Home Bases, Outposts, and Frontiers: Using Social Media

Chris Brogan and Darren Rowse have been discussing the concept of  home bases and outposts to describe the use of Social Media in their daily routines. Darren talked about the concepts of homebases and outposts in his post: Home Bases and Outposts: How I Use Social Media in My Blogging. From the post:

A home base is a place online that you own, that is your online ‘home’. For me my home bases are blogs but for others they will be other types of websites.

Outposts are places that you have an online presence out in other parts of the web that you might not ‘own’.

Chris Brogan also talks about the concept of Outposts in his post, Using Outposts in Your Media Strategy. Chris explains that an outpost is another way to define a social media service that brings awareness to the homebase, much like an outpost in mulitary terms.

I decided to go a step further and add in the frontier. Dictionary.com describes frontier as:

A: the part of a country that borders another country; boundary; border.

B: the land or territory that forms the furthest extent of a country’s settled or inhabited regions.

My social media definition of frontier: a website or service you have a presence on but rarely go. This is a site where you may have an RSS feed plugging your most-used social networks (Twitter) or your blog. The concept of frontier can be compared to Chris Brogan’s idea of a passport but shed in a little different light.

Above you will see an illustrated example of my use in Social Media. This is a mesh between Chris and Darren’s ideas, as well as my previous idea of the 4 Touch Points Model for productivity in social media.

In order to stay productive in Social Media I try to use four sites that cater to four different aspects of my life: education, social development, business interaction, and business productivity. You can read more about what these four sites mean in my being productive post. The four social media sites where you spend the most time would be categorized as outposts. I use the “home base” to center my four outposts and vice versa.

The frontier sites sit on a completely different level. Examples could range anywhere from Digg to Technorati or even Twitter. The frontier is a place where you have a presense (RSS FEED) but you have not cultivated the actually site in regards to your time. They also represent different combinations (overlaps) of the outpost sites.

This is a work in progress and I would love your thoughts. What should be added? How do you use social media? I am open for ideas! What is your outposts and frontiers?

Going From Wallflower to Butterfly in Social Media

I have recently subscribed to a local blogger in Indiana named Brad Ruggles. Brad has some interesting points and opinions on social media and I have really enjoyed reading through his recent thoughts. He posted on Thursday some tips to becoming a social media butterfly. I wanted to list two of the five that I found valuable and add a few of my own.

From Brad’s post:

1. Make Yourself Easier To Find

…one of the biggest mistakes I see people making on their blogs is failing to provide easy links to all their social network profiles. If you’re going to capitalize on networked relationships then make it easy for visitors to your blog to find where else you are online…

2. Go Deeper With Key Relationships

Don’t just limit yourself to “comment relationships” though. If you’re clicking with someone then shoot them an email, forward them a link you think they would enjoy reading. You may even chat with Skype or AIM.

There are three more amazing points on Brad’s blog which I encourage you to check out. I wanted to add a few of my own. It is extremely important to get the most out of social media if you decide to take the dive and utilize the tool.

1. Start A Blog About Something You Love and Be Authentic

I know the concept of authentic content has been thrown around here and there between social media experts. It is a common practice to write about the concept of authentic content and communication. Many people ask the same question when debating on starting a blog: “What should I write about?” Write about something you enjoy! Write about something you do on a daily routine. Do you enjoy collecting stamps? Do you enjoy watching soccer and following sports?

I write about social media because I love it. It is easier for me to write because of the joy I find in learning about all things social media.

Write about something you love and find other people who are writing about the same thing. Utilize google alerts to find the people who share the same interest. Brad has points on that, find it here.

2. Start Small. Join a Regional Social Network and Dive In.

We have talked about regional (geographically based) social networks before in earlier posts. I am a member of a regional social media community called Smaller Indiana. I have found that my visibility as a business owner and social advocate has greatly increased because of my use of Smaller Indiana. If you are trying to build a personal brand identity through using social media a local social network will give you amazing exposure to local people.

It is getting harder and harder to make a name for yourself on the Internet when you are competing on a global scale with millions of individuals. If you focus on a niche geographic community you will find that it is slightly easier to be recognized. In order to get the most out of a geographic community don’t leave your relationships on the web, go out and meet the individuals you are collaborating with. A cup of coffee will go a long way at facilitating the building of a personal brand between two individuals.

Losing Content Confidence in Friendfeed? What A Load.

I am a huge fan of Alexander van Elsas’s thoughts on new media and technologies pertaining to social behavior. It is always a pleasure to read his views on how social media plays a role in the day to day communication between people. Recently he wrote a post entitled: The Idiocy of Social Media Conversations. We will dive into that in a second.

I have been playing around with the idea of writing a post about the content creation from members and the value it has to the FriendFeed audience. There has been a lot of talk lately about the content being generated on Friendfeed and how some of it is not “desirable” to a few people. Robert Scoble recently wrote a post about the idiotic comments on some of the FriendFeed conversations surrounding the economic crisis. In the post he states:

The downside of this new media world is that you’ll hear a lot of opinions. Which one is right? I’m not always right. In fact, I’m often wrong. But I’ve counted on YOU, the audience, to help me correct that when I’m off in the deep end. Now, though, I’ve seen so much idiocy that I’m not even sure of my audience anymore. That’s how deep our loss of confidence in each other has come.

It is bewildering for me to believe that Scoble is blasting the entire development of content in Friendfeed based around the opinons of a certain crisis. Isn’t it all relative?

Alexander responded to Robert by saying:

Secondly he complains about the idiocy within the discussions on Friendfeed and the loss of confidence in his audience there. For some reason Robert assumes there are experts hanging out on Friendfeed that are engaging in thorough, deep discussions.

I am on Alexander’s side. It is hard for me to connect good content and in-depth conversations with FriendFeed. I know that most of the early adopters use FriendFeed and great content is SHARED but it isn’t necessarily STRIPPED. A good content site has the sharing aspect intact but also the stripping aspect where meaning dialoug is shared amount the users.

I love FriendFeed. I love the photo memes, when Mike Fruchter shares blog posts, when democrats become pissed off at Republicans (or vice versa), I love the random things posted by Mona and I love the conversations.

If you are looking for a place to share ideas and collaborate in a knowledge capital heavy environment, I wouldn’t recommend FriendFeed.

If you are wanting a wide variety of content and personality, FriendFeed is the place to be.

The Deciding Factor of Becoming a Social Media Expert

The business world has its share of experts and/or consultants. You can find a wide array of professionals in practically every business topic imaginable.

The Social Media world also has a fair share of “experts” and it can be difficult at times to figure out how the title was earned (self-proclaimed or not). Recently, Steve at Social Media Soap Box decided to investigate whether or not the term “expert” can be attributed correctly. He makes some great points on why some of us still “shirk” at the idea of a social media expert. One of the four determining factors from Steve’s Post:

“I think it’s safe to say that there are few things that evolve as quickly, as dramatically, and within such short time frames, as social media.  It’s hard just to keep up and understand the implications of these changes, much less build a foundation of knowledge and experience that one would traditionally need in order to be considered an expert.“

Louis Gray and Chris Brogan have also weighed in on the topic of what it takes to be a  social media expert.

In his post, Social Media Experts are the New Webmasters, Louis states that the individual’s “efforts to rebrand as social media experts will be short-lived and futile.” Louis encourages the self-proclaimed social media experts of the world to stick with their traditional expertise (marketing, communications, PR) and add social media into the mix as a foundation builder.

In the post What I Want a Social Media Expert to Know, Chris Brogan calls upon the self-proclaimed SM experts to focus on the strategic and tactical aspects of social media. A social media expert should be familiar with everything from “how your role ties to marketing, PR, advertising, R&D, finance, HR, sales” to having at least “five stats worth knowing for any blog/website.”

I have been debating on the concept of a social media expert because, frankly, I have wanted to give myself the title. What I have come to realize… there is one factor you need in order to be properly titled a social media expert.

1. The True ROI Expert

If you are touting yourself as a social media expert you are either:

• A. Selling your expertise in a B2B relationship
• B. Selling your expertise in a B2C relationship

Whether you are categorized in the A or B category it is extremely important that you can show potential clients a return on investment in social media. How do you do this? Gain success with current clients. The concept is simple but the process can be hard.

Have you helped a company or individual gain success in the social media world? Have you been able to map an increase of sales based on a communications strategy in social media? Have you seen increased visibility and traffic to a clients website?

You can have a wealth of knowledge in platforms and applications but if you cannot create success for your clients…. your title is a mute point.

Create success for a current client or even in your own business. Use it as the foundation to support your social media “expert” title.

If you can use social media to create success… you deserve the title of social media expert.

Thank you to Michael Fruchter for turning me onto the Social Media Soap Box.

Online and Offline Networking: Connect the Two

The past couple of posts at KyleLacy.com have been about the value of a relationship driven model of social networking. The process of connecting to individuals on and off the web is an extremely important idea that needs to be embraced.

Chris Brogan has always done an excellent job at giving tips on connecting to your readership, as well as, social media friends and acquaintances. He wrote recently on the Five Ways to Connect and Add Value to your networking practices. I thought I would add my own spin on connecting on and offline.

1. Combine Online and Offline Connections

In any business centered social networking group in an offline environment being a connector is a huge priority to most members. In Indianapolis we have Rainmakers, the Chamber of Commerce, and BNI (plus many more).

Personally, I am a member of the Rainmakers Marketing Group. We have hub meetings all over the state of Indiana and we are approaching 3000 members in the community. The group has recently launched a social media platform for the members called: Let’s Make It Rain. The community has allowed for members to network online and move the relationships to an offline meeting (whether lunch or coffee). This has increased the potential for strategic relationships because of the power of connecting 24/7 in an online environment.

I use the sites Let’s Make it Rain and Smaller Indiana to align myself with professionals I may not meet at a Rainmakers Marketing event. If you can use both networking mediums (web and events) to grow your network you have a better chance of connecting with the right people!

Combine the two models to get the most out of networking (whether business of personal).

2. If You Want To Be Interesting, Be Interested

This follows the second guideline on the Chris Brogan post, Connecting Other People. A fellow FriendFeeder, Mona N. (check out her blog), posted a feed that had this image.

This image speaks volumes when pertaining to the concept of the value of connection in social media and networking.

If you want to be interesting to other people you need to be conscious of what they are needing in return. If someone sends you business, write them a note or send them a gift card!

Always be thinking about the individuals who helped you get to where you are today. In the small business world and even in social media this is the most valuable concept you can and SHOULD remember.

Pay it forward. Always, pay it forward. Take interest in what your friends are posting. Take interest in what your clients are doing (other than your project.

Be Interesting. Take value in what others are offering. Connect with your online friends in an offline environment. Make the community a rich combination of community and influence.

Social Media has huge potential to help companies all over the world connect with each other. It is our place to help that dream become reality.

Redefining Innovation in Social Media: Adaptation

Social Media Innovation is a huge topic among early adopters of technology in cyberspace. Talk about an over-used phrase! The term social media is already dieing in the minds of the technologically savvy. And innovation?

First, let’s define the terms from Wikipedia:

• Innovation : may refer to both radical and incremental changes in thinking, in things, in processes or in services (Mckeown, 2008).

• Social Media : the use of electronic and Internet tools for the purpose of sharing and discussing information and experiences with other human beings.The term most often refers to activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio.

It makes sense to couple the terms together to create a definition for beta products, new platforms, and applications on the web. However there is a new way to look at innovation in Social Media. I read a post from Brandon Coon titled: Redefine Innovation. In the post Brandon talks about the concept of innovation in business and technology:

“We relate the word innovation with companies like Google and new products like the Internet, Social Networks, or Blogging and innovation is all of these things.  But innovation can also be different ways to do business.”

“Always be trying to invent new products, services, ideas.  But almost more important is that we always find a way to make our business model better, more profitable, and more (invent a word to go here).”

You are hip to the beat if you are on the next best thing in social media. Beta applications and products are released on a daily basis and become slightly overwhelming (except for Louis Gray who has the uncanny ability to be on all networks).

The only thing I hear sometimes is innovation, new applications, and beta tests.

This may be an old thought. This may be something that has been discussed in the community driven world of social media. Perhaps… I thought I would expound upon it: Turning to Adaptation instead of Innovation.

I have found it difficult to keep up with the countless number of social networks out there. I have decided to become an adapter instead of an adopter.

• Adaptation: are traits that have been selected by natural selection

The concept of traits being selected by natural selection can be applied to social media. When we are investing time into a social community we are building respect among members, as well as, sharing information back and forth. By natural progression, as users, we start to single out certain traits of a site that could be changed or improved. This is the beautiful concept of adapting a process into something better.

The concept of becoming a continuous adapter instead of an early adopter could be a post in itself.

It is encouraging to see members taking the necessary means to help make a site better instead of joining and spreading out over new platforms.

We don’t always have to be radical. The concept of being rational can make that much MORE of a difference.

When a social media community helps the site adapt, in my opinion, that is when the magic happens.

Social Media Consultants’ Top 2 Dangers and the Solutions

I love social media. I love it. No question about it.

Through all the giddy love and unquestionable dedication to social media in the past few months, I have realized one thing. There is fine line to draw when it comes to embedding yourself into the social media world, especially as a business owner and social media consultant.

The Dangers of Social Media:

Danger 1: Loss of Productivity in Your Offline Work Environment

When I first started getting involved in sites like FriendFeed, Plaxo, LinkedIn, and Smaller Indiana I started to see a slow decrease of my productivity in my work flow. I was spending so much time writing blogs, commenting in FriendFeed, and searching for new content my Clients were starting to suffer. I was missing a few deadlines and not getting the sleep I needed to run a successful and productive company.

I have read more than a few posts in FriendFeed pertaining to this topic. When you become entrenched in a social community you grow to love the content and the people on the site. What do we do when we love something? Invest in it. Plain and Simple.

Solution

• Time Management: Try to set a certain amount of time aside for social media once a day. Set a goal to spend 30-60 mins in the morning and 30-60 mins in the evening (this is just an example). Maybe you decide to spend time on social media at night after you get home. Maybe it is on your lunch break. Manage your time and stick to it.

• Crowd Sourcing: Use your social media communities to help with your work! I recently needed some ideas of where to find stock pictures of run-down gas stations. I posted the question on FriendFeed and within 2 minutes, I had 6 responses! Social Media communities are filled with extremely intelligent and talented people. USE THEM!

Danger 2: The Curse of Knowledge

Most of us on the social media circuit are self-proclaimed social media experts. We love to be the early adopters. We love to try every new and shiny beta out there. We debate and talk about certain sites to the point of beating the conversation to death.

Owning a company that caters to small businesses, I have found myself ROCKED with the curse of knowledge. Most small business owners are not engrained into social media. LinkedIN and Plaxo are the extent in which they enter into the social community realm. For social media tycoons and experts the curse of knowledge can be detrimental when consulting to your small business clients.

“Have you ever tried Twitter? You should really check it out.” ***blank stare*** “Okay, let’s go back to LinkedIN and Plaxo.”

Solution:

It is simple. Remember that the social media fanatics are a completely different crowd than most small business owners. I have tried to slow myself down when discussing social media with a prospective client. I tend to get really excited and go on tangents of social media effectiveness and crowd sourcing in FriendFeed (blah blah blah).

• Get to the source of the pain. Maybe you are overwhelmed by all the sites out there? Maybe you need some help in finding the right sites and managing the content to the sites? You want to get into blogging? The Basics? Sure!

The greatest lesson I have ever learned is actually from the Sandler Sales Course, which I would love to take some day. Ask questions. Get to the source of the problem. Don’t overwhelm with knowledge and wealth of information.

Most people could care less about the amount of knowledge you have about social media. They already know you are good…..They are meeting with you. They want to know how YOU are going to solve THEIR problems. They don’t care about the new THING in social media. They care about how it helps them.

FastCompany: Myspace Has A Brand New Bag, Baby.

There has been plenty of talk about Myspace the past 4 years. Ever since the launch of the social portal GIANT, there has been conversations centered around Facebook applications being Myspace killers to the terrible design of the site’s personal pages.

I started out in the social media world through Myspace. I loved it when it was first launched. The customizable pages, the photo gallery, and the blog entry (I moved my xanga over to my Myspace page). I remember the friend trains and the thousands of people I didn’t know.

Fast Foward 2 years: Enter Facebook to Anderson University. Everything changed for me when Facebook hit the scene on my campus. The design was simple and quick. The UI of the site was not daunting or cumbersome. It was a hit in my book!

I have since slowly migrated away from Myspace for fear of being glitter blasted through the web space. This all to say, I was browsing through the magazine at the airport yesterday and the new FastCompany caught my eye. There on the cover stood Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson, the Myspace cofounders. The title read: Don’t Mess with Myspace: Tom Anderson and Chris DeWolfe Say Their Business Is More Innovative Than Apple, Google, and Facebook. Could They Be Right?

Needless to say two things happened: I tried not to laugh out loud for fear of being stared at and I was really intrigued. I bought it.

I am intrigued because I know that Myspace has an excellent business model beneath that terribly designed site.

Facebook has been owning Myspace in terms of user/member growth:

From FastCompany:

World wide visitors

Facebook: 123.9 million up 162% from May 2007

Myspace:  114.6 million up 5% from May 2007

Clearly Facebook has been owning Myspace on growth over the past years. The competition from Facebook has pushed the Myspace co-founders to go back to their roots: Music.

From FastCompany:

“Myspace Music is a new site that promises to let people listen to and share streaming songs from a full catalog of music for free, as MySpacers do now with video-but also create playlists and buy ringtones, merchandise, and concert tickets.”

Is Myspace going after the iTunes music share? They have made pacts with major labels in the music industry to offer their content without digital rights management.

It is interesting to see Myspace reinventing itself in the wake of the social media movement. Now dubbing themselves a social media portal instead of a social networking site, Myspace is trying to tell the world. “HEY! We are still here. ZUCKERBURG… You are going down.”

They have the business model that Facebook and other sites have not figured out. They may be a little cumbersome, ugly, and completely stupid to the tech-nerd world. Honestly… who cares.

From FastCompany:

“Murdoch mandated $1 billion revenue target in June, but the unspoken defense is that Myspace alone contributed the vast majority of the $900 million that did come in. That’s three times even the most optimistic estimates of Facebook’s perfomance.”

I may not use Myspace anymore but I say, “Go for it Tom. I would love to see a Battle Royal of social networks.” Zuckerberg vs. Anderson vs Steve Jobs.

A New Level to FriendFeed: Confessions Room

Currently on the Confessions Room: 360 posts, 2815 comments today

I have been preaching about a new level of relationship building on social media. There needs to be a deeper connection between individuals on social platforms. Enter the Confessions Rooms.

Friendfeeder Shawn Farner started the confessions room as a way to share some deeper things in Friendfeed and post it anonymously. At first I was hesitant, shrugging the room off as just another way to spread myself farther across the wide expanse of FriendFeed. I decided to join the room after hearing a couple of excellent comments crossing the feeds.

I have not been disappointed. Other than the random meanderings of some complete idiots, the FriendFeed confessions room has been an excellent way to really get deeper with friends on an online platform.

Some Examples of the feeds in the Confessions Room:

“Honestly, I wouldn’t mind not having kids. It would really not be a big loss to me…”

“I was drunk the night I asked my wife to marry me. She was as well…and also on the other side of the country at the time. That was 10 years ago October ”

“I just had a terrible fight with my girlfriend. And now i feel like shit.”

“I want to make a big difference in this world, but my career goals and the fact that I’m lazy means I never will.”

The Confessions room is an excellent way to get to know your FriendFeeder’s in a more intimate way. Join the group. Start a conversation. If you want to do it anonymously you can sign in to the Confessions account and post.

I encourage everyone to check in and see what is going on. What a great way to make social media have deeper meaning!

Rebellion! Personal Branding and Social Media?

Social Marketing Journal had a post today called, Is Social Media Starting to Rebel. In general the post talks about the deletion of accounts at Facebook and the changing of names at Bebo.

Andy Beal was one of the members who brought the ‘profile changes’ on Bebo to the limelight.

He is quoted saying,
“Let this be a warning. Don’t ever rely 100% on your social networking profile for brand building. Bebo-and perhaps others-can and will change your profile without warning”

The Social Marketing Journal goes on to say that bloggers and social media users should be wary when it comes to using social media as a branding tool. At least not as your major tool.

I don’t completely agree with the stance of the Social Marketing Journal. Just because a website or social media community has the ability to change your information doesn’t mean you should be wary of using social media as one of the staples to your branding strategy.

The truth of the matter is this:

If you are spending time on your networks and investing yourself into the community will you not have a problem with the branding behind your profile. The people who have problems (when their profiles are changed) are the individuals who start profiles just to be ON the site and not INVESTING in the site.

Being on and Investing in a social media community are two completely different concepts. Anyone can sign up for a social platform but not everyone can spend the time and energy it takes to invest in the community of the site.

When you invest in the community you shouldn’t have a problem with the changing of a profile or your brand identity.

This does not go to say that you shouldn’t worry about your profiles online. Whether or not you should be wary of social media for personal branding is up for question.