DISQUS

I can see where it doesn't matter as much for someone like you, Chris, who already has a massive following, and uses a top shelf blog (with your name as the URL) to host content. People will always be able to find your Facebook page, from your blog, from your Twitter account, etc.

But for the average Joe or Jane trying to carve out a little world in social media, it makes a lot more sense to use - if they can - an easy to search/find/remember Facebook URL.

Your points about content are of course valid. But this little experiment of yours is a marketing tactic, and nothing else. If you simply grabbed Facebook.com/chrisbrogan, where's the big news in that today???

cheers :-)
http://www.facebook.com/jeffcrites

Interesting. And there's even more evolution in this space than most are aware. Present.ly (Yammer competitor with SaS & behind firewall products for Corps and Orgs) launched a public facing 'microblogging community for professionals' (http://www.presently.com) at SXSW yesterday. As Linkedin is to Facebook, Presently.com is to Twitter.

JIm's spot on. People are using new software called 'Hummingbird'. I read one users post instrucing his minions on how to use this Twitter cancer to quickly build massive followings. Basically, w/ Hummingbird, you manually choose a Twitter account, and the software automatically follows everyone that person is following. The post instructions said "wait 24 hours, then unfollow (I assume it's an automated, easy feature) anyone who hasn't followed you. Lather, rinse, repeat".

Obviously, people w/ larger follow/follower numbers are being targeted. Once that 2,000 barrier is breached, there's nothing to stop these asswipes from having 10, 20, 40,000 strong spam/junk peddling accounts. I still hand check each new follow, and am blocking anything suspicious, which is about half the activity now. It's a flood, it's a pain in the ass, and I fear it will only get worse.

This is just my own experience and observations ... but you fell off my radar when you joined FastCompany. As much as I LOVE their magazine (a subscriber) I rarely visit the website or catch FC videos. I"m sure you have outstanding content there ... but it never bubbles up on my radar. One of those rare things where I enjoy the traditional platform (magazine) more than the web version. I'm connected to thousands on Twitter, and I rarely see anyone chatting about FastCompany.com or FastCompanyTV.

That being said, I think your departure from FC will free you up to do what you do best ... be that free bird advance social media/technology scout and early adopter that pops up on everyone's radar.

Suggestion: I know you adore Friendfeed and cannot understand why everyone isn't as smitten as you are ... but you should tweet more. It's where so many newbies to social media begin their journey, and you scooted away before it hit its stride. Twitter dominates the news buzz cycle for good reasons. Friendfeed does not, and never will IMHO. It owes any success to Twitter, and that's pretty much a one way street. People do not discover Friendfeed first, then discover Twitter, do they? {begin quoting Friendfeed growth rates ... now:-}

Good Luck!

If you want a peek into the collaboration culture at Cisco, read a recent Fast Company article about CEO Chambers and the innovation shift there. Great stuff: http://bit.ly/sdfJj

@BrickandClick on Twitter

Put this another way: automated software that enables creation of unlimited (and crappy/spammy/worthless) Twitter accounts could be the issue. And if the spammy/fake accounts are automatically following the biggest 'real accounts', like Techcrunch, and those real accounts are set to auto-follow any new followers, then it makes sense that the big accounts will fatten up with all of these new, auomated accounts. My point: this is not necessarily an attempt to create an inflated follower count, as it is the proliferation of automated software created accounts spreading like a very bad disease.

@BrickandClick on Twitter

Have to disagree. A USAToday article valued/estimated Denny's total media exposure from the giveaway at about $50 million - a huge ROI - which combined with an opportunity to connect or reconnect with hundreds of thousands of consumers ... was a brilliant marketing strategy, in my humble opinion. I'm an iHOP guy who nearly forgot my local Dennys existed. I'm reminded now, and willing to give them a shot at my dining dollars. That being said, they have a tough job ahead to steal me away from iHOP :-)

An example of the way I use new media ... as a business marketing tool and as a citizen journalist ... is when I attended the TwinTech parties in Washington DC last year, which brought together traditional business and new media/tech folks (next one is Jan. 22, 2,000 expected: http://twintech3.eventbrite.com/). Armed with a Nokia N95, I sent out mobile Tweets and pictures via Brightkite, which were cross posted to Twitter as well. Then I went to mobile video mode with Qik. Sarah Lacey was on her 'user generated book tour', and I was able to do a short, lively 'live' mobile video interview with her. I was the only one at the party shooting Qiks, and was more than happy to have that edge and use it as a great conversation starter.

When I was in radio, we always talked about missed opportunities. So much happens each day, it's hard to cover it all. But when you have the opportunity to be at an interesting, newsworthy event, it's fabulous that new technology and social media channels like Twitter enable anyone ... literally anyone ... the new army of Prosumers (consumer producers) to capture and deliver news and content ... and more importantly, start that immediate conversation.

Yes, it also means a lot of noise and a very large echo chamber. So what. Power to the People.

@BrickandClick

I find it strange that Scoble did not find his 'Yogurt shop reporting' worthy of more than a Friendfeed mention, seeing that your post is near the top of Techmeme.

This topic obviously needed a strong, venting post to allow a massive comment stream to clear up once and for all the general feeling about Auto DMs. I have never used them and can tell immediately when receiving one that's it's a robot. I respond to people personally even though it takes more time, because I want to start convesations off the right way. But let me add this food for thought, while we're engaging in an Auto-DM smackdown:

1) assume the best in many folks, especially people new to Twitter. There are plenty of people with good motives who've used Auto DMs (some have commented in this stream). It takes time to learn the ropes ... so give folks a chance to learn best-methods. Some Auto DMs, however, are clearly over the line. Some know exactly what they're doing ... treating everyone like numbered cattle to be prodded with "money maker" pitches after reading a MLM ebook on "how to get 2000 followers in 30 days". Don't follow, ignore or BLOCK.

2) Chris ... I think you could've made your points in this post without posting pictures of all of the people in their Auto-DM examples. Even though you crossed out Twitter names ... one DM in particular looks harmless (though I agree Auto DMs are offensive in general). To post a guy's pic who sent you a note saying "thanks for the follow, message me to chat, and I look forward to tweeting with you" ... is over the line IMHO. That guy might be mortified to be spotlighted in public like this (pictures are recognizeable) ... when his intentions might've been all good, while his methods not so good.

I'm as fed up as the next person trying to wade through all the spam crap and auto DM link pushing. But I urge caution ... so we don't strut around acting like everyone who joins Twitter should instictively or instantly know all the 'rules'.

Finally. Been waiting for this for months. Thank you Twitter.

I'm sure there were those who looked at GM's 'insurmountable market share lead' years ago and thought there was no way they'd be in the position they are today. But Honda and Toyota, steadily, have done what Apple has done ... they've become as Robert puts it, "thought leaders" in the automotive industry, and their products over the years has inspired an army of passionate consumer evangelists.

Nokia has some wonderful products ... I have an N95 and nothing compares to its video capability ... but it can't touch the iPhone in terms of bringing the 'full web experience to life'. If the iPhone had the video and picture ability of my N95, I'd trade for it in an instant. Right now, I feel like I need both to have everything I want in terms of mobile capability.

I agree with Robert. Nokia better 'bring it' this week (and every week from here on out) and understand that if it wants to take a fat share of the North American market, it needs to create revolutionary products that inspire passion. On a side note, ask a hundred people in the U.S. what 'Ovi' is and 98 won't have a clue. It's Nokia's 'portal to the web', and it hasn't caught on here. Perhaps it's because Ovi means 'door' in Finnish, and the translation, like the portal itself, is lost on us. Nokia has a lot of work to do to make itself known in North America, the way it's known around the world, as a mobile leader.

Spot on with your post. I'm a Godin fan, he has unique insight into marketing and the new 'empowered consumer'. But any advice he has for me regarding my daily use of social media, especially Twitter, falls on deaf ears. Same goes for Scoble. He's moved on to Friendfeed, which has no pull for me. For now, and for the forseeable future, Twitter is THE place to meet people, learn things, and hopefully pass on some worthy insight as well.

http://Twitter.com/BrickandClick

Scott Monty: agree with Robert that's it's great to see you here on a Saturday engaging and informing and listening. I can't imagine an American not rooting for Ford and the other auto makers. We WANT you to succeed.

Scott Monty: agree with Robert that's it's great to see you here on a Saturday engaging and informing and listening. I can't imagine an American not rooting for Ford and the other auto makers. We WANT you to succeed.

Pollution is one thing, Global Warming another. China's a great example of non-regulation of industry crippling air quality. One of the reasons I chose Honda years ago: low emissions, in addition to knowing I could drive it 300,000 miles and get high gas mileage. Ultimately, the car cost less to drive (a wallet decision) and spew less pollutants (an air quality issue, but not a Global Warming decision). No one will convince me to make a purchase out of some feeling of Green Guilt. But when I can make a decision that first and foremost is based on safety, price and quality, and also is a good Green choice, great.

I care deeply about the air I and others breathe, and get angry when a dump truck passes spewing a thousand times more than my car ever will. And does anyone know that inefficient shipping design (looking for article link, it expired on Yahoo/PR Newswire) is estimated to waste more than 4 million barrels of oil per day? 5% of the world's daily consumption. All of those massive container ships and tankers are horribly inefficient, and the industry knows it.

As far as Global Warming, since it's been raised in this article and is a key driving force behind gas tax, anti-offshore drilling, anti-coal thinking, etc ... I encourage you to read the abundance of material offering a different perspective on the causes (not all under our control) of environmental change, and that recent data shows we may actually be entering a long term period of Global 'Cooling':
http://tinyurl.com/6x6k2j (one example)
http://tinyurl.com/4pf8l3 (another)

Making fuel efficient vehicles, especially plug-in hybrids powered by an electricity grid powered by Nuclear energy, should be a top priority. But let's not forget the same focus on trucks, ships, etc., that pound for pound spew much more pollutants and get much worse mileage than cars.

Of course I think we should invest, on infrastructure, etc. But I believe in tax-cutting to incentivise, not tax punishing to 'change behavior'. No one needed to push me to change my behavior. I've been making the best decisions I can, based on family needs and personal beliefs, and the last thing I can afford right now is Big Gov't stepping in and taking more money I don't have out of my wallet. It's ironic that the current low gas prices will actually spur sales of larger cars and SUVs, the ones that are highly profitable to Detroit, and it will allow people to get more for their trade-ins if they want to downsize to smaller cars. So low gas prices actually HELP Detroit, but that doesn't fit a worldview that hates anything carbon and embraces the most dire Global Warming models at the expense of people being able to pay their bills. (it's friggin freezing in DC by the way, but I digress :-)

I think the gov't causes far more problems that it solves. For it to tax more and make decisions based on special interest groups and particular industries is the worst thing for our economy. It was happy to print more money and write me a stimulus check to cover the high cost of energy. Huh??? Surreal.

I believe in the free market and entreprenuerial American spirit. That's what made Detroit great years ago, and it'll make it great again if we unleash it. It's tethered right now by high corp taxes, unaffordable pension benefits, brand damage dating back decades, idiot CEOs/execs and gov't meddling.

I agree we have to end our dependence on oil eventually, and I look at it as a national security issue. But until a viable alternative that's affordable arrives (plug in electric hybrids my favorite near future vehicle), it's not fair to say to low/mid income Americans "we're going to take $1200 out of your pockets in a gas tax" right now. Some of us can't afford it.

I've driven low emission, high mileage, high quality Hondas (Civics) for years. Honda's a great example of what's right with an automaker. They happily met California air standards (exceeded them) without a fight, and were Green before it became a business trend.

American car makers still have a few years to rebuild their brands. I'm not going to buy something to please someone or to keep someone working. I"m going to purchase a product that best serves my family (cost, affordable to maintain, long term purchase, low transpo $$). And so far, that's been Honda for me. Hondas, which incidentally, are built in Tennessee by American workers using top notch Japanese assembly line techniques.

I agree with much of the innovative thinking in your post. I do not agree with a gas tax. We're all enjoying some relief in this crappy economy, and the last thing we need is for Congress to put the screws to us and make transportation more expensive. Some of are doing all we can, driving cars w/ great MPG, etc, but do not live near public transpo. Don't punish us with higher gas prices to 'change our behavoir'. And if someone chooses to drive an American made Suburban, needs/wants a big vehicle (safety anyone?), that's their choice.

It's interesting that Japanese carmakers Honda and Toyota are expanding their U.S. plants and hiring more workers in this crappy economy. They can do this because they've been making superior quality (low mileage/emission) cars for many years, and their pay per worker, including benefits, is about $45 per hour compared to the UAW's $72+ per hour per worker.

The main problem many of us have with 'bailouts' is that we're giving our money, our tax dollars, to businesses that have huge benefit/worker obligations, are not competitive, and have made poor decisions (like you've noted). Who likes to reward bad decisions???? Same reason a majority of Americans don't like housing bailouts that reward people who took on more than they could afford.

All of that being said, you have very good insight into why none of us should be happy about the thought of American auto manufacturers going under. We want our brands to succeed. And we need our brands to succeed. But I need to hear the UAW make immediate concessions to make this viable. Along with the corp jets and excessive white collar salaries.

Good post, Robert, good conversation that needs to take place.

INNOVATION! No reason we can't be the best at it, in any industry.

Robert, you're certainly watching the various canaries in the coal mines out there. I'm trying to remain hopeful, while trying to figure out the best way to re-tool the message and maximize efforts to serve potential and existing clients in a rough market.

I'm a huge fan of Open Innovation. I'm wondering if this might actually be a time period where crowdsourcing and innovation platforms could thrive, with the ranks of talented (recently laid off) freelancers swelling, and perhaps eager to pitch ideas and solutions to businesses that still need them. An inexpensive crowdsourcing platform might be just the medicine for some businesses and some freelancers. Thoughts?

I'll be visiting the careers website shortly. This is one of those 'once in a purple moon' opportunities.

Thanks for the interview, Connie. It's always great to chat with like-minded folks. We're both in the business of helping businesses 'get connected'. And that's what Open Innovation is all about, getting companies to open themselves up to their customers, employees and clients for feedback and innovative ideas. Social Media and Open Innovation intersect ... and at that intersection is conversation (and most importantly, listening!) I am compelled to preach the business virtue of 'listening' to customers each day. Thanks again for the opportunity to chat and connect with your audience.

Jeff

Oh my friend how right you are. As a frustrated Verizon customer who's endured countless calls to reps in India, and who now cannot access customer service because I forgot my password. They won't let me chat, even though I'm calling from my Verizon landline and holding my Verizon bill with account number in front of me. Is there a more loathed industry than the Telcos? Consumers are knocking, and many companies won't truly listen or engage in proper fashion. Resistance is futile, Verizon. Listen to Howard and countless others, or whither away.

http://twitter.com/JCrites for my Manga Me

I find I spend less and less time on and worrying about what the A list blogs say, unless it's a unique post about something I find personally relevant.

I love discovering new ways normal folks and real businesses are using new technology to improve life and business. Robert, you're one of the lead scouts, a kid in an expanding candy store with the ability to take the complex and simplify it for non-geeks ... explain how tasty and challenging that new jawbreaker is.

Most interesting thing I did today, besides spend time with a client and discover ways to bring her dreams to life, was enjoy Chris Brogans Webinar on 'Who Owns the Brand'. Watching live video discussions interlaced with real-time Twitter questions and comments ... centered on a rally interesting topic ... now THAT was an hour I"m glad I spent in front of my computer.
And tomorrow, I"m going to interview an ice cream shop owner, use my Nokia N95 to do some Qik-ing (learned that from you Robert), post about his secret sauce, why people are so passionate about it. Can't wait.