Danny Brown

podcaster - author - creator

social media

See You at TEDx Ottawa on December 6

(From the TEDx Ottawa website): TED is an annual event where some of the world?s leading thinkers and doers are invited to share what they are most passionate about. ?TED? stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design ? three broad subject areas that are, collectively, shaping our future.

Past speakers include Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Frank Gehry, Paul Simon, Sir Richard Branson, Philippe Starck and Bono. TED was first held in Monterey, California, in 1984. In 2001, Chris Anderson?s Sapling Foundation acquired TED from its founder, Richard Saul Wurman.

So what is TEDx?

In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TED has created a program called TEDx ? local, self-organized events that bring people together to share TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TEDTalks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x=independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized.

TEDx Ottawa Key Information and Dates

The event will be taking place on Sunday, Dec 6th starting at 10am and will span about six hours. It will consist of TEDtalk video presentations and a number of live speakers in addition to lots of time for hallway discussions.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Title: TEDx Ottawa
Location: Ottawa, ON, Canada
Link out: Click here
Start Time: 10:00
Date: 2009-12-06
End Time: 16:00

I’m a Twitter Snob? Maybe

StopI received an email today that said I’m a “Twitter snob”. The reasoning behind it was that my follow-to-follower ratio was skewed – I had more followers than people I follow.

Therefore, I wasn’t using Twitter correctly; instead of following everyone back that followed me (which I should be doing, according to the email), I was obviously a snob that only followed the “elite” and I should “re-evaluate my Twitter use”.

The email ended by saying I shouldn’t advise on social media because I’m breaking a cardinal sin – which is, connect with everyone or don’t connect at all.

Okay….

So, I sat down and thought about it. Am I a Twitter snob? Should I follow everyone who follows me? Maybe. Maybe not. If snobbery is down to reciprocal numbers then, yes, I am a Twitter snob. But (and excuse my cussing), to me numbers on Twitter mean f**k all.

You can have 100,000 followers. But are they all live? Are they all human? Or are they a mix of humans, live accounts, dead accounts, spammers and bots? If they’re not all actual people that are active and engaging, then they don’t count. Unless you’re after false numbers, of course, to make you feel more important than you are. And there’s plenty of that going around…

So, fair enough. I have a skewed ratio. Which makes me a snob. But here’s the thing.

I’d rather be a snob with a skewed and (mostly) accurate ratio, than someone pretending to be something they’re not. Which, after all, is the real snobbery. No?

Creative Commons License photo credit: teotwawki

Something New, Something Old

It’s been a little quiet around here the last few days. And, for that matter, on Twitter as well (not so much Facebook, as that’s not one of my more popular haunts). Anyone that knows me will know this isn’t normal fare – I’m usually much more vocal (although the silence may be preferable to some!). The last week or so has been hectic, hence the silence.

Here’s why.

Following some conversations with both Shannon Boudjema and Maritz Canada, I’m really happy to announce that I have accepted the role of Social Media Strategist for Maritz. This is an in-house project (contracted) for the next six months, and will see me help lead Maritz Canada forward into the social space, as well as help with client strategies and campaigns.

The role was held by Shannon, but she’s moving back to the UK for family reasons. Shannon’s been key in developing how the next six months will look as well as helping to put in place in-house set-ups to make the transition as smooth as possible. I can’t thank Shannon enough for all her help here.

So, what does that mean here? Not much, to be honest. I’ll still continue to write about the topics I feel can help you gain the most benefit from the space, whether that’s tools, platforms or, most importantly, people. I may add in the occasional example from my new gig, if it’s relevant and acceptable to the companies involved.

I guess the main change is updating some bio/disclosure information and ensuring there are no conflicts of interest. But that’s a given anyway, so hopefully it won’t come up too often.

Anyways… now that I’m settling into the role and the crazy hectic days of early role changeover is becoming less manic, expect to see me back prowling an online corridor near you. I hope we can continue to learn together and here’s to some fun and interesting times ahead.

Do Bloggers Make Good Authors?

After a period of separation the water tanks decided to organize a reunionHow many of you have read Chris Brogan and Julien Smith’s Trust Agents? Or Mitch Joel’s Six Pixels of Separation ? Or Now is Gone by Geoff Livingston and Brian Solis? Or [insert title here] by [insert renowned blogger here]?

Here’s another question.

How many of you that have read (or plan to read) these books also read the aforementioned authors’ blogs? Now ask yourself one more question.

If you read the blog long before the book, did you learn anything truly new?

I ask not from a disrespectful view – I admire each and every one of these guys for different reasons, and for how they’ve helped move PR, marketing and the digital space forward via their thinking. Every one of them has a (usually) outstanding blog where you can find great information and maps on how to move you and your business forward.

But reading their books, I couldn’t help but feel that I’d already read the content over at their blogs. Even though I enjoyed the printed text, it felt like the digital version had been there first.

Which makes me wonder two things.

Are the authors looking for a new audience from their regular blog readers? And if not, if the audience is a mix of existing and new, do bloggers make good authors?

Again, that’s not from a disrespectful view – more a curiosity. If you have a popular blog with a high readership and regular content, what happens when it comes to writing a book expanding on the very topics you’ve been sharing for a few years? Have active bloggers already written and shared so much that it appears there’s nothing new in-between the pages of a newly released book?

I’m curious about your take on this.

Creative Commons License photo credit: Pulpolux !!!

Define Your Digital Footprint – Lacing the Shoes

Colourful nightWhether you like it or not, you already have a digital footprint that you can’t fully control. People are talking about you; dissecting you; and?making decisions about you every day of the week.

You don’t even have to be online to have a digital footprint – people and businesses that don’t have an active web presence are being talked about. By their customers; their clients; their past and futures. So if all this talk is going on and you’re late to the party,?isn’t it already too late?

Not necessarily.

But it is?time to define your digital footprint so you can?at least help guide what you’d like to be found. In this first part of a series, I’m going to look at how you can define a strong footprint. Upcoming posts will look at tools you can use, how to connect strongly, how to react and converse with negative footprints, and more.

Who Are You?

There are a ton of ways for you to define your digital footprint, but let’s face it – unless you know who you are and who you want to be known as, any kind of defining could turn out worthless. If you don’t have a strong signal of you, everything else is just guesswork. So how do you make a strong you?

  • Be consistent. Wherever you are online, make sure you’re not confusing anyone. While the likes of Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Squidoo and other popular networking sites appeal to a different audience, that doesn’t mean you have to be completely different on them. Adapt to the community; make the conversation fit the space; but keep a sense of you while doing it. Is it a business approach you take? A more personal one? A mix of the two? Find a voice and run with that.
  • Claim your space. Think of a glass of scotch or bourbon. Pour it neat and it’s a strong colour. Add water, and it’s not just the taste that’s diluted – the colour is too. Think of your digital footprint as the scotch, and networks where you’re active as the water. If possible, try and grab the same username on each profile you’re active on. If this isn’t possible, it can be better going for a derivative as opposed to numbers – so, @danny_brown on Twitter as opposed to @dannybrown18275. This will keep your name strong and prevent it from being diluted.
  • Be recognizable. As much as what you say and how you say it will help define your footprint, the way you look will help define how you’re viewed. It’s true – first impressions do count. Use an avatar that states who you are – personable and fun if a personal account, business-like but approachable if a professional account. A good choice is an informal head shot or a clear, smiling face. You could use a brand icon, but why not show the human face with a small brand banner across the bottom instead? Either way, being easily recognizable on first viewing is something to aim for.
  • Start walking. If you want to create any kind of footprint, digital or otherwise, you need to do one simple thing – start walking. Online, that just means start talking. Talk to people; talk with people; join discussions; post a blog comment; write a blog post (there are a few options available if you don’t like the idea of a full on blog, which I’ll look at next time). No-one will know you’re around unless you walk up and say “Hi” – so walk on up and introduce yourself. Set yourself a clear direction and start that journey; just don’t be afraid to ask for directions along the way.

These are just the early steps that you can take toward defining and identifying your digital footprint – but they’re important ones nonetheless. Get the early steps right, and the rest of the path might become just that little bit easier to navigate.

In the next post, we’ll look at what tools are available to help you plant your footprint and maintain it, and the platforms that may be more beneficial to you than others.

In the meantime, what have I missed? What would you recommend when it comes to setting up your digital footprint?

Creative Commons License photo credit: G a r r y