October 26, 2010

#SMIATL Lessons – Why Twitter is Powerful

I am a firm believer – and enthusiastic participant – in Twitter and written about it several times before on this blog. At the Integrating Social Media conference there was a great deal of discussion about this social media tool.

Twitter is a vital resource in harnessing the power of social media. It is a place to share information and have conversations. To be part of the conversations it is important to engage and provide a useful contribution to the community.

Twitter has upwards of 98 million registered users. Before the conference I had not been aware that additional individuals could follow Twitter users on their mobile phones without an account. (Thanks to Marla Erwin – @marlaerwin.) More Fortune 500 companies are using Twitter to communicate than Facebook – 54% versus 32% on Facebook. It is where business is communicating. It is where customer service teams (like @ComcastCares, @virginatlantic, and Best Buy's @twelpforce) are helping their customers everyday.

Twitter is real-time news and information. People are tweeting about what is happening now. This is changing the old news cycle where it took several hours for a story to be researched, written, and posted to the web or broadcast on television or radio. Now, on Twitter, people are sharing the news as it happens to them. Everyone can now be a source of information or a citizen journalist.

Twitter is where a lot of information is now. You just have to look, listen, and learn.

October 25, 2010

#SMIATL Lessons – What is Social Media?

It is always important to start at the beginning...

At the Integrating Social Media Conference there was a great deal of discussion about what social media is. And while this seems like an elementary and uninteresting topic, understanding it is essentially to be successful in the social media ecosphere. First it is important to look at what it is not. Social media is not just about user generated and / or curated content. It is not just the tools and portals, like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Social media is about creating, commenting on, sharing, and redistributing content. It is an interactive space where broadcasting is no longer sufficient and participating in conversations is essential.

Or put another way, social media is people talking to people.

Where is Kennesaw and the Integrating Social Media Conference

This week one of my coworkers and I had the opportunity to attend the Integrating Social Media Conference at Kennesaw State University in Georgia. After flying to Atlanta, we programmed our destination in the rental car's GPS and drove the hour and a half in traffic to arrive to Kennesaw, located northwest of Atlanta.

The conference was hosted by the Center for Sustainable Journalism at university. Topics discussed during the two day event included social media planning and ROI, to the future of social media, web strategies, and unifying social media and public relations. The presenters I most enjoyed listening to at the conference were (in alphabetical order) Olivier Blanchard (@thebrandbuilder), Marla Erwin (@marlaerwin), Jesse McDougall (@catalystwebwks), and Shiv Singh (@shivsingh).

In addition to talking about social media, the conference attendees and presenters participated in the event via social media as well. Using the hashtag #SMIATL I joined the other conference participants and shared observations and insights on Twitter during the conference, continuing the conversation online.

While it would be difficult for me to relate everything I learned and observed at the conference, I would like to share a few insights. Over the next few weeks I will post a series of blog entries – #SMIATL Lessons – about what I learned in Georgia.