me thinking on an even larger scale.

Forget impostors. What if suddenly, Twitter was gone? Or Facebook? Ning? WordPress? Sure, it’s unlikely these tools will just disappear. But what if?

Companies, agencies and individuals are putting thousands of dollars, hundreds of hours, and a ton of blood, sweat and tears into building their marketing strategies around a bunch of free tools, created by a bunch of people they don’t know. What strikes me is that people put all their faith into the tools without a second thought, but when it comes to each other, it’s about building trust and relationships over the long term. Shouldn’t we be subjecting the social media tools we’re using to the same kind of scrutiny to which we subject each other?

Why do we have so much faith that these tools are even going to be around next week, let alone next year? Who is to say that they don’t crumple under their own weight, get eaten up by some giant corporation, or simply, that something better comes along? All of these things are happening now – yet people still continue to focus all their efforts around the tools.

So what’s the solution? How do we stop relying so much on these tools and get on to the real work? Well, the good news is you don’t have to hire some fancy consultant to figure it out, because I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

Social media is not about the tools.

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I’m back!

Back in civilization, and back to my iMac, my 3G network, my Twitter, my blog. Don’t get me wrong – I had a wonderful Christmas, spending time with my in-laws in frozen, but beautiful Manitoba. We ate, and talked, and ate, and played cards, and ate, and opened gifts, and ate some more. It was all the best things about Christmas rolled up into one terrific week.

But, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss my beautiful, wonderful technology.

My husband’s family lives in a very, very small town 100km north of Winnipeg called Arborg. With a population of about 1000, scarce Internet, no cell phone service (at least not on your average iPhone) and a winter climate that brings back not-so-fond memories of my days in living in the Arctic, you’d think that a city girl like me would have run screaming out of there as fast as I could.

Of course, that didn’t happen, mostly because I’m really a small town girl at heart. Having grown up in a town not unlike Arborg, I am very at home in this kind of environment.

Ironically, during the 5 unplugged days I spent in Arborg, I learned a great deal about how social networks operate. Here’s what I learned:

Leadership is Vital
Every community necessarily has its leaders. The leaders are the people who blaze the trail for everyone else, and fight the tigers along the way. They are the ones who are infinitely helpful and kind and generous, even though it takes up a lot of their time and energy.

In Arborg, one of those leaders is my Father-in-law. He’s not the Mayor of the town, but from what I’ve seen, he probably could be. My Father-in-law is a waste management specialist. He runs a septic truck, which keeps him busy enough, but also is in charge of all the garbage collection for the town. That means at least once a week, he goes to everyone’s house and business in the whole town. And while he’s running around town, sucking tanks and disposing of everyone’s smelly garbage, they all talk to him, which means he probably knows more about what’s going on in Arborg than anyone else.

He’s a leader because he’s totally tapped into the network. Every day he comes home with a hundred stories about what’s been happening around town. Not only that, but he’s infinitely helpful. The day we arrived, he was off with another guy, delivering Christmas turkeys to underprivileged townspeople. During Christmas dinner, he took a call from someone having septic problems without batting an eye. He told them he’d get out to them as soon as possible the next day. He’s a good leader because he listens, and understands the needs of the people in his town. And then he helps in any way he can.

Here’s something to consider – what kind of leader are you being in your social networks? If you’re like my Father-in-law, you’re listening, understanding and helping. And then you’re doing it some more.

The Network is Thriving
I saw a bulletin board in the little motel we were staying at, and it was jammed with business cards. This board is Arborg’s social network.

There is a business card for just about every business in town on this little board. Hairdressers, insurance companies, home heating, jewellery, carpentry, you name it…it’s there. There’s no computer. No LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter. Just cards, tacks and cork.

In a town like Arborg, this really is the way they network. This is how they show each other what they do, and provide a way to get in touch. It’s a means of communication and connection and I suspect, even collaboration.

Here’s the thing – notice how each card is the same size. Nobody’s card is covering up anyone else’s card. They are all sharing the space equally.

One of the things I love about social media is that it levels the playing field. In this space, it doesn’t matter if you are an average Joe or a billionaire. Nobody cares if you are a rock star or a karaoke singer. Whether you are a famous comedian or just like to have a good laugh, you are welcome here. We are all sharing this space on equal terms. Much like the bulletin board network in Arborg, we are all able to contribute and show value to others. And together, we’re all able to succeed.

My point is – social networks have existed as far back as we can imagine. Today, we are fortunate to have this new, amazing layer of technology to help us scale it from our tiny communities to the entire world. This global scale means that we hold a great deal potential in our hands. We now have the power to do great things not only for the success of our communities, but ultimately for the success of humankind.

Having this amount power a the click of a mouse is huge. But, it doesn’t mean we have to act any differently or be anything else other than what we already are as human beings. Success in a small town not dependent on the latest tools, tricks, or techy toys, and success in social media is not any different. Like in small towns, it’s only really dependent on two things – strong leadership and a thriving network.

As 2008 comes to a close, and so many of us are eagerly anticipating all the amazing possibilities that the new year will bring, considering how we are operating in our social networks and where all this social media stuff is headed is vitally important to our progress.

What do you think the next step is?

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Today as I was doing my Christmas shopping, I was listening to Net@Night with Amber MacArthur and Leo Laporte (wow…listening to tech podcasts while Christmas shopping…I am SUCH a geek!).

My husband had called me and suggested I listen to this particular episode closely, and I’m glad I did. Leo and Amber had Don Tapscott, author of “Grown up Digital”, on the show. It’s a book I have yet to read (but fully intend to, now).

It was a thought provoking show. The three of them talked about what I call the digital generation…kids who are now in their late teens and early twenties, who have grown up never knowing a world without computers. The entire point that Tapscott makes is that we need to be paying very serious attention to these young people. They are the ones who are going to take Internet into the future. Long after us thirty and forty-somethings are retired (and I’m on a beach in Turks and Caicos), these are the people that are going to be changing the face of marketing, media and corporations the world over.

I’ve talked about this fact a couple of times before now. In this post a few months ago, I mentioned that today’s students are going to be creating the Web of the future. Their ideas and opinions should be taken seriously. After spending the past three months teaching 80 or so people who are part of this younger generation, I believe that even more strongly now.

I also talked about it with Danny Brown about the contribution that younger generations are making to the online world. I firmly believe that the young people of today are going to do things with this social Web that many of us haven’t even dreamed of yet.

The social media bubble is alive and well, in my opinion. The networks I travel in are typically made up of 30 and 40 something professionals, many in the marketing/PR/traditional media worlds. We spend our days and nights building relationships, being helpful to others, teaching, talking, branding ourselves, and explaining the usefulness of a plethora of tools to bosses, clients, seniors, the dog – whoever will listen.

Don’t get me wrong. There are so many people in this space who are brilliant thinkers, and are working very hard in a positive way to help figure this new medium out. They are doing exceptional things, and I want nothing less than to see this space be moved forward by their thoughtful leadership. What I am saying is that while we are out there trying to pump social media to corporations and business owners and media people, we should not forget about the digital generation. We need to pay close attention to  what they are up to.

Leo Laporte made a wise observation on the Net@Night show when he said that his teenage kids these days are more resourceful and well read than he was at that age. I think a lot of us feel that way, and with good reason.

What our generation has had to learn over the past 15 or 20 years about computers and the Internet, anyone under the age of 25 has always been exposed to. Don Tapscott says “it’s like air to them”. In other words, they’ve never had to live without it.

We talk and talk about how to explain social media to our clients, our grandparents, our bosses. We try to find the easiest way to describe Twitter, or blogging, or Digg. We struggle to come up with real metrics and ROI and all the rest. I wonder what would happen if we got 100 digital genners into a room and asked them to explain it? What words would they use? This isn’t “new”, “life altering”, or a “technological revolution” to them. This is their life. They live it every day. They don’t know life without MySpace, IM, Facebook, and YouTube. Sharing information and communicating online is second nature to them. It always has been, and more importantly, it always will be.

The problem is, social media is not second nature to us. It flips traditional way we were taught to communicate on its head. And that’s why we struggle with it.

If you’re at all interested in this social revolution that’s taking place, maybe it’s time you sat down and had a good talk with the young people in your life. They just might open your eyes to a new way of thinking about all this stuff. And they just might be able to help you take it to the next level, too.

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This is the first Christmas in 38 years that I’ll be away from my family. It’s kind of a weird thing, and I find myself feeling a little bit emotional about it. I am still going to be around family – hubby and I are going to Winnipeg to spend Christmas with his family. But the fact that I won’t be spending Christmas morning with my parents, and having dinner with them and my brother and his family, does change things up a bit for me. With this big change, I’ve decided to take this opportunity make some changes in the way I celebrate Christmas.

Less Stuff. I love giving people presents. However, I have always found the process of Christmas shopping to be quite stressful. I hate malls. I hate big box stores. I find other shoppers to be exceptionally rude in a lot of cases, which is ironic, given that we’re supposed to be all peace, love and happiness this time of year. I hate the fact that we are so consumed with the “stuff” of Christmas. Everyone is rushing around, spending all kinds of money they don’t have, because they feel some sense of obligation to be the one to get the biggest, best stuff. It makes me not want to bother with Christmas at all.

This year, I’m changing my tactic. First, I’m only going to buy targeted, specific gifts for people. Instead of buying each person 3 to 5 things that they won’t even remember in 3 weeks’ time, I’m going to get each person one, maybe two things that are really special, that I know they will enjoy. Second, I’m doing the bulk of my shopping online. This allows me to do two things – I don’t have to go to a mall and end up hostile and grumpy. I also find I am more strategic in my spending when I do it online. With these simple changes, I can take pleasure in giving again. This way, it’s not about the amount of stuff people are getting. It’s about the process of giving.

Enjoy the Simple Things. In fact, we are not going to be in Winnipeg proper for the holidays – we’re going to be in a town about an hour outside the city, with a population of 965. Yup. 965 people. My in-laws don’t have the Internet (gasp.) I am reasonably sure there is no Internet cafe or free wifi to be found in the town. What does this mean for me? No blogs. No Twitter. No Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instant Messaging. Oh, and did I mention no Twitter?

This too, is an opportunity. Between work and play time, I probably spend upwards of 7-9 hours online every day. Without the Internet as an option, I know already what I’m going to do. I’m going to relax. Read some books. Do some personal writing (like, in an actual notebook, with a pen). Listen to music. Sit with a cup of hot tea and stare out at the cold, windy Manitoba terrain and be thankful for the blessed life I have.

It’s Not Just One Day. Christmas is December 25th, but really, it’s just a day. As soon as I start to get a bit sniffly about the fact that I’m not going to spend that day with my parents and brother this year, I remember that we get to have two Christmases this year. When hubby and I get back from Winnipeg we will be having Christmas with my family. Just like always, except it will be a different day. I’ll still get to see my nephews’ excited faces when they open their gifts. I’ll still get to hug and kiss everyone and smile and feel good to be around them.

I feel as if the world has gotten so caught up in the commercialism of Christmas that we’ve really forgotten what this time of year is supposed to be about. It’s about taking a pause from our hectic lives, slowing down for a while and getting centred again on what is most important…our family and friends. It’s about reflecting on the year that’s been and what we have to look forward to in 2009. It’s about hope, and happy thoughts, and enjoying your life.

How are you planning to spend the holidays? What is most important to you this time of year? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments.

Photo by Across and Down on Flickr.

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There are still a lot of skeptics out there when it comes to trusting other people online. I speak with people all the time who are not involved in online communities. I ask them why they haven’t gotten involved. I get a lot of answers, but perhaps the most interesting response I get is that they don’t trust what they read in the social media space. In other words, they don’t believe that people are being genuine. 

This causes some concern to me, especially since I tend to find the opposite to be true. In my 2 + years of being involved in social media, I have only come across only a very few people who were truly misrepresenting themselves. 

I find it interesting that people have no problem meeting other people at a business meeting, a bar, a conference, or on the street and trusting those people right away. But take away the physical presence, and the story is entirely different. What is it about meeting people online that makes people trust less? It seemsthat if I can’t see you in 3-D, shake your hand, breathe the same air as you, then I can’t trust you. The truth is, I’ve met a lot more people face to face in my life that that I don’t trust than people I’ve met only on the Web. Some people who I’ve known only in person have been capable of great deception and misrepresentation – more than anyone I’ve come across online to this point. 

In fact, I actually think that meeting someone online actually gives me MORE reason to trust them. Why? Because online, people (the trustworthy ones) tend to exist in more than one place. That makes it much easier for me to verify their story.

Case in point: If I meet someone at a restaurant and they give me their business card,  I only have a very little information about them. Their name, their place of employment, their email address. Fact is, I don’t even REALLY know if the card they have given me is theirs (unless their photo is on it – rare). Sure, I can Google them when I get home, but what if their name is John Smith and they work for a giant corporation? Not so easy. 

However, if I meet someone on Twitter, I have multiple ways of verifying their story. I can see how many followers they have. I can ask some of those followers to back up the person’s story. I can check out the person’s blog, see who is linking to it. I can look at where they say they work. I can see pictures of them. Check their LinkedIN profile, their Facebook profile. I can get a pretty good picture in a very short amount of time from someone who has a reasonably broad online presence. I can feel as if I know something about them, have a sense of their honesty and then make a decision on whether or not they are authentic. 

The key to online authenticity is to have a certain level of saturation through many social networks. Here are some ways you can do that:

1. Don’t just exist on Facebook. Get your name out on other social networks, such as Twitter, LinkedIN, Plurk, identi.ca.
2. Consider starting a blog. Don’t have the time? Try Tumblr instead. 
3. Make comments on a variety of blogs. Be authentic when sharing your opinion in these spaces.
4. Be open to people getting in touch with you via email or on your cell phone.

No matter what, always be 100% authentic in your interactions. Don’t falsefy or exagerrate facts about yourself. Don’t want to share your marital or employment status online? Instead of fibbing about it, just don’t say anything. You absolutely have the right to share only that information you are comfortable sharing. 

In the end, it’s up to each of us to judge whether we find someone to be authentic or not, in person or online. If you are unsure of who to trust, the best thing you can do is get involved in the community and begin to listen to the conversations going on around you. You will figure out soon enough who you feel is trustworthy. And anyone who isn’t? That’s what the “Block” button is for.

What do you think? Is authenticity more of an issue online or in person?

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I’ve been reading a lot of blog posts and tweets lately about people being averse to “tooting their own horn”. And I’m not sure I really understand the aversion.

Ok, I know there are lots of spammers out there. I know there are certain types of people that seem to do nothing but shamelessly self-promote their wares. But I think that they are really in the minority.

The blogosphere, the Twitterverse, the Plurk Nation – they are all run by people. People who have something to say. People who want to have conversations, make connections, establish relationships. If we aren’t all out here “tooting”, then what are we doing?

When I update my blog, or my Twitter feed, or my Facebook page, am I not, in some way, promoting myself? Even if I am just saying what I’m up to right now, or I’m replying to someone, or commenting…that’s all promotion of myself, my ideas, my sense of humour…what have you.

I agree that there are good ways and bad ways to toot your horn. Here are a few things that I’ve learned about what I like to call “The Art of Shameless Self-Promotion”.

Admit it.
Louis Gray writes about disclosure and transparency on his blog. So does Chris Brogan. It’s pretty essential and important to consider. Sneaky tricks to promote your stuff are just that…sneaky. So, if you are going to shamelessly self promote, at least admit it! I’ve sent emails to colleagues and friends entitled “Shameless Self Promotion”. Even if they delete the email, at least maybe I’ve got their attention for a second and made them snicker. (Note that I said “friends and colleagues”. I don’t recommend sending these kinds of emails to people that you don’t have an existing, pretty solid relationship with. Make sure the people on your list have a sense of humour about this stuff.)

Be Subtle.
This may seem to be a contradiction to my last point, but it’s not, really. Self Promotion done well is a balance of putting it out there, but doing it in such a way that you are not putting people off. It’s kind of akin to giving someone a gentle tap on the shoulder to get their attention and grabbing them from behind in a giant bear hug. The gentle tapper says “I’m here, if you want see what I’m about”. The bear hugger says “Here I am! Here I am! No, right here! Pay attention to MEEEEE!” See the difference? So go ahead. Self promote, using all your channels, like Twitter, your blog, Facebook, FriendFeed, LinkedIN. Just make sure you aren’t too “in your face” about it.

Gauge Yourself.
Not sure if you are being too overbearing? Well for starters, if you are, people will let you know pretty quickly. Usually they will just start ignoring you, or blocking themselves from your line of fire. What it comes down to is common sense. Does it make sense to send out an unsolicited email to everyone on your contact list and all your Facebook friends and all your Twitter followers about your latest blog post? Of course not. Does it make sense to do a quick post to Twitter, and maybe a link on your Facebook profile? Sure. Why? Because the latter method is non-intrusive. It gives people a choice if they want to buy in to your self-promoting ways. And if they don’t? So be it. At least you’ve put the word out.

The #1 Way to Shamelessly (and subtly) Self Promote
I am surprised all the time by the new people that come across my blog. And you know the #1 way people find me? Through comments I make on other people’s blogs. Yup. Not through my Tweets, not through my Facebook, LinkedIN or anything else. I comment on people’s blogs. Probably 5 to 10 a day. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying go out and put inane comments on a bunch of blogs to get your name out there. What I AM saying is go out there and make a contribution to the community. Get involved in the conversation. Express yourself. If you do this with integrity, people will visit you because they are interested in what you have to offer. This is the give and take game of social media. And when you play it right, the rewards will be real and fulfilling.

So go ahead – toot your own horn!

Photo credit: Fiskfisk on Flickr.

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I was twittering with @GinnyK today, and she is in a similar predicament to myself. We both have many Facebook friends who have no idea what Twitter is. At least 3 times a week, one of my FB friends asks me “What the heck is Twitter?” This is because I am a complete geek, so that means that my Twitter posts automatically update my Facebook status as “Sue is twittering….”.

@martin_english just posted on his blog about a boilerplate explanation of Twitter that has been posted at Smart Mobs. So I’ve decided, for the benefit of all of my FB friends who read my blog (which is also automatically linked on my FB page every time I update) to copy the boilerplate message here, so now I can just point people to this post whenever they want to know what the heck Twittering is.

Hopefully some of them will join the fun, too!

What Twitter Can Do For You

Hey Facebook Friend,

I was thinking it would be great if you had a presence in Twitter [ http://twitter.com ]. In a nutshell, Twitter is sort of like the Facebook status update and IRC chat rolled into a single social application where people write, read and respond in real time. The result is a kind of live collective unconscious of all those you follow.

Twitter posts, AKA “tweets,” are 140 characters in length including links. Think of online news headlines and you get the picture. I think of Twitter as a [your metaphor here] “sensibility subscription” because it allows me to subscribe to other people’s ongoing thoughts and activities and share my own.

Here’s a great animated video by Common Craft that explains it all much better than I can. It’s called “Twitter in plain English:” http://www.commoncraft.com/Twitter

One of the most popular uses of Twitter is as a micro content delivery system. Tools like Twitterfeed allow you to configure an RSS of your latest blog posts, magazine articles, website content, news, social bookmarks, flickr photos, etc. to your Twitter profile: http://twitterfeed.com

BBC, WIRED, Boing Boing, NYT and many other publications use Twitter as a means of extending their reach and expanding their audience. Here’s the BBC feed: http://twitter.com/bbc

Many educators have done interesting things with Twitter as well. University of Texas media professor David Parry is a Twitter-teaching pioneer: http://academhack.outsidethetext.com/home/2008/twitter-for-academia/

And Howard Rheingold has the most extensive collection of Twitter links I’ve seen:
http://del.icio.us/hrheingold/twitter

Last but not least, here’s my Twitter …
twitter.com/suzemuse

If you were in Twitter, this is where you’d be:
Twitter.com/[your handle here]

Let me know if you’d like to Twitter. I’d be happy to help get you started.

Sincerely,

Suzemuse

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