Top 10's and Other Lists

Ten PR People to Follow on Twitter

A recent post over at ProBlogger offered an excellent overview of 10 people that new Twitter users should follow. Admittedly, it consisted of the usual suspects, but then when the suspects are so good it’s hard to complain.

A conversation with one of my Twitter friends Lizz Harmon raised the question of which public relations-type Twitter users would make an equally good list for people to follow. Sources of great information for both PR professionals and interns alike. So, in no particular order, here is the list of 10 PR People to Follow for anyone interested in PR.

Beth Harte. One of the earliest adopters of Web 2.0 and social media benefits, Beth offers an excellent voice in PR and currently teaches public relations, marketing and more at Immaculata University.
Todd Defren. The Principal of Shift Communications, Todd is also the founder of the social media press release and an influential voice in Web 2.0 public relations.
Lisa Hoffmann. Lisa is the Chief Copywriter at PRstore and is vocal in her support of combining social media, PR and communications.
Lizz Harmon. Far from inclusion just because of her suggestion of this list, Lizz would make any PR list on Twitter. President of HarmonTampa Public Relations and another key social media proponent.
Dave Fleet. Dave is a Senior Consultant for Thornley Fallis Communications and has an extensive background in PR and communications. Always an interesting conversation.
Dana Willhoit. With a background in news journalism and lead press release writer for The Press Release Site, Dana offers an invaluable view from both sides of PR.
Joan Stewart. Otherwise known as The Publicity Hound, Joan is one of the foremost voices in PR on Twitter and an excellent source of useful Tweets and opinions.
Brian Solis. Principal of FutureWorks PR agency and owner of the industry-respected PR 2.0 blog, Brian is one of the key voices when it comes to social media and PR.
Sarah Evans. Director of Communications at Elgin Community College, Sarah has recently begun guest authoring at respected website Mashable.
Jason Kintzler. Founder of PitchEngine, a social media newsroom that’s fast becoming one of the go-to resources for social media press releases.

Like any list, this one is by no means exhaustive and I’m sure there are others just as worthy of a place on it. However, as a mix of PR professionals and services for anyone in PR (or interested in it), it’s not a bad starting point, though I’d love to hear who you would have on your list.

Of course, if you feel like following me, please feel free to join me on Twitter. 😉

The 12 Days of Social Media Christmas

Yes, I know, there are still 5 weeks until Christmas. But it never stopped the malls and stores from hawking their wares back in August! Besides, it usually gets pretty hectic for me from hereon in so I figured I’d do this now before I either forget or don’t have time.

And who doesn’t like a nice Christmas song? So, without further ado, I give you the 12 Days of Social Media Christmas song. Enjoy.

On the first day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
The Twitter bird in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Two Magpie tweets,
And the Twitter bird in a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Three Brogan blog posts,
Two Magpie tweets,
And the Twitter bird in a pear tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Four Facebook apps,
Three Brogan blog posts,
Two Magpie tweets,
And the Twitter bird in a pear tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Five brand new friends,
Four Facebook apps,
Three Brogan blog posts,
Two Magpie tweets,
And the Twitter bird in a pear tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Six BackType comments,
Five brand new friends,
Four Facebook apps,
Three Brogan blog posts,
Two Magpie tweets,
And the Twitter bird in a pear tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Seven Scoble gadgets,
Six BackType comments,
Five brand new friends,
Four Facebook apps,
Three Brogan blog posts,
Two Magpie tweets,
And the Twitter bird in a pear tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eight gains on Technorati,
Seven Scoble gadgets,
Six BackType comments,
Five brand new friends,
Four Facebook apps,
Three Brogan blog posts,
Two Magpie tweets,
And the Twitter bird in a pear tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Nine Yahoo Buzz ups,
Eight gains on Technorati,
Seven Scoble gadgets,
Six BackType comments,
Five brand new friends,
Four Facebook apps,
Three Brogan blog posts,
Two Magpie tweets,
And the Twitter bird in a pear tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Ten MySpace Tom’s a-leaping,
Nine Yahoo Buzz ups,
Eight gains on Technorati,
Seven Scoble gadgets,
Six BackType comments,
Five brand new friends,
Four Facebook apps,
Three Brogan blog posts,
Two Magpie tweets,
And the Twitter bird in a pear tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eleven front page Diggs,
Ten MySpace Tom’s a-leaping,
Nine Yahoo Buzz ups,
Eight gains on Technorati,
Seven Scoble gadgets,
Six BackType comments,
Five brand new friends,
Four Facebook apps,
Three Brogan blog posts,
Two Magpie tweets,
And the Twitter bird in a pear tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve more SM months ahead,
Eleven front page Diggs,
Ten MySpace Tom’s a-leaping,
Nine Yahoo Buzz ups,
Eight gains on Technorati,
Seven Scoble gadgets,
Six BackType comments,
Five brand new friends,
Four Facebook apps,
Three Brogan blog posts,
Two Magpie tweets,
And the Twitter bird in a pear tree!

Happy (early) Social Media Christmas everyone!

5 Things You Never Knew About Me

Hopefully the title of this post hasn’t already put you off – it’s not a vanity thing, honest!

Instead, it’s the result of a blogging theme currently doing the rounds. Initiated by Dominick Evans – whose blog is a pretty inspirational and interesting read – it’s meant as a way to share some facts about yourself and then tag other blogs that you read.

While I’m not normally a big fan of lists, I thought this particular one was a great idea. Not only does it let you know a little more about me (which may not be all that interesting – you have been warned!), it also lets me introduce you to some bloggers who you may not be aware of, but are definitely worth reading.

So, without further ado and with thanks to Barb Chamberlain for tagging me in the first place, here we go!

I met my wife Jacki online. Not via the usual online dating sites, but via our mutual appreciation for a band. The band in question is Dashboard Confessional, and we were both members of the fans forum on Dashboard’s website. I had written something about Scottish bands, and with Jacki having Scottish roots in her family, she emailed me asking if I could recommend any more. What started out as innocent email conversations turned into Instant Messaging turned into phone calls turned into love. I flew to Canada to be with her and we got married in May of this year. Fairy tales do still happen.
I can play any tune you want by rapping a pencil against my teeth. Don’t ask me how I found out this little nugget – it just seemed to happen. As long as I know the song in question, I’ll play it. Just don’t ask for the Jonas Brothers!!
James Bond used to deliver milk to my grandma. Before he became the world-famous actor that he is today, Sean Connery was a milkman in Edinburgh and delivered fresh milk daily to customers on his round. My grandmother was one of them. Seemingly he wasn’t quite as dapper at 4.00am as he was in a tuxedo…
I was in the top 1% of my year in the UK for English. Back in 1984, when I took my English “O”-level, I scored an A+, which was given to anyone that scored over 95% in their English exam. Not that this did me any good, mind you – I never did get that dream job as a journalist, nor have I written any best-selling novels. Go figure.
I can’t click my thumb and forefinger together to make that cool snapping sound. It looks easy enough, and my 6-year old nephew can do it – so why can’t I? Maybe I need to pour vinegar on my digits and slow cook them to toughen them up. Anyone else with any tips?

So there you have it. Five things that you may or may not have known about me (or perhaps weren’t even interested in knowing in the first place). As I said, I never promised them to be interesting – but if you ever need a pencil playing entertainer for your parties, I’m your man!

Now, in true tagging fashion, here are 5 blogs that I feel are worth your time checking out. I hope you agree, and thanks for sticking around to the end of this post.

Thoughts and Stories. It’d be amiss of me not to mention my wife’s blog. But far from being a biased shout out, her “What Really Grinds my Gears” rants about everyday life always make me laugh.
Fear and Loathing – The Gonzo Papers. Sometimes irreverent, sometimes provocative, but always entertaining.
What I See Out My Window. Perhaps not a traditional blog as such, this is a great collection of the views that people have out of their window.
The Lovable Rogue. A look at social media from a marketer’s viewpoint – and not always with the results you’d expect. And you have to love that title!
Guhmshoo’s Weblog. Entertaining and humorous look at life through the art of cartoons.

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5 Ways to Ruin a Perfectly Good Twitter Relationship

As I’ve mentioned before on this blog, I find Twitter to be one of the best social media tools around. The fact that it only allows you 140 characters to get a message across usually means that there’s no waffle.

People genuinely think about what they want to say, and it’s a great way to connect with people you share interests with, personal and professional.

Yet lately I’ve been getting a little frustrated with Twitter – not the service itself (although the fail whale is never a pretty site). No, my frustrations lie with the way many users are spoiling what Twitter has to offer – at least for me.

I know that people use Twitter for different reasons and I have no qualms with that at all. I just feel that some use it less effectively and far more selfishly than others. So here, in no particular order, are my Top 5 peeves when it comes to Twitter use. (These are just my peeves – it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re right – Twitter should be used how you want to use it).

Shameless self-promotion. Yes, we’re only human and that means we like to talk about ourselves. Yet social media is all about the conversation and interacting – sharing others as well as yourself. There’s nothing more annoying to me than a Twitter stream from someone that is nothing but a plug for their latest blog post or product. To me, that doesn’t offer anything to the community – sorry.

Selfish shouts. One of the reasons I love using Twitter is the way I find great new content, thanks to users I’m following recommending new blogs to check out. This has introduced some great opinions to me that I would never have been aware of otherwise. However, only recommending blog posts where you’re mentioned? Just as bad as shameless self-promotion (and possibly a little egotistical).

Twitter DM spam. So I’ve just agreed to follow your Twitter updates, and BAM! All of a sudden you feel it’s acceptable to send me direct messages telling me to sign up to your newsletter or join this group or that forum. Sorry, no – show me that you’re offering something selflessly and I’ll find that information anyway. Bombarding me with DM’s is akin to email spam and I instantly delete that.

Open conversations. This might be a bit contentious and I apologize if it comes across wrong – that’s not my intent. But if you feel that you’re going to have a long conversation with a particular user, can you use the DM option? Seeing half a conversation taking up every other Tweet isn’t particularly conducive to community spirit. You wouldn’t like me listening in on your phone conversation, would you?

Competition Tweets. While it’s nice to have the chance to win something at any time, Tweeting about it every other minute is not a great way to go about it. Instead of blasting everyone in your Twitter stream, why not have the competition URL and short spiel about it in your bio?

I’m not saying that Twitter is becoming annoying per se – just some of the ways that it’s being used.

Of course, maybe I’m missing the boat altogether and it’s me that’s in the wrong and the above points are moot. I’d love to hear your opinion, and if there are any other Twitterisms that annoy you.