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LinkedIn

LinkedIn: The New Frontier for Spammers?

by Daria Steigman on February 7, 2011

LinkedIn, social media, Independent Thinking, Steigman Communications, I’m seeing a disturbing trend of late: people using LinkedIn to blatantly self-promote and hawk their wares.

It started with a trickle: An occasional e-mail suggesting I might be interested in a Webinar, a conference, or a book. Then it progressed to group owners sending regular “updates” (yes, you can ask click off “allow group manager to send me an e-mail”–but should you really have to?). Now it seems at least once a week someone’s offering me something I can’t refuse. Oh, but I can.

It’s rare that I delink from someone, but it’s happened occasionally. The first time was a person who decided to use my contacts as their personal prospecting list. The most recent was someone whose response to my polite query to take me off their LinkedIn e-mail list was “this comes through LI. In order to stop them disconnect me from your list.” (By the way, you can target your lists if you want to.)

Do We Need to Rethink Our Connections?

Like many people, my use of LinkedIn has shifted over time. Where I once linked only to people I knew personally, I’m now connecting to people I interact with on other social networks, have met at a conference, or with whom I otherwise have a “weaker” starting connection. Perhaps because these connections are weak, some people don’t mind adopting a scattershot approach to promoting their business.

What’s been your experience?

Photo by Ray MacLean (Flickr).

Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!

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9 Steps To Your Social Media Check-up

by Daria Steigman on February 2, 2011

social media, Independent Thinking, Steigman CommunicationsYour work is all around you. The reality in this age of spidered content and 24/7 WiFi is that other people can find out a lot about you really fast. And this holds true whether you’re online a little–or a lot.  Heck, I bet even people who live “off the grid” are finding themselves tagged in pictures on Facebook or otherwise showing up online. So doesn’t it make sense to know what’s there to be found when someone checks you out?

My latest Independent Thinking column provides guidance on where to look and what to look for when conducting your own social media check-up.

It also includes a book giveaway aimed at those of you new to social media. My friend and colleague Beth Schillaci has written Your Social Media Roadmap. It’s a workbook that takes you through the process of building a strategy and identifying what channels make sense for your business.

Book Contest Details

Want to win a free copy of Your Social Media Roadmap? Beth Schillaci has given me a signed copy of her book to give away here. Read the column, and then come back and leave a comment here on my blog about your social media goals for 2011 and what you hope to learn.

The best answer (judged by me) wins a copy of the book.

Photo by Ivan Walsh (Flickr).

Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!

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Quora: Do We Need Another Q&A Site?

by Daria Steigman on January 31, 2011

Quora, social media, digital footprint, Independent Thinking, Steigman CommunicationsQuora, which bills itself as “a continually improving collection of questions and answers created, edited, and organized by everyone who uses it,” is a great example of the social media fishbowl in action. Its buzz comes from the fact that it’s a go-to (0r at least test-out) spot for early tech adopters and online “influencers.”

Unlike LinkedIn’s Q&A, however, it seems easy to game. (Robert Scoble, for example, recently voiced his irritation on this topic). Which makes it great if you’re in a popularity contest.

As a communications pro, I see it as part of my job to be aware of new online channels and tools and understand their potential uses. I’m not using RockMelt, but I have played with it. Similarly, I’m not using Posterous–but can speak to how it might be useful. Ditto for Amplify.

There are tools we monitor and tools that become part of our digital footprint. For now, Quora’s firmly in the first category. The service has yet to demonstrate it’s different enough (or broad-based enough) for me to warrant spending my time there.

Are you using Quora? If so, what’s been your experience?

Update: TechCrunch has a post this morning that pretty much underscores my point about the whole Quora fishbowl thing. Some of the comments are well worth the read.

Photo by Tristan Ferne (Flickr).

Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!

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RockMelt: First Impressions

by Daria Steigman on November 10, 2010

RockMelt Browser | Social Media | Independent Thinking | Steigman Communications, llcRockMelt, unveiled yesterday, touts itself as a social browser “designed around you and how you use the Web.” And it might be the future — but the future, in this case, isn’t now.

1. You have to “log in” via Facebook to use the browser (see #2), which is designed to make your data portable and your usage seamless. Okay, but I can already access my social graph and more via Chrome or any other browser–not to mention TweetDeck (see #3).

2. RockMelt is built around Facebook. It’s the way you log in, request a beta invite, and issue invitations to your friends. A list of your friends populates the left-hand corner. The problem for me is that Facebook isn’t the center of my online network. I think RockMelt might be a lot more valuable if it let me pick my primary network.

3. I’m used to streams, and RockMelt’s interface feels static in comparison to the dashboard, real-time model I’m grown accustomed to with TweetDeck. Plus I can now pull in multiple streams and platforms at once (including Facebook and LinkedIn).

On its blog, RockMelt calls its product “still a baby… but we’re most excited about what it will grow into.” I think RockMelt may well be onto something, so I’m going to keep an eye on it. But, for now, I’ll access my social graph elsewhere. Meanwhile, Robert Scoble has an interesting analysis over on his blog.

Have you tested RockMelt. If so, what are your first impressions?

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Honing Your “Me” Message

by Daria Steigman on October 25, 2010

Branding, Marketing | Independent Thinking | Steigman Communications, llcI have a confession: I hated my “About Us” section for a long time. It was impersonal. Static. Written like it belonged in a so-last-century corporate brochure.

Despite that, it took me two years to figure out how to rework the language to get the balance I wanted of informative, business smarts, and personality. (It’s been up for a little while, so you can check it out and let me know what you think.) It’s not that I didn’t try. Or that I can’t rework other people’s resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and About pages.

I just couldn’t get mine right. It’s just really hard to write about “me.”

Have you looked lately at how you’re talking about yourself? If so, did you change anything?

Photo by Liz West (Flickr).

Have you signed up to receive the Independent Thinking newsletter? Now’s the time! Once a month I’ll send you exclusive, subscriber-only content highlighting interesting articles I’ve found, as well as tips on marketing, social media, and how to grow your business. Sign up today!

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