Too Much Internet Time circa 2008

This advice was given on October 21st, 2008... does ANYTHING still apply?

How do you know if you're spending too much time on the internet?

The Internet has really opened up our worlds, empowering communication and the exchange of knowledge like never before.

Also photos of cats.

But with it, and all its benefits, come a few quirks as online life collides with everyday life. Our mission today? Well, it's the same thing we do every day, Pinky-- Try to take over the...

Er, wait... no.

Talk about the quirks... The quirks.

Right. 

So here are just a few of the signs you might be spending just a little too much time on the internet:

·         You're writing notes by hand and don't know how to revise without the highlight and delete functions.

·         In one day you can chat with five friends in Canada, three in England, two in the Philippines... plus learn how your buds' Diwali celebration went in Mumbai... And never leave your computer.

·         As Sherlock Holmes searches for the Purloined Letter in the book you're currently reading, you find yourself wondering why he hasn't checked Ebay yet.

·         You're American, but because of the online friends above, you find yourself regularly saying "zed" for the letter "zee," add unnecessary "U"s to words, and exclaim "bugger" when irritated.

·         ...Or the converse of this-- you're English, Canadian, or Indian, and friends wonder where all your beautiful "u"s have gone, and why you now address them as "youse guys" and "ya'll."

·         Someone tells a hysterically funny joke at a party, and you respond "LOL! LOL! ROTFL!"

·         Your Real World friends are forced to endure elaborate tales of people with names like GhostRiderNumberSeven, SharkGirl, AnarchistAnna and Skitzy42.

·         You know what the weather is doing in Spain and Sydney, but will need to actually get up off your butt and look out the window to see what it's doing in your town.

·         You mishear Culture Club's "I'll Tumble 4 Ya" as an offer to share your post on StumbleUpon

·         You order pizza online to be delivered to you from the shop next door.

·         You've written 2,000 Twitter posts, sent 500 emails, and have responded to 20 blog post comments a day, yet still need to send a "thank you" card to Gramma for the sweater from last Christmas.

·         You know how to make 37 different kinds of emoticons using only punctuation, but have no idea where to put a comma in a sentence.

·         You used to protest things like animal rights or war.... Now you incite forum members to mutiny against specific social media.

·         You react to your latest Google Pagerank increase about the same as you did the birth of your child.

·         Your mother comments about the spring birds twittering... and you wonder whether you should add them to your Following list...

·         ...You also wonder if wireless has finally made it to your neighborhood.

Have you experienced any of the points on this list? If so, then go offline immediately and take a walk 


Source: http://www.cabbagesnkings.net/2008/10/signs-you-might-spend-too-much-time-on.html

13 Tips for OUTRAGEOUS LinkedIn traction

1.  Treat your LinkedIn profile like a website

Make sure it is formatted, clean, and free of spelling and grammatical errors.  I strongly suggest creating your LinkedIn profile first in a word document – not only so you can “catch” errors, but also so you can get a better idea of what your profile will look like on the LinkedIn website.  In some sections of LinkedIn you can also pull in bullets and special characters.  Alas – still no bolding or italics other than what LinkedIn itself formats. Another bonus, if you’ve already created your profile in a Word document, sections of it can easily be copied into other social media platforms to keep your branding unified.
2.  Know your keywords
Like any website, LinkedIn’s internal search engines weigh your keywords heavily in its searches.  Make sure you place your most important search or keywords strategically throughout your profile.  Some places you might want to consider are your

• Professional Headline
• Title Fields
• Specialties
• Interests
• Recommendations

3.  Keep your name clean

Put only your first name in the first name field and your last name in the last name field.  If someone is searching for you by name, LinkedIn will have a hard time finding you if your last name looks like this:  Smith, PhD. John A. (johnsmith@gmail.com) LION 09 92345 67789

4.  Keep your photo professional

I recommend a close up and a smile. A full body shot of you and your family, you and your car, you and that fish you caught last week is unclear and unprofessional.  I have seen some artists use artistic renderings of themselves – which is clever if your image is still clear.

5. Don’t ignore the “post an update” function
LinkedIn’s update function is much more robust than it used to be (taking some tips from Facebook and Twitter).  People can now “like” and “comment” on your updates – which helps to build relationships within LinkedIn.  And with the introduction of LinkedIn Signal, the update section can now be a functional part of your SME (Subject Matter Expertise) and content strategy.  Make sure you take a little time each day to “like” and “comment” on the updates of network as well. (*Found on the home page.)

6.  Personalize your public profile URL

• Make sure your public profile reflects your name, your business, or your area of expertise: http://linkedin.com/in/linkedinexpert
• Nothing says, “I’m a LinkedIn neophyte” like a public profile that reads:  http://linkedin.com/pub/firstname-lastname9890734-akjshfiho

7. Beef up your “Experience” section

“Experience” is not your resume. Make sure the jobs you choose to list support each other. Make sure you put all your keywords in the title section.

8.  Utilize the “Experience” description area

Use the 1000 characters in the description section to tell people why they should hire you or your company or buy your product.  Tell a “save the day” story.  Put in a testimonial.  “Experience” is a great place to list “wins”, different companies you have helped, seminars or workshops you have presented, a mini-shot of your personal website.  Use this section as the foundation for your Company Profile

9.  List your “additional education”

Make sure you list your certifications and licenses as well as traditional education. LinkedIn has now added new sections where you can list areas of expertise, publications, patents licenses and certifications.

10.   Get Recommendations

LinkedIn tells you your profile is complete at 3.  I recommend at least ten recommendations.  And when you are asking for recommendations, give a bulleted list of what you might want them to say so that your recommendation is more than: “She’s nice”.  If you are comfortable doing so, you might write a recommendation that the recommender can use or base their recommendation from.  You might want to add some of the better recommendations to your website.  Ask for recommendations form thought leaders in your field, old employees, and well-known clients.

11.  Join strategic groups

Join groups in your own market or industry, your ideal client’s industry, groups that you are interested in, groups that your target prospects are members of, alumni groups, open groups and some big groups (Consider LinkedHR with 370,000 members).  Once you join a group you can send a message to strategic members /prospects or invite strategic members to connect with you.

12.  When inviting others, tell them how you know them

LinkedIn used to have an IDK “I don’t know” button that could get you in a lot of trouble.  Now a person’s response to an invitation is “Accept” or “Ignore”.  Nevertheless, when inviting someone to connect with you, I highly recommend telling him or her how you know them or why you want to connect.  I would also add the disclaimer:  “If you feel you have received this message in error, or simply don’t want to connect, please ignore this invitation.

13.  Use “Answers”
The answers section is a great place to position yourself as an SME or thought leader.  Answer enough questions and you can drastically increase your exposure on LinkedIn as the “go to” person.  Its also a great place to get fodder for blog articles, and to re-purpose blog articles you have already written!

13b.  “Give” more than “Get”

LinkedIn is a great place to get information, to get connections, to get clients, to get employees.  But follow the golden rule:  “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”  Don’t spam.  Don’t infiltrate email boxes with constant sales messages.  Instead share valuable information via your groups, updates and answers and let clients come to you.

7 Ways to blitz social media exposure

Always be posting GOOD content:

1. post to twitter
2. post to facebook
3. post to linkedin
4. post to youtube
5. post to triberr
6. post to ping.fm
7. post to your blog
8. post to quora
9. post to friendfeed
10. retweet good stuff
11. like everything you like...

That's it... when you have finidhed that list, go back to no. 1 and start again!!

11 Ways To Increase Your Twitter Followers

I thought when I got to 100,000 twitter followers that getting more followers would be easy... that hasn't been the case. It seem that a lot of my followers were only there because of the "follow me, follow you" movement that has been twitter for the last 4 years.

So, having stagnated at 105k, and slowly edging DOWN, it is time to look at creating more followers without going back to the mutual follower model.

This great article was written recently by Kevin Rose. I have made some tweaks from my own experience. Let me know what you think.

Eleven Ways To Increase Your Twitter Followers:

1. Explain to your followers what retweeting is and encourage them to retweet your links. Retweeting pushes your @username into foreign social graphs, resulting in clicks back to your profile. Track your retweets using retweetist.
2. Fill out your bio. Your latest tweets and @replies don’t mean much to someone that doesn’t know you. Your bio is the only place you have to tell people who you are. Also, your bio is displayed on Twitter’s Suggested Users page. Leaving it blank or non-descriptive doesn’t encourage people to add you.
3. As @garyvee says, “link it up.” Put links to your Twitter profile everywhere. Link it on your Digg, LinkedIn, Facebook, blog, email signature, and everywhere else you live online. Also, check out the great feedburner-like badges from TwitterCounter for your blog.
4. Tweet about your passions in life and #hash tag them. Quality content coupled with an easy way to find it never fails. If others enjoy your content, they’ll add you. Learn more about #hash tagging here.
5. Bring your twitter account into the physical world. Every time I give a talk, speak on a panel, shoot a podcast, present slides, or hand out business cards, I figure out a way to broadcast or display my twitter account.
6. Take pictures. Pictures are heavily retweeted/spread around. This one from US Airways Flight 1549 has been viewed 350,000+ times. For mobile pics use iPhone apps such as Tweetie orTwitterific, both which support on the go uploading.
7. Start a contest. @jasoncalacanis offered a free macbook air if he reached the #1 most followed spot. That never happened, but Jason added thousands of followers…brilliant.
8. Follow the top twitter users and watch what they tweet. Pay attention to the type of content they sent out and how they address their audiences.
9. Reply to/get involved in #hash tag memes. search.twitter.com lists the hot ‘trending topics. Look for the #hash topics and jump in on the conversation (see #4 for links to #hash instructions).
10. Track your results. TwitterCounter will show you how many new users you’re adding per day and Qwitter will email you when someone unfollows you after a tweet
    
    Consider join triberr.com and get the power of tribe mates tweeting to MILLIONS of followers for you. If you want an invite, tweet me at @WayneMansfield.

If you enjoy this content, add me @WayneMansfield or twitter.com/kevinrose
.

Do you give a KLOUT

Wayne Mansfield

Hi everyone

As you know, I am a numbers freak so when my Klout score dropped by 20 points I wanted to know why. Here is a great article about Klout and why you should care [or not!]

Wayne

This poll analysis was written by Jeremy Victor, editor-in-chief of B2Bbloggers.com. For more of his writing, visitB2Bbloggers.com and follow him on Twitteror Google+.

SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Social Media — tracks feedback from leading marketers about social media practices and issues.

Our poll this week asked:

What’s your opinion of sites that try to measure social media influence, such as Klout? The results:

• They’re important, but they’re not the only factor worth considering — 45.45%
• They’re not to be taken seriously — 32.73%
• Not sure — 18.18%
• They’re the best measure of social media performance — 3.64%

Interesting, no? That said though, with this week’s analysis, I thought I would do something a little a different. Rather than me share my thoughts and analysis of Klout, I turned to the blogosphere in an attempt to share a point/counterpoint on the topic of influence. Below I’ve chosen to summarize key points from two of the smartest individuals on the topic.

POINT: Mark Schaefer: Klout is key to building influence with content.

Schaefer argues that the ability to promote content is an essential part of any social media strategy. The ability to promote content is known as “influence.” A social media program needs to be able to gauge that ability if its going to be successful — and that’s what Klout is trying to accomplish.
It gives you the ability to see who can really push the conversation in a space forward. Read the original article here.

COUNTERPOINT: Tom Webster: It’s not the intent, it’s the algorithm.

Klout’s scores are based on a variety of factors, none of which is truly indicative of influence, because they’re based on a flawed set of assumptions about how people relate to one another. At best, it’s creating a score that tells you a person’s potential to influence others. But that score doesn’t tell you whether or not they’ll actually influence the people you’re hoping to reach. Klout is flawed because its assumes too much. Click here to read full article.

Wayne: So there you have it. What do you think??

LinkedIn 5 Ways to Get Noticed

I found these great LinkedIn tips on PC World blog: Why not check them out here and then get more info over at PC World. some are a year or two old... but gee, old stuff is often the best stuff!

1. Don't Get in Picture Trouble

Many people choose not to use a picture on their LinkedIn profiles. While some of you have your reasons, it's a mistake for the typical user, Alba says. Some common concerns: Perhaps you don't want to disclose your ethnicity, or you don't consider yourself photogenic.

"Some situations are justified in not using a profile picture, but in the end I encourage people to include one because it shows you're comfortable with yourself," Alba says. "It also makes your profile a lot more personable."

Alba recommends a professional headshot for LinkedIn, rather than the picture of you in front of a mountain or lake that you utilize on Facebook. In addition, if you're a job seeker, odds are that you will meet your prospective employer in a face-to-face interview, so that picture of you twenty years ago that you like to leave up there - that needs to be replaced.

"Sometimes people are floored when they see the person if they left a really old picture up there," Alba says.

2. Write a Descriptive Professional Headline

When you edit your LinkedIn profile, you have what Alba calls a "professional headline" right beneath the name. The common mistake here (as shown in the picture below) is to simply put your name and title. He believes you should use something catchier. Instead of saying, "project manager for X company," say something more specific: "I manage complex projects involving IT and marketing."

When people search for you, they will see this professional tagline, and it might decide whether or not they feel compelled to click on your name and see your profile, Alba says.

"Think of yourself as a marketer, and this is where your big ad appears to the world," Alba says.

3. Properly Label Websites Displaying Your Work or Blog

LinkedIn offers you the ability to list the websites where your work might be displayed. This is a great option if you keep a personal website with a resume or a blog. But when you go to edit the website descriptions, Alba recommends dispensing with LinkedIn's default descriptions of "my website" or "my company." Those descriptions aren't a compelling read for employers, he says.

Instead, when you edit your "websites" section, LinkedIn provides a drop down menu (see picture below). Click "other," and you can upload the link and describe it as you see fit. Instead of "my blog," you might write, "my blog on complex project management."

4. Consider a Vanity URL

Maybe you haven't changed the default URL that LinkedIn provides for your profile. Especially if you have a common name, this will make your name after the LinkedIn address appear with a bunch of ugly code and numbers. If you have to give your LinkedIn profile address over the phone, or you wish to print it on your business card, it should be as concise and self-explanatory as possible, Alba says.

"It literally takes 30 seconds, and it makes your profile look more on purpose," Alba says.

5. Finish with a Strong, SEO-Friendly Summary

The "summary" section of your LinkedIn profile could be the biggest missed opportunity for the majority of job seekers, Alba says. While this section has a 2,000 character limit, Alba suggests packing as much about you and your abilities into it as possible.

In reality, the ability for people to find you will depend on LinkedIn's search engine linking your name to certain search keywords. So (staying with our repeated example), a project manager might want the term "project management" to appear a few times throughout the summary.

"Most summaries are a couple sentences or a couple paragraphs, and they're missing out," Alba says. "The more you put in the summary, the better your SEO is."

Remember that you're in a crowded field of applicants. Alba recommends that you put in short "problem, action and results" stories that show how you contended with challenges that helped your business succeed.

Wayne Mansfield

Edited by Wayne Mansfield

Check me out on Facebook LinkedIn Google + Twitter and Blogger

17 KNOCKOUT Status Updates for Facebook.

What's your status update??

1. "When I say 'I MISS SCHOOL' it means my 'FRIENDS AND THE FUN' not the 'SCHOOL'."
   
2. In the Beginning, God made the Heaven and Earth. The rest was Made in China.
   
3. Life is not an MP3 player where we can enjoy our favourite songs, but Life is like an FM radio we have to learn to enjoy whatever comes.
   
4. Single is not only a status. It is a word That best describes a person who is strong enough to live and enjoy Lfe without depending on others.
   
5. Time is a good teacher but unfortunately it can kill the students who aren't attentive.
   
6. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit; Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
   
7. Kid's dad joined Facebook, kid posted on his wall : "WTF!" Dad asked him "What is WTF?" kid replied "Welcome to Facebook..." ;)
   
8. For those who are in love,True love comes only with one person. If it comes for the second time it is just a medicine to forget the first love.
   
9. Sometimes I just want to run up to a stranger on the street and say "YOU'RE IT!!" and then run away.
   
10. There is a "lie" in believe, "over" in lover, "end" in friend, "us" in trust, and "if" in life.
    
11. If women ruled the world there would be no wars. Just a bunch of jealous countries not talking to each other!
    
12. People intend to forget MISTAKES that they made... but they never miss opportunity to point out other's MISTAKE.
    
13. Goodbyes are not forever, Goodbyes are not the end, they simply mean I'll miss you, until we meet again!
    
14. What happens in an exam : Tik tok, Mind block, Pen stop, Eye pop, Full shock, Jaw drop, Time up, No Luck!
    
15. At times I feel that waiting for the right person in life is like waiting for boat at the airport.
    
16. Dear Maths, all my life you made me find your X!! Listen buddy. .She's not coming back.. So please move on!!! Regards, Frustrated Student.
    
17. A foolish man tells a woman to stop talking, but a wise man tells her that her mouth is extremely beautiful when her lips are closed. ;)
    

Stuck for a good status date... steal 1 of these...

11 Ways to use Google +

Wayne Mansfield

It was just a matter of time before Google created some real competition for Facebook. This prediction for Google Plus from Sharma is that the technically more savvy and early adopters will flock to it, while the majority of people will continue with Facebook.

However, there is much to be said about an early mover advantage yet! And, since Google rules the search engines, it may well be in your interest to setup a home on Google Plus. Here are 11 ways you can market using Google Plus. Google Plus profiles are on their way for brands and businesses. They will add this in time, but for now, you, as an individual, can make the most of it.

1. Setup a solid profile. Your entire Google Plus experience starts with the profile. Just like on Facebook, your profile is key, so spend some time building it correctly. Start with a good headshot. And, if you think the advice is commonplace, just look at some of the pictures on Google Plus now. When you show up in people’s steams, all they will see is a thumbnail. So, choose something where you really stand out. Craft your introduction well. Make it so that people would want to add you to their circles. And, Google Plus allows for live links in the introduction itself, so make the most of it. Add links to your website, blog, LinkedIn profile, etc.

2. Add relevant and remarkable images. My hunch is that Google will index the pictures you share (unless you’ve kept them private). So, use images you want found in the search engines. If you are a speaker, add pictures of you speaking. An author? Add pictures of you at your book signing. The idea is to convey the right brand image.

3. Make sure your profile is OPEN to search. This is key, since Google reigns supreme in the search world, the chances are that your profiles will be indexed VERY quickly. When you hit edit profile, the very last item on your profile is “Search Visibility.” Make sure you have checked the box that says “Help others find my profile in Search Results.”

4. Optimize the links to the right of the profile using keywords. Again, a great SEO feature. What are the chances that Google will value these links highly? Pretty good, I’d say. If only to encourage people to use Google plus. On the right hand side of your profile, you can add links and the text that goes with it. Make sure you use the RIGHT keywords to connect to your website. For example, our link to the Marketing Zen homepage uses the phrase “online marketing.”

5. Use “Circles” to communicate with clients, prospects, media, etc. This is perhaps Google Plus’ greatest selling point. Most people’s lives have layers – professional, personal, acquaintances, etc. And, Google Circles allow you to make the most of the layers. For example, you can create a circle for prospective clients. And, then cater specifically to them with industry news, a solid case study, etc. (Tip: While Google will inform a person that you have added them to a circle, it won’t tell them which circle.)

6. Use +, Comments, and Share to boost relationships. At the heart of all good social media marketing and networking lies the power of relationships. As you interact with others, show support for their ideas. The +1 on Google is akin to “Like” on Facebook. You can also +1 and comment when you see fit, and you can also SHARE within your own stream.

7. Add videos to your profile. If only from an SEO perspective, the chances of your videos being indexed into Google’s search is higher. So, if you have online video, share it.

8. Add your industry or business name as a “Spark.” Sparks is a new Google Plus feature, and still in development. But, something tells me that this will also tie into search results or effect them in some way. For now, use it like you would a Google alert, and setup SPARKS for your name, company name, and industry terms. You can also always follow industry news using SPARKS. For example, I have technology and business as my SPARKS, and I follow the top articles in those areas.

9. Market research –ask questions and use Hangouts as needed. Google Plus is a hot bed for market research right now. People are a LOT more engaged there right now because it is a new playground. It reminds me of Twitter in the early days. Google hangouts incorporates video chat with circles. Want to invite all your sales people for a quick Monday morning meeting? How about a Hangout?

10. Get a custom URL to share your Google Plus profile. Just like the early days of all social networks, there will be a huge rise initially as people try to fill up their circles. And, as time goes on, this will slow. Make it easy for people to follow you, get a custom URL. You can do so at http://www.gplus.to.

11. Hang outs Video chat is still one of the untapped frontiers simply because of the technology hurdle. I think that the gap will be closing quickly. But for now, for those students who CAN video chat, you can hold actual office visits virtually and seamlessly. Hosting synchronous chat is something that is growing in popularity and google+ seems to be a great option functionally, but we may have to wait for the common technology curve to catch up a little bit. Still, if you can video chat, do it.

Dilbert Puts Twitter to good Use

Everybody has a view about twitter... here is Dilberts!!

Twitter Followers try buying Taxidermied pig! 11c a time

Crazy article from Buffer:

This isn’t our biggest money-making story, but it’s an unusally weird tale of amazing financial success—of a sort: 
On March 29, 2011, Twitter user @TheBloggess tweeted “Everyone on twitter paypal me 11 cents in the next 24 hours because I need $1,000 to buy something incredibly stupid.”

Of course at that rate, it would take nearly 1000 people for every $100 raised…and yetit wasn’t long before she had received $402, almost all of it in 11 cent increments.

She later said “I emailed [people] thank-you notes until my wrists seized up and I had to quit.”

She wouldn’t tell anyone at the time what they were paying for. You had to send in your 11 cents without knowing what it would be used for.

So what was it she wanted to buy, anyway?

It was a ”taxidermied pig … dressed as Scarlett O’Hara.”

Of course, all truly weird stories don’t end after the first round: As it turned out, the pig was no longer available.

So, as she explained in a blog post (Dear Internet: You Have Lost Your Mind. Never Change) she tried to instead spend the money to get a picture of a celebrity doing something unusual. When she had no luck getting a picture of “Nathan Fillion with some twine,” she turned next to @Alyssa_Milano.

Suffice it to say, Alyssa’s initial response to the tale and it’s follow-up request was: “I’m confused.” Which, @TheBloggess admitted, was “a totally a fair response.”

Of course, eventually, it all turned out for the best: a photo of Nathan Fillion coddling a baby made of twine was produced, which satisfied everyone.

Internet Stats circa Sept 2000

INTERNET STATS (as of Septermber 2000)

– 76 million in US surf Internet and use email daily

– 215 million users in 2008

– 333.5 million e-mail accounts active in US (in 1998 it was 77 million)

– 46% of American workers use the Net for personal reasons

– 48% of engaged couples used Web to gather info on and plan weddings

– 55% of online gamblers are women

– 650 thousand new jobs created based on Internet contact

– 5,400 jobs cut between January and June 2000 due to dot-com failures

– 44% of online surfers have participated in an online auction this year

– 32% used the Net to keep up with and gather voting and election

information

– 18% relay on Internet “completely” or “very much” for daily news

– 68% say that e-mail and instant messaging has reduced long distance

phone bill

– 71% of men have shop online

– 58% of women shop online

– Most likely shoppers are males with at least Bachelor’s degree and

earning $75,000

– Companies are launching Web sites at record pace

– Over half of all businesses with Web sites maintain their own site

– advertising online has gone from $400 million in 1997 to $4.8 billion in 2000