DISQUS

@gavin - Good Advice.

@Lost Werks - You really think it's "bad azz"?

@Damon - It would be a nice account to land. I just need to decide how much I like looking like the creepy guy at the party. ;)

@johnerik - I told them I was going to pool my social community to see if it was a good idea and explained that these are the type of things that can turn a social media campaign on its head. I think they're starting to understand how this all works after seeing these comments. It might be the best hands on presentation I could have offered them, so that they really GET it now and we can proceed with nothing but success.

@mark hankins - You're pretty much making it a sin for me to cut my mullet, now. ;) I'm trying to not be mean about it. I know they didn't realize what that question would mean to me.

@Barb - I'm glad you found some value in that post. Of course, anyone is free to use the information on this blog however they please. A link back to me never hurts either. :)

All great pickup lines, Lloyd. Although, I find I have more success when I program an animated avatar to present each pickup line via an ICQ chat room.

Or for that matter, a bad thing...

@Girl - You're right, it is creepy. I'm merely shedding light on the fact that social media is being used in ways that we might not realize on first thought. Whether the above story is fictitious or something that really happened to me is erroneous because the fact remains that this type of thing happens every day. I'm glad you voiced your opinion and I hope this gave you a perspective on social media that you might not have considered before. Regardless, I'd love to hear about ways that you feel social media can be a good thing.

@mark - Thanks for the words of encouragement, Mark! I will certainly let you know when I'm heading across the pond. I'm looking at April 15 - May 15, right now. Let me know if you have an in on a good, inexpensive house, flat, villa that might be available for a one month rental. Or if you know of a good resource to find one. I'll most likely be traveling with 3-8 people. Thanks!

@john - Oh, I'll mix it up alright! :) When should we party, I mean network, again?

Don't dog on Perez. Sure, his videos aren't that great, but how can you not like that guy. He serves up celb gossip on a golden platter and for that, I salute him! I had the pleasure of interviewing him at the SXSW '06 Playboy party and he really is a funny, nice guy with a keen eye for degrading celebrity news.

As for YouTube, the quality of video compression they have will never lend itself to higher quality videos. I think the business folks are flocking to Kyte, Blip and the like.

@Lewis - Listening is SO important! I'm glad you mentioned that, because it is equally important online and in the real world. Listening is the key to success!

@Mari - I wasn't sure if I was going to list #3 on my list, but I decided to go ahead, because I have made more of my "great" contacts standing outside among smokers, than any other place. I've gotten two huge promotions, while I was still in the corporate world, solely I believe, because I spent so much time on the patio with my superiors. Do I smoke? No way! But, I've found that hanging with that crowd is a perfect opportunity to have a captive audience for 3 & a half minutes.

That's a great idea about finding out what someone you meet needs. It goes back to the whole "listening" thing. It's so much easier to leave a lasting impression if you bring something of value to the table. Acting as a connector can offer that value, no matter what it is they need. Thanks!

Robert Scoble likes this post and getting on @scobleslinkblog is almost as good as getting xmas presents at your mom's house and then getting to do it again at your dad's! WooHoo!

<img src="http://www.whoisjonray.com/img/scoblelikesme.jpg" border="none"></img>

@Lewis - You're exactly right. Wouldn't it be nice if every time we interacted with a company they encouraged us to keep striving for our goals and asked how they could help us achieve them?

@Rodney - I think people are finally starting to understand 3, but you're right, getting anyone to follow through on 7 is like pulling teeth. But, everything has its learning curve and I'm sure most companies will eventually come around. I've found 7 is a lot easier to jump start if you can find someone within the company walls that wreaks of passion for their industry, technology, product, company, etc. Passion sells the human side and finding passionate people within a company makes it easy to display that without upper management cringing too much. I've submitted a guest post to Some Assembly Required on the subject of finding passionate people that should be up in the next day or so.

That's an interesting question. I, for one, have an HDMI cable that allows me to hook my MacBook Pro into my HDTV. I download the majority of the television shows I watch on iTunes and watch them when I please. That being said, even though I could just as easily, flip over to YouTube to watch videos there on my television, as well, I prefer to unplug the computer from the TV and watch those on the computer screen.

Perhaps, it's the interactivity of it all? I know that at some point I'm going to see something that makes me want to comment, so I like having the keyboard right in my lap for doing that easily.

I guess one of the big questions to ask is, "How much faster will our internet connections get?" I suppose another reason that I don't like watching online videos through my TV is that the low resolution of streaming media gets distorted on a bigger screen, which upsets my viewing experience. But, should my bandwidth and internet connection grow and get faster, allowing for a higher resolution stream, then I might consider watching those on the "big screen" as well...maybe.

Watching video on the TV just doesn't provide the same sense of interaction that watching video on the computer gives me. I've come to hold television as a medium that is disconnected from me. I can't email or call up any of the actors on the phone and ask them a question about the show. Thus, I sit back and enjoy the content for what it is. Online video, on the other hand, allows me the opportunity to interact with actors, directors, writers, producers, etc. Because that opportunity is given, I like to take advantage of it. So, I watch my online videos with computer in lap.

Would a wireless keyboard change all of this? Good question. I don't know, does Apple make one? When I was a kid I remember using WebTV and I thought that was going to be the wave of the future. I guess the future wasn't ready for it, what ever happened to those guys?

And yes, in the paragraph above, I referred to my own question as being a good one. : )

Thanks, Connie!

UPDATE: Perhaps I'm just lazy? I'm going to look into purchasing an iTV, only because I'm starting to think that maybe the only reason I'm not watching online videos on my TV is because I currently don't have the wireless technology that would make this possible without my having to get off the couch. I'll get back with you on this. Yikes, was everything above just a lie to mask my own laziness?

UPDATE2: I guess what I should have added was that the reason the strategy in the above post would work, I think, is the ease of use in accessing the videos (via remote control) and seeing them in full resolution (we would ask content providers to mail in original files/raw content). Should the web make its way around to providing that type of resolution and ease of use on my television, I'll certainly watch videos, short films and any other amount of content from the comfort of my my jammies, while curled up with popcorn and cocoa.

@jrf - Thanks for the clarification! That's a great technology you guys are installing.

@Lisa - Agreed!

@Bob LeDrew & @chrisbrogan - I like the idea of having some kind of graphical representation of all the ideas and thoughts out there on the web. Jonathan Harris (http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/144) has created some compelling applications that do just that by giving the data on the web visual representation. Visit these two projects to see what the web's visual footprint looks like, they are fascinating and I would love it if this was the model for the future of how we visualize data online:

We Feel Fine-
http://www.wefeelfine.org/

Universe-
http://universe.daylife.com/

@Maria - Twitter is a form of "micro-blogging" that allows you to communicate with a pool of people in messages that are 140 characters or less. It can be used as a way to see the "behind-the-scenes" of your favorite blogger or to find answers to questions from a pool of like-minded contacts.

My question is this:

Which is more valuable? To put out many videos of average quality, or a few videos of exceptional quality?

And, for the record, I think each has its place. But, I find myself torn. As an HD Video Producer, I only want my best video work online. But, as a marketer, I want to talk into my MacBook Pro 24/7. How does one deal with this predicament?

@francine - I'd love to hear your thoughts and see how you plan whittle it down. I think the general consensus is that it should be shorter in length. Looking forward to see what you come up with!

@Rayan & @DefogMyBlog - I'm going to rewrite (edit) and cut back a bit and see if I can get it to be a little more concise. Thanks for the feedback!

@DefogMyBlog - That's an interesting idea. I have already recorded the audio, as I was going to start editing video to the audio track. I'll have to listen to it without any visuals and see if it is cohesive enough to go out there as audio alone.

Great feedback, thanks!

Wow! 100 posts from Chris Brogan on helping you grow the value of your social media and social networking efforts? It's like winning the lottery!

As you're compiling post ideas, I'd love to hear your thoughts on how social media sites are more valuable when working with one another, as opposed to competing for market share. Obviously, the ability to add and develop applications keeps Facebook relevant and means that everyday there are great new features. I can import my RSS feed, Flickr, draw data from my website, even open my MySpace profile within Facebook.

Moving forward, do you feel that 3rd party applications working within popular social networks will become as common place and necessary as a company website is now? If so, what makes a good social media application? Is it enough to create something that engages conversation, or should it serve some sort of mechanical purpose, as well?

As always, you rock!

-jonray

@DefogMyBlog - Be sure and let us know if you have any other insight once you read it again. Thanks!

@BeckyMcCray - Thanks for taking the time to hear my long thought out!

@VergelEvens - You're absolutely right. The second people catch wind of your content and start to like it in mass numbers, your price of doing business can get out of hand quickly. That's what's so amazing about all the free tools out there. They cut out all of the massive bandwidth fees. Thanks for sharing!

Your point is accurate, in that it is hard to make any significant money directly off of a viral video. But, think about your viral video campaign in the same fashion that you think about a commercial campaign. A well structured, compelling viral video campaign can bring invaluable brand awareness, which can then lead to an increase in sales, depending on your end goal for the campaign.

You're right, though. I don't see very many people getting rich off of viral videos.

Enjoying the blog!

As always, great post, Chris!

One thing that I will add, which I think is important, is to be consistent in your message and communication.

I've recently taken on a lot of projects and moved into a new office. Due to these factors, I have stopped blogging as often and have had infrequent, jumbled posts. I feel that the valuable conversations I used to have with peers and clients have significantly decreased because of this.

I'm trying to correct that, because I've learned the hard way that an open stream of communication is always good for business, no matter how busy things get.

Thanks!

@thom - Good point. You're your own best advocate! Thanks for sharing!

@marius - Kyte.tv does not give me a proper embed code when I click on Embed This TV. How do I get around this?