Posts from — August 2008

Do you remember that book, The Digging-est Dog? It is about this sweet dog, named Duke, that was adopted from a pet store and had no skills what-so-ever, for doing what dogs do best–digging holes. His friends rejected him because he could not dig and he ached and ached from trying so hard. But Duke’s determination finally paid off one day when he gave digging one last try….

“Sammy Brown looked out at me. He saw me digging happily. ‘Good for you Duke’, Sammy cried. ‘I knew you’d do it, if you tried.’ So I dug further. I dug faster. I dug and dug to please my master.”

The story goes on to say the Duke got quite carried away with his digging. So carried away, in fact, that he was labeled a Digg Spammer. He began to “shout for friends” all the time to digg. He stole a top digger’s icon for extra diggs and began leaving threatening comments to those that would not Digg his shouts.

There are many reasons the Digg Community may perceive Duke and others, a social media spammer and Greg, over at 10E20, has a great checklist that everyone should consider when determining whether or not you are seen as the positive social media maven you think you are.

So ask yourself this, do your actions depict you as a nuisance like Duke, or are you keeping your digging under control? After all……..

“Digg is about community participation, NOT about forceful promotion. So take some of these spammier tactics into consideration and help keep the community (and your account) clean.”

I came across a review done by Kate Greene, of Technology Review, regarding a startup microblogging site that just launched at the end of July. 12 Seconds takes a different approach to microblogging in that they allow you to post a 12 second video about what you are doing instead of using text……..

“Using a Web camera or a cell-phone video camera, people record themselves doing anything–watching a football game at a bar, telling jokes, buying new shoes, playing with their child–and can upload it immediately to the Web, where others who subscribe to their videos get the update.”

Evidently, this free, easy, fun way of staying in touch with others is borrowing from the concepts of other microblogging sites such as Twitter and Plurk to tap into the successful microblogging niche. 12 Seconds founder Sol Lipman says;

“I think video as a medium is significantly more engaging than text,” Lipman notes. “If I’m at the bar with my friends, I want to show us having fun at the bar, not just text it.”

12 Seconds launched their “alpha” version of video microblogging on July 24th and invitations were accepted fast and furiously with over 7000 video uploads in a few days. Their plans for the future include more invitations and eventually offering software that will allow outside programmers to build applications using its technology. Sound familiar?

I like the idea of video microblogging, I really do, but my question is this, are people really going to watch video after video of those they are following?  I follow a lot of people on Twitter and Plurk and for the life of me, I can’t imagine having the time to watch their 12 second videos.

So, I requested an invite and have set up my account over at 12 Seconds. I tested it out and recorded a couple of videos. Unfortunately, my recordings left a little to be desired. Besides the fact that the sound was not a match to my mouth, it also sounded like I had a bad lisp. According to Hot Hardware, improvements are still taking place, which is a good thing because 12 Seconds has some work to do before any sign of viral activity takes place.

The site does have all the right ingredients to be a winner, however it will take a trip to Glamour Shots for me to really make the most of it and consider posting it to my blog. What do you think? Is 12 Seconds the next Twitter?

This guest post comes from Jeff Tippett. Jeff is an Outreach Strategist for Calvert Holdings and one of the authors of the Calvert Creative blog. He is the thirteenth in my series featuring social media dads.

“How do you have time to be involved in social media?”

I don’t think that I’ve ever conducted a social media and business seminar without being asked that question. Perhaps the question arises because our lives are so busy that adding another task seems overwhelming. But to me, it’s like being asked, “How do you have time to eat?” I take time to eat because it’s important to me. I value food! Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I feel the constant pressure of time constraints: I’m a single dad of 3 active kids, and I have an advancing career that demands a lot of my time. Spare time just isn’t part of my life’s equation.

Then why do I remain so active in social media? I pursue the social media realm because it adds value to my life. With the schedule I keep I have to constantly examine the ROI. But that determination isn’t limited to social media. I ask this question to any involvement with my life. What’s my return? Does it add value? Is the payback for the time that I contribute worth the investment? I can buy a lot of things in life. But I cannot, of course, buy time. Social media allows me to interact with friends, to contribute to the lives of others, and to gain knowledge—all three as I have the opportunity.

We all need social interaction in some form. For many of my single friends that do not have kids this type of interaction is often found by going out for socialization. With my commitment to care for my kids I don’t have the ability to go out as much as some of my friends. But with social media, I can virtually go out and hang with my friends whenever I have a few minutes. Sometimes after a busy weekend with the kids I crave adult conversation. But with the kids nestled in their beds I can’t just pop down to my local pub for a beer with my buds. But I can log into Twitter or Plurk and instantly jump into conversations.

I love to contribute. Three years ago I reinvented myself and left my lifelong career. Within that career much of my focus was on contributing to the lives of others. That career matched my personal passions. Although I’m in a new career that I love, enjoy, and wouldn’t trade for anything, I still have a need to give part of me to others. Social media provides a great outlet for me to help others.

I greatly enjoy attending conferences designed to increase my knowledge base. That’s why my RSS reader is so valuable to me. With RSS readers, I can continue to gather knowledge and increase my core competencies from the comfort of my favorite living room chair–or even while snuggling under the covers if that’s what I chose to do. Sure, there can be a significant noise to signal ratio. But I control the amount of noise that I allow into my world. For example, I chose not to subscribe to any of the blogs I read VIA email. Everything comes to my RSS reader. When I’m ready and have the time I peruse the topics, select the ones of interest, and read if they continue to be of interest. I love being active in Plurk and Twitter. I have the freedom to jump in the conversation when I want or opt to remain out of the conversation if time doesn’t allow.

Activity in social media may seem like another add on to a life that’s already marginalized. For me, however, it’s the way I now live my life. And it’s creating a life of value to me. What about you? How is social media affecting your life? Does it seem like another task or are you finding rewards from your involvement? What benefits are you gleaning from social media? Let’s continue the discussion…

Follow Jeff on Twitter here

15 year old, Daniel Brusilovsky, is not your typical teen. While other kids his age are taking the bus to school, playing baseball and saying “no” to drugs, Daniel is taking his entrepreneurial skills and starting his own business that involves teens and technology.

Jason Kincaid, from TechCrunch had an opportunity to meet Daniel at their August Capital event last week and Jason reports that Daniel is a “bright kid” that seems to know everyone…….

“a quick glance at his Twitter account shows he gets around too, with recent visits to Twitter, Apple, and the TechCrunch ranch - all without a drivers’ license.”

Teens In Tech is a community for teenagers interested in producing and sharing new media content in a safe environment. The site launched Monday, August 4th, with a very limited private alpha, but they have plans to expand to a public beta by the end of the year.

Daniel is striving to make his site different from say….. “other” sites geared towards teens, by making it super easy for teens to get started posting content. Teens In Tech offers a simple, 3-step, sign-up process that will give its users a sub domain, Wordpress blog and limited storage. They will also have access to the Teens In Tech forum that will allow them to ask questions.

I will be really interested to see how this community develops. There is no doubt that teens today have the smarts to pull something off like this but without proper supervision, (as with anything having to do with teenagers) it could turn into a community with major hormonal imbalances. Luckily, with folks like Robert Scoble on the advisory board, some parental guidance will still be available.