social media round table

Discussing Social Media with… Amani Channel

A little while back, I sent out a request via Twitter asking if anyone would be interested in being interviewed for a discussion on social media. With the medium meaning so many different things to so many people, as well as how it can be used, I was interested to hear the views of the people I connect with.

My original plan was to run a ?round table? style of blog post – raise the questions and then have a mix of views as the responses. However, the answers I received back were all excellent, and showed why social media is the mix of interesting people and views that it is. So, I decided individual posts would be far more effective in an on-going series of interviews.

Sharing his views today is Amani Channel, Senior Producer at Visual Eye Media, a full-service video relations company providing media consulting and professional High Definition video production for individuals, non-profits and corporations. My sincere thanks to Amani for taking the time to reply and share his views. To connect with Amani, or find out more about him, please visit his My Urban Report blog.

If someone was to ask you for your definition of social media, what would it be?

Social media is interactive nature of the Internet that allows individuals, businesses, and organizations to engage in conversations (communicate), and build relationships. It includes blogs, wikis, communities, and sites like Twitter.

What is your reason for using social media?

I use social media for a variety of reasons. I use it to stay in touch with family and friends. I use social media to share information about news, and events that are of interest to me, and I use it to promote and build business relationships.

Do you feel that social media is being used to its maximum effect?

Social media is very time consuming, and can be overwhelming. I do my best to maximize my presence, and personal brand. Some people do a great job, others just add chatter.? I believe those who engage in industry specific conversations, share timely links, and focus on community building, will have positive results.

What social media tools or applications do you use? Why these ones in particular?

I use Twitter, which feeds my MySpace, and Facebook status updates, and Twitter updates are on my My Urban Report blog. I also use video extensively with my blog and blip.tv, and tubemogul is very useful especially for mass distribution. I also have a blog on my video production company website – however, I don’t update as frequently as I should.

Back to Twitter, I have two separate accounts.? One for Visual Eye Media and one for My Urban Report. I try to keep my tweets relevant to my brands. For urbanreporter I try to focus on sharing urban news links, and personal updates. For Visual Eye Media, I try to focus on social media, and online & video production information.

Where do you see the future of social media, both in general and for you?

Many of those currently engaged in social media are early adopters, and we certainly have a heard start on others who are just getting involved in social media. I hope to continue to use social media to inform, educate, and build my brands.

Are businesses effectively using social media? If not, what can they do to improve?

As a journalist, I find that many news organizations are doing a poor job of using social media. Twitter is a great utility for reporters to build followers and keep online users up to date with news developments. Many corporate news organizations have tight rules about reporters use of social media.? Also, I haven’t seen many popular brands on Twitter though many independent, and small business owners are catching on.

As far as improving a social media presence, I would say roll up your sleeves and jump in. You can’t understand social media unless you try it.

What do you feel are the best and worst features/uses of social media?

It seems we’re approaching a saturation point in terms of social media. Between my blogs, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, blip.tv, YouTube, it’s hard to be engaged in all sites (and it seems more are popping up each day). I like the transparency, the community building, and communication that social media allows.

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Discussing Social Media with… David Leonhardt

Sharing his views today is David Leonhardt, President of The Happy Guy Marketing, offering multilingual SEO and online marketing services, as well as a variety of ghostwriting services. My sincere thanks to David for taking the time to reply and share his views. To connect with David, or find out more about him, please visit his SEO Marketing Express blog.

If someone was to ask you for your definition of social media, what would it be?

Social media is any communications technology that allows interaction between users. Currently, that includes Internet and hand-held wireless applications. However, television applications could easily be envisaged, as could refrigerator applications:

Hmmm?I wonder what Mom has in her fridge?let?s check. I see. Ooh, she has some good stuff. Let?s just send her a message here? ?Hi mom. Thinking of doing anything with that lasagna? I?m free to come over for dinner.? I suppose I should copy my brother on that one.

I expect that when fridges can do this, it will still be Web-based, perhaps through a FaceBook application or some other service not yet invented.

Although ?social media? and ?Web 2.0? have been used almost interchangeably, it is important to note that forums and newsgroups are examples of social media that have been around long before Web 2.0 was ?invented?.

What is your reason for using social media?

Tricky question, because it depends on the applications. I would say there are essentially three reasons for anybody using social media:

1. To say something (marketing, opinions)

2. To listen to something (learning)

3. To build relationships (marketing, social)

Across the board, my number 1 reason for using social media is for learning, specifically for keeping my ear to the ground. In the world of SEO and website marketing, so much changes so fast that is impossible to keep track of it all without some tools. I like to follow the discussions at Sphinn.com and HighRankings.com because it helps me keep track of what is happening.

I am definitely a late convert to Twitter, but it took me only a couple days to be a complete fan. Twitter is like a pair of binoculars for monitoring the changing landscape. The short 140-character snippets, one after the other from all those people I choose to follow, gives me the ability to monitor a much, much wider landscape without spending any more time. They come from multiple sources, including dannybrown.me (of course), problogger.net, mashable.com and topseoblogs.wordpress.com, to name just a few that I have found most helpful to follow closely.

My number 2 reason is to build/maintain relationships. Even fairly loose relationships can be useful for business, because if there is an opportunity or an idea to present someone else, there is already a door open.

From a personal perspective, I am a bit of a hermit, compounded by living away from any urban center, so social media gives me a little more social interaction. This is important for anyone working alone in their home. In the case of Twitter, I have already met some very nice people in the nearest urban centers, Ottawa and Montreal – and even down the highway in Toronto – whom I hope to meet in person before too long. In the case of Facebook, I use it to maintain relationships with people I have known over time.

My 3rd reason for using social media is for marketing, but not because I expect to find any clients on FaceBook or Sphinn or Twitter. These are simply wonderful venues to let people you know about things you are doing and nudge them to spread the word. Again, this is about networking and making use of existing relationships. I really have not yet used social media for this, but I know I will.

Do you feel that social media is being used to its maximum effect?

Social media, in the sense of Web applications, is really in its infancy. Its true effect will happen when political rallies take place online, or when people can log in to international economic summits and discuss with each other in real-time what is happening as ambassadors modify their positions based on public opinion, even as it is being formed. When we are able to join friends on impromptu holographic vacations in places we could never afford the time or money to visit in person? I feel that’s when social media will begin to get really interesting (sign me up for that hike in the Andes without having to fly for a day each way!).

I should also add that when I have to answer the question ?What?s a blog?? at least once a month, I know how far we have to go.

What social media tools or applications do you use? Why these ones in particular?

I already referred to some of my favorites, but I also use a number of other websites, including Digg.com and StumbleUpon.com and occasionally Mixx.com and Searchles.com . And of course, I use my own start-up social bookmarking website just for Canadians, Zoomit Canada (I can?t resist slipping in a plug for that). I massively underuse YouTube and Flickr and MySpace and many others because I just don?t have the time.

One specific tool I really like is TwitterBerry. I?ve never liked to waste a moment, and this allows me to better ?use? my time while my daughters are dancing (no WiFi there!) or even while waiting for the ladies to do their thing before stepping into a movie.

I also like the Facebook application for posting Tweets automatically to Facebook, which helps with certain time-management issues. I plan to add a similar function to Zoomit Canada sometime in the next few months.

I also like WordPress as a blogging platform. All my blogs and most of my clients? are in WordPress. It?s simple and SEO friendly, and is loaded with plugins.

I also have to mention the social bookmarking script my brother and I created, called TheBookMarketer, which I use on all my blogs to make them easy for people to social bookmark.

And let?s not forget Wikipedia and LinkedIn and MyBlogLog, as well as probably a couple dozen forums that I also massively underuse (still waiting for that 48-hour day!).

Where do you see the future of social media, both in general and for you?

The main obvious future of social media is that it will become more ubiquitous. For example, someone planning major renovations to their home in Chicago will expect the architect to place the plans where they can be easily seen and annotated by the in-laws in Davenport and the best friend who?s moved to Akron.

I also predict that Twitter in particular will reduce waiting times on hold listening to muzak and ?Your call is important to us, please wait another 562 hours for an agent? messages. That?s because while on hold, there is very little a person can do except to tweet about how long they have been on hold with the company. And all the followers tweet back in sympathy. Customer relations will be revolutionized in ways we have not yet dreamed of.

Because I see search engine algorithms increasingly following people?s actions, I expect social media to play an increasing role in SEO, so I see it becoming a bigger part of my work. I already have short term plans for specific clients, but it remains a steep, steep challenge to get them interested in social media when ?rankings? are so much easier to measure and there is so much more work (cost) involved in a proper social media campaign.

Longer term, I see a time when a plugin is not something you place in a WordPress directory, but rather something you place under your skin. No more hand-held devices, because we will be constantly connected, shifting our attention between communities and between individuals.

Are businesses effectively using social media? If not, what can they do to improve?

No. Most businesses are not monitoring their reputations, and wouldn?t know if they are being dissed until it?s a wildfire out of control. The ?Motrin Moms? episode is a prime example of this, but there are thousands of companies losing business because people are blogging and tweeting about their bad experiences. I said my main reason for using social media is to keep my ear to the ground. Social media is for communicating, and the biggest part of communication is to listen.

What do you feel are the best and worst features/uses of social media?

The people. They are the best when they share and when they connect. I find it charges me with energy. They are the worst when they just promote. I have no problem with promotion, but give me something useful with the pitch.

You can find more ?Discussing Social Media with?? interviews here.

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Discussing Social Media with… Mark Harai

Sharing his views today is Mark Harai, a consultant at GAC Consultants, a social media marketing and business development consultancy. My sincere thanks to Mark for taking the time to reply and share his views. To connect with Mark, or find out more about him, please visit the GAC Consultants blog.

If someone was to ask you for your definition of social media, what would it be?

Virtual communication platforms on the Internet for people to communicate.

What is your reason for using social media?

To expand my network, business and relationships.

Do you feel that social media is being used to its maximum effect?

I do believe it is productive and will eventually arrive; but is still defining itself.

What social media tools or applications do you use? Why these ones in particular?

Twitter – Linkedin – Facebook. In my quest to learn and participate in social media, these were/are the most suggested tools. Having immersed myself in social media now for the past 3 months, I have found that these are in fact the most effective tools for business and networking; mind boggling.

Where do you see the future of social media, both in general and for you?

Here to stay for certain. For small businesses, it will have a profound affect on who does business and where they do it ‘globally’. Because social media has eliminated the barriers to building quality relationships on a
global scale, small business ($100 million or less) will have a more international flavor. For big business and branding – it will require personally touching consumers; no more hiding behind carefully crafted messaging and professionally managed images. This will provide many opportunities for small and emerging market companies/brands that know how to have relationships with people.

I fit in the first category; hence, I am participating with Danny Brown from the UK (now in Canada) that I would not have known were it not for Twitter. I also get to participate in a very productive exercise that I believe will help define social media. Pretty awesome if you think about it.

Are businesses effectively using social media? If not, what can they do to improve?

Big and small businesses are certainly discovering ways to effectively use social media. But I feel there is a way to go yet to identify ‘THE’ successful uses and strategies of social media and to set the standards of this evolving industry. Business leaders are already participating and contributing to the growth and expansion of social media and everyday it gets better, more powerful and more user-friendly.

What do you feel are the best and worst features/uses of social media?

Best: transparency/building relationships.

Worst: abusive non-constructive use of the benefits – spamming and impersonal marketing approaches.

You can find more ?Discussing Social Media with?? interviews here.

Discussing Social Media with… Mary Higgins

Sharing her views today is Mary Higgins, a writer originally from the UK but now living in Canada. Mary is a self-confessed social media and tech geek who is currently writing her first novel. My sincere thanks to Mary for taking the time to reply and share her views. To connect with Mary, or find out more about her, please visit her blog The Last Geek Bus Home.

If someone was to ask you for your definition of social media, what would it be?

Social Media is using technology to connect with and share ‘stuff’ with other people. I would say there are 3 main elements to Social Media:

a) The Technology: At it’s heart, Social Media is about new ways of using technology so that allows you to connect and share (files, comments, information) with other people (users). There seems to be new applications arriving every day and that adds to the general noise about Social Media and also the confusion. Not all applications do the same things and finding the right one to fit your needs (especially when you are not sure what your needs are or will be) is difficult.

b) The Connection: The applications are available but are meaningless without the people using them. Why do people start to use Twitter, for example? Early adopters used it to connect to each other but more and more people are using it now because they have friends already on Twitter and want to join in. Or a favourite celebrity is on Twitter and they want to follow them.

It’s about connecting with people and building communities and it is a two-way communication. Anyone can follow on Twitter but the real value comes when you start responding, asking and answering questions, building relationships in a real way.

c) The ‘Stuff’ you share: Communities are developed around the technology and/or around a group of people using the technology. You can choose to share as little or much as you want. Some people will unfailingly tell you what they had for breakfast while others will share that they have developed a new application or have published a new blog post. One of the advantages is that you choose what you share and you choose what to listen to from other people.

What is your reason for using social media?

Initially I started blogging because I had something I wanted to? talk about. And when I say ‘talk’, that is what I mean. I didn’t? want to be splurging words onto the Internet for their own sake -? the intention was to engage with other like-minded people and have? discussions, make connections and take part. I was lucky enough to? meet people who took the time to talk to me and show me new things. Tabz (Tabitha Grace Smith) introduced me to Twitter but more than? that she showed me that it’s value was in the interactions with? people, not just following.

Another person who influenced my use of Social Media has been Felicia Day, the creator, writer and star of the webseries The Guild. She uses Twitter, her blog and other applications to connect with fans in a direct way. It has just been announced that the second season of The Guild has sponsorship from Microsoft. I enjoy the social aspects enormously.? I’m a writer and being connected to other people when you work from? home is very important. I’ve been following Felicia for a long time and I’m actually doing a video interview with her this week on my blog.

Do you feel that social media is being used to its maximum effect?

No, but that needs some serious qualification! It is a difficult question to answer because of the 3 elements that go into Social Media. In terms of the technology available at this moment I would say that only a fraction of the potential use of products is being utilised. The ‘Connection’ part is getting better but I think a lot more can be done to integrate applications.

Unfortunately when problems such as the Twitterrank incident happen it highlights the fact that while people want to try new things out they don’t always understand the implications of what they are doing.

What social media tools or applications do you use? Why these ones in particular?

Twitter, Plurk, Friendfeed and MyBlogLog are the main ‘tools’ I use for communication, research and connecting with people. I am part of the? MicroMagnate community because I wanted to connect with other small business owners in Canada. I’m also part of community at Watchtheguild.com because it’s a webseries I love and the people there are fantastic. I am also on Twittermoms and Geeks. I have my own blog and I write for Whedonage.com, and I enjoy replying to the comments people make. There are many other websites and blogs I visit and comment on, also.

Where do you see the future of social media, both in general and for you?

I think the whole area will expand in the short term but then I’m expecting that many of the applications around today will not continue. This is a new area and no-one is sure where it will lead or even where they want it to go. Although Social Media is a big topic in some quarters most people have never even heard the phrase. But humans naturally want to interact with other, are naturally social, so I think this will expand and cross over to the mainstream in the near future.

Are businesses effectively using social media? If not, what can they do to improve?

I don’t follow businesses on Twitter or anything else, but I do follow individuals who represent businesses. I prefer to read opinions of people that I respect personally.? Organisations that understand that it is the personal touch that many people value will probably do better and I know that some larger businesses are using it well. It does take a big commitment, though, and I think the worst thing a company can do is to launch a Social Media campaign and then not put the resources in to maintaining it. Posts, comments, and all feedback needs to be treated seriously and promptly.

What do you feel are the best and worst features/uses of social media?

There was some recent research to show that women bloggers are more likely to be addicted to Social Media than other women. That is no surprise to me! I think it can be very addictive because the feedback you get can be instant. When I am writing I have to take myself out of the loop so I can concentrate otherwise the temptation to keep refreshing the screens to see who has said what and where everyone is up to is very great!

I also think that important issues can be caught up in a storm of argument and counter-argument. Just as in other areas of life, enabling people to have a voice means that some of the things they say are going to annoy, irritate, upset and offend others. There is not always an obvious arbitrator for matters when issues are taken up across blogs, message boards etc. People need to respect the beliefs and opinions of others.

The best parts are when real communities are built up. People are connected to each other and there is a flow of ideas, help and advice. In some cases ‘Tribes’ have helped out members in very practical ways. When podcaster Doug lost his house in the recent fires his Tribe came to his assistance to cover the costs while the insurance ran out and the money was sent to him within days.

You can find more ?Discussing Social Media with?? interviews here.

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Discussing Social Media with… John Easton

Sharing his views today is John Easton, founder of Eastonsweb Multimedia, a new media company helping businesses attract the best customers through the use of video, web and multimedia tools. My sincere thanks to John for taking the time to reply and share his views. To connect with John, or find out more about him, please visit his blog Customer Flypaper.

If someone was to ask you for your definition of social media, what would it be?

The use of online, communal tools and their associated communities to engage an audience around a message, idea or discussion.

What is your reason for using social media?

That is an easy question. I use social media to expand my thinking beyond the boundaries I set by interacting with truly fascinating people and to lend my thinking to supportive communities of interest. In addition, I find social media to be a great tool for expanding my professional network.

Do you feel that social media is being used to its maximum effect?

I would say yes. Does this mean that there aren’t unexplored SM applications? Without getting too philosophical here social is just like traditional media. It’s constantly evolving and at its present state of development, the medium is being used and explored by some of the world’s most creative minds and with every Twitter tweet and new blog posting a different angle is being explored. So I’d say it is where it’s supposed to be.

What social media tools or applications do you use? Why these ones in particular?

My choice of social media tools is a function of my capacity, being a business owner and parent. My personal and professional goals are to build relationships with interesting people and grow my professional network and the behavioral profile of those I am looking to engage.

That said I am an active Twitter user, a vigorous blogger and I am an enthusiastic member of several online communities (The Society for Word of Mouth is one). I can interact with each of these communities via my desktop PC, my laptop computer and my BlackBerry and each of these neighborhoods has members who regularly stretch my thinking.

Where do you see the future of social media, both in general and for you?

In general I see social media and its conventions converging more and more with traditional media. The line between the Internet and television as an example will blur. Gone will be the days of cable networks and TV stations. You will watch user generated video alongside professional media wirelessly through your glasses and you will be able to exchange comments with other viewers in real time building relationships as you add perspective to each clip.

I don’t see my goals for the use of SM changing but I will certainly ride the wave and continue to be a bridge between those on the bleeding edge and more middle of the road adopters.

Are businesses effectively using social media? If not, what can they do to improve?

That’s a loaded question. Big business is not successfully using SM. Most of the leaders in this pool approach SM from the old world perspective of controlling the conversation, not realizing that a revolution has already taken place with the power having changed hands from the elite few to the masses. SM is less about controlling the message and more about participating in the discussion, give and take.

Small businesses are doing a better job but still have opportunities to explore. They have to learn to be less revenue focused when it comes to measuring the benefit of SM and consider the wider spectrum of return (building awareness, testing ideas, soliciting new product/service ideas, collaboration, word of mouth, etc).

After all is it better to close one deal or to build a Twitter relationship with someone who can evangelize your offering to several thousand people with the tap of a keyboard?

What do you feel are the best and worst features/uses of social media?

I believe the good and bad of SM is less about the features inherent in the technology and more about the way people use it. At its best social media accelerates the spread of information through networks of linked? communities and at its worst it can be a haven for often mindless and self-promoting chatter. All of this depends on the behavior of community members.

You can find more ?Discussing Social Media with?? interviews here.

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