Does the Value of a Network Connection Go Down With Time

I just saw another piece quoting Julien Smith's rant about the declining value of followers as a network grows.



This is just plain silly. 100 people in a network makes for a lot ton of connections. 200 people in that same network gets a lot more potential connections. Even if you never add one extra connection, a network that has grown has MORE value per connection, not less.



The number doesn't matter near as much as the RELATIONSHIP. If I have ONE PERSON on a network and he's my next big customer, a though leader with thousands of readers, or a person with a friend that can connect me to another network of people I'd like to hear from.. ONE is FANTASTIC.



Develop relationships. Not numbers.

Amplify’d from webworkerdaily.com

Smith’s post helped explain to me the concept of inflation in a social media following. If you start out on a social network early on and that network grows over time, you can only keep up with that growth for so long because, at some point, the service will experience faster and bigger growth than you. The result is that you end up with less “access” and have to make more effort to be able to reach more people. As Smith puts it, “100 friends yesterday has the same value as 200 today.” This feels to me like a never-ending vicious circle.

Listen. What is being said about you is as important, if not more than, what you are saying about you. Read more at webworkerdaily.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/9N2H9M

@egoldstein thinking about amplify.. I could get more conversations if..

I've done an informal count on how many interactions, likes, comment, etc I get on a post sharing others articles, post and pages.



The AMPLIFY logo on Facebook pretty much kills any conversation.



Don't know why.. it's an attention getter, the primary purpose for a photo on Facebook. But it's also a corporate logo rather than a visual to go with the story.



On my FB feed, there are lots of Amplify logs, and since I've been doing that.. a lot less total interaction on everything I do there. You'd have to factor in what I replaced, my schedule during August, what I'm talking about about and how much I interact on friends posts to get anything to count on.. but my gut say "I don't like all those logos"



I'd like to have my defaul action for FB go to a PAGE. When I tried to turn it off my main stream, I lost the ability to post on a page.



(frankly, my biggest problem is that I don't check the autopost section at all.. when I do, the posting is much better :)



Which brings up my other problem...



I love amplify.com and wanted to make it a primary content creation site for me. But there are severe ligations.



1. (can't find numbered list button) text formating not quite there



2. Photos can't be upladed while writing



3. Limits on where I can post. I'd like YOUR front end to MY blog for some posts



A quick look at my stream will prove I'm not just complaining.. I use Amplify and lot anad will continue to love you guys no matter what.

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/9WJmn8

Enjoying Paper.Li news from friends

I think the the jury is still out on whether Paper.li will add any value to their users or networks that read it.



But I'd really like if it did.



Cool design, fun to be included on friends pages.. looks great.



Will it help me get for information? Get organized? Save time?

Amplify’d from paper.li

improvement Daily Read more at paper.li

 

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/8zz5

I Love Blind People, But Never Let Them Drive My Car

My favorite big old media publication Advertising Age has a post up with advice for "brands" (that's ad talk for companies)



Michael Learmonth is has credentials. He's digital lead at Advertising Age (?)



He admits that he doesn't get social media. He then let's us know that he's talked to high profile users by referring to them (but not their advice) and he's quite clear that he doesn't want to talk to anyone he doesn't know.



I look at it a bit different. I'm not trying to draw a crowd so much as I am open to the possibility that there are very cool SMART people out there who I haven't met. That's why I read AdAge.. even when they use staff that doesn't know the world I live in. He might just have some information I can use.. or be a person I'd like to connect with.



AdAge closes with his Twitter ID.



Why would I want to talk to someone who says he doesn't have time to vet new friends?

Amplify’d from adage.com

Some so-called social networks aren't really social at all. On Twitter, for example, the relationships are asynchronous; there is no obligation to follow anyone in return or even monitor who's eavesdropping in the first place. But things are different for other social networks, where the idea is that the user actually has a real professional or personal connection to the people he is "connected" to.

For me, the rules are pretty simple: Facebook is for people I know and might be interested in my vacation pictures; I'm happy to connect to anyone on LinkedIn who I've met or spoken to professionally. Since I'm in the broadcast business, I do what I can to cultivate a Twitter following.

Curious as to why someone would friend someone they don't know, I tried to reach Mr. Slattery of Cohocton, N.Y., who seems like a nice enough fellow. I tried looking him up to no avail in both Cohocton and Rochester, where his Facebook profile indicates he's spent some time. His Facebook profile lists Harvard University, so I had a friend search the alumni network, but nothing there, either. Finally, I sent Mr. Slattery a message on Facebook. Maybe I'll hear back. Or maybe, he's got the same policy I do and doesn't connect to strangers on Facebook. Read more at adage.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/a4RS07

Money. The Ultimate Drug?

"Show me the money" is pretty close to what happens in your brain.



You get a high from seeing the dollar signs and have more success.



What ways can we use this to accelerate our businesses or accelerate the spreading of any meme?

Amplify’d from www.futurity.org

The study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, identified a brain region about two inches above the left eyebrow that sprang into action whenever study participants were shown a dollar sign—a predetermined cue that a correct answer on the task at hand would result in a financial reward.

Using what researchers believe are short bursts of dopamine—the brain’s chemical reward system—the brain region then began coordinating interactions between the brain’s cognitive control and motivation networks, apparently priming the brain for a looming “show me the money” situation.

“The surprising thing we see is that motivation acts in a preparatory manner,” says Adam Savine, lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate in psychology at Washington University in St. Louis. “This region gears up when the money cue is on.” Read more at www.futurity.org

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/9gDfhC

Trying to find a human at @Clear

Amplify helped me connect with Cox Cable.. that came out very good. We had a conversation on Twitter within a couple of hours.



Today, I'm going back to CLEAR or Clearwire or whatever they call this division of Sprint.



I posted the humorous chat I had with a Clear rep today.. and detailed my story. Like the Cox situation.. I'm mostly trying to reach out and find a rep who doesn't mind talking on any social media channel. Twitter is preferred, but Facebook is fine too. Of course, we want comments on this post or the LaserPage.com blog with the full story.



Know anyone that works for CLEAR? Tell them Warren is looking for them.



If you don't know anyone on social media that works for CLEAR then TELL EVERYONE.. Retweet this to your network and let's find at least one human being to bring to the conversation.



I'll be talking about this on my Social Media Radio show, on my other blogs and anywhere else I can. This time, I do want my problem fixed.. but the PRIMARY goal is to open a real conversation.



Disclaimer: ANY conversations will be reported. I've put 50+ hours into talking in private with Clear.. now I'm reporting everything you say.. even when you attempt to "take it offline"



C'mon Clear. Talk to me.



I want to LOVE WiMax.. I was begging for it for YEARS and now I'm not giving up just because you got bought by a big uncaring telco cell carrier (Spring is next on my love the big company tour)

Amplify’d from laserpage.com

This is representative of every exchange I’ve had with Clear or Clearwire or whatever Sprint allows them to call themselves this week. Nice people, mostly clueless and ultimately dropping me at another dead end.

So I yelled a bit more and got them to schedule a service tech. Only a one week wait.  This tech came out and said such things as

The newest modem they sent you is crap

The tower across the street isn’t accepting traffic and overloading the one a block away

There is new software that will let me see what tower signal is, but I missed the training on that

I can’t do anything. It’s those dang tower guys. They’ll probably have to reboot something. I’ll put in a ticket and they’ll get to it in a week or so. I don’t know if that will work.

The tech support people screw up modems. I’ve reset yours and it will be fine (refusing to hear that I had tested extensively BEFORE they reset it using settings that had been better for 3 weeks).

Does Clear work for you?

Are there any Clear reps working online that are willing to address the social media outcries for help?

Do you know anyone that will talk to me publicly? Read more at laserpage.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/abrEmg

It easier to move forward when you let go of the past

I'm a fan of eMarketer.com.. they do a lot of primary research and have good graphs that I can point to and look smart.



Today, they did a great job of showing NOTHING.. Things are changing, and some people don't know what to do. That line has been used to sell studies and solutions for a long as anyone can remember.



I would have just ignored it.. but then saw the line "times of rapid change"



HEY! .. Wake UP!!! Times of slow change are history. It's not going to be like it used to be. No need to adapt of a "new medium" for your old school marketing ideas.



That world is gone.

Amplify’d from www.emarketer.com

Social media is no longer new, but it’s still a turbulent space. Just a couple years ago MySpace was on top of the world, only to be ousted unceremoniously by crowds flocking to Facebook. Twitter crept onto the scene and then exploded with growth in 2009, putting itself on every marketer’s radar. New trends are developing in the social location-based area, and that’s not counting the seemingly constant mergers, acquisitions, startups and failures. Little wonder that marketers find it difficult to stay on top of the hottest social media trends. A May 2010 survey from staffing firm The Creative Group found that 65% of US marketing executives considered it at least somewhat challenging to keep up. “Marketing has always been a field with a constant learning curve, but the shifts taking place today are occurring more quickly, making it especially challenging to keep pace,” said Donna Farrugia, executive director of The Creative Group, in a statement. Most marketers rely on in-house staff to handle their social efforts, but employees still require adequate training and also the time to keep up with the latest developments and trends among both consumers and their competitors. The Creative Group found marketing executives relied most on conferences and seminars along with industry networking events to learn about social trends. Relatively few depended on actual social sources such as Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, and just 7% said they kept up to date through blogs. “Networking becomes even more important during periods of rapid change,” said Farrugia. “Many marketers are aware of broad social media trends, but they need nuts-and-bolts information on how to most effectively use new channels. That's where insight from peers on what worked and did not work for them can be most valuable.” Keep your business ahead of the digital curve. Learn more about becoming an eMarketer Total Access client today. Check out today’s other article, “Gilt Groupe Positions Service and Value as Luxuries.”   Get more articles like this one delivered every day. Click here for the eMarketer Daily newsletter.

“Networking becomes even more important during periods of rapid change,” said Farrugia. “Many marketers are aware of broad social media trends, but they need nuts-and-bolts information on how to most effectively use new channels. That's where insight from peers on what worked and did not work for them can be most valuable.”

See more at www.emarketer.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/9nHkad

Cameron Diaz Does Not Hate Your Interwebz

When shopping for celebrity gossip, it's always a good idea to look out for viruses and bad players. That's a good idea any time.



From what I've seen, as long as you aren't looking for hoards of photos or lurid details, you are pretty safe. After all, most anything you need is on IMDB or social media sites.



But it does make for great headlines and fun discussions like my wife saying "Why is SHE on your computer screen"

Amplify’d from holykaw.alltop.com

Computer security firm McAfee named the Something About Mary star the “most dangerous” internet celebrity. Searching “Cameron Diaz” on the internet puts you at a one in 10 risk of landing on a website ripe with malicious software. Read more at holykaw.alltop.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/aFM4n7

When people ask me for insider knowledge about Vegas, I say follow @24k and @vegasbill

I live in the suburbs.



In Vegas, that's not too far away from the action.. but most days, I sit and look at the skyline from the side of my pool or catch the lights from my bedroom or home office.



If you ask me about having a good time when visiting, or how to have the most fun as a local, I'll introduce you to the Twitter Twins. Chris and Bill.

Amplify’d from www.lasvegasweekly.com

See more at www.lasvegasweekly.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/bYtcdC

Facebook Advice for Liars, Cheats, and Star Wars Memorabilia Collectors

Humorous take on the new PLACES feature on Facebook.



The tool make it easier to tell the world that someone is somewhere they may or may not want to share.



Better advice.



1) don't go to places you are comfortable telling the world about (even someone without FB may see you)



2) don't trust the data you see about where someone may or may not be from the Facebook (or Twitter, Foursquare, email, whisper) you get.

Amplify’d from gawker.com

You are having an affair with your wife's sister. Your wife's sister checks into her home and says "Having awesome sex with [Your name here]". Your wife sees this on her sister's wall and divorces you. (Also, a robber you're friends with steals your Star Wars memorabilia collection because he knows you're out having the affair.)

See more at gawker.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/9sknOl

Social Networking On a Plane

We spend a lot of money to show up for a conference, visit a potential client and put ourselves where the money is.



Airlines have tried to pretend we can have a party in the sky, but why not facilitate real conversation about business (when we want that)?



Technology could let us meet and connect with others going to the same event, or looking for a solution we have in hand.. often without getting out of our seats and comfort zones.



I think it's safe to say there could be as many prospects on a cross country flight as you might see at a trade show party. Not a sure fire business love connection, but better than treating us all like a big tube of cargo.

Amplify’d from www.buzzmachine.com

* This is the key to decommodifying the airline: What if you chose to fly on one airline vs. another because you knew and liked the people better? What if the airline’s brand became its passengers? What if the airline even found ways to encourage more interesting people to fly with them because they knew that would attract and retain passengers (they could offer discounts and benefits to people who are active and popular in the social network)? Right now, all you offer is seats and miles: commodities. How much richer this would be if you offered small societies. Yes, we could still get stuck next to a talkative bozo — but not if we could meet people and arrange our seats before the flight thanks to the social network. Next to the right person, I might even tolerate a middle seat. Read more at www.buzzmachine.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/ciUQX2

Worse that Auto DM.

I've learned to love the people (not bots) that send me an Auto DM when I follow them on Twitter.



I assume they mean well, have been taught to automate or experiementing with what works. I try to get inside the thinking of a newbie that sees a form to set up an auto DM one time, like writing an ad.. they want to do their best to write it right, but most of us don't on the first try.



All this happens before they learn how much of a nuisance all those "thanks for following come buy from me" DM's are.. no matter how clever, the real annoying fact is that the writer likely doesn't ever see what they've sent until hundreds have been sent and someone they know explains it to them



Much more insidious is the tweet here. Someone sets up an account to promote another account, affiliate link, sales page or whatever. Then they put out tweets with lists of names. I assume there are bots and programs that do this and teach people to do it.



The EVIL part of this is that anyone using it has to know they are spamming the stream and have no regard for the conversation. I know, I've tried replying to a few.



I don't know who this iis, who they are promoting and assume the account will be shut down by the time you read this.



My point in bringing it up. If you put out a #FF list, it looks very much like this.



I'll occasionally tack on a friends handle as a "cc".. only if I KNOW them and KNOW they will want to see it.



And it's perfectly normal to tweet "I had lunch with A, B and C" so I'm not suggesting a ban on multiple handles or lists in a tweet.



But be careful.. if you tweet looks like the one below.. anyone on the list might assume you are a spammer ((especially if they don't remember who you are)



If you want to ask me a question, engage in conversation, comment on a tweet or post.. PLEASE write to me. If I'm in a tweet you RT, great, I love the mention. But is you cram my name in to get attention, I"ll see it, and it won't leave a good impression. It's not the kind of attention you want.



We're have a conversation people... yes real people read tweets.. talk to us like you want to be talked to :)

Amplify’d from twitter.com

Follow @TheBioTitan he rockss! @reeolive @WarrenWhitlock @ElleyF @CarlDewley @DrToddMichael Read more at twitter.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/9gwEBX

Learning to Love Farmville. Comments on @loritaylor post

If you've somehow missed Farmville and it's huge market, or are in the 80$ of Facebook users who dread seeing users notices, it may be time to start playing.



I hold that anytime you put together a large group of people who aren't rioting for food, you have a MARKET. I'll let Lori tell you about the market and dollars going to Farmville and other games.. I want to comment on the marketing.



We've learned from social media that the future of marketing is to go where your customers are and find a way to serve them.



Think about good old TV as an example. When TV was new, but had got tot he point of being in most every house, ads went to the ones that were where the customers were watching.



Now many use social gaming MORE than TV.. get the picture.



Difference this time is that it's not just for big brands with big budgets. We're not just talking about segmenting (running a Farmville flavored ad in that game) but REAL communication. Some has to figure out out to get into the game, interact with the players without annoying them and the get them whatever they want. And all this can be targeted to any niche that you have previously targeted promotions to.. Just on Farmville, that at least twice as many niches as we used to have.





We are still at the beginning of this. A niche can be pretty big and your competitor likely hasn't figured out that he can buy ads (he will).



In the future, I predict there will be a job category of servicing people inside he games.. either for real world brands or things not yet created.



Still using last years marketing campaign? Last weeks?

Amplify’d from www.socialmediaexaminer.com

Gaming in China is bigger than ads or search, which might explain Google’s reported $100-$200 million investment in Zynga, a top social gaming company. Even a listing by appdata.com of the top five games paints an astonishing picture of growth in social gaming.

Social media is a game-changer. It’s impacting who plays, along with when and where they do it. Because of the viral aspect, social media even affects how games are developed and their shelf life.

According to Zynga, a company’s success revolves around three factors:

Ability to drive new users

Ability to create an engagement loop

Access to an open communication channel Read more at www.socialmediaexaminer.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/bEDHON

Craigslist Starts To Roll Out…Gasp…A Slightly New Design

URL:  http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/12/craigslist-starts-to-r...

occurs to me that a feed from Cragslst would give endless plausibilities

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/a3fYSS

As I said to @mitchjoel, People Expect a Response When they Tweet

Enterprise feeds are mostly that.. just feeds.



But is that what people expect?

Amplify’d from www.examiner.com

On August 12th Red Cross is hosting a Emergency Social Data Summit . Did you know 74% of those in need who post a request for help online expect a response (See the Red Cross study findings  http://bit.ly/smhelp Read more at www.examiner.com

 

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/8lf2

Social Media is NOT a Lead Gen Platform

Most of my new business in the past year or two has come through referralls, and most of that is through connections I have on social media.



But "lead gen" is not what social media is good at. It's more what I'd call "pre lead gen" activity.



The leads/referrals from social media are people looking for you.. not something you'd buy or coerce. The way I look at it.. there are MILLIONS of people that need what you have. They want to buy from someone they know, like and trust.. or at least someone referred by someone they know, like and trust.



Maybe it's semantics.. but I think people like to be "leads" about as much as they like to be "eyeballs"

Amplify’d from www.hooversbiz.com

Why rent leads or share them with other competitive businesses in your market when you can create your own stream of direct leads? With a properly integrated Internet marketing platform you can have at your fingertips local, paying customers who want the services you provide. Read more at www.hooversbiz.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/cNALU3

Can I AMP a Facebook Video or @CoachDeb?

I wanted to share this cool clip of my Deb with a special blog post over at http://TwitterHandbook.com that I'm sure thousands would have liked to know about.



Now way to embed, so I tried a couple of times to AMP it.



That failed, so I did this Facebook post. Do go enjoy it there.. worth the extra click



Is is Facebook or Glazer Kennedy that put the restriction on this? Can you tell me?

Amplify’d from www.facebook.com

Remove Warren Whitlock My Co-Author Deborah Cole Micek talking about Twitter Turn a Tweet into Cash [HQ] A video snipet of Coach Deb Micek teaching her Twitter Money Magnet Techniques at the Glazer-Kennedy Social Media Money Magnet Seminar. Discover how to make money with Twitter. This is your Glazer-Kennedy Behind-The-Scenes Look! Length:4:39 13 minutes ago · Comment · · Share Janette Speyer likes this. Write a comment... Older Posts Read more at www.facebook.com

 

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Fun Show on BTR for Anyone in Business. Thanks @tamaradorris

I just did a show today with Tamara Dorris.



As a Vegas resident, the first few minutes of RE news kind through me off, then I once we got talking we had a marvelous conversation.



Tamara followed up with more than the wonderful tweet. She sent me an email with an introduction of someone she though could help with my business.



I just love working with people like Tamara

Amplify’d from gianttweet.com

@ShesSoSocial thanks for the RT...it was an awesome show! @WarrenWhitlock is the Einstein of book marketing! http://ow.ly/2oh3k by @tamaradorris Read more at gianttweet.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/bmG1ae

"Design for a Loss of Control" ... an oxymoron?

This phrase caught my eye.



I'm generally a fan of design. And an enterprise needs to plan things. After all, that's what an enterprise is.



But can you design the process of giving up control?

Amplify’d from www.dachisgroup.com

Anticipating and designing for loss of control. At this year’s Enterprise 2.0 Conference in Boston, my friend and colleague JP Rangaswami delivered a terrific opening keynote where he dropped the phrase that became a hot topic of conversation for the rest of the week. In his keynote, he talked of the necessity of enterprises today needing to “design for the loss of control.” A combination of Web access, SaaS, cloud computing, social software, and smartphones that are more powerful than many laptops are leading to a world where anyone can access the IT solutions they need to get their work done and don’t need any permission to do it. Enterprises currently expend considerable resources trying to impose control on a situation that increasingly appears like it not only can’t be controlled, but almost certainly doesn’t need to be. The level of control being imposed over IT today is excessive, counterproductive, and undesirable from a business results standpoint, the argument goes. Routing workers away from the applications, social networks, and devices that they clearly prefer to use is a strategy that, like most modern urban conflicts, is almost certainly a losing proposition in the long run. Instead, focusing on enabling the safe and effective use of cloud-based solutions that fit local problems, leveraging workers’ growing social capital and their own mobile computing devices can be looked at as just another form of outsourcing. In other words, letting go of non-essential control will be a key success factor for Social Business leaders going forward. Certainly there are still real challenges to doing this but the point is that the opportunities are certainly significantly greater than the cost. Together, we must learn how to fix IT in the Social Business era. Read more at www.dachisgroup.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/b01sDk

That @JimKukral Book is Popping Up Everywhere

Anyone who wants to get ATTENTION online need to order a copy of Jim Kukral's "Attention" book today.



Why today?



You need attention as soon as possible for your brand, your business, you ideas, your own book, and Jim is the expert here



PLUS.. you get a bunch of bonuses when you order today

Amplify’d from www.inc.com

PR Stunts and Start-Ups

Jim Kukral, author of the book, "Attention! This Book Will Make You Money", as well as a professional speaker, blogger and Web business consultant has worked with large brands like Fedex and Sherwin Williams.  He told me about this small biz example from his book. “Grasshopper.com provides a virtual phone solution for entrepreneurs who want to sound professional and stay connected…Grasshopper knew that in order to stand out and get some buzz going, and new customers, that they had to do something different. Their solution? Package up 5,000 packs of real chocolate covered grasshoppers and send them out to 5,000 influencers on the Web. People like bloggers and technology pundits and in general people who could, and would, talk about them…This got them a 4,911% traffic increase from April to May, 144,843 video views with 162 comments, 1,500 tweets, 120 blog posts in one month and  7 national TV mentions.” Read more at www.inc.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/9YQG6f

Paying Less Attention to @ChrisBrogan. I can't switch to @jimkural

I love reading anything from Chris. Really enjoy hanging out when we can.



Sometimes I go days without seeing a twee from him (though other days I read several and the links and blog posts)



Is this bad?



Chris points out that we can't see everything and spend time with everyone.



I agree. If I didn't see Chris for a year, he'd still be my friend. With social media, I hear from him most days.



I had to mention Jim Kukral. After all, his new book is called ATTENTION (out tomorrow, buy a copy) Sheez, I hardly ever talk to Jim now. What will happen when HE gets more connections?

Amplify’d from inoveryourhead.net

If I spent 6 minutes a day with 100 Twitter friends, that’s 10 hours.

Only 100. If I gave ONLY 100 people some of my time, that’s 10 hours right there. No email. No work. No writing. No family life. 10 hours gone just to some tweets to individuals.

Email: I get just under 600 a day. Of those, I process about 120 myself. If I give each of those just 1 minute (and email takes much longer than tweets), that’s another 2 hours.

I’m up to 12 hours just to service a few hundred friends and colleagues.

We are setting ourselves up to be disappointments to many. Or that’s the feeling I’m getting way down deep in my gut and my bones. I feel it more and more every day. I feel people growing weary of the “Chris doesn’t have time” side of the Internet.

But this is unnatural. We didn’t used to have hundreds of thousands of contacts. Dunbar. 150. Right? Read more at inoveryourhead.net

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/cgyXvW

Does Facebook Steal Your Time?

My friend, Dr. Phil (no, the other Dr. Phil) posted a quote that I liked and sent out as a tweet yesterday.



Both on Facebook and Twitter, we got replies from two kinds of people.



1. Those that wanted to tell us that sometimes worthless stuff is ok



2. Those that wanted to tell us to about the addictive nature of Facebook



I'm not an expert on the work of Benjamin Tregoe, but I'm pretty sure he was trying to tell us that getting a job done right is a waste of time if it's the wrong job.



If the project at hand is relaxing, taking time off, or whatever.. I don't think it's fall into the "need not be done at all" pile.



As for "Facebook time suck" .. PLEASE.. those games and annoying messages ARE NOT IN CONTROL. You are.



What we do with out time is a choice. If you have some kind of chemical imbalance or addiction, make the choice to now to do something about getting some help.



If you just spend a lot of time on social networking sites, it may be fun, there is a draw to it.. but take responsibility. It's your choice to be there, not an addiction.

Amplify’d from www.facebook.com

DrPhil Sebastian “The very worst use of time is to do something well that need not be done at all.” —BENJAMIN TREGOE Read more at www.facebook.com

 

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/8hx5

Searching for videos on Twitter? Trying out twitmatic.com

The first video I saw on my list was an "Email vs Social Media Smackdown" promo for SXSW 2011. Cool, but no new info so I thought it would be interesting to see what is trending in tweets about video.



Turns out EVERY other video this morning is Bieber begging for more love, which gave me joke inspiration for the rest of the day.



What type of video will you search for?

Amplify’d from www.twitmatic.com

HayliRobinson RT @justinbieber: the LOVE ME video is back up! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdDVtFvJwUc 2 minutes, 19 seconds ago Follow This User Reply View Tweet Close Read more at www.twitmatic.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/crp6wI

Positive Graffiti

If you can't say something nice on a piece of garbage, where else would you put it.



A short positive message can make a world of differnce

Amplify’d from www.huffingtonpost.com

Graffiti is usually regarded as negative, unnecessary, and costly, but every once in a while you see some uplifting graffiti that makes it all seem worth it. Everyone needs to hear some positive words now and then, so seeing a little random piece encouragement can go a long way. We found some examples of vandalism that don't even seem like vandalism because they make you feel so good. Which ones would you not mind seeing in your community?

See more at www.huffingtonpost.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/biqsLx

Smart Woman Jumps Into The Oil Spill

My position on the oil spill is that it's bad and we don't need to hear anymore that people are anti-oil-spill (http://warrenwhitlock.amplify.com/2010/08/07/how-bad-is-the-bp-oil-spill/#liComment_308)



I'd much rather hear some better idea on how to heal it.



Today, I got a bit more scared from reports on Corexit being worse that oil. Watched one sided reports, ameteur science and crackpots.



Then I found a TED video. In fact a bunch of them.



Finally some smart people. They are scared too, but I think more rational in their approach.



Still looking for ideas of what do to next.



Put a link in the comments.

Amplify’d from www.ted.com

See more at www.ted.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/d9YeTi

Google Is for Pandas, Facebook Is for Lobsters

Amplify’d from googlewatch.eweek.com

Google Is for Pandas, Facebook Is for Lobsters

Adam Rifkin, co-founder of social app site Renkoo, said Google, with its search and other task specific, goal-oriented applications, fosters grazing of information. Rifkin wrote:

Adam Rifkin, co-founder of social app site Renkoo, said Google, with its search and other task specific, goal-oriented applications, fosters grazing of information. Rifkin wrote: The kind of application that Google knows how to make well are the kind that embody a panda's "eats, shoots and leaves" model of Internet behavior. Pandas spend every waking hour foraging -- aka searching -- and consuming. The most successful Google applications serve such a utilitarian mandate, too: they encourage users to search for something, consume and move onto the next thing. Get in, do your business, get out. Do a Google search, slurp down information, move on. Pull up Google maps or Gmail or Google news, do something, leave. Where Google does not excel is in making applications that are by their nature for lingering and luxuriating -- the so-called social applications. Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter and Quora are the lobster traps that catch millions of consumers and make them stay. Facebook is a lobster trap and your friends are the bait. On social networks we are all lobsters, and lobsters just wanna have fun. Every time a friend shares a status, a link, a like, a comment, or a photo, Facebook has more bait to lure me back. Facebook is literally filled with master baiters: Whenever I return to Facebook I am barraged with information about many friends, to encourage me to stick around and click around. Every time I react with a like or comment, or put a piece of content in, I'm serving as Facebook bait myself. Facebook keeps our friends as hostages, so although we can check out of Hotel Facebook any time we like, we can never leave. So we linger. And we lurk. And we luxuriate. The illogical extreme of content-as-bait are the Facebook games where the content is virtual bullshit. Social apps are lobster traps; Google apps do not bait users with their friends. Of course, Google users still use Facebook and Facebook users still use Google. But at the end of the day, they provide two different, but overlapping toolsets. Read more at googlewatch.eweek.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/cn7OZz

It Must Be an Off Day for Creative Promotions

Right on the heals of my diasastorus Facebook promotions (http://bit.ly/fbwarren) which I expected would get a few comments on Amplify, a photo or two on my Facebook page and a few LIKES (it didn't.. but please, please, pretty PLEASE LIFE me :) comes this.



Creative.. but, do you want a post card from this guy?

Amplify’d from www.toddrjordan.com via Google Reader

Have Postcards; Will Send!

Send me a DM on Twitter, a Facebook message, or an email. Include name, address, and mention postcard. These are zero obligation gifts from me to you. Cheers. Read more at www.toddrjordan.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/dvXZ1F

Worse Facebook Page Promotion Ever?

I was playing around with my brand new Facebook PAGE.. wondering what I might add to create some instant value and get things started.



I've already hooked up the RSS feed of this stream throngs of FB fans can enjoy what you are seeing.



Then I put up some photos. .. and realize how much I hate looking at my picture all day.



Asking friends and authors to add photo of them and me?



No way, I'd rather have photos I can stand to look at

Amplify’d from www.facebook.com

Marketing Strategist Warren Whitlock I really can't stand looking at pictures of me. Much prefer seeing other people in the photos. Do you have a photo of you and me? PLEASE upload here. Hmmm, better yet. If you are a friend of the page, upload you and you book, you and someone famous.. with our without me. Who want to look at me all day?a few seconds agoNaNNaNNaN at NaN:NaN clear

See more at www.facebook.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/8XRwFL

Problem With Twitter Influencer Stats. RT @Julia_Kline

We are not statistics. We are human beings.



Reading this research does help you understand how influence works.. but don't get carried away with algorithms and rankings. For instance, it would be a bad idea to spend a lot of time trying to get Kevin Smith to twee about your latest ebook sales page :)



My tips:



1) post great stuff that people will want to RT.



2) go beyond "Thank you" messages with 5 handles. ENGAGE



3) share and comment the best stuff from your network



And of course.. AMP a good idea... I read this report when it came out, and retweet others posts about it. But when I saw my friend Julia's comment



"@Julia_Kline Like all statistics, this study about retweets as a measure of a Twitterer's influence is interesting, but flawed.... http://fb.me/EsuuK6Il "



I decided to AMP it... hoping to get some more discussion from my friends, add my 2 cents, remind Julia that I appreciate her and put this pretty graphic on my page :)

Amplify’d from mashable.com

Twitter Users Who Rack Up the Retweets Top Most Influential List

Dr. Bernardo A. Huberman, the director of Hewlett-Packard Labs’ Social Computing Lab, and his team analyzed 22 million tweets over 300 hours in September 2009 in order to concoct what he calls the IP Algorithm, which highlights influential Twitter () users by assigning them both a score for influence and passivity.

Passivity is the tendency of many followers to passively peruse tweets without sharing them (i.e. retweeting them) with their network. According to the study, the average Twitter user retweets only one in 318 URLs. Read more at mashable.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/aGWtSx

You Don't Have to Stop Using Wave

No Google, but API Google developed for Wave lives on

Amplify’d from www.novell.com

Real-time communication, authoring and social messaging—for you, your enterprise...well, anyone!

Break down barriers to innovation. Connect with people and ideas and get work done. Create, share and edit documents in real-time—together. Nothing to deploy. Just use your browser, sign-up and get going. And yes, there will be a free version. Catch the beat in 2010!

Coming in second half 2010, Novell Pulse will first be delivered as a service and then later available for on-premise deployment. Read more at www.novell.com

 

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/dt909x

I used the REMOVE button to take all @FastCompany notices out of my stream on Facebook. My day is made.

The problem with the Fast Company Influencer project is that it IS working as a viral promotion.



While I don't go for contest that rely on asking your friends to vote for you, I don't want to stop anyone else from doing this. As trivial as the title is to me, I know friends who will use the credibility of a Fast Company logo to get more attention. Most of them deserve more attention, so now harm done there.



But just when I get comfortable forgetting about it.. up pops another friend on Twitter or Facebook who succumbed. Since I'm not joining this pyramid, I was finding it annoying.. Nowhere near annoying enough to unfollow or remove them.



ENTER THE REMOVE BUTTON



The REMOVE function in your Facebook Notification stream is a cool feature. I learned about it when my son told me he doesn't mind my flood of Facebook activity because he never sees my updates (that's why you'll see stuff in my stream with his name.. Dad has a few tricks up his sleeve).



This is the perfect Farmville releiief and works great on Fast Company.



Sure, the Fast Company promo is a scam and a shill game, but I'm glad some friends are exploiting it for their benefit... and now I don't have to see it on Facebook

See this Amp at http://bit.ly/bffQSw