I’m honored to be hosting this week’s #socialmedia chat on Tuesday at noon Central time. Our topic is Determining the Tipping Point in Social Media.

Be forewarned that I don’t have a definitive answer, but I’m acutely aware of the questions and always in pursuit of ways to enable companies to effectively manage their social media presence. Social media marketing consultants often urge companies to “join the conversation,” to interact with customers and constituents through social networks. But what happens when it succeeds to the point that it doesn’t scale?

Specifically, we’ll focus on these three questions:

Q1: Can a company have too many friends in SocMed?

Q2: When does quality trump quantity?

Q3: What are the most effective ways of scaling social for Business?

You can participate by going to the LIVE page for #socialmedia. Please join us and help make this a lively, and productive, discussion.

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• Mansion of Terror – Halloween Social Media Style
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I see it over and over again.

In between the squawking about how blogs are already passe and how Twitter is going mainstream, there is a fundamental Old School operating concept of the Web and social media that is routinely ignored by many organizations, mostly through what I suspect is simple lack of knowledge and fear of a netiquette misstep.

Here it is  –  they fail to acknowledge the link.

If a blog links to your business/organization/nonprofit/product/service, the simplest way to acknowledge is to leave a comment on the blog post that linked to you.

If someone links to you in their Twitter stream, then acknowledge with a return tweet.

If someone writes on your business Facebook page Wall or uploads a great fan photo, write something back.

When someone links to you, particularly in a two-way conversation tool like a blog, that is the blog author’s way of saying “I acknowledge you and find you link-worthy.” Someone is talking about you with that link. It may be good. It may be bad. The important thing is that they’re digitally waving at you.

If I were a real, live person standing in front of you waving, would you ignore me, or would you engage and talk about your business/organization/nonprofit/product/service?

Of course, you’d engage….unless you don’t care, in which case, you’re on the wrong blog and there’s nothing for you here at Every Dot Connects.  (Go watch old Van Halen videos, maybe?)

You should acknowledge because people behind keyboards are real, too, and links are important.

Links are the coin of the realm online.  They are a “vote of trust.” They drive Google authority. They are a powerful “communication path.” They provide helpful background information.

Most wonderfully, they can shed light on hidden gems that might otherwise be lost in the Webby flood. Through a well-placed link, an influential blogger or wired journalist can bring millions of people’s attention to worthy Susan Boyle-like businesses or services that would otherwise labor in obscurity.

Sure, if you’re a big business with lots of Web traffic (or a small organization with a tiny staff, or a one-person organization like me who writes for more than one blog) it’s tough to keep up with all the inbound links. I discussed this issue on Twitter with the ebullient Dell online community guy Richard Binhammer, who said that while he and his company certainly keep track of who is linking to Dell and its blogs, they only go back and provide “commentary when warranted.”

Well, sure. Some conversations in real life are ignored when appropriate, some just get a cursory nod or “hey, thanks” and others elicit a more active exchange. It’s the same online.

This assumes that there is a mechanism in your business or organization that TELLS you when there’s an inbound link, and from whom.

I think that half the battle with lack of response to links is that the right people….

1. Don’t even see data about links or Web traffic or Facebook business page commentary, and
2. Don’t know what to do with the data if they get it.

The answer is to:

1. Get an internal communications system set up so that you see, immediately, when people link to you (to start, here’s how to see when someone links to your site and where to set up a Google Alert for your URL.)  Then….
2. Recognize the value and acknowledge the link.

As a travel writer and tourism consultant, I link to travel-related and state/county/city tourism organizations all the time.  Usually, I am trying to highlight a place in a positive way because I love and support travel.

The only way I can ever get a comment response to those links in my blog post is to send an email to the linkee, saying, “Hey, I linked to you. Come say hello!”

Um, I’ll wait here while y’all think about the absurdity of that.

Don’t be “that guy” online  –  acknowledge the link.

“Birds of a feather….”

Connie and I do realize that when you spend a lot of time around the feathered tribe of tech-savvy folks (thereby miraculously becoming two of Austin’s Social Media Mavens) it can be easy to forget that not everyone’s world revolves around LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and blogging, aka “the tech-o chamber.”

As my teen would say, “Duh.”

We know that lots of people find social media to be one big confusing alphabet soup of applications, jargon and insider jokes.

That’s why we run classes and workshops; to demystify the gobbledygook, and that’s why we love speaking engagements with great organizations like Austin’s venerable Metropolitan Breakfast Club.

From the MBC Web site:

“The Metropolitan Breakfast Club is a 20-year Austin tradition that’s anything but traditional.  Every Wednesday morning our members are informed and entertained by a variety of local and internationally recognized experts in business, politics and education. Our speakers share stories of Austin’s past, our current challenges, and future opportunities in and around Central Texas.”

Since 1984, the Club has been renowned for its extraordinarily eclectic speakers – everyone from the city Police Chief to historians to company CEOs to astronauts to the person who organizes the local rodeo.

Connie and I are thrilled to be included in the distinguished lineup on this coming Wednesday morning, March 11 – you can RSVP here if you happen to be in Austin.

We will do our best to rock the house with a combination of two of our favorite presentations:

• Email is for old people – Connie gets laughs and lots of attention with this one because, just like me, she IS one of those “old people.” More mature and particularly more skeptical audiences tend to listen to someone who does not appear to be 22 or live in her Mom’s basement, especially when she cheerfully blows up preconceived notions about social media for businesses and nonprofits. 




• Follow the bouncing blog post – I use a series of tabbed Web pages to show audiences how the information in a single blog post moves through the Web on other blogs, Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed, StumbleUpon and even (how retro!) email. Newcomers to social media say that it gives them a clear visual demonstration of the power of Web communications.

We’ll then open the floor for lots of questions and answers.

If you’re in town, we hope to see you bright and early Wednesday morning!

It’s that time of year again, when the tech universe is abuzz with the digital creative delights of the South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) conference in Austin, Texas.

Since I live in the Austin metro area and this is my third “South by,” I thought I’d update last year’s post on why SXSWi is like Disney World and revisit the lure of conferences.

Just yesterday at Jelly Coworking, I discussed the five geeky days of craziness with City of Round Rock communications guy Brooks Bennett.

This will be his first SXSWi and he’s really psyched about it, but also a bit overwhelmed by the barrage of offerings.

Here’s the advice I gave him….

• Forget about seeing everything. Heck, forget about seeing half of it!  There are the big keynote speakers, a crazy-huge number of panels, the smaller Core Conversations (I’m speaking at one with writer Pam Mandel, about travel blogging) plus book readings on the Adobe Day Stage (where I heard then-unknown Tim Ferriss of The 4-Hour Workweek speak in 2007,) early evening salon discussions and my personal “secret” favorite that often has big names in a small setting, the Studio SX discussions in the northeast corner of the Exhibition Hall.  There are hang-out lounges and parties galore, both official and “unofficial.” This goes on for five days – you’ll be fried.
• Pick everything that sounds good, and weed it all out later. Here’s what I do – I go through the online schedule and say, “Yes, Yes, Yes” to everything that sounds good and every speaker that I know and/or like.  I don’t worry that I’m double-, triple- and quadruple-booked for events. I print the whole thing out (yes, print – paper always boots up & never needs a power outlet or WiFi) and stuff Beast Schedule in my purse. Each morning of the conference, I do ruthless triage to pick the happenings that it would KILL me to miss, saying a fond farewell to the rest. It really sorts itself pretty clearly as the conference wears on;  some people hardly make any panels, but their whole day is a schmoozefest in the hallways and lounges. Whatever works for you!
• Loud, packed parties are overrated. Networking and socializing are not.  Look, I’m not a big party girl if it means jammed, loud rooms full of people that I don’t know.  I assure you, however, that I get plenty of fun time at South by – I’m socializing in smaller gaggles, with lots of folks I don’t know but a few that I do, hanging out in places where we can actually find a seat.  Many people do the same thing – go to the “big” parties, discover they’re not all that insanely fun, go back out on the sidewalk and regroup, run into someone from the day’s panels and all go off together to have a civilized beer and proper geek bonding. (OK, you want a nice bar? The Driskill Hotel, since 1886. Take that, Sixth Street lemmings.)
• The basics – bring business cards, check that your cell phone has unlimited texting, pack a couple of energy bars, bring a water bottle, comfy shoes, power cords. It is truly an endurance event, but I mean that in the most positive way.  While we’re talking basics, there’s good BBQ right around the corner from the Convention Center: Iron Works BBQ at 100 Red River.

I hope to run into any and all of you during South by Southwest – I’m @SheilaS on Twitter, Connie Reece is @conniereece and Jennifer Navarrete is @epodcaster (don’t forget @sxswi – unofficial tweets – and @sxsw – official tweets.) See you there!

More good advice:

• Attend Friday’s How to Rawk SXSW: The Basics
• A guide to SXSW Interactive networking, from the Austin American-Statesman (and the Statesman‘s latest Austin Dining Guide.)
• The SXSW09 PBWiki.
• SXSW Interactive survival tips, from The Adventures of CindyLi.com
• SXSW Baby! especially the forums.
• The SXSW09 Insider’s Guide Ning group.
• Kent Brewster’s Things to Remember About SXSW

(If this post was helpful for you, please vote it up on Kirtsy, or Stumble it on StumbleUpon. The Digg and Delicious links are just below the post as well. Thanks very much!)

In June 2008, after a lot of talks with Connie Reece, reflection time at the SOBCon conference and great advice from both Small Biz Survival’s Becky McCray and Successful Blog’s Liz Strauss, we began to teach a series of entry-level Every Dot Connects social media workshops.

Connie, Jennifer Navarrete and I knew that we had a valuable skill set; a pile of knowledge born of many hours living online trying to figure out how social media works and how to be an effective part of the Web 2.0 world.

The trick was figuring out a way to make a living out of it.

Teaching focused workshops to small businesses, freelancers and solo entrepreneurs seemed like a good start….towards exactly what, we didn’t know, but we were gonna start something!

To be honest, a lot of it was classic “throw something up against the wall and see what sticks….and what peels back off and goes SPLAT on the floor.”

Even how we look is part of what we offer….we are three semi-fearless professional women in our 30′s, 40′s and 50′s who are living proof that social media isn’t only for narcissists, pajama-clad losers living in Mom’s basement or “young people.”

Along the way, we’ve learned all sorts of lessons and discovered that we provide a service that is not all that common and is currently in high demand. Journalists, for example, want to know what we know, so I recently spent two days in Dayton teaching Cox Ohio journalists at the Dayton Daily News about writing for the Web, blogging and general social media topics.

Here is some of what we’ve learned….

• When in doubt, set a date and make things happen. If you don’t want to make money right away but want to test the waters for interest, offer a free one-hour class about some aspect of social media at your local library.  Pick a date, reserve a room and start getting the word out. Nothing’s more motivating than having a set date when you must deliver content.
• The ones who want entry-level social media training are – newsflash! – probably not on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or even blogs. Our biggest marketing struggle is remembering that we can’t depend on announcements to our geek network.  Attending the local Chamber of Commerce meeting and passing out business cards is better for reaching the market that we seek, as is attending our Association for Women in Communications (AWC) or IABC or PRSA chapter meetings, and monthly eWomenNetwork get-togethers.
• On the other hand, don’t assume that high tech Web developers or coding nerds understand social media; they may not know Twitter from a circuit board. For us, Door 64 Austin High Tech Online has been a surprising source of workshop interest.
• It is hard to hit the instructional sweet spot. At one workshop, an attendee wrote in a post-event survey that, “This would have been better for my Mom. I already know a lot of this,” but someone in the same class wrote, “Wow, there is so much to learn! It’s rather overwhelming.”
• Don’t try to cram in too much. We’ve gone from trying to cover 5 different social media tools/services to hyper-focus on one at a time. Our next workshop is just on LinkedIn – even trying to include Twitter last time turned out to be almost too much to digest for entry-level attendees.
• We’re also exploring one-on-one Consulting with Connie sessions; is being a “social media personal trainer” a viable approach? We think so, but are still testing the waters.
• Find the right venue. To teach, you need a room with tables, chairs, lots of outlets, strong WiFi, a projector for a laptop and a screen. Not complicated, but you’d be surprised how hard it is to find all of that somewhere that doesn’t charge an arm and a leg and is also well-located.  If you can find a good spot that’s not expensive, you’ll be able to do the next item….
• Price it right.  Our target audience of successful businesspeople are not necessarily raking in big bucks, and today’s tough economy makes them even pickier about where to spend hard-earned money.  We set what we think are very reasonable prices for our workshops. We don’t run a “soak the rich” corporate training outfit, but neither are we willing to go broke doing this.  We have bills (and taxes!) to pay and our valuable expertise is worth a lot. It is a tough balance.

Serving as social media teachers, trainers and guides to others is a pleasure for us. Connie, Jennifer and I also try to keep in touch with our students long after each workshop is over. We introduce them to each other on Twitter, swap comments on Facebook, admire their new blog, connect on LinkedIn or just say, “How’s it going online for you?” when we meet workshop attendees in person out in town.

Do any of you have tips and helpful advice if you’ve been teaching others about social media? Let us know in the comments – fresh ideas are always welcome!

Connie Reece and and I joined the Blog Talk Radio program Tech in Twenty to talk about how we are using social media tools….

• for good, like the Frozen Pea Fund for cancer research and
• for business, like our client’s HomeAway Getaway contest for bloggers, photographers and video bloggers.

Here’s the link if you’d like to listen on Blog Talk Radio, or download the podcast:  Tech in Twenty – Using Social Media

There’s further discussion on Daily Slackr as well.

More from Every Dot Connects

• Our Team
• Our Advisors
• Connie Reece interview on FIR

Congratulations to reader Alexis….

Random.org chose his comment as the winning number, so he’ll get a copy of Age of Conversation 2 – Why Don’t They Get It? autographed by both Connie Reece and me.

Thanks for playing!

Both Connie Reece and I contributed chapters to the latest version of the groundbreaking, multi-author book Age of Conversation2 – Why Don’t They Get It?

The book is a follow-on to the very successful Age of Conversation, to which Connie also contributed a chapter.

That’s right — this year, 239 authors from 15 nations banded together to wrestle with why so many still don’t understand and in fact are NOT big fans of the Age of Conversation.

Why are so many folks nervous about, or even downright afraid of, those two-way discussions with customers….anything with a Comment box underneath it?

You know – social media.

AOC2 has Manifestos to challenge our thinking about what it means to live, work and participate in today’s two-way world. There are also sections about Accidental Marketers, A New Brand of Creative, Life in the Conversation Lane, From Conversation to Action and some bloopers in My Marketing Tragedy.

My chapter asks why should people get it – what’s in the conversation for them?  I wrote:

“Why doesn’t Joe Six-pack or Jane Latte understand social media? Because we, the go-go Web 2.0 evangelists, forget to address some basic problems….”

Connie’s chapter draws an analogy to the Texas two-finger salute from drivers:

“Twitter is like the two-finger salute, 140-character snippets of conversation conducted in passing. Blogs are the truck stops of the Information Superhighway, where newcomers mingle with long-time online friends….”

The book is actually a fundraiser for Variety, the children’s charity, so when you click here to buy, your money goes to their good works.

Leave a comment below about why you think so many folks “don’t get it” about social media, and you’ll get a chance to win a copy of the book that is autographed by both me and Connie.  Using the cool tools on Random.org, we’ll pick a winner on Christmas Day, December 25, 2008 (ho ho ho) and we’ll mail it to the winner anywhere in the world.

For more about the ideas behind the book, including interviews and podcasts with the authors, we recommend the Age of Conversation2 blog, and here is a full list of the talented authors who joined us…..

Adrian Ho, Aki Spicer, Alex Henault, Amy Jussel, Andrew Odom, Andy Nulman, Andy Sernovitz, Andy Whitlock,Angela Maiers, Ann Handley, Anna Farmery, Armando Alves, Arun Rajagopal, Asi Sharabi, Becky Carroll, Becky McCray, Bernie Scheffler, Bill Gammell, Bob LeDrew, Brad Shorr, Brandon Murphy, Branislav Peric, Brent Dixon, Brett Macfarlane, Brian Reich, C.C. Chapman, Cam Beck, Casper Willer, Cathleen Rittereiser, Cathryn Hrudicka, Cedric Giorgi, Charles Sipe, Chris Kieff, Chris Cree, Chris Wilson, Christina Kerley (CK), C.B. Whittemore, Chris Brown, Connie Bensen, Connie Reece, Corentin Monot, Craig Wilson, Daniel Honigman, Dan Schawbel, Dan Sitter, Daria Radota Rasmussen, Darren Herman, Dave Davison, David Armano, David Berkowitz, David Koopmans, David Meerman Scott, David Petherick, David Reich, David Weinfeld, David Zinger, Deanna Gernert, Deborah Brown, Dennis Price, Derrick Kwa, Dino Demopoulos, Doug Haslam, Doug Meacham, Doug Mitchell, Douglas Hanna, Douglas Karr, Drew McLellan, Duane Brown, Dustin Jacobsen, Dylan Viner, Ed Brenegar, Ed Cotton, Efrain Mendicuti, Ellen Weber, Eric Peterson, Eric Nehrlich, Ernie Mosteller, Faris Yakob, Fernanda Romano, Francis Anderson, Gareth Kay,Gary Cohen, Gaurav Mishra, Gavin Heaton, Geert Desager, George Jenkins,G. Kofi Annan,G.L. Hoffman, Gianandrea Facchini, Gordon Whitehead, Greg Verdino, Gretel Going & Kathryn Fleming, Hillel Cooperman, Hugh Weber, J. Erik Potter, James Gordon-Macintosh, Jamey Shiels, Jasmin Tragas, Jason Oke, Jay Ehret, Jeanne Dininni, Jeff De Cagna, Jeff Gwynne & Todd Cabral, Jeff Noble, Jeff Wallace, Jennifer Warwick, Jenny Meade, Jeremy Fuksa, Jeremy Heilpern, Jeroen Verkroost, Jessica Hagy, Joanna Young, Joe Pulizzi, John Herrington, John Moore, John Rosen, John Todor, Jon Burg, Jon Swanson, Jonathan Trenn, Jordan Behan, Julie Fleischer, Justin Foster, Karl Turley, Kate Trgovac, Katie Chatfield, Katie Konrath, Kenny Lauer, Keri Willenborg, Kevin Jessop, Kristin Gorski, Lewis Green, Lois Kelly, Lori Magno, Louise Manning, Luc Debaisieux, Mario Vellandi, Mark Blair, Mark Earls, Mark Goren, Mark Hancock, Mark Lewis, Mark McGuinness, Matt Dickman, Matt J. McDonald, Matt Moore, Michael Karnjanaprakorn, Michelle Lamar, Mike Arauz, Mike McAllen, Mike Sansone, Mitch Joel, Neil Perkin, Nettie Hartsock, Nick Rice, Oleksandr Skorokhod, Ozgur Alaz, Paul Chaney, Paul Hebert, Paul Isakson, Paul McEnany, Paul Tedesco, Paul Williams, Pet Campbell, Pete Deutschman, Peter Corbett, Phil Gerbyshak, Phil Lewis, Phil Soden, Piet Wulleman, Rachel Steiner, Sreeraj Menon, Reginald Adkins, Richard Huntington, Rishi Desai, Robert Hruzek, Roberta Rosenberg, Robyn McMaster, Roger von Oech, Rohit Bhargava, Ron Shevlin, Ryan Barrett, Ryan Karpeles, Ryan Rasmussen, Sam Huleatt, Sandy Renshaw and James G. Lindberg, Scott Goodson, Scott Monty, Scott Townsend, Scott White, Sean Howard, Sean Scott, Seni Thomas, Seth Gaffney, Shama Hyder, Sheila Scarborough, Sheryl Steadman, Simon Payn, Sonia Simone, Spike Jones, Stanley Johnson, Stephen Collins, Stephen Landau, Stephen Smith, Steve Bannister, Steve Hardy, Steve Portigal, Steve Roesler, Steven Verbruggen, Steve Woodruff, Sue Edworthy, Susan Bird, Susan Gunelius, Susan Heywood, Tammy Lenski, Terrell Meek, Thomas Clifford, Thomas Knoll, Tim Brunelle, Tim Connor, Tim Jackson, Tim Mannveille, Tim Tyler, Timothy Johnson, Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Toby Bloomberg, Todd Andrlik, Troy Rutter, Troy Worman, Uwe Hook, Valeria Maltoni, Vandana Ahuja, Vanessa DiMauro, Veronique Rabuteau, Wayne Buckhanan, William Azaroff, Yves Van Landeghem

Thanks for your support!

Please click over to Valeria Maltoni’s blog to read my guest post titled Are You Conversationally Tone-Deaf?

If you’re not reading Conversation Agent regularly, you should be. Valeria is a thoughtful writer who excels at fostering conversation around important topics. She also writes a Fast Company blog called Customer Conversation.

Valeria is in Italy at the moment, visiting with family; her grandmother is very ill. I’m sure all her readers will join me in extending wishes for a joyous reunion.

– Connie

I’ve mentioned my favorite political blogger here several times. She’s smart, she’s funny, she’s extremely knowledgable on politics, and I give her much of the credit for getting me interested in social media. Now I get to be on some high powered panels with her as part of My ooVoo Day Political Edition this Sunday and Monday.

My political blogging hero is Eileen Smith, creator of In The Pink Texas and editor of TexasMonthly.com the online edition of Texas Monthly magazine. OK, I tricked her into doing this with flattery and small bribes. That’s not really true, but if you read her blog posts regularly, you’ll get the spirit.

The Pink Lady and I don’t always agree and when we don’t, she’s always right. Well, except on a few issues and I won’t mention what they are. If you watch the replay of our panel here on Every Dot Connects, or on one of Eileen’s blogs, you’ll probably figure out what those very, very few issues are. Here’s a hint, I supported Barack Obama and she still wants Hillary to take it to the convention. Other than that, we agree on everything.

Politics can get really boring for normal people. Eileen gets that and makes the issues of the day fun. She isn’t Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert…she’s better. Recently, she posted about our upcoming panel, which just happens to be on Obama’s birthday (I thought you’d like that Eileen) and, once again, she cracked me up.

Here’s her take…

When my blog friend and yours, The Other Guy, started telling me about some new, exciting platform for online communications and digital media, I quickly said “unsubscribe” and hung up the phone. But then he told me it had something to do with a live video chat and I’m like, sign me up. Who am I to pass up yet another opportunity to embarrass myself and the entire staff of Texas Monthly?

God knows I’ve had plenty of practice, appearing on panels I have no business being on, where I nod my head thoughtfully and continuously blink so as to appear awake. No matter. I’ve already coerced the lovely Karen Brooks and the lovely Andy Brown to appear on the virtual panel so they can save my virtual ass.

ooVoo is the hot new video chat and conferencing tool (and I say it’s “hot” and “new” because I just found out about it). They’re hosting several virtual political panels over the next week. You can sign up to be a participant if slots are available (especially if you have a mac and a built-in web cam). Live streaming is not an option yet, but you can watch the recorded sessions once they’re uploaded. I’ll be posting them here once they’re online so you all can make fun of me while I get all defensive and then burst into tears. IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?! Who’s the Other Guy?

Here’s the full line-up:

Adriana Maestas, Marisa Trevino & Edmundo Rocha / Latino Politics Blog, Latina Lista & XicanoPwr
Albert Maruggi / Provident Partners
Arlene Fenton / Black Women Vote
Baratunde Thurston / goodCRIMETHINK
Eric Roston / Carbon Nation
Eileen Smith & Mike Chapman / In The Pink Texas & Every Dot Connects
Erin Kotecki Vest / Queen of Spain
Jason Rosenbaum / The Seminal
Joanne Bamberger, Glennia Campbell & Stefania Pomponi Butler / PunditMom, The Silent I & City Mama
L.N. Rock / African American Political Pundit
Leslie Carbone
Liza Sabater / Liza Sabater, culturekitchen, Daily Gotham
Mary Katherine Ham / HamBlog
Matt Parker / Political Buzz
Morra Aarons / Women and Work
Nicco Mele / EchoDitto
Robert Millis & Will Coghlan / Hudson Street Media
Todd Zeigler / The Bivings Report

Join us or one of the many others who are participating in the ooVoo Day Political Edition. Tune in.

~Mike Chapman

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