Browsing Tag

community

All sphunn out

So I started my little tool initiative last week with a little help from Kevin Shea of Twing. This post’s tool is Sphinn, I was reminded of it because of a Twitter post which lead me to Social Media Mom. As an aside, Twitter does in fact make blogging just a little more fun and generally improves the conversation.

Social Media Mom (SMM) is a fun little blog, which taunted me to Sphinn for several articles I read, but not being a user I didn’t. SSM’s header is peppered with tools including Mixx link and Propeller, so I now have 3 posts because of 1 tweet. Mixx and Propeller are in currently in progress – a little more complex and extended content. Sphinn’s content is a considerable more narrow – focused on the SEO and SEM segment, with a dash of social media and news. Sorta news, kinda like Reno is sorta like Vegas – both have gambling. Yup – Sphinn is the Reno of social news, it has voting just like Digg. That’s my metaphor and I’m sticking to it! Sphinn has ads too, just like any good SEO oriented site, one of the better ones was a Ninja ad.

Be a SEO Ninja

Yes – a SEO Ninja! That IS a lofty goal. Question: Just how much content do you have to consume to become a ninja? I clearly would like to be all stealthly and DEADLY while killing it with ad based revenue. I spent the better part of the week experiencing social media through the Sphinn lens, mainly because of that ad. Phinn is essentially what you would think from a content perpective being kin folk of Search Engine Land and all. This is essentially where social media tweekers hang to get thier next fix of tips, tricks and search algorithm updates. There is one BIG twist – a fully engaged conversational community.

Despite the extremely limiting taxonomy, the community is an engaged and passionate group of folks. Quality of the content is managed by an actively engaged community, example conversational comments below from a single post around fake articles:

What’s more annoying? A story is submitted to Sphinn and the story may not be true? Or readers assume that the person who submitted the story is the one who created the untruth? Don’t shoot the messenger….

or

So its ok for people to submit a bunch of junk on Sphinn and waste my time by lowering the signal to noise ratio? Submitters’ reputation on Sphinn depends in part on a submitter pushing quality content.

It is this very core community value which essentially provides all the relevant headline content for SEO in an easy to reference list of top Sphunned articles. The popular Sphinns for a segment are more or less quintessential nuggets by category. There is one interesting thing about the “optics” of the community’s content; there seems to be a challenge to get to 300 sphinns, two digit rankings are the norm. The highest Phinn, Seattle SEO John Andrews challenges Sphinn to top 300 Sphinns, has not yet reached the elusive 300 since August. I find this a little odd with such a search engine optimized title (place, category, name, keyword and keyword pluralized), but not when content is limited. You can just put your content into the big watercooler bucket.

Net-Net, I have learned a great deal from the community and the content over the last week, but the value just appears to not be sustainable over time for me. Is Sphinn a victim of it’s own specificity? It IS a capable social news platform that is easy to use. I hope Sphinn take the opportunity to leverage a vibrant community to provide more diverse content with extended categories. With extended content it’s possible 300 will no longer be a relevant number.

Twitter is not just a toy – it’s a tool – 5 ways to USE it

So I continue to just be amazed with the increasing value of Twitter for me as a person. Twitter is helping me be less verbose, although you can’t tell from my posts and it continues to expose me to new folks, ideas and online resources I would have never known about without Twitter. That being said, the Big Bang of the Twitterverse continues to expand the population at an amazing rate, it is increasingly becoming a the platform of choice for communication for many folks.

Twitter-centric content is everywhere! I am easily able to find posts on Twitter which are rewarding and provide for a better understanding of the value of the platform, but there are increasing number of ideas around effective Twitter management which is an interesting twist. The growing number of how to better manage the stream recommendations are not only interesting, but confirmation that the community is evolving. Perhaps the most honest piece on managing the stream I have read is Dopp’s. (If you haven’t read the Juice you should, the content is amazingly honest and insightful – not the kinda stuff you will find here.) Tips, tricks and how to’s are becoming a staple when it comes to Twitter references online.

With the changing landscape on Twitter there is a growing amount of content espousing the good, the bad and the indifferent on the benefits of the platform. The worst post I have seen so far has to be How to Increase your Twitter following by 438% in 30 Days.

Despite the Twitter land grab underway, the utility of Twitter is still non-trivial. With the recent increase in reliability and the platform stabilization of late, which is much needed with the increasing visibility; there is a growing need to understand the use of the platform by new folks. The community does self-monitor and reject poor form, but it will take some time for users to push back against the over crowding, so anything that help improve the usage hopefully is a good thing. So how can you use twitter as a tool for more effective communication? Below are 5 areas for consideration to improve your Twitter experience:

  • Listen and Participate: People are on Twitter to connect. No, really… use twitter to express and share. If someone in your group asks a question and you have input, respond – that’s sorta why they asked. You may want to listen for a while until you participate, your call.
  • Use it for a Place to Get Ideas: The people in your stream will amaze you with their creativity and insight in <140 characters. Actively use the information and the links shared to understand more about what interest you and your followers. You just might find a topic or two which you can share with others or even blog about.
  • Meet New People and Develop Relationships: You will find people on Twitter who will expand your network and your understanding of a topic or a region – it will also expand others views of you and your region.
  • A Place to Find Stuff: This could be content you are looking for or other stuff, such as restaurants or other things to do. I’ve been reminded I need to go see a movie and how much fun an afternoon at a museum can be.
  • People Watch: Sometimes passive is good. More than likely there will be many folks in your network that you won’t engage, but just watch. That’s ok, just because I don’t play with some of my kid’s toys, doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy watching them play with them.

Need to understand a little more about twitter? Here’s a brief little video for you:

Have fun with your new shiny toy and find a way to make it useful and productive for your and your friends.

Built to Flip

So I was reading the latest Inc. Magazine online, because of some random content a friend of mine was able to do a quote for mediaTemple, which is how I found the article, “Anything Can Happen” a interesting little history lesson on Ev.   After reading through it I was somewhat amazed a the naivety of the author’s assertion that Twitter may be built to flip or at least passing on others might think this. On some levels, so what if it’s a exit focused start up, that being said Twitter’s micro-use case for business, public safety and personal communication are almost limitless, except for the 140 character thing.  Below is Max Chafkin’s thinly supported concept by “many others”:

Although some technologists think Twitter could one day be a billion-dollar company, many others say it represents the worst of Web 2.0: a company that is built to flip, that does little of value and has no long-term prospects as a standalone enterprise.

So relationships, information and minimalist technology may have little value in some circles, but it is quickly becoming the favorite channel for real-time communication for many. It is essentially a platform that levels the messaging playing field for people, businesses and potentially the government.

People

Twitter provides insights into where and what. Not an overly complicated use case – share where and what is going on RIGHT NOW in under 140 characters with your followers and keep in touch with the people you are following. Twitter allows for a voyeuristic view into random folks’ lives and friends alike.  It also services as an up to date new source with crowdsourcing of content and pushed content from legacy media outlets, such as the BBC.

Businesses

This technology could be seen as best for a marketing channel, but I think it better suited for the service channel and effectively keeping your customers aprised on support issues, service availability and general FYI information without the requirement of going to a website with it being delivered to your phone. I mean think about it – an elevator pitch in <140 characters. Maybe a new product launch artifact will emerge called the Twitter Pitch, but in essence once you’re done, your done; unless of course every day has a new pitch, which might be a fun spoof profile.

Public Safety

Amber Alerts might be useful on twitter, reminders of an election day or severe weather alerts. Twitter represents a broadcast communications platform which could have many uses for an eGovernment initiative. I actually think the civic uses are endless.

I’m not sure where I was going with it, but in principle if Twitter can represent the worst of what is Web 2.0, then bloggers and technologist are all doomed since it would imply community, relationships and content has limited/no value.