Interwebers

Social media has several purposes. Some of which are held through opinion, others fact. Some people feel social media is purely for personal entertainment. Others see it as a way of branding themselves and furthering their careers. But as the medium develops, the community grows, and visionaries innovate, the power of social media is becoming more useful, more adopted, and in some cases, even life saving.

I originally came across this article on Digg and within days found it as the top story on CNN.com. It tells the story of University of California-Berkeley graduate student James Buck, who used Twitter to alert his friends that he had been arrested while covering an anti-government protest in Mahalla, Egypt.

His tweet simply read: “arrested.” Within minutes, friends in Egypt and the US went into action to help free James; his colleagues in America going as far as to hire a lawyer. Within 24 hours, Buck was out - his next tweet on Twitter: “Free.”

James’ story is a good, albeit somewhat extreme, example of the power of a portable, real-time communication network such as Twitter. While Twitter is mainly used for casual real-time updates among friends and colleagues, its value in more serious situations is not to be ignored. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone knew early on of Twitter’s potential use for good. A San Francisco based company, Twitter employees used its instant portable service to communicate during earthquakes. Imagine the value its service could have played in the Virginia Tech shootings or the September 11th attacks to alert friends and loved ones that those potentially involved were OK or to warn others of possible danger. 

Other roles played by Twitter that fall between James’ story and casual/just for fun tweets are its adoption in the professional world. Here are a few examples:

Marketing and Communication: Marketing is about communication. And communication is done instantly with Twitter. Twitter’s direct application with businesses is still being defined, however the potential is becoming more clear. For example, follow Interwebers on Twitter (see side panel) and you’ll be able to stay up to date on every Interwebers posting. If I were a business, I could potentially update you on temporary rebates or other purchasing incentives.

Business Networking: Network, network, network. We hear it all the time. It’s not what you know, but who you know. With Twitter, we stay more connected with more people. We are not only able to grow our personal network, but the ability to meet and become connected with important people in our field of expertise is simple with Twitter. 

Answers: Here’s a tick in the win column for the Venture Capitalist mentioned in the article below who claimed social media is destroying modern search. For how much I (still) disagree with him, here’s an example of when he’s right. Let’s say you’re in New York and you crave a slice of good pizza - send out a Tweet that says, “where’s the best pizza in mid-town Manhattan?” Assuming you have enough followers who know New York, you’ll have personal recommendations from people you know within minutes. If you run a website and realize it’s time for an upgrade, write a Tweet asking for good web designer recommendations. This is known as “friendsourcing.” It’s why Twitter has become a people-powered search engine. 

Getting People On Board: If you’re hosting, organizing, or participating in an event for a good cause such as charity, Twitter will help you instantly spread the word to those who can spread it further. 

Collaboration: If you are in quick need of suggestions or input for a presentation, meeting, or interview, Twitter can be a great tool for getting feedback and suggestions FAST. If a business partner is unable to attend a meeting or seminar, Twitter can help both of you stay connected to what’s going on while you act as a surrogate attendee for your absent colleague. If you are heading an interactive seminar, Twitter can serve as a tool for attendees to provide real-time feedback and questions that can be integrated into the live seminar. 

Last Minute Changes: During this years South by Southwest Conference (SXSW), interwebing enthusiast Gary Vaynerchuk threw an impromptu wine tasting party in a conference room of his hotel. I don’t have exact numbers or a specific timeline, but I do know the idea for the party originated the same night it took place, it was advertised almost exclusively through Twitter, and it was largely successful. In fact, most stories out of SXSW 2008 highlight Gary’s last-minute party. 

Here are suggestions to make the most out of your Twittering experience…

Think of why you’re using it and build your network accordingly: It’s easy to follow someone on Twitter. It’s as simple as one click. That being said, it’s very easy to follow dozens, maybe evens hundreds of people that are neither your friends or anyone that could be considered a valuable part of your network. Follow your friends and follow those who you consider valuable in your professional or personal network. Quality, not quantity. 

Get it on your phone: What’s great about Twitter is its portable, realtime capabilities. Take advantage of it! That’s how Buck was able to alert his friends while in jail in Egypt. 

And finally,

Use it responsibly: It’s easy to get carried away. Don’t “over-tweet” to the point that you are ignored. Make your tweets fun and relevant. 

Remember to follow Interwebers at twitter.com/interwebers and me, Chris Leone at twitter.com/caleone.

Happy Twittering everyone!

With web 2.0, there has been an outbreak of social media networks and communities. This is the online equivalent of what has been taking place for centuries in societies across the world. Interwebers are taking it a step further by creating their own “microsites” - i.e. their identity and centralized representation on the web. According to the venture capitalist/futurist Glenn Derene describes in his article, How Social Networking Could Kill Web Search As We Know It “[the] focus on online identity is what could turn search upside down” implying “the next generation of Web users may find what they want by using their social network rather than a search algorithm” further implying everything we would ever want to know can be found through our 6 degrees of separation.

The article goes on to conclude: “The point is that even though Google, Yahoo, Facebook, Amazon and others all have elements of this new relationship with users, nobody owns this space the way Google “owns” search. And as it evolves, there will be an unholy mess of privacy and security issues to work out. So in the future, the way we are guided around the Web may look very different from search as we know it. 

My take:

This all comes down to the following: what are we looking for?

The internet can be broken down into two basic categories: the individual person and everything else.

Web 2.0 is about the individual (ie interwebers). This article discusses the movement towards web 2.0 and how it’s affecting search. BUT there is still the rest of the internet dealing with issues NOT related to individual users and social media content. 

Take a second to think about what people typically search for in Google or Yahoo: store hours of their local hardware center, maps, best prices when shopping, historical accounts (I spent several minutes finding some of the historical references I’ve used in this post). Because the internet is open 24/7/365, we don’t need to rely on humans to find whatever we are looking for. In fact, of all the above examples I just gave, social media plays no direct part.

Somehow, the venture capitalist/futurist discussed in this article blended together the two different sectors of the internet into one big interwebing-blob-mess-thing. 

How far we can go in social media search is not limited by vision or capability, but more-so by information and privacy sharing issues - which is an entirely different beast.

::puts on op’ed hat::

The same lack foresight demonstrated in the above article closely mirrors this earlier post when Jonathan Zittrain claimed the iPhone and XBox were killing the internet. 

If anything, the internet has taught us to STOP with the claims and predictions of how far it will take us as a society and in what direction. Check out THIS article written 13 years ago by then internet cynic Clifford Stoll. This is the kind of short-sightedness the internet has repeatedly trampled. This lack of vision is nothing new in our society. In the 1890s the Patent Office commissioner exhibited his lack of foresight when he said the federal agency should be shut down because everything had already been invented. I wonder how many things we use on a day to day basis were originally patented before 1890…

The internet is about creating and utilizing and advancing. We need to stop looking at where we were and where we are and instead on where we’re going. 

We are still only at the tip of the iceberg.

This article caught my eye for a couple of reasons. First and foremost, it’s interweber material all the way. Second, it’s very relevant to my own job searching process.

So how is this interweber material? With web 2.0, we have “new-and-better-ways-of-doing-the-same-things 2.0.” One example is recruiting 2.0. With recruiting 2.0, we use the power, strength, and reach of web 2.0 to further our own professional careers. 

Here’s some quick background on Ogilvy PR 360 blog - the source of the article I’m referring to in this post. Taken directly from their website: 

The 360 Digital Influence Blog is a collaborative group blog authored by team members throughout Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. This is a conversation we invite our colleagues, clients, competitors and anyone interested in the changes at our doorstep to join in. Public Relations, Marketing and Advertising are all changing, and that’s what excites us. Our goal to generate discussion about the past, present and future of the communications industry. You will hear distinct voices from all across the globe, with different expertise and experiences. Please join in the conversation.

The article, written by Virginia Miracle, discusses several benefits as well as some of the “drawbacks” in utilizing recruiting 2.0 practices. Using the Ogilvy blog, personal blogs, and Twitter, Ogilvy has spread the word about who they are and what they can offer in career opportunities. They have “also been able to facilitate a large number of offline introductions using online tools.”

The article goes on to explain how companies can thoroughly research candidates and vis versa. Instead of paraphrasing an already very well written article that hits the nail on the head, I suggest you click the link and read it for yourself.

The second reason I mentioned this article catching my eye is how well it relates to my personal experience over the past few months. I’ve been using recruiting 2.0 practices to search, investigate, and apply for job positions in America while I was still living in Japan. 

There are several ways to go about using web 2.0 to find great career opportunities that can land you your “dream job.” It all starts with you narrowing down the field you want to be in. Do a google search for jobs related to your desired field. What you’re ultimately trying to do is find a search engine web site related specifically to your desired field. If I’m interested in internet marketing, one of the first results I would find is Sempo: a job posting website for internet marketing recruiters and recruitees. If I love video games and want to work in that industry, I would find GameJobs.com: A recruiting and recruitment site for the video gaming industry.

Once you have gone through searches and found opportunities or companies that interest you, you should be able to apply directly on the recruitment site. Keep in mind some of these sites are free, some ask for a couple bucks. Either way, IT’S WORTH IT! Once you’ve applied through the recruitment site, go directly to the company’s webpage and go through their online recruitment process. You can apply for the same job as you did on the comprehensive recruitment site or submit a general application if there is no specific job posting that relates to your experience. Follow all the standard practices you would when applying for any job. Show initiative in your cover letters and be forward moving. YOU plan the follow up call; YOU suggest coming in for an interview, etc etc. 

Question for fellow interwebers: What personal experiences have you had in recruiting 2.0? Has it landed you any jobs or helped you fill a position in your company? 

I’m on the road right now performing with the Aimachi Percussion Ensemble and our days have been filled with either rehearsal or traveling so I won’t be able to get back to my interwebing until the beginning of next week. 

Because nearly every hotel in America still wants to charge you for internet access (come on, get over it - I don’t have to pay to turn on the television) I’m posting this via bluetooth tethering from my phone - technology is amazing, by the way.

Thanks for checking in. 

Chris

This book by Amy Shuen caught by eye. Web 2.0: A Strategy Guide  ”is a fascinating, highly readable book analyzing the evolution of new enterprises including Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, and Google.” 

In a conversation she describes with Rainer, CMO of Mogulus.com: “We spent about 20 minutes chatting about my new book, how Web 2.0 was different than Web 1.0 and why I used Jajahand Apple’s iPhone as leading examples of recombinant innovation.” 

“Innovation” did you say? But Jonathan Zittrai said the iPhone is prohibiting innovation ;) 

Anyway, I’m putting this at the top of my list for when I get back home and settled. 

Any fellow interwebers pick this up yet?

How the iPhone is Killing the Internet

Article out of PCWorld.com. The author they reference, Jonathan Zittrain, claims “today’s Internet appliances such as the iPhone and Xbox hamper innovation….because these locked-down devices prohibit the kind of tinkering by end users that made PCs and the Internet such a force of economic, political and artistic change” yada yada yada. Granted Zittrain’s credentials - cyberlaw scholar with multiple degrees from Yale and Harvard - carry a little more weight than my undergrad degree, but I think he’s missing out on two important points:

1) Apple’s release of their SDK (software development kit) is allowing developers from all over the world to produce applications for the iPhone - and even before this release, did you see some of the crazy apps people were coming up with for jail-broken iPhones??? Point being, devises like the iPhone which completely change and enhance the way we ACCESS information on the web are responsible for some pretty awesome and off the wall applications. 

2) You can’t play down the effect of the increased accesability and mobility provided with the iPhone. Twitter anyone???

This Sunday, I’ll be relocating back to the United States and will spend the entire week rehearsing and performing. I’ll be back and settled on the 22nd. Once that happens, I’m really gonna start sinking my teeth into this blog. I’m really really excited and have many ideas on where I want to take this. 

If you’ve stumbled onto this blog in any way, from anywhere. Please, LEAVE A COMMENT and let me know you’re out there. 

Take care and stay tuned!

Chris

You’ve gone through the hassle of reading the I2S blog and gone through the added hassle of clicking on the link and now - bam! - you’re on interwebers. For that, I feel I owe you your own personal welcoming - hence this short, yet incredibly personal and sincere entry. 

Welcome to interwebers!

Interwebers is about sharing my passion, curiosity, and interest in the power of internet 2.0 and its users: interwebers. 

The internet is an incredibly expansive and accessible platform for people to connect with other interwebers around the world. We can use it to learn, to educate, and to expose and build our personal brands.

Interwebers is about our lives; more specifically, our digital lives. We have the power and ability to bring who we are to the interweb for the world to meet. There are countless powerful services available for us to make a name for ourselves in whatever way we want. 

Facebook, Twitter, Pownce, myspace, Viddler, youtube, LinkedIn, Ecademy, are all examples for how we can build and establish our digital lives for social and professional advancement. 

Today, the internet is not about them, it’s about you. Twittering, Facebooking, posting videos, posting pictures; we are interwebers interwebing on the interweb.

is coming