Tag Archive - Social Media

5 Sites I Like

September 5, 2009 in Journal with 1 Comment

I have eclectic tastes when it comes to most things. This also holds true with where I spend time online. Here’s a snapshot of some of the websites I’m browsing this weekend.

1. The Journey is Everything.

This is author Travis Trasher’s blog. It’s not often that you find someone willing to write their guts out with total honesty. If you’re a writer looking for a peek into a writer’s life, Travis’s is a fun place to hang.

2. Straightdope.com.

I love random questions. Maybe it’s because I have a 5-year old daughter, or maybe it’s because I have the curiosity of a 5-year old. Hmm, either way, if you’re like me and you must know whether mosquitoes prefer one blood type over another or if water really does drain counter-clockwise in the northern hemisphere, you should check this out. You just might get a story idea here. Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction.

3. Despair.com.

Continuing in my vein of weird, sarcastic humor this site is highly recommended. You’ll see why. I’m twisted, people. I know.

4. Sethgodin.com.

Seth is a marketing genius. Period. Born in the right time with the right ideas.

5. Mashable.

If you spend any of your time building brands online or if you’re starting to build you own, Mashable is a great source for articles on all things social media. I visit here regularly.

My penthouse suite in the Tower of Babel

August 25, 2009 in Journal with 6 Comments

I’ve been thinking a lot about social media lately. I think about how it has set the barriers of entry effectively to zero (a good thing if you’re trying to break into the market), how we use it or don’t use it and why, how it impacts the business of publishing and is reshaping it in some drastic ways. We rely on it, use it to connect and build brands faster than ever before, and when the machine’s wheels grind slow, well, just look what happened with the recent Twitter outages.

Social network building has become a big part of what I do. And on a bigger scale it has become the primary medium through which business is evolving and through which we connect on a personal level. It’s all about friends, tweets, blogs, DM’s, unique visitors and whether or not you’re focused on SEO and you community influence. But for all the upside–and there is a lot, mind you–there is also downside. There always is. Single-sided coins are a myth.

As I have been going through my week I’ve found myself fixated on this corner of my life and wondered, “Why is having more Twitter followers or Facebook friends really important? Is it important at all? And why do I obsess (let’s call it what it is) about having other people like me and care about what I have to say?” These are tough questions because if I answer them honestly, which I’ve tried to do, the answers may uncover some pretty twisted priorities or worse…a crooked soul in need of straightening.

As I’ve thought about it, two things have become clear in my own experience: Continue Reading…

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