Zane Safrit

Dan Schawbel: Read Him

I read a lot. Honestly, I always have. And now with digital media, I read a lot more.

The more I read the less I find authors and content that really wows me. There's some very good writers. And they write some very good posts,  far better than mine.

But, it's increasingly rare that I give a blanket endorsement for a blog or blogger. 1% or less of the blogs get the blanket endorsement.

Dan Schawbel's blog, Personal Branding, is the most recent one. I interviewed him earlier this year on my BlogTalk Radio show.  You can listen at this link. I found him great, motivated, sharp, passionate about...Personal Branding. He's also very successful at it.

But it wasn't until I saw his blog that I saw he's the real deal. He's a resource you should use every day. You should start with his blog. I read it this morning and ...every post was one a I bookmarked to revisit again this weekend. And much of it was about...others's success building their personal brands.

That phrase building their personal brands makes me squeamish. So does personal brand.  It's so...vague, squishy. Why should I care about someone's personal brand?

Dan showed me we all should care about ours, theirs, yours.

He shows you the cash. ( I know we're all about passion, missions and following our dreams. As we should be. But our success with these is measured by the willingness of others to share our dreams. We communicate the value of others' dreams with the vote from our wallets and then our time sharing that same dream with others.) 

And by cash I mean the resources that allow us to communicate, connect,  sustain and expand our dreams with those of others. He and his guests describe the success of building personal brands in terms of quantifiable, measurable, meaningful metrics. These are metrics like clients, money left on the table, contracts, new business, new jobs, new partnerships, new opportunities, new markets...tangible metrics. He shows you the money from building personal brands, your personal brands. He shows you how to increase it. He does this by showing how to add value to your personal brand and communicate it in ways that are meaningful to others, with tools that are easy to use (and mostly free).

Dan Schawbel's blog, Personal Branding. Read it.

SWOMFest: Where we should be

SWOMFest starts today. This is where I should be. This is where you should be.

But...maybe you're like me and the planets didn't align (that's the only real reason not to attend this...). It happens. Ben and Jackie understand that...kinda. They do, really. They're kind and compassionate, as well as understanding. So you can go to SWOMFest. And you can watch the presentations live.

How cool is that? Ben and Jackie rock.

And Jackie, yes, I am one of those people who are thinking "Damn, I should went...." But the planets...I'm there next year.

What about Plurk?

What about Plurk?

First off, what is Plurk? In its own words it's a social journal of your life. Ok. As opposed to...

A few months ago everyone seemed to try it. Well, everyone on Twitter seemed to try it, comment on it, think it was the next slice of bread in our lives.

I asked a Twitterer what she thought about Plurk and why she was trying it. Her answer came down to A. everyone was doing it; B. it's the new social media resource.

She was right, then. I'm not so sure, now.

Their, our, motivation then to try Plurk seemed more out of frustration with Twitter's, then, slow speeds and server problems. Since those problems have been solved, for the most part, I hear nothing about Plurk...anywhere.

I know avid Plurk users will disagree. I kinda hope so.  I want to understand. I am critiquing it for its failure to meet me needs or hold my attention past a few brief moments. That's a full disclosure, disclaimer.

Plurk has a horizontal time layout as opposed to the vertical layout at Twitter. And I like the color scheme. Or maybe it's refreshing after hours of Twitter-vision.

There are some interesting features for keyword searches.

The timeline presentation can show you at a glance what people are talking about as opposed to scrolling down a page like with Twitter.

There's some added features like Karma-points, Most Viewed, This Week, etc. And I know they have a huge following. But...karma gets delivered in more effective ways than points. And...if I had more time, or conversely less of a life, I'd scroll through the others.

Here's Plurk's user page:

Here's my page on Twitter:

Notice the difference?

It's here I noticed why I prefer Twitter. Twitter is simple, direct to the point. Even looking at these home-made screenshots, I can see the difference.  On Twitter I can see, read, at a glance usernames and their Tweets. And others can see the same for me. 

The key here is big text size. It's easy to read usernames. Most importantly I can read at a glance their Tweets. I'm not interested in when. I'm interested in what and who.

I'm more interested in their content, than their timeline.

If you're interested in when...then Plurk may work better for you.

And the page layout allows my eyes to they've flowed my whole life when reading: left to right, top to bottom.

It's going to take more than pretty colors for me to unlearn that habit. Sorry. I'm 53. Make it easy for me and I'm yours. Make it easy AND useful for me and I write a post about you.

As a result, Twitter's been the recipient of so-o-o freakin' many aps built for its use, there's even a wiki for Twitter aps... it's received a round of funding...and it's solved it it's been profiled in some mainstream media today. And there are blog posts sharing  101 BUSINESS uses for Twitter. That's 101 ways to use Twitter for ...business. What about art and sports and politics and school and family and...emergency uses and...

I don't see that about Plurk. I'm not an expert. I don't read every news snippet about social media.  Bu-u-u-t...The last press update posted on Plurk's site was 3 months ago. And as my friend Paul Chaney said recently the first one in...Yes. Maybe, no. Yahoo was first. Twitter was first. Plurk was cooler...briefly. Then cool plus a lot of usability with Twitter makes me ask:   

So...what about Plurk?

Del.icio.us: Social Media Resource of the Week (...sorta)

Del.icio.us was going to be my Social Media Resource of the Week for this week. And it still is...sorta.

What is del.icio.us? Well, it's a newsclipping resource. What's that? Well, let's say I read a great article online. And I want to blog on it, but not right now. I'll blog on it in...a few days or next week. I can click the little tag icon from del.icio.us and up pops up a new browser for  del.icio.us with the title of the post, the URL, the option to modify the title, add my own notes and tags. So if it's a post about social media, I can tag it on del.icio.us, tag it with social media...and then come back to my clippings on del.icio.us, search for my clippings tagged social media and scan through the titles.

Ok. Cool. So, it's a 3rd-party ap that does much the same as favorites on your browser.

Yep. And it's easier, btw.

But...here's the community-building, social networking, feature.  That article I've clipped and tagged on del.icio.us can be tagged collectively by other del.icio.us  members. I can see their del.icio.us user names as also having tagged the same article. I can introduce myself now as we have a common interest. They can see my articles/interests; I, theirs. They can introduce themselves to me.

Now we both have access to a community of like-minded people with varying interests. And we become a trusted source for reading recommendations for others at del.icio.us.

del.icio.us was one of the early new-clipping, tagging, community-building, ...online social networking tools.

Despite it's early pre-eminence, it was only in April of this year that I explored it in much detail. I was dazzled. It was simple, clean, easy-to-use...fast. I found many people with similar AND extended reading interests. I used it every day. Every day.

But now...here's comes the ...sorta part of the post. Someone thought to redesign del.icio.us. And it's simplicity and ease of use has been replaced by...a pretty face.

Before I never had to login. Now, I have to each and every time.

Before I could see all my community members. Now  they're hidden on another page.

I haven't looked farther for the other features I use as...their redesign has discouraged me.

This too shall pass...right, del.icio.us? Into everyone's life a little bad UI falls. So, please return your design to the one that inspired me to write this post, not the design that inspired me to add ...sorta.

FavThumbs: del.icio.us bookmarks as thumbnails

From FlowingData blog comes news and reviews of favthumbs.com. What it does is show your bookmarks, anyone's bookmarks really, on del.icio.us as thumbnails.

It's slick, very fast and easy to set up and...very useful.

Instead of just text links, you can see your bookmarked articles as thumbnails. You can view it carousel mode (like on an iPhone) or grid.  Very nicely, too, I might add. You can sort by tag category.

I'd say this makes del.icio.us even more useful for more as a resource to tag articles for later viewing and digestion.

favthumbs.com...you're my social media resource of the week.

BlogTalk Radio: Social Media Resource of the Week

I love BlogTalk Radio. I use it each week, on Wednesday's at 9:30 AM Central, to bring guests to share their ideas and expertise on social media and word of mouth and employee engagement.

My channel is www.blogtalkradio.com/zane-safrit.

Why do I love it?

Well, it's free. That's a good start. That's great way to induce people to take a risk with a new kind of service like...BlogTalk Radio. The majority of us on BlogTalk Radio are risk-takers, early-adoptors, citizen-journalists, people with a community of users and resources that should be shared and connected, or one that will be as we find our respective voices and the audience that wants it.

It's easy to start. I gotta admit that I hate setting up an account with a new application. Very impatient...However, BlogTalk Radio's was simple, easy, fast.

Excellent features.

Dashboard: Easy, honestly intuitively and simple.

Scheduling shows: Setting up, scheduling a show, is easy too.

Customizable landing page. You create your own unique URL. And customizing the look and feel of your page is easy. I seem to be one of the few BTR channels who haven't.But, that's my choice because BTR makes that very easy; BTW, I'm not a coder, either.

Community.  There's the usual, plentiful, ways to share and create community. Favorites, messages, comments, ratings, who's listened...they're all there.

Widget. I love this one. It's on the top right corner of this blog. It provides streaming listening for my most recent show.

Net Results?

Fun: It's fun to organize and speak with some great experts on social media and employee engagement and leadership. By fun, it means I get very excited and enthusiastic on the shows. Sometimes, I'm a bad host when I jump in with my own thoughts they've inspired. (sorry, guys.) By fun, it means I come away with a great understanding of social media and word-of-mouth and employee engagement. By fun, I mean I can share them and their knowledge with you.

Authentic and Transparent: It's me and all my skills (mostly their lack) on display. And it's the expertise and knowledge of my guests shared in real-time, if you wish. Or recorded for posterity.

BlogTalk Radio: My Social Media Resource of the Week.

Social Media Resource of the Week: bizSugar

bizSugar.

What is it? It's a social news and bookmarking site, much like Digg, StumbleUpon, del.icio.us. It has the some of the same features for voting, tagging, reviewing, news with an online community.

But what I really liked about it was its focus on SMBs, small to medium sized businesses. I like the other sites. They have a richer feature-set, bigger community, more wow at their site. But...the content is so varied and the audience is so varied, that...it can be distracting, unfocused. bizSugar is focused solely on small to medium-sized business. I like that a lot. And while, to-date, it doesn't have the widgets to add to your browser like those others...that's ok. It's worth the extra click or two.

The other feature I like is their weekly newsletter that shares the Top 10 voted articles for the week. I like that. Make it easy for me to see what's tops on people's minds in the small and medium sized business.

Already, I see results with it. I submitted a post from SmallBiz Survival on Making LinkedIn Work for Small Town Pros. And it's been rated in this week's Top Ten by members of the bizSugar community. ( Click the article's link and you can vote for it, too. )

That's great for everyone. That's what a social community should be built-around: making it great for everyone.

I like it.

bizSugar. You're my social media resource of the week.

Social Media Resource of the Week: Jott

JOTT.

I love JOTT.

JOTT’s a little service, a free service, that transcribes your audio messages into emails sent to you or your team or your family or spouse or anyone in the world.

Ok. So what?

Ideas and solutions and epiphanies don't queue up for the sound of your noteblook rustling or your keyboard's clacking or your computer booting up. They usually come at the darndest times: driving home for lunch or at the end of a day, out for walk, out for a run, running errands, running through the airport, driving through traffic,  going to sleep...basically anywhere but while you're at your desk.

Now, with JOTT you can dictate that idea into an email that's waiting for you when you get to your desk.

So what?

What if you have an urgent message for your team. You can call your JOTT number, speak your message and JOTT will transcribe it and deliver to the emails of your team.

So what?

What if you've waited days for a solution to a vexing problem. Maybe it's a solution to that innovation breakthrough that will drive your company's revenues for the next year. JOTT yourself. Call your JOTT number and dictate that idea. You'll have an email waiting for you when you get to your office.

So what?

What if you’re driving home and you remember all the things you need to do when you get home. Well, you call your JOTT number from your cell phone (using hands-free calling, right?), speak your memory. JOTT transcribes what you say into an email. You have that email waiting for your when you get home.

For those reasons, I'd say JOTT was a small business resource. Small businesses can't afford personal assistants to remind you or be there to take dictation when inspiration hits. JOTT's always there. And it's free.

But now they've outdone themselves and it's why I list them as a Social Media Resource of the Week. Lifehacker reports: JOTT Reads Feeds to Your Cell Phone.  Yes. That's right. You can subscribe to your favorite newsfeeds using JOTT. Then JOTT will READ those same feeds to you over your cellphone.

So what?

Say, you're sitting in traffic...or you're sitting in an airport and the wifi's not available...or you've exceeded your 2-hour daily limit on free wi-fi at Starbucks...or you're at the dentist office...you can JOTT your feeds, tell it which feed and...JOTT will read them to you.

I love JOTT.

I don't use it often these days. That's because I don't travel so much right now. But it's there when I need it and every time I use it I find another feature added. And this feature, JOTT reading feeds, makes me love JOTT even more, even if I never use the feature. It's so freakin' cool.

Whisper: You may be able to create a feed of your gmail....and JOTT could read your email to you. Cool! Empty email inboxes anyone?

Links: Lifehacker

Social Media Resource of the Week: SlideShare

SlideShare is my choice for Social Media Resource of the Week. I've  come to like it quickly in the past few weeks. That makes me a late-comer to the SlideShare Ball, perhaps. I say it's never to late to share and appreciate a good resource with your friends.

SlideShare  is aptly named. That's its first plus. Its name says what it does. You use SlideShare to share slides and PowerPoint slides, primarily.

Yes, I know I've been quoted saying I hate PowerPoint presentations. I stand by that declaration. But these aren't just any PPT's. These seem to be a veritable best-of's or among the best-ofs for PowerPoint presentations. I may be prone to changing that declaration after seeing some of the PPTs shared.

Right there, you have another value-add. Not only can you you can share your PPTs, you can also learn from many of the best by being able to view their PPT presentations.

In the 12-18 months since I first viewed SlideShare it's added some excellent sharing resources.  My favorite is the widget/API that's displayed beneath each PPT presentation that will allow any user from any major blogging platform to post and embed the presentation directly into their blog. It's like being able to embed a YouTube video directly from YouTube into your blog post instead of having to cut and paste its code. 1+ - Step to Sharing. Here's a few examples of how this instant embed works with my blog: here and here.

Then there's the usual features of Tags, search, comments, Community, favorites, Groups and Events. I haven't uploaded a presentation. (Remember: I hate PPT.) But, I may be inspired to share a pitchdeck I'm creating. I should be able to find some excellent tips and examples of powerful, simple, well-done, PPT presentations that I can apply. I'll share it with you if I do.

SlideShare: Social Media Resource of the Week.