This week I am returning to my A to Z series on social media however not necessarily in the order I left off. In this post, I really want to talk about “What is Social?”. I want to take this opportunity to talk about the behavioural attributes that makes for a good “Social Media Aficionado”.  I loved saying that. Why? Well, the more I speak to businesses and organizations, the more I realize that the expectations of “how to manage” a community or “What the expectations are” when you decide to work or play in this space, are not necessarily understood. I have noticed specifically, that courtesies that are practiced off-line, are often shed, like a Siberian Husky in Spring,  as soon as that person enters the online space. Wrong move- these courtesies still apply. Secondly (and it is going to sound like I am contradicting myself but I am not)-  the traditional marketing and public relations practices that are used off-line just do not work in social media. If you push information and you are not present as a person, you will fail. It is not “business as usual” when you are in the social media space. You need to be responsive to any questions and own the information you are sharing.

Sometime ago one of my Linkedin network members shared their definition of what it means to be on social media and I liked the approach. I am going to build on that approach by using “social” as an acronym  with my own definitions of  what it means to be  ”social” in social media.

S is for sharing and sharing is caring.  This is the number one attribute without a doubt: “sharing”. You share who you are, you share information, your share your perspective, you share, share, share.  This is the attribute that many businesses and organizations who are new to social media have a hard time getting their heads around. It is often the attribute where many get themselves into hot water – this and transparency. Sharing in this space means that there is a two-way channel with a focus on what your target audience deem valuable.It is also responsible sharing. It is not about just pushing what you want. It is in fact an act of giving, a form of collaboration and it is what makes this space hum. In fact the more you give the more you get back in return. It is the way it works. I have stopped counting the number of Facebook Pages where there is a dictionary definition on the landing page and nothing else. Why? Not only are you not sharing but the door is closed which brings me to the second attribute.

O is for Open.The door is open – transparency is critical. Think of this attribute as an open house for the subject or business you have decided to share in the social media space. The hardest thing with this attribute for those who enter is the level or degree of transparency that should be shared with the reader. Many struggle with this. What I will say and stretching my analogy a little further is that you cannot have an open house and limit your visitors to the front-door. It does not work.. Decide on the topics (rooms) and be prepared to welcome your guests to start the dialogue. Have that open, authentic dialogue with them. I cannot emphasize that enough.

C is for character. Character and personality are important ingredients for a good blogger and/or community manager. It is the magnet that gets your audience there and along with your quality content, keeps them coming back for more. You are the host of the community and social media space. Consequently, you are the face of your organization or your social media space. It needs to reflect your values,  your  brand and what you stand for. Your character and personality needs to be consistent across all your social platforms.

I is for Information. What can I say about information that has not been said? I can’t but just emphasize what many good bloggers and social media marketers have said many times.  It needs to be good, succinct, targeted, focused, high quality information that resonates with the reader. Recently we have had a lot of discussion on the importance of good content – so do read those posts to ensure you hit all the key points.

A is for Awesome. A time to share your awesomeness! Yeah! How? Well, I have spoken to  content and personality now add motivation, creativity and variety to delivering your message and who you are. At the same time be true to yourself and do not put something out there that you would not standby. As you build your reputation and credibility, mistakes will happen. Own them. Be transparent and fix it. This will only add to your “awesomeness”. Have fun! Make it interesting. Make it engaging. Lastly, be patient for people to discover your awesomeness. It does take time.

L is for Learning. A day missed in social media, is a day missed in a whole bunch of learning. I kid you not! This field is moving at the speed of lightening. Perhaps you can call yourself an expert for a day, only to become a student the next. Inevitably there is something new to build extra knowledge and skills the next day. As a result, you have to have a mindset that is open to constant learning and change. If you are seeking stability, this is not the place to find it.  In fact you will not last if you are not flexible and adaptable.

So this is my list of attributes that encompass being social in social media. Your turn. Agree? Disagree? Can you add to them? If you cannot think of any of the above, tell me  ”Why you are awesome?”  Let me know! In the interim , let me leave you with this cartoon. Remember sharing is caring- so spread the word, spread the love. Lets redefine global warming  within our social media space. LOL!

Cheers

Shirley

Photo by Funchye

Cartoon used with permission of cartoonist

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Since I wrote my piece on storytelling in this space, I realize I was far from being original when choosing the title. Many have agreed content is king however I now realize that the crowning of the queen is a coveted spot with many claiming the position! In fact it was recently suggested that the term/cliché may be overused. Perhaps. My position is –  who cares! They are all contenders in this category and it is not so much the cliché but  does the associated content have any value? From my research, many of these bloggers make really good points and should be considered when thinking about blogging and content marketing. So may I suggest another term that will hopefully become oversued? Yes, I dare go there- they are the Queens of Hearts in content marketing! LOL! They are  key points and get to the heart of the matter if you are to succeed (yes you may groan- I deserve that …. but work with me here, is it not true ? ). After all it is Valentine’s day and quite fitting don’t you think? So what is my  line up?! Are you with me…here are the Queens of Hearts in content marketing:

1. Context

Many have claimed context as queen and I have listed a number of articles below. Amy Manus writes a post on the importance of understanding the target audience or consumer base which I could not agree more! Early in her post, she states: “The absence of a consumer content-focused strategy can often result in an overload of irrelevant content, choice avoidance, and layers of confusion for consumers.” Absolutely! Without focus and content that the consumer can relate to, you are just pushing out text and adding to the noise. Amy, goes on to highlight the importance of really understanding your audience and what they would consider worth reading. Marketers need to rethink advertising with a push mentality and embrace a targeted valued dialogue with the consumer.

2. Quality 

There are two sides to the quality equation, namely 1) that the content will add value to your audience and in turn 2) will ensure a valuable search result when your targeted audience is looking for that subject matter in question. JMagary writes on the SEO aspects of quality and congers up a good discussion on the topic. I think the takeaway is that you should not compromise on quality – it is key for your audience and search juice.

3. Creative 

Pam  Didner ordains “Creative” as queen and speaks to delivery. A topic near and dear to my heart . Pam shares that “Compelling content is king, and creative development is queen, and the royal couple requires cultivation and time” . Very clever. I would add, when you get the balance right of the two,  you have a powerful marriage! She goes on to make 8 points you should consider in your creative development process. Definitely worth the read.

4. Distribution

Now this category is not as focused as those above. Clearly distribution includes the various social platforms one would share your marvelous creation. Hot on the list these days are video and mobile- they should certainly be considered. The stats here are significant and forever growing. There is also alot of passion about backlinking too. I would always go back to ask the question: “Where are your clients, customers, friends of your customers and audience?”. Then work from there. You may have to do a little experimentation in order to get the mix right.

5. Storytelling

Well you know I have to reference my post on storytelling- not because it is mine but because I do believe thinking through the story, the goal and delivery are valuable to success and furthermore  incorporates a number of the key points above. I think if you consider these key points it will provide a good platform on where to start.

That’s my line up for this Valentine’s day. Have a good one! Let me know what you think!

Cheers

Shirley

Photo by Jeremy Hall

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As I continue to build on the list of niche networks, I thought I would dive into the world of Food! I am a big “Top Chef ” fan; come to think of it, I am a big fan of all the Foodie programs: Chopped, Come Dine With Me, Iron Chef. Sweet Genius.  The Food Network has had significant success with these Foodie shows. In fact this sector has seen considerable growth over recent years. Yep, I am a Foodie! I chuckled at this week’s showing of ” Top Chef in Texas” where they incorporated Tweets as part of the challenge! Social media is becoming an integral part of a number of these shows. As a result, I thought I would take a look at Foodie social networking sites other than the mainstream ones listed above.  During my review,  I noticed that there are millions of food blogs! Literally. They all  have great visual appeal. Somehow photos of food are always appealing. Consequently, many of the Foodie Social Networks are either curated sites or they syndicate your blog as part of their site. I have selected 8 that I think are worth checking out.

1. BakeSpace

Launched in 2006, BackSpace is a free social networking site where members share recipes, cooking tips and their passion for food. The site members come from 174 countries and range from teenagers to grandparents. The common thread among members is their passion for food and learning from each other. It also has a mentor program for home chefs.

2. Foodbuzz

Foodbuzz is an online food blog community dedicated to collecting and curating the best content from food blogs across the web. It is also free to join.  All of the content on Foodbuzz comes from independent food bloggers who share there creative posts and recipes. You do not have to be a food blogger to join. As a member you can share experiences of eating, drinking, dining and cooking food. You can vote (with a “buzz”) on the numerous recipes that are curated. You can setup your own personal profile that includes the ability to post, organize your recipe box, ability to list your restaurants, follow your favorite food blog and share messages about food.

3. FoodCandy

FoodCandy is a social network site where Foodies nework with like-minded individuals and businesses. It is free to join. As a member,  you can customized your profile, recommend your favorite restaurants, share cooking tips and network with other Foodies. FoodCanady syndicates food blogs with full content, with its original layout. You have a choice of creative licenses should you want to syndicate.

4. Foodie

This Foodie social network has received a lot of press recently. It has just been launched by Glam Media (Owners of Ning network). This site brings Food celebrities and FoodLovers to meet in one space.  Members can create profiles using their existing Facebook or Twitter accounts. Members can follow chefs, food critics and others in this sector. Like other networks, you can share your favorites tips, receive tips, recommendations and recipes. There is a discussion forum for exchanging ideas. It seems to have bridge mainstream media with social media. Again, membership is free.

5. iMunchie

iMunchie is also a social network for Foodies. Members share their food with friends. There are iMunchie tournaments where members can win prizes! So a very interactive site. They claim to be “the Facebook for Food ; The Google for Recipes and The online version of Top Chef for Foodies”.  Big claims – only time will tell. Again membership is free.

6. Nibbledish

Nibbledish  is an online community for food lovers and avid cooks. Members are enthusiastic about sharing food experiences from around the world. Members can comment on and rank the recipes. Members can follow other members whose recipes they have enjoyed. Membership is free.

7. myFavFood

myFaveFood is a new Foodie social network  launched in 2011 and still in beta. It is an online community for Foodies, gourmet and anyone who enjoys food (or a good meal). Similar to the above sites, as a member you can discuss your favorite foods, restaurants, vote on comments and join the conversations via message forums. If you have a food blog or website, you can add it to this community. Membership is free.

8. Social Culinaire

I thought I would share a small community. Social Culinaire is a small  social network of 800+ with  Foodies and Industry Pros. The founder is Chef Jeffrey Nimer who encourages network members to share their food, culture, post blogs, seek new career opportunities and make recommendations. So if you are seeking a small niche serious about their food, this is also worth checking out.

So that is my line up on the Foodie social niche. Whether you are a Food enthusiast, professional or both- these sites will provide an engaged audience that share your passion. You may opt for these versus Facebook. Let me know Looking forward to your feedback.

Cheers, Shirley

Frozen raspberries photo by epSos.de on Flickr

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The Power of the TwitterChat was an agenda item at the Socialize Toronto conference (#socializeconf) I attended recently. It was great to have this discussion in a very diverse group. I personally had not appreciated the value of TwitterChats until I attended them myself. Although I have spent significant time on-line, the idea of “140 character chats” did not really sit with me. “What can I possibly gain when I have to limit my opinions and thoughts to 140 characters in a TwitterChat?” Well, since that bias thinking, I have tweeted my way through countless conferences and have been totally engaged with both the presenters and other tweets. So what is the difference! As a result, I started to attend TwitterChats and now I am hooked! TwitterChats are so valuable- oh my! The selections are amazing. You get to meet new people in different sectors, functions and generations. I recently attended the GenYchat- fascinating. Now why are Twitterchats of value? I mined the richness of the conversation at the conference with my own thoughts.

Here are 10 reasons why TwitterChats are of value:

1. They generate new ideas to support your interest or business.
2. You can collect answers or ideas to solve problems from a group of experts.
3. You can learn about a new topic from a subject matter expert or Thought-Leader.
4. You can build relationships within and outside your field – thereby increasing the size and reach of your network.
5. You can build relationships with your target audience on a level that is more personal in a TwitterChat. Now that is powerful! Heelloo!
6. You can increase your exposure- it could be your personal and/or business brand.
7. You can use it as a resource to gather key information- a wealth of information is generated during TwitterChats which can be mined for valuable content.
8. You can take the opportunity to listen to needs, wants which can potentially be leads.
9. You can build a community by moderating your own TwitterChats.
10. You can build credibility- you can increase awareness of the value you bring to the table (soft sell).
11. You can build your own Thought-Leadership.

Ok that was 11. One extra pearl for reading my post! You must admit, these are all valuable points to succeed both as an entrepreneur or business. It is currently so under-rated. Big mistake.

Twebevent has a listing of a number of upcoming TwitterChats. There are excellent articles below that
highlight great chats that you could consider. I personally attend a number of TwitterChats they include #AtomicChat (Content Marketing) with @Atomic_Reach; #EAvchat (Empire Avenue) with @MQTodd; Toolschat (best of Twitter tools) with @MQTodd; more recently #GenYchat with @WriterChanelle and I have added #Bizforum with @SamFioella to my schedule.

So join a TwitterChat , or better still you why not consider moderating one.

Here are a few tips if you decide to join or moderate a TwitterChat:

• TwitterChats are about the community- so treat it accordingly
• Some TwitterChats have guidelines- so you may want to review prior to the chat by contacting the moderator.
• Advise your followers that you will be joining a TwitterChat (the same is true if you tweet at conferences)
• Introduce yourself with a hello at the beginning of a chat. Actually you should also introduce yourself if you are late too.
• Stay on topic with your contributions.
• Do not spam.
• Do not self promote (unless asked).
• If you are moderating- consider yourself a facilitator of the session.
• Be courteous.

Now it is your turn. Let me know the chats you would (or would not) recommend. Or if there are additional values you can think of – do share.

Cheers!

Shirley

Cartoon used with the permission of Cartoonist.

Twitter image by shirley williams

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I have gone to enough conferences over the past 6 months to pull the alarm. Consider it pulled. Why? I have gone to a number of social media conferences dedicated to functions or departments and I have found that each function had a different perspective on the fit of social media in their organization. Here are a few examples of my recent experience at these conferences.

Public Relations and Communication

The general thinking here was one of resistance and consequently little ownership. There was an overall view that social media was another layer of work and if they were pushed to “embrace this phenomenon” the thinking was about how to continue current habits using social media. The current habits or practice included pushing information to the public. Oh dear, this approach just oozes doom. It was quite surprising to me that the “stakeholder management and communications” professionals were somewhat reluctant to want to own, or at least pursue, an opportunity to use social media as a way to reach and engage with their stakeholders on a deeper level. The whole concept of building those relationships, or listening, was not raised. Now having said that- there was a clear generational difference in the audience. The younger adults would try to share the merits of social media however  they were soon overshadowed by the more dominant older crowd. Very intriguing- speaks to my earlier post on generational differences.

Human Resources (HR)

I wrote a blog post on this group of professionals : the HR Goes Social  Impact 99 conference. A high energy conference. The HR professionals were a lot more engaging and was definitely looking at this new medium as an opportunity for engagement and collaboration both internal and external to the organization. Their prime focus was talent acquisition, corporate communication and employee collaboration. Here the enthusiasm was infectious.

Sales & Marketing

Across all the conferences the Sales & Marketing group was very excited about having a new channel to market and sell. The challenge was what was the best way to leverage these potential platforms of wealth. Which one is the yellow brick road to dollars and success.

Publishing and Broadcasting

Most surprising of the bunch. I found this group very traditional in their thinking. While the nextMedia conference had excellent speakers, the panel discussions with the mainstream media Executives were very traditional in their thinking and although they felt they needed to have a social media presence , I was somewhat taken back, when they referenced their “pool of bloggers” like a pool of secretaries characteristic of the 1950s when being politically correct was less fashionable. They were in a time warp. It was quite eye-opening. They shared that “They had bloggers whose work they would edit before publishing anything for the public”. It seemed they were a few decades behind the times. The word “empowerment” and “accountability” seemed not to be in their vocabulary. I hope this is not representative of all but given the high profile of this conference, it  was very telling.

Packaging and Manufacturers

I found this group wanting to learn more about social media however not really sure of the fit in their line of work. The conference shared basic information and experiences. Again, it was more of an exploratory experience neither for or against social media.

Now I recognize that this is a sample analysis and there is a danger of generalization. So if you are reading this and have another perspective, please do share.  Would love to hear from you.  However having said that,  there are key takeaways here. All these professionals had different perspectives on the role of social media- its use and fit in their organization. I cannot help but wonder with all these conferences for the different departments, how are these experiences, learnings, and thinking integrated when they return to their organizations? Are they integrated? I have my suspicions.  Can you imagine the turmoil around the table when the subject of social media is raised?

There is no doubt in my mind that social media should be an organization-wide, cross-functional strategy for it to succeed. I believe if it isn’t, it will fail. Having each department decide on  their own social media strategy spells failure before an organization even gets started. I know “integration” is  my mantra  but I am challenged to see it any  another way. Like any strategy or organization change, alignment and  common goals are imperative. Each department has a role to play while working towards that over-aching goal  and if not align the benefits will not be realized.  This is why when bringing in a social media capability, you need to start with the strategy. You start at the top.  Otherwise you may get pockets of excellence but your successes without a doubt are compromised. Recently, I heard a presentation titled :Social Media Infrastructure by Sam Fiorella  which provided an excellent model on corporate alignment. Thank goodness  there are others with this thinking. What do you think? Do let me know. Also continue the conversation with your network. Let me know of any pearls you discover.

Cheers

Shirley.

Photos by  LexnGer

Related articles

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Last month I shared 40+ networks that you could consider depending on your niche or interests. As part of my commitment to this community, I shared that I will  expand on this list throughout 2012. So here is the first addition to that build!  The topic- Curation!

I thought I would focus on curation because a) I have a favorite site and b) there has been a  lot of “press” on Pinterest  as a curation tool  and as a result I thought the timing was right.  However before I list the sites let’s talk curation.

What is social media curation?

Today,  with the exponential growth of social networks and blogs,  it can be overwhelming searching for information on the internet. As a result, the act of filtering, selecting, reviewing and providing commentary with a perspective on an article, or collection of articles, have become increasingly important. This is known as social media curation.   Recently,  I had posed  the question : What is a social media curator” on Linkedin . I was intrigued on the variety of responses I received. There is definitely different interpretations on what it really is. The response that I agreed with  read: ”A good media curator is someone who reads extensively, then can pull content and organize it in a logical way for the benefit of others. Web 2.0+ has an immense amount of information. Curators sort through it, find the wheat in the chaff, and present it in a friendly manner” . I would agree with this definition however would also add that a curator would also share their perspective  and perhaps alternative ( or supporting) viewpoint using the posts that they have selected.

Why curate?

Curation provides another offering for your on-line audience. It also helps reduce the noise of the plethora of information on the internet. Curation also provides a stream of fresh posts for your site or blog.

Curation sites

The number of curation sites and tools have grown dramatically. Furthermore, more recently the profile of curation  has been elevated as more organizations and entrepreneurs are looking at ways to augment their blogs or content. I personally use Scoop.it. I really enjoy the tool because 1) it has an automatic component of crawling the web to make suggestions to supplement your topic and 2) you have the option of selection and providing that commentary to add value to your audience and 3) Scoop.it then bundles it in a very attractive on-line magazine. I  would like to share 3 Master Curators on Scoop.it namely  Robin Good and Giuseppe Mauriello. For the third, I would also like to mention Martin Gysler who introduced me to the field and tool.  I must admit in addition to curating, I have used the tool as a depository  (Scoop.it SocialMediaPearls) for key articles for my blog that you can reference at any given time. So not strictly curating- however one can say my blog posts are a result of personal experience and research whereyou can find the associated posts on my Social Media Pearls Scoop.it magazine. In addition to Scoop.it, I have used  Paper.il, Pinterest and Themeefy.

Changing gears a little bit, I would like to share that I am intrigued by Bookriff which is very new site and start-up. I learned about this site at a recent conference in Canada. Very exciting site that brings curation to another level. Bookriff allows you to select chapters from an assortment of books, add your own commentary and then publish it as a commercial book. Each time a Riff is distributed, all content owners get paid. BookRiff’s technology manages the authoring, bundling, licensing, attribution, and payment details for each of these custom compilations. Brilliant! How exciting. Love it! Potentially turning the publishing sector upside down.The mastermind and CEO  behind Bookriff is Rochelle Grayson. It was a total pleasure to hear her speak on this innovation.

Now it is time to share that list. Below, I have listed 40 curation sites for your perusal. Enjoy!

1. Aggregage- a new site with a content marketing focus.Agregage creates online “curated” communities by centralizing content from quality blogs, whitepapers, social networks around particular topics and then it is displayed on a new site dedicated to that given topic.
2. Amplify- “The easiest way to clip, share and discuss things that interest you.”  Add the Amplify web clipper to your browser to clip and share things you find on the web.
3. BagTheweb-  BagTheWeb helps users curate Web content. For any topic, you can create a “bag” to collect, publish, and share any content from the Web.
4. Blekko - “Provides a differentiated editorial voice in search.”
5. BlogBridge- BlogBridge is for true info-junkies who want a better way to wrangle all their RSS feeds from blogs and news into one pretty cool organizer.
6. Bookriff – . Riffs are remixes of published books, essays, magazine articles, and your own content.
7. Bundlr-  Create topic pages with photos, videos, tweets and documents. Share them with everyone
8. CIThread- This has a content marketing focus.Simplifies content marketing production, distribution, measurement & optimization across multiple initiatives & social channels
9. Clipboard - Helps organize content, facilitates collaboration and sharing with others.
10. Curata- Curata helps marketers maximize their content curation efforts with web-based tools to easily find, organize and share online content.
11. Curated.by- let’s you collect & organize topic based content (media, links, tweets) into bundles.
12. Curation Station - allows users to gather information, select the items that fit their goals, and then distribute them . A paid service targeting marketers.
13. Eqentia “From your context, let us find you content. From that content, let us find you people. You take action.”  Aggregate, curate, and re-publish content what matters.
14. Evri - automatically and constantly indexes millions of topic-specific streams from thousands of different sources to filter through the web and delivers customized news experiences.
15. Factiva-a  business intelligence platform- with a unique combination of authoritative business news and Information, plus sophisticated tools, Factiva helps you easily find, monitor, interpret and share the essential information your organization commands.
16. Feedly- a simple and elegant way to read and share the content of your favorite sites.
17. Flockler- Drawing from social media and the web, publishing videos, photos and text, and personal commentary and editorial, Flockler lets you curate for a particular subject, event, person or business..
18. iFlow- a real-time, online information exchange that brings together everything you want. You can organize, combine, filter, curate or remix your flows to get a different view on your content and/or to share.
19. kbucket- KBucket is a user indexed search site. A place where experts “content curators” organize, comment, tag and publish their research
20. Keepstream a social media curation tool that helps organize tweets,  into shareable, embeddable collection pages.
21. Kurat helps you to discover relevant content on specific topics. Within Kurat you can easily curate this information and publish it. Kurat can be used as content discovery and publishing tool behind company social media efforts and as a personal newsreader.
22. Loud3r-  a real-time content discovery, curation and publishing platform that delivers the best news, blogs, photos, videos and social media about any topic.
23. My6sense -Read and share your relevant content from your RSS and social streams.
24. Mlkshk- Save, Share and Discover.Use browser extensions to save with a simple right-click.Pick a topic (Shake) and  Invite other MLKSHKers in to post and curate their submissions with one click.
25. Mysinydicaat- a personalized agregator built on the idea that it should be easy to collect, filter, share web content that is important to you.
26. Paper.il-Paper il crawls the web linked to your topic. Once set up the curation is updated automatically.
27. Pearltrees - collects, organize and share everything you like on the web.
28. Pinterest- a Virtual Pinboard that  lets you organize and share all the  things you find on the web.
29. PostPost - PostPost is the Twitter strip search tool. It strips out the noise by delivering search results from the people on Twitter you value the most.
30. Qrait- A realtime curation platform designed to fulfill the needs of content curators.Qrait lets you combine real-time filtering and your own personal touch to create something of value.
31. Redux is a new kind of TV—hundreds of channels of entertaining, and-picked video, all from a  community of curators.
32. Scoop.it- Create a topic of interest, Scoop.it crawls the web for related content that you can select and curate for your online magazine.
33. Shareist - Lets you create your own custom curation website. discover, create, organize, and share content that matters to your audience.
34. Snip.it- create collections of links (we call them snips), add your thoughts & discover others with relevant opinions on issues you care about.
35. Story Crawler- intelligently searches and gathers information across multiple online platforms—whether it be social media, news articles, blogs, RSS feeds, video sites forums and user generated content—to bring users the most relevant real-time data..
36. Storyfy- Lets you curate social networks to build social stories, bringing together media scattered across the Web into a coherent narrative.
37. Storyful-  Storyful was founded by journalists who wanted to separate the news from the noise of the real-time web. Storyful is used to curate “stories” via social media tools, images and videos.
38. Summify- recently purchased by Twitter, Summify Creates a beautiful daily summary of the most relevant news from your social networks.
39. Themeefy- discover, curate, compile and publish your knowledge from the web to personal Theme magazine(s).
40. Yourversion “The best way to discover new content that’s relevant to you.” YourVersion brings you the latest news, blogs, tweets, and videos on your chosen topics in one place.YourVersion automatically organizes the bookmarks by topic for you.

Now that is quite the list. Now, as you consider curation and select a tool, please share your experience here! Or perhaps you already curate-  do share your tips. Would love to hear from you.

As always thank you for visiting and supporting this blog. Iif you enjoyed this post- do share with your network.

Cheers,

Shirley

Post script note: Please see Robin Goods’s comment and feedback below. He provides additional, valuable details around the categories related to the list above. Definitely worth keeping this in mind as you consider this list.

Related articles

• 5 Great Social Media Sites for Curating Content (socialtimes.com)
• Social Media Listmania with Curated Resources & Lists (toprankblog.com)
• 30+ Content Curation Tools for Personal and Professional Use (WebAdvantage)
• 12 Social Media Trends Australian Companies Should Look Out For This Year (prwarrior.typepad.com)
• Rip, Mix, Burn – “BookRiff Aims To Do For Content What Apple Did For Music”
• Scoop.it – Content Curation Tool, Building Authority (iblogzone.com)
• 8 Ways To Find Great Social Media Content (Mari Smith)- YouTube

For me, the Holiday Season is all about spending time with family and close friends, and this is exactly what I did. I love the fact that I can reconnect on a deeper level with the younger adults in my life and because of my social media connection, the bond has grown stronger over the years. Why have I decided to share this with you?

Well, recently Justin Bieber’s name has come up a number of times
when discussing social media. For some reason, it is usually raised with distain and disbelief of any real drive or engagement he has in social media. I listen somewhat perplexed at the attitude. Why?  From my perspective, he is one of the first and  most successful social media case study. Hands down. When traditional avenues were not open to them, he and his mother used the one’s that were familiar and readily available. He started on YouTube, built his fanbase of loyal subscribers with record numbers (currently at 2+ Billion views), created mass engagement using Twitter (currently at 14Million followers)  and Facebook (currently at 37 Million likes)…. and continues to use these tools seamlessly, as if he was born with them. Hold on a minute, he was!  Justin Bieber was born in 1994, a member of Generation Y/ Z similar to the young adults in my circle.  His mother, Pattie Bieber, was born in 1976- late Generation X, early Generation Y member. They look at this media totally different to those of earlier generations. This is why I decided to write about this topic. In order to stay in the “game” for the long haul, I believe it is important to understand the attitudes of the different generations.  As a result, I conducted a little research to better understand these different attitudes. So I am going to get a little academic in some places to make the point. Here goes!

Western characteristics that define the following generations are:

The Silent Generation/ Traditionalists, ST (1925-1945) : Age ~ 65+ yrs

Technology Virgins.

• Children of the Great Depression and World War II.
• Raised in a paternalistic environment and hard times.
• High respect for authority.
• A tendency not to question or ruffle feathers.
• Labor intensive hardworking generation with strong work ethic that worked in factories of a industrialized society.
• Willing to put in long, grueling hours to get ahead.
• High loyalty.
• Era of mechanical automation and the radio.
• Primary form of communication: printed paper and radio.

Baby Boomers, BB (1946-1964): Age ~ 45-65yrs

Technology Challenged

• Children of World War II parents; a sense of changing the world however have a challenge managing change themselves.
• A disregard for authority and rejection of tradition.
• Hardworking workaholics very focused on their careers; live to work.
• They hold positions of power and authority- make up a large majority of today’s leaders, corporate executives and management.
• Very competitive; believe in hierarchical structure and rank. Power and control are valued.
• Define themselves by their professional accomplishments. Self absorbed.
• This generation will be retiring very soon at a rate of 8000 per day (in North America).
• Confident and independent: Comfortable challenging authority.
• Relatively loyal.
• Era of tape recordings, telephone and television.
• Primary form of communication: letters, newspapers, radio, face-to-face, telephone and television.

Generation J (1954-1965): Age ~ 45-55 yrs

Technology Aware

• This generation represents the younger baby boomer years.
• Sharing traits of both the baby boomers and Generation X.
• Materialistic – keeping up with the Jones (J).
• Remembers life before the introduction of mass technology.

 Generation X (1965-1980s): Age ~ 30-45yrs

Technology Adopters

• The family circle is redefined in this generation. More tolerant of alternative lifestyles.
• High divorce rates; more women in the workforce.
• A casual disdain for authority and structured work hours. Values flexibility.
• Dislike being micro-managed.
• First generation to grow up with computers.
• Sees changes from manufacturing from the mechanical era to service era.
• Less committed to their employers. Less loyalty
• Change in work ethics: Work to live rather than live to work
• Adapt well to change; ambitious and eager to learn new skills
• Want to accomplish things on their own terms.
• Integrates humor and social into the workplace.
• Remembers life before the introduction of mass technology. Capable of blending the old with the new approach to technology.
• Era of computers, cell phone, email, PDA and laptops.
• Primary form of communication: email replaces letters, newspapers, radio, television, videos and desktop computing. Prefers reading hardcopy print, face-to-face and telephone.

Generation Y (1980s-2000): Age ~ under 30yrs

Technology Savvy

• This generation grew up with technology and cannot remember a time without it.
• Relies on technology as part of their daily life to communicate with their friends and to perform their jobs.
• This generation is plugged-in 24/7; they require high engagement/feedback.
• Highly educated.
• Totally different work ethic to earlier generations; they are willing to trade high paying jobs for flexible schedules and a better work/life balance; want meaningful work.
• Confident, ambitious and achievement-oriented. They have high expectations of their employers and not scared to ask for what they want.
• Not afraid to question authority. In fact there is a lack of trust in authority.
• They are entrepreneurial.
• They have a need for fun, flexibility and appreciation at work (engagement and feedback is valued).
• They prioritize family and social circle over work.
• They readily assimilate technology into what they do.
• Era of Social Networks: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube.
• Primary form of communication: Prefers to e-mail, text messaging and social networks rather than face-to-face; Prefers webinars and online technology to traditional lecture-based presentations.

Generation Z (1990+): Age ~ under 20yrs

Technology Naturally Mastered

• The internet and mobile generation. Also known as the IGeneration.
• This generation grew up with technology and cannot remember a time without it.
• Highly connected and highly engaged.
• Lifelong use of communication technologies i.e. text messaging, MP3 players, iTunes and instant messaging.
• They carry a mobile phone so that they can text and access the internet at any given time. They always have their phone for this reason.
• They are growing up with an expectation that connectivity is not limited by a desktop computer.
• Completely born in the era of globalization; a business and social world without borders.
• Curate information online at a phenomenal rate; a natural activity.
• Technology is so integrated into their lives, they have mastered it in a way that they do not think about it. Technology is as natural as breathing; they do not categorize it, like earlier generations.
• Preferred communication: Short texting , pictures and videos.

Once you understand these general characteristics, it is easy to understand the different attitudes to social media by the different generations. Generation Y and Z values, entrepreneurial spirit and use of social media are far more advanced and seamless compared to earlier generations.

Generation Y and Z “live” social media, whereas the older generations tend to be more analytical and  talk about social media.  Today many of the corporate leaders are from the baby boomers generation and are about to retire at an unprecedented rate.  In a few years, those leaders will be replaced by a more mobile  X or Y generation and their work ethics are markedly different to the early hierarchical, stationary corporate-focused generations.  So, be ready to be mobile,  to embrace “texting” and removing the borders of your thinking. Without a doubt, your mid-long term social media plans needs to incorporate/address these attitudes… starting with your 2012 plan. The egos of the older generations should be set aside and they must consider a more collaborative approach to work across the generations to truly maximize the potential of social media going forward.  As a Generation J myself, I certainly do embrace it! But then I am a Gen Y/Z wannabe!

Your turn! What do you think? Go ahead and share with your network to continue the conversation.

As always, thank you for visiting. 2012 is going to be our year!

Shirley

Hippy photo from kevin dooley

Related articles

• Move over Millennials, the iGeneration is more intriguing. (themrsite.com)
• Social Media – Age IS relevant – Sorry! [Tim O'Donnell] (ecademy.com)
• @Boomer Authority: A New Twitter-based Question and Answer Resource Helps Baby Boomers Obtain Timely Advice When They Need it Most (prweb.com)
• Baby-Boomers are the most selfish generation in history | Mail Online (tribuneofthepeople.wordpress.com)
• Justin Bieber: The Ultimatye Story of Social Media (Mashable)
• Millennial Branding Gen Y & Facebook Study (Personal branding)
• GenerationY. Mu generation of social media (Sparkboutik)
• Justin Bieber- A social media case study (dumblittlebogger)
• Generation Jones (generationjones.com)

The WordPress.com  prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog. I thought you would be interested in the numbers. Again, thank you for all your support. Social Media Pearls is 4 months old  and has had a wonderful response. Cheers!

I went cruising for the holiday season and have returned totally recharged to continue our conversations in this brand new year of 2012.

All the best.

Shirley

Here’s an excerpt:

The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 12,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

~~~Season’s Greetings~~~

A quick Holiday note to wish you all the best of the Season.

I wish you all good things as it relates to both

your spiritual and non-spiritual beliefs.

Thank you for your support and  following my somewhat passionate ramblings and stories on my blog.

 Cheers

Shirley

HO~HO~HO !!

I have noticed that when the  topic of social network is raised, it usually turns to a discussion of Facebook. Granted it is the biggest player on the planet however it is not the only one. Ok, at some point in the discussion it may get to Linkedin, Google Plus and Twitter (which by the way is a microblog not a network but it is so widely used it surfaces regardless of what topic is being discussed). The reality is,  although these are the “Big Four”, there are so many to choose from and depending on “your fancy” or strategy you may want to develop a presence at other networks as a starting point. Now that I have planted this seed in your thinking, where do you start?  There are so many out there – really. So whatever your passion, go and find your network. If it doesn’t exist, hey create one!

So for this post, I thought it might be useful  to share what is out there. Or at least start a list to tantilize your taste-buds. There is a good Mashable resource on 350 sites.  However, as this reference is from 2007, I have used this as a starting point, removing the sites that no longer exist and adding new ones.  I intend to keep this as a live rolling list that will be updated regularly. I will attempt to publish biweekly, as I research the sites and add to the list.  Feel free to share any sites with me too! Hey, let’s develop our own community of sharing social networks and the associated reviews! Looking forward to hearing from you. In the interim, knock yourself out with the list below!

Books and Community

1. BookCrossing.com – It’s the World’s Library. It’s a smart social networking site. It’s a celebration of literature and a place where books get new life. BookCrossing is the act of giving a book a unique identity so, as the book is passed from reader to reader, it can be tracked and thus connecting its readers. There are currently 980,418 BookCrossers and 8,340,566 books travelling throughout 132 countries. Our community is changing the world and touching lives one book at a time.
2.  Bookins.com – Book sharing website that enables members to exchange used books with each other in real time.
3. BookMooch.com – Users can exchange books with others through points. Users gain points when they give books to others.
4. GoodReads – is the largest site for readers and book recommendations in the world. They have more than 6,500,000 members. Goodreads users recommend books, compare what they are reading, keep track of what they’ve read and would like to read, find their next favorite book and form book clubs.
5. Library Thing - A book network community of over a million members
6. PaperBackSwap.com –  the site help avid readers swap, trade & exchange Books for free.They  only pay for the delivery charges.
7. Read It Swap It – A free service that allows users to exchange books with others.
8. Revish – Revish is  community for book lovers, letting them write reviews of their favorite books,  join groups, and  maintain a reading list.
9. Shelfari – Shelfari is a popular social networking service for book lovers by amazon.
10. Socialbib – Book swapping network between students.

Professional Business Networking & Community

1. ArtBreak – ArtBreak is an artist community for sharing and selling artwork.
2. Atomic Reach - Atomic Reach is a social publishing network  that connects companies and brands looking for high-quality content.
3. Blogtronix – Blogtronix promotes corporate social networking, multimedia microblogging and cloud hosting.
4. DoMyStuff – An online community where busy people can quickly find Assistants to complete their chores. The Assistants you’ll find on DoMyStuff.com are individuals and businesses located near you who compete by bidding to run your errands. This bidding system ensures that you find the best people to do your stuff at the lowest price.
5. Doostang – An career community with over 750,000 elite professionals with inside access to thousands of jobs from top employers.
6. Empire Avenue - Empire Avenue is a game platform  and online community where you earn virtual currency for being social — the more social you are, the more virtual currency you will earn. In addition to gaming, there are groups and social networking for a wide assortment of professionals, hobbies or general interests.
7. HR dot Com -  Human Resources Professional social network. members share their expertise, network with other HR executives, continue their education. …
8. iKarma Inc. – iKarma is an online professional and relationship management  network that is focused on attaining customer feedback and ratings for professionals in a social network media.
9. ImageKind – ImageKind is a community and marketplace for professional artists.
10. Jambo – Jambo  provides a Mobile Membership Directory that works like a radar to give any group of people the ability to detect, search, browse, and connect to each other, when they happen to be in the same city and as close as a few blocks away,
11. Jigsaw – An online business card networking directory for users to establish contacts with each other. Each business card is listed with an email id and a contact number.-
12. ProSkore – An online professional community where members are ranked according to their overall reputation – which includes their social networks as well as their professional experience and recommendations they receive through the PROskore community.
13. Konnects – Konnects enables members newspapers to  engage with their readership and become the central hub of their social network community.  The Social Media features allows readers to provide feedback and add their content
14. Lawyrs – A professional social networking community for lawyers.
15. Linkedin – LinkedIn is a professional social networking website for business users and the the most popular professional business site out there. For more information you can read my post on Linkedin.
16. mediabistro.com – mediabistro.com is  an online community that is dedicated to anyone who creates or works with content, or who is a non-creative professional working in a content/creative industry. That includes editors, writers, producers, graphic designers, book publishers, and others in industries including magazines, television, film, radio, newspapers, book publishing, online media, advertising, PR, and design.
17. Ryze.com –  is a business social network. Members get a free networking-oriented home page and can send messages to other members. They can also join special Networks related to their industry, interests or location.
18. Spoke.com – Spoke allows business professionals to create user-friendly profiles of companies and people in a smooth and organized process that replaces existing inefficient data gathering techniques. Profiles are shared with the community at large, including peers, partners and industry experts – all able to interact and collaborate to create relevant insights about people, companies, industries and trends.
19. Viadeo - professional social network
20. XING – XING is a  social network for business professionals. Members network from different industries, find jobs, colleagues, new assignments, cooperation partners, experts and generate business ideas.

Family

1. CafeMom – CafeMom is a social networking site for mothers to connect and share thoughts with each other.
2. CommonGate – CommonGate is an open  social network and blogging of theme-based communities (Gates) where people can make l connections and share relevant  content with friends, family and colleagues. This  social network enables users to create their own social network. The social blogs contain posts from any of the members, a communal voice within the site.
3. eFamily – A premier social network to connect with family members and relatives in a private and secure environment.
4. Famster – A private secure social network for family members.
5. Geni.com – An exciting social networking site enabling members to create their family tree. All Geni users can share an unlimited number of photos, videos, and documents with their families.  Geni’s Pro subscription service allows users to find matching trees and merge those into the single world family tree, which currently contains nearly 60 million living users and their ancestors.
6. Genoom – Genoom is a social networking platform designed to build private family networks. With Genoom, users can create their own family network and genealogical family tree to connect with relatives from around the world. From centralizing current family connections to discovering and sharing ancestral information, Genoom offers users a secure, private, and interactive family networking environment on the Web.
7. Kincafe – An ideal social network for families to connect with their beloved ones.
8. Kinzin – Kinzin is a Social Publishing® service for groups and individuals to privately share photos and create personalized print products. These printed materials are for  Parents for sharing with families, Coaches for sharing with teams, Teachers for sharing with students’ parents, Businesses for sharing with employees, Hobby group leaders for sharing with members, Camp counsellors for sharing with parents, Event hosts for sharing with guests.
9. Baby Center –  BabyCenter is  a social network  for parents. It is the Web’s #1 global interactive parenting network, with more than 100 million parents.  Baby Center provides moms with advice from hundreds of experts around the globe, medical advisory board-approved information, friendship with other moms, and support at every stage of their child’s development.
10. Minti – A collaborative parenting site.
11. LifeTime Moms  –  social network and resources for mothers
12. myfamily.com – An excellent way to connect with your family members.
13. OneGreatFamily.com – An online shared database with combined knowledge and data at a single place.
14. OurStory.com – OurStory enables users to share stories of their families with others.
15. The Family Post – A sharing network for communication with family members.

Photo by  misterbisson