The 2010 Social Networking map

The 2010 social networking map from flowtown shows how big facebook has become in 2010. I’ve also included the original from the great web comic XKCD, and Vincenzo Cosenza’s version

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Google Me - The future of social networking?

There’s been plenty of debate over what Google Me will be when it launches - and I’ve certainly not read all of it. I do however believe that Google is in the best position to create a killer and yet open social network.

My idea of a perfect social network at this point would be 

• Open identity - to allow me to login with my OpenID
• Ability to create and share status updates, photos, videos, and links to any of the social networks that my friends are using
• Ability for my friends to comment and interact with my activity streams such that I get the comments back on my original item - back in my preferred social network
• One list of contacts that I can segment into groups and transport between social networks and my email/phone
• Location based checkins, with my locations available to a select group of my friends

Here’s why I don’t think facebook, twitter or foursquare will win this in the long run

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Five fatal social media errors to avoid

I just spotted an article over at marketing profs from Maria Ford covering 5 fatal social media errors, and how to avoid them (via @samirbalwani).

The article points out that too-often social media is tacked onto a campaign, without thought of an end-end strategy.

This results in a flood of communications - but without the engagement we really need. We’re all suffering from communications overload - so as marketeers, the more we can do to tune the message and the audience, the better targeted we can be.

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The joy of a twitter search for Chartreuse

I just love the surreal mixture of messages you get on twitter in response to a search query. I have a search-column configured in hootsuite to give me the results of a search for “Grenoble OR Chartreuse OR Belledonne OR Vercors OR Alps -Bieber”.  

I get all the news about Grenoble, along with weather alerts, and notifications of when the peasants are revolting in Villeneuve; along with discussions on the best cocktails using Chartreuse; what people are buying in the color Chartreuse; something technical about ALPS which I still don’t understand; and occasionally people enjoying the mountains that surround my home in Grenoble.

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New Amazon Kindle available for pre-order in the UK

Updated on 14 Aug 2010 by Andy Bryant

The new kindle has been announced, and is available for pre-order in the UK, shipping from 27th August 2010.  It will have better contrast, faster page turns, longer battery life (up to a month!), and more storage (up to 3,500 books).

As before there will be a 3G wireless version - so you can think of a book; and have it delivered wherever you are - for GBP 149. Unlike the last time however there will also be a WiFi only version - available for GBP 109 - which will be fine if you’re organized enough to order your books when you’re at home, or in a cybercafe.

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Seth Godin on why you need a tribe

I just came across this video from Le Web in Feb 2009 with Loic Le Meur talking to Seth Godin about why you need a tribe; and how to influence people to create a tribe, and then change the world.  

It gives an interesting insight into the need to be exceptional enough for a small group of people (~1000 people) to choose to share your idea with their friends. He also covers why the traditional feature-based product pitch isn’t the best way to build a movement… you need to meet the needs of a small group in such a great way that they will think it is remarkable enough for them to share.

Click through to the full post to see the video

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Panoramic photography experimentation

I’ve just posted results of my initial tests with the Manfrotto MN-303 pano head, AutoPano Giga and krpano to the pano page on my site.

It includes two shots from the Cabaret Frappe Installations du Feu in Grenoble, one from the top of Charmont Som, and two from Place Verdun.  

Click on the images on the pano page to expand full-browser views of the panos, and explore around with the mouse.  

I’ve also posted a couple of static versions to the Alps and Grenoble sections of my Images section, along with a bonus thundercloud shot (below) from the top of Charmont Som, just as the sun was setting.  

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Top Ten Twitter Tips

I’ve seen lots of examples of what I consider to be bad ‘twitter practice’… and whilst I’m by no means the authority on the subject - I do think that I’ve spent enough time scanning the twitterverse to have a good idea of what works, and what doesn’t.

Rule 1 - Keep it simple: When people read tweets, they don’t spend much time reading each tweet; in fact most of the time they’re probably speed reading as they’re scrolling through pages of tweets. So if you’re trying to craft tweets with a lot of hidden meaning - then most of the time it will be lost on your audience - and they’ll just skip to the next message.

I tend to follow the rules for writing a press-release - i.e. tell them what you’re going to tell them in the headline; expand on it in the first paragraph, then give them the rest of the story in the body.

In twitter this means you need to grip the reader immediately with your first few words and compel them to act and hopefully share your message with their followers. So you should construct a tweet by grabbing the reader with the first few words that explain what you’re tell them, followed by additional information to expand on the message, finishing off with a link to find more information.

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Clay Shirky: How cognitive surplus will change the world

Another interesting TED talk from Clay Shirky on how “cognitive surplus” - the shared, online work we do with our spare cycles is something that, if harnessed correctly in our society - will help to change the world for good.  He also talks about what drives human behavior (personal reward/cost vs social constraints) - and how not to motivate people to do the right thing.

I’m certainly a believer in the power of the ‘social contribution economy’.  Well worth a watch.

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10 ways to shoot yourself in the workplace

An interesting pitch on the 10 ways to limit your career, from Nora Denzel who’s worked the corporate ladder at both IBM and HP - speaking at UC Davis in Dec 2008. It is a 1-hour session - and worth watching, but just in case you’re in a hurry - I transcribed the highlights (in terms of things you should be doing!)

1. You have to control your own PR agent (yourself…) by being careful about what you say.  You need to to leave people with the impression that you want to move up, you’re career oriented, and you’re good at what you do.

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