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University of Maryland

What the Spiders Know

by Daria Steigman on April 27, 2009

I had the pleasure of speaking about social media to two PR classes at the University of Maryland last week. They’re smart students, and they’re just starting to explore social media. Almost all of them had Facebook pages, a few were on LinkedIn, a couple on MySpace, and a smattering had started to explore the Twitterverse.

I started our conversation by asking them one simple question: When was the last time you Googled your name?

It caught their attention (and apparently what they discovered really startled at least a couple of them). Plus it proved a good entry point for a discussion about why companies and individuals need to be monitoring their online reputations and engaging with their stakeholders.

If you haven’t Googled your name lately, go ahead. Then come back and tell me what the Web spiders have learned about you.

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Decoding the Twitterstream

by Daria Steigman on April 20, 2009

Why is everyone’s first instinct to think that Twitter is silly and self-indulgent? Admit it, you probably felt that way once–or still do.

I’ve been pondering the Twitter start-up barrier the last few days as I pull thoughts together for a conversation I’m having on Thursday with University of Maryland PR students. And, since I’m on Twitter, I’ve been chatting with a few people on the topic.

I got a lot of clarity from this brief back-and-forth with Mary Deming Barber:

@dariasteigman Thanks for the rec. I am really enjoying the conversation on Twitter since I started connecting w good folks. #followfriday
[from @mdbarber] 12:24 PM Apr 17th from Nambu in reply to dariasteigman

@mdbarber I think that’s why it’s hard for newbies to get started. You have to figure out who to interact with, build up your community.
[from @dariasteigman] 12:27 PM Apr 17th from TweetDeck in reply to mdbarber

@dariasteigman I agree. People look at the public timeline which makes no sense. Our job now is to show them how to build the community.
[from @mdbarber] 12:33 PM Apr 17th from Nambu in reply to dariasteigman

Eureka! We all start by looking at someone else’s timeline, filled with strangers having conversations that are disengaged from us. Obviously, we can’t build a “demo” community every time we need to explain Twitter to someone — but we need to be aware of the disconnect and take steps to demonstrate why our timelines work for us.

That’s my challenge for Thursday, and for every time I talk to a student, client, prospect, or friend who gives me a blank look or rolls their eyes at the mention of a tweet.

Any ideas? What steps do you take to decode the Twitterstream?

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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