Successful Blog

@StevePlunkett, Saying Thank You for ReTweets, and Signal v Noise

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Small Observations

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On Friday, @StevePlunkett and I started a small column on this blog called “Steve’s Shorts.” It grew out of my admiration for Steve’s view of the social web and an idea that small observations can be powerful and worth talking about.

That first post had an interesting result. Apparently a behavior on Twitter can go unnoticed, a statement said in 140 characters on Twitter can float by without response, but point out that behavior or that comment and put it on blog and suddenly it has a new importance. In this case, some of that response seems made without consideration to the bigger picture or the reputation and generosity of the person who offered the original comment.

Not a good situation. I am compelled to offer my own thoughts …

What @StevePlunkett said

It started with a short statement in which Steve explained why he doesn’t thank people for ReTweets …

When people say “Thanks for the RT,”, I always shoot back, “Thanks for the good info”.. I read it, I may have even blogged it. It was good info, so I passed it along, you don’t need to thank me for sharing and trusting your credibility. Believing in you enough to click on a link? That you earned anyways via engagement and professionalism. But you are welcome, again, thanks for the info. When you retweet me, you are saying “Thanks for the info”.

Apparently several people were upset by that statement. You’ll note the comment in which he notes that. In that same comment he puts forth an explanation that parallels my own thinking on the subject of saying thanks to every ReTweet.

I ReTweet and pass on links a lot. I like to feature other folks’s content. I see it as a win for everyone. The practice of finding great content to share keeps me reading and learning. The act of passing it on gives the writer one more reason to keep writing and gives those readers who value what I value more to think about and use in the businesses they’re building.

In my mind, ReTweeting great content serves much the same purpose as researching and writing great content for my blog – it offers value to the people I love … as in @SteveFarber ‘s famous mantra “Do what you love in service to the people who love what you do.”

… and that’s where the response to Steve Plunkett’s statement gets me confused.

Saying Thank You for ReTweets and Signal v Noise

When I pass on a link to someone else’s work, I don’t expect a thank you. When I refer a friend for work offline, I don’t expect a thank you then either. Getting that person’s attention wasn’t what motivates me, sharing great people and their great work is. The occasional thank you from someone I’ve not met is nice because it starts a new relationship, but in general I prefer not get a thank you from folks I already know. Here’s why.

  • I would hope my friends value me for more than my small ability to ReTweet their work.
  • I don’t want my ReTweets to become a kind of currency that becomes a trade of Tweet for a Thank You.
  • I am savvy enough to know that a small group of folks will say Thank you simply to get their name in another person’s Twitter stream.
  • I’m sensitive to the content that my Tweet stream carries and what value does a long list of thank yous offer to the folks who follow me? A long list of thanks yous that aren’t directed to you are really just noise not signal it seems to me.
  • I find other ways to show my appreciation for ReTweets. One is to visit that person’s Tweet stream to read what they’ve written lately in hopes of finding more great content to share.

I value reciprocity as much as anyone, but I don’t live for it. I don’t ever want to be the person who counts the times my actions and expects a 1:1 ratio in a return response … I see that as a time sink and something that has the potential to breed a certain sort of self-ish-ness. I can use the time I might have used to type multiple thank you to build things that say “thank you” in bigger ways and that philosophy allows me to manage my own behavior not chase or worry about whether folks are being reciprocal.

So don’t worry about thanking me for every ReTweet I make. Take that time to do more great things for all of us and know that I’m doing my best to live gratitude so that the word, “thank you” never become a currency or noise that we ignore.

I value and respect your opinion on this. It doesn’t have to be the same as my own. But if you understand my intend, then you’ll know that value for you is always strong.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

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33 Twitterers Answer: How Do You Recognize a LifeLong Friend?

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The LANGUAGE of SOCIAL MEDIA

Words have a deep effect on
how we interpret and interact with the world.
The words we use and how we define them
reveal our interests, concerns, and values.
This series explores the words of social media.

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friends

We meet people in all facets of our lives online and offline. We meet our online friends offline at gatherings, conferences and meetups. We invite people we know offline to connect with us at sites where we spend our time online as well.

People online and offline make up our communities and the networks that provide our learning and our support. We call these people our colleagues, our coworkers, our families, our acquaintances, our pals, buddies, BFFs and our friends. But occasionally some one in that community of people we reach out to bring closer a smaller group stands out because we begin to know they’re in for the longer haul.

We call those people friends for life. They are the people for whom we would drop everything and fly around the world to help solve their problem. They are the ones for whom we’re always ready to answer the 2 a.m. call.

Recently on Twitter, I asked this question … 33 people answered.

How do you know a lifelong friend when you meet one?

  1. @ashleykingsley
    The way yoiu can laugh together.
  2. @@inyourfacebook
    similar sense of humor/values
  3. @AbbieF
    immediate connection. If you have to ask might not be.
  4. @ashleykingsley
    The way yoiu can laugh together.
  5. @IsCool
    You don’t.
  6. @Chris_Eh_Young
    I imagine that would be a singularly self-evident revelation. 🙂
  7. @those2girls
    YUP RT @Chris_Eh_Young It’s something U feel.
  8. @cdnmortgage
    It really is! RT @Chris_Eh_Young: It’s something you feel.
  9. @Illig
    I imagine that would be a singularly self-evident revelation. 🙂
  10. @swoodruff
    I can sometimes intuit that level of connection when I meet someone. Lifelong friend status takes time.
  11. @mkohpotts
    the difference between a friend for life and a friend for now
  12. @ISLfinancial
    You don’t have to say one word but if you do – it is the right word!
  13. @Miss_Dazey
    You just know, Liz! 😉 // Sometimes you just know a good friend by the way she tweets or blogs.
  14. @EmmaLTaylor
    you don’t always know which is why you should give them a chance
  15. @rmclin
    When you are active in a relationship for life. The ones that are there for you when you need help unconditionally.
  16. @GlendaWH
    You just know, Liz! 😉
  17. @ScottMonty
    To me, it’s about being able to have differing views but with the same value system.
  18. @Joe Manna
    when you can call or txt them anytime and they’re there for you. (And vice-versa.)
  19. @asandford
    You never know if someone might be a forever friend. I try to treat every friend as if I’ll have them forever!
  20. @debng
    They don’t ask me who I’m with.
  21. @esgarg
    Intuition.
  22. @debmorello
    I think you just know. The give and take the same, values, the same?
    p.s. unconditional
  23. @tabarnhart
    it’s the secret handshake.
  24. @slines
    Some times u don’t have 2 meet them in person; u know they care
  25. @CateTV
    when they positively talk about/lift/promote someone else up other than themselves during first conversation w/o asking
  26. @mkohpotts
    I don’t know. I have been wrong enough.
  27. @morgetz
    It’s immediate recognition of friendship.
  28. @Briddick
    I think you just know. Esp when you can talk to someone for hours and it seems like time flies!
  29. @TimJackson
    sometimes you don’t- which is kinda wonderful. Sometimes it happens over time & w/o warning. Others- there’s a spark, like love. . . . and I have some lifelong friends who I’ve yet to ever meet in person- modern friendship is an amazingly bizarre blessing.
  30. @SuzeMuse
    I walk away with a smile on my face.
  31. @lyksumlikrish
    Easy. You can’t stop the conversation!
  32. @ReallyJeannie
    When it feels like a miracle.
  33. @JasonFalls
    The fact they give me $1000 … or an open mouth kiss. Heh.

Lifelong friendship is a bond of trust and loyalty. We communicate with our lifelong friends without the filters that make us stop to consider what they might be thinking about us. I am proud to follow all 33 of these folks on Twitter. @LizStrauss

I’ve made a TweepML list of 33 Twitterers Who Recognize a LifeLong Friend in case you want to follow them too.

How do you recognize a lifelong friend?

SEE ALSO:
What Is Social Media?
What Is Social Networking?

Got more to add? C’mon let’s talk.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

8 Tips on Using Twitter to Build a Powerful Business Network

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From the Beginning

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More than ever, building and growing a business means becoming part of the social web. A powerful network of loyal fans means your message can be visible, heard, understood and spread with the speed and reach of the Internet.

How do you get a network like that?

I often call Twitter the world’s largest networking room, but that doesn’t do it justice. Networking rooms are physical and geographically limited. They can’t expand and contract in size. The people who visit the room are limited by those who can physically get to the location where the meeting and the room exists in space and time. And not every networking event collects the people who are interested in what we do.

Unlike that networking room, Twitter let us decide who is at our “networking event.”

8 Tips on Using Twitter to Build a Powerful Business Network

  1. Have one clear business message. Define yourself clearly as a business person. Use a photo. Write a professional bio. Name the metropolitan area you’re in. Link to a business site that tells more about you. Some folks link to a special page on their blog set up just for Twitter visitors. Add a unique background to further define yourself.
  2. Have a goal. If you want Twitter to be your relationship command center, you’ll set it up differently than if you want it to be your idea lab, your outlet store, or your customer service base. Think about that.
  3. Do the research. Check out how @DellOutlet , @ComcastCares , @TwelpForce , @AlyssaMilano , @WholeFoods , @SharnQuickBooks and others use Twitter to connect. You may not be as big as they are, but you can learn from their approach.
  4. Start small and listen. Visit Listorious.com
    listoriouseducation

    and TweepML to find lists of Twitter people who share your interests. Choose to follow a limited number a day. Get to know how they talk and what they talk about. When they follow you back, use that as opportunity to say hello to them in a unique and personal way.

  5. Talk when you have something that will add value to the conversation. Be helpful, not hypeful, just as you might be in person. Use the @ sign (@lizstrauss) to make sure your comment about a person or to a person gets to the person you’re mentioning.
  6. Start a Twitter list.
    startabuzztwitter

    Lists draw attention to and from people. Each list can focus on one group of people. Check the lists that other folks make, see what their lists say about them. Have a core list strategy. Lists might include a handful of advisors, thought leaders in your industry, partners and vendors, key customers and clients, people in your home location.

  7. Decide early who you will follow – who you want at your networking event. Some folks follow only a few people and keep their followers limited to people in their business. Other folks look for input from a wider group.
  8. If you’re looking for clients, don’t just talk to the people who do what you do. It’s fun and safe to talk business with our peers, but the folks who hire us are the folks who don’t know how to do what we do.

Like any networking event, Twitter is filled with opportunities to meet people who want to do business. The difference is that some networking rooms are filled with people who have no business in common with us. On Twitter, we can reach out to folks who are interested in being at the same networking event as us.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

I’m a proud affiliate of

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Social Media List: Tweets, Business and Getting Started in a Career

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A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow

I’m Teresa Morrow, Founder of Key Business Partners, LLC and I work with authors and writers by managing their online promotion. As part of my job I read a lot of books (and I love to read anyway!).  I am here to offer a weekly post about one book I am working with and one book I have put on my reading list. The books will cover topics such as social media (Facebook and Twitter), organization, career building, networking, writing and self development and inspiration.

#EntryLevel Tweet: Taking Your Career from Classroom to Cubicle

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This week I would like to start off with a book I have read and working with entitled #EntryLevel Tweet by Heather Huhman.

When asked why she wrote #EntryLevel Tweet, Heather replies, “Hiring managers expect young professionals to be job hunting experts. And there’s a strong need for quick, easy-to-digest
information about entry-level job searching.”

When I was reading #EntryLevel Tweet I found myself shaking my head in affirmation because many  of the things stated in the book are right on. Such as:

~You need to choose a career that makes you happy and excited about going to work, but remember that not every day on the job will be fun. —>there is some part, it may only be 1% of your job, that you will not like doing as part of your job.

Also, she adds, Don’t beat yourself up for not making the right choice at first–most of us don’t! —>How true this is! I was going to be a marine biologist, until I went to college and found out I was not as good as math and science as I thought I once was in this subjects.

Huhman then goes on to discuss how the world for those seeking their first job out of college has changed. “Even in a candidate saturated market, there are many more (and better) ways to get in front of hiring managers than there used to be. —>Oh, yes, this is certainly true. There are people who can do a video resume for you. *Actually that is how my niece landed her first job as a reporter.

She continues to help recent grads by providing them stepping stones to secure the proper tools to obtain in order to be more successful at landing the job.

About the Author:

Heather R. Huhman is a career expert and Founder of Come Recommended, an exclusive online community connecting the best internship and entry-level job candidates with the best employers. As an experienced hiring manager and someone who has been in nearly every employment-related situation imaginable, Heather knows and understands the needs of today’s employers and internship and entry-level job seekers.

Her expertise in this area led to her selection as Examiner.com’s entry-level careers columnist in mid-2008. The daily, national column educates high school students through recent college graduates about how to find, land, and succeed at internships and entry-level jobs.

You can pick up your copy of #EntryLevel Tweet here.

@collegegrads read this #book if you want a quick, easy-to-read guide on how to go from a confused graduate to a confident entry-level worker.”
Dan Schawbel, @danschawbel, Author of ‘Me 2.0:Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success’

Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make the Competition Irrelevant

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Now it is time for me to share with you a book I have not read but it is on my reading list. My choice for this week is Blue Ocean Strategy by W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne and published by Harvard Business School Press.

Blue Ocean Strategy provides a systematic approach to making the competition irrelevant. In this frame-changing book, Kim and Mauborgne present a proven analytical framework and the tools for successfully creating and capturing blue oceans. Examining a wide range of strategic moves across a host of industries, Blue Ocean Strategy highlights the six principles that every company can use to successfully formulate and execute blue ocean strategies. The six principles show how to reconstruct market boundaries, focus on the big picture, reach beyond existing demand, get the strategic sequence right, overcome organizational hurdles, and build execution into strategy.

About the Authors:

W. Chan Kim is Co-Director of the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute and The Boston Consulting Group Bruce D. Henderson Chair Professor of Strategy and International Management at INSEAD, France.

Renee Mauborgne is The INSEAD Distinguished Fellow and a professor of strategy at INSEAD. She is also Co-Director of the INSEAD Blue Ocean Strategy Institute.

“Blue Ocean Strategy will have you wondering why companies need so much persuasion to stay out of shark-infested waters.” — BusinessWeek, April 4th 2005

You can purchase your copy on Amazon.

Four Human Reasons People Participate and Keep Coming Back

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It’s about Me!

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When new clients start talking social media, it’s not long before they get to “engagement.” They want to know what moves crowds and individuals to genuine participation. What attracts us? What connects us? What keep us coming back and bringing our friends with us?

What makes one space more fun to participate in than another that looks like the same thing?

Why we participate might vary with each participant, but participants all have things in common — simple human reasons that give experiences meaning.

  • Fame — some folks come for recognition. When we participate, our words get seen and read. Sometimes they’re shared. Every blog post, tweet, status update, and comment aggregates to form our reputation. And now that we friend and follow others, we have even more direct channels to share our words of wisdom and attract a following.

    Will your online experience attract the group you want — the authorities, the elite, or the “Internet famous?”

  • Fortune — some folks come for contests and giveaways, but leave when the prizes quit coming. Some folks are interested in information or training that will raise their income. It’s a tricky business to combine participation and money without it beginning to feel like I’m working for it.

    Will your online experience offer enough to keep folks coming back?

  • Friendship — connections on the social web are clicked on and off in seconds. So the key is conversation between people with common ideas or values. Conversations between like-minded friends grow exponentially faster than their real-world counterparts. Without barriers of time and space, meeting is simpler and more convenient. I leave a message you respond later.

    Will your online experience make it easy for folks to talk to people like themselves about things that they care about?

  • Fun — the distraction of new people and new ideas. The level playing field in which introverts and extroverts both have to type makes it fun. Spice it up with some game that brings out personality … keep it simple and easy. It’s endless conversation in a coffeehouse that’s always open.

    Will your online experience be fun for folks who want to be with other people?

When we’re looking at an online experience, we have to consider what the human payoff is. What is the most basic reason that people will come and come back? That reason will underscore and validate that the environment we’re building is right for the ones we want to come to share it. Incorporate the values of the folks you want to be there, and people will participate and keep coming back.

Seems simple doesn’t iit? Humans will be human.

Which reason do you think attracts most folks to participate on Twitter?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz on your business!!

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Social Media BookList: Let’s Talk Business, Tweets and Dreams

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A Weekly Series by Teresa Morrow

I’m Teresa Morrow, Founder of Key Business Partners, LLC and I work with authors, writers, speakers and coaches. As part of my job I read a lot of books. I am here to offer a weekly post about one that I am working with and one I have put on my reading list. The books will cover topics such as social media (Facebook & Twitter), organization, career building, networking, writing and self development and inspiration.

#DreamTweet

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This week I would like to start off with a book I have read and working with entitled #DreamTweet by Joe Heuer, aka The Rock and Roll Guru published by ThinkAha books.

Last night while watching TV, I began to notice the commercials were predominately about the Winter Olympics. I watched and listened to the athletes as they talked about what it meant to them to be a part of this worldly event. The described how much dedication it took for them to reach this goal of a lifetime but they wouldn’t have it any other way because it was their DREAM. It was so important to them, that no matter what, it was the one thing they wanted to do it was a part of who they are as a human being.

Well, this is the kind of advice, tips and inspiration you will receive when you read, #DreamTweet by Joe Heuer.

Here are just a few of the wise words from Joe in #DreamTweet:

  • Be specific in creating your dream. Clarity provides tremendous power. (pg 3)
  • Find people who are living their dream and study them. (pg 19)
  • You absolutely, positively gotta be the number one believer in your dream. No ifs, ands, or buts! (pg. 28)
  • Fear is your dream’s adversary. The most effective technique for casting off your fears is to bathe them in the
    light of love.     (pg. 49)
  • Each day spend time imagining your dream in all its resplendent glory, while feeling the rush of positive emotion that accompanies it. (pg 74)

And Joe is a great role model for his kids because they had this to say about their dad:

“Our dad is the perfect person to write ‘DREAMtweet,’ since he’s living his own dream as the Rock and Roll Guru!” –Alex and Rachel Heuer

What else more can I say? So Rock on and live your dreams!

You can order your copy of download a copy of #DreamTweet at ThinkAha website.

Joe Heuer, is known worldwide as the Rock and Roll Guru (http://RockandRollGuru.com ). An entertaining speaker, author, and full-time rocker, he shares the nuggets of wisdom he has gleaned from Rock & Roll with professional audiences throughout this third rock from the sun.

He believes that in addition to being a groovy musical genre, rock and roll is a way of life that has served as his constant companion and inspiration. Joe has lived numerous dreams, including a stint as the youngest collegiate head basketball coach in the country… who never played the game.

He has written several books, some of which have actually been published. Recent titles include ‘The NEW Idiot-Proof Guide to Customer Loyalty’ and ‘The Rock and Roll Guide to Patient Loyalty.’ He also has several rock and roll books in the works.

His wife calls him an idiot savant for his uncanny recall of obscure rock and roll lyrics and trivia.

Good to Great

Now is time for me to showcase a book I have not read but it is on my reading list. This week my choice is Good to Great by Jim Collins.

When I picked up this book off my shelf, I happened to open the pages to the beginning of Chapter 6, subtitled The flywheel and the Doom Loop. There is a image there of a flywheel which portrays a timeline of buildup to breakthrough and discipline of people and action. But this is not what caught my eye. The saying, ” Revolution means turning the wheel”  by Igor Stavinsky did.

Sometimes, it does amaze me how things happen they way they do. I mean how pertinent that the page of Good to Great would up to that saying. It is so relevant to living your dream. You can not start living your dream unless you start somewhere living it. Change can not happen without action.

If each day you take a step toward your dream, you are one step closer at achieving it. But if you don’t do anything, you are still where you are right now-wishing and waiting for the dream to happen.

I look forward to reading this book because each of us can always strive to improve something in our lives.

Jim Collins is a student and teacher of enduring great companies — how they grow, how they attain superior performance, and how good companies can become great companies. Having invested over a decade of research into the topic, Jim has authored or co-authored four books, including the classic BUILT TO LAST, a fixture on the Business Week best seller list for more than six years, and has been translated into 29 languages. His work has been featured in Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Harvard Business Review, and Fast Company.

You can pick up your own copy of Good to Great on Amazon.