Rethinking Twitter’s New Retweet Button (Beta)

So, I got the new Retweet Button feature by Twitter (though currently in its beta phase) last Saturday.

Aside from learning that Retweets using this button don’t add to your tweet count, I haven’t fully explored its potential just yet because I got turned off the first time I used it. It does not allow you to insert a message when retweeting someone’s message and for some reason, my RT’s via that new button do not show up on my Twitter widgets on my blog, etc. I’m hoping Twitter will fix that soon, if they haven’t done so already. Also, I’ve heard that only your Twitter followers using web-based Twitter can see the RT’s. If that’s true – that’s not good, as many of us are using Seesmic, Tweetdeck…and how about mobile devices?

But there is one thing that I noticed about it today that I like (finally): it helps with virality. When one of my tweeps RT’d someone, I got to see that other person’s tweet although I wasn’t following her. This feature allowed me to “stumble upon” that person’s tweet – cool! So now, we’re connected.

The new Retweet button has redeemed itself. I’m now excited to see what else Twitter has in store…specifically, how they can improve their new features, including their new Twitter lists.

Well, since Facebook removed their “Highlights” section and added another overwhelming page (now they have a News Feed and Live Feed, in case you haven’t already noticed), I’ve decreased my time on there and have focused more on building my client’s Twitter community. Lately, I’ve been getting a better return on engagement on behalf of my client, via Twitter.

Exploring Google Wave Gadgets

Have you gotten a Google Wave invite yet?

While I’ve been on Google Wave for weeks, I still haven’t integrated it into my daily “workflow”. It’s not so bad, and I’m pretty sure it will become a very useful tool once more of my contacts get an invite to sign-up.

I found this post on Mashable: “What’s your favorite Google Wave Gadget?” I was reading a lot of the comments and it looks like Google Wave would be very useful in planning and coordinating events (something that I’ve been considering to do while here on Oahu); I just have to figure out which gadget would be the most useful for me.

In the meantime, I’ll keep listening on Twitter to learn more about #GoogleWave. Of course, I’ll be posting my thoughts and findings here.

Making the Switch to Facebook Lite

Did you know there was a “Facebook Lite”? The description is pretty straightforward and the nice thing is, it loads pretty fast on most connections.

Since I’m not very impressed with the new changes that Facebook launched last Friday, maybe I will switch to Facebook lite–or at least, check it out for a week to see what the difference is. All I have to do is make Facebook lite my default site. If you just want to check it out, go to lite.facebook.com.

A Closer Look at the Newly Launched Twitter List

So, I finally got this message when I logged in to Twitter this afternoon:

New! Lists. A great way to organize the people you follow and discover new and interesting accounts. (BETA)

You have the option to make your list private or public.

I think this is great for marketers! +1 point for Twitter and -1 for Facebook. Simply put, from a marketing perspective, I think Twitter’s new “List” feature is a much better move compared to Facebook’s new “Live Feed” minus “Highlights” feature. I have no doubt that Twitter’s new feature will boost virality while Facebook’s new feature has certainly done the opposite in the last 6 days.

Things are different, though, from the end user’s point-of-view. Personally, I don’t need my content on Facebook to go viral. As a matter of fact, I don’t want it to! As for Twitter–I’m not sure, yet. I’ve yet to see if being on someone’s list makes you more attractive to spammers and spambots. It makes you an easy target!

WARNING: Be careful when opening @replies especially when they do not have any message associated with them. It doesn’t matter if the profile picture looks non-suspicious. With the shortened URL’s nowadays, it’s hard to know which URL you can trust.

So, don’t get too excited just yet! Always remember to be careful with what you post. And to all those creating Twitter lists out there, think twice before adding someone to your public list.

Tweet responsibly. List wisely.

What’s Up With All the Facebook Uproar?

What happened to Facebook?

As a Facebook user, I’m quite confused because there seems to be no consistency: you just never know when you’ll land on the Live Feed vs the News Feed. Upon logging in, I have quickly learned to immediately check which feed I’m on. The same thing applies whenever I click on the “Home Page.” As Forrest Gump puts it, “Life is like a box of chocolates. Ya never know what you’re gonna get.” In my opinion, it’s just a “big change” for a “big crowd” with little or no warning. I never saw the change-is-coming-and-why warning myself until Facebook gave me an unpleasant surprise last Friday.

Personally, it wouldn’t be so bad if:
a) Facebook kept the home page as what it used to be, which is in essence today’s “Live Feed”
b) Facebook kept the “Highlights” section on the home page so we can still have a quick glimpse of what our friends find interesting (as it used to be) without having to click on another page
c) Facebook just added the “News Feed” as a supplemental means to “catch up” vs positioning it as a “great replacement”.

Replacing the “Highlights” section with a completely new page, the “News Feed”, is a surefire way to get unthankful subscribers. Why fix something that’s not broken? Why would you even attempt to suddenly change behavior when there seems to be no reward? While Facebook thinks that the change would be helpful, I have yet to hear a positive comment regarding this sudden change.

In my humble opinion, I don’t believe Facebook users would’ve made such an uproar if:
a) Facebook used the approach outlined above
b) Facebook “socialized” the upcoming change–need I say, “Change Management” crash course?

The larger your subscriber base, the harder it is to implement and socialize change…and it takes a whole lot longer to fix any damages–whatever they may be–especially as complaints and sentiments can easily go viral nowadays (also with Facebook’s help).

Perhaps if Facebook followed the above recommendations and then monitored and evaluated the impact of simply “adding” the “News Feed”, they’d have a better picture of the following (among many other valuable things):
a) How many users are no longer using the “Highlights” section as a result of the “News Feed” addition? How did this addition change behavior?
b) What kind of comments (positive or negative) are coming in as a result of the change? (Isn’t social media all about listening and engaging?)
c) With the information that’s been collected, is there a need to get rid of the “Highlights” section? Is there a need to keep the “News Feed” addition? Is there a need to make improvements to either of these sections? What would be the impact of our actions?

Sometimes, I wonder if Facebook has a Public Relations office. The average Facebook user probably doesn’t even know a that a Facebook blog existed. How does Facebook communicate to its users? How can users tell Facebook what they think about this change? In case you’re wondering, here is the blog that went out on Friday, October 23rd: “New Views For Your Home Page” I guess the best way to keep up with Facebook is to “become a Fan”. Do we really want to “become a Fan” of Facebook right now?

These are but my “basic” sentiments on the Facebook user side. I have even more sentiments to share as a Facebook Fan Page Administrator. These changes have totally suppressed virality; I’m afraid it will affect the pace at which we acquire new fans (if it hasn’t done so already). I’ll be blogging about this shortly.

So Facebook, “What’s on your mind?” No more unpleasant surprises, please.

How To Get A “Friend Of A Friend” To Help You In Your Job Search

While I’m no longer in Recruitment, I continue to receive requests from people to connect their friends/peers/family with potential hiring managers within my network. With the increasing number of pro bono requests in the last year coupled with the increasing demands of my family and career, it gets more and more difficult to find the time to meet these individuals for a quick meet-and-greet.

I don’t know about you, but I’m quite selective with whom I choose to refer. It doesn’t matter if you’re my friend, relative, or previous boss–I still have to “screen” you before I refer you. But what if I’ve never met you? Maybe you live too far away or perhaps our schedules won’t ever meet, then what? Enter Social Media.

LinkedIn: I was able to connect, interact, and learn more about other people’s referrals mainly through the group discussions and Q&A section on LinkedIn. As a matter of fact, I have found it very beneficial to immediately send a LinkedIn invitation to people whom I have met at various networking events. Of course, it’s always best (and polite) to customize your message before sending the invite.

Twitter: Your tweets and retweets say a lot about you! Your twitter activity can quickly reveal your personality or even your knowledge and expertise re: a certain field. Be sure to stay transparent when engaging in conversations and don’t self-promote yourself too much because that can quickly turn people off. It’s okay to admit that you don’t know everything…and that you’re willing to learn as you seek answers and/or additional training. Don’t forget to add an interesting bio and website (i.e. blog) so that people can learn more about you.

Blog: Among many things, blogs showcase your knowledge, skills, and abilities. This includes (and of course, is not limited to) your writing ability, creativity, style, character, etc. Your blog can also be a one-stop shop that provides links to your other social media profiles, i.e. LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. You can easily create a blog for FREE via Google Blogger or wordpress.com. Blogger is pretty straightforward and user-friendly, especially if you’re just now familiarizing yourself with blogging. Remember to set up Google Analytics so you can analyze your traffic and your audience. WordPress.com is good, too, and it has its built-in analytics. Actually, I like both equally. I’m sure there are others out there (I’m willing to learn!) but these are the two that I’m most familiar with.

Flickr: If you enjoy photography (don’t worry if you’re just a beginner, amateur or whatever), create a Flickr account. Who knows? The person you’re trying to connect with may just happen to have the same interests as you! Post a Flickr badge/widget on your blog so that your readers will quickly see a snapshot of your work!

YouTube: Did you know that YouTube is now the second largest search engine next to Google? I do lots of searches on Google, YouTube, and even Twitter, myself! You can post your own version of “How-To’s”, photo slides, videoclips, etc. on there. Have fun!

Facebook: Some people use Facebook for networking purposes, and that’s fine. While I’m completely transparent in all of my blogs, tweets, posts, etc., I prefer to keep my Facebook account private and limited to friends and family. I may change that later…or maybe not…it just depends. I have to be flexible and keep an open mind! When I was in Recruitment, many applicants tried to “friend” me on Facebook. I had to politely ignore the request, if there’s such a thing. Sorry, please do not comment on my Wall to follow-up re: your job application.

There are many more examples of how you can leverage social media in your job search/networking efforts. You don’t have to have a presence in all of them. Carefully choose what works best for you. The last thing you want is to have so many accounts out there when you can barely maintain one or two. You need a life, too 🙂

Remember, it’s about building relationships (it’s not all about the numbers), and that involves a give-and-take process. Seek ways on how you can “give”, first…and the opportunities will follow. “What you sow, you reap.”

Feel free to share your thoughts and job search/networking experiences with me! Aloha…

Social Media Hiatus

I’m back! I know I’ve been MIA for almost 9 months. No, I wasn’t pregnant and on maternity leave.

While I enjoyed the interaction on Twitter earlier this year and was pleasantly surprised to have gained over 1,000 followers in approximately 2 days back in January, I decided to take a break. Aside from moving back to Hawaii from Orlando, Florida, I started a new job with a management consulting firm and traveled quite a bit in the beginning months. Next thing you know (3 months later), I was asked to drop what I was currently doing for my employer, and begin a whole new job in Social Media. So, as of October 1, 2009, I’m back–though not intentionally, on my part. I have always viewed Social Media as a fun thing–a hobby, and not a job. I expect it to be that way indefinitely. However, I do take my hobbies very seriously.

What I did notice after 9 months was the sudden rise of so-called “Social Media Experts”. I’m sure some are indeed highly knowledgeable and capable, and as for the rest–well, let’s just say I’ve been in Business Development and Recruitment before, and I’ve seen many people fake it ’til they make it. Be careful of the services you’re “buying”. There’s lots of over-inflated self-promotion happening out there.

I don’t consider myself to be a Social Media Expert. I don’t believe such a person exists. Changes happen all too quickly, and before you even become an expert at something, the trend has already changed. Knowing about all these different apps, tools, and what-not (or even having a ton of followers and fans) means nothing if you do not know the basics of reaching your target audience and building lifelong relationships and trust. It’s the relationships that will go a long, long way. Social media–though currently powerful–is just one of the many ways to get there.

As a great saying goes: “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Listen first.

More Scavenger Hunts To Come!

Today, I tweeted that I was in the process of coordinating a scavenger hunt in Hawaii. I immediately received 3 messages indicating interest of doing one in North America, Online (nationwide), and in Asia. Wow! We’ve got work to do!

My purpose of doing this is to raise funds for a Children’s Hospital as well as help local businesses in Orlando and Hawaii or other businesses that are willing to be a part of this endeavor. This would also give me and others the opportunity to learn more about Hawaii as well as other places where we will do a scavenger hunt geared towards helping children.

Speaking of which, my friend and I connected today as we plan for a jogathon while working with schools to support the same Children’s Hospital. The goal is $1 million dollars by Spring 2010.

Life has been busy with helping the community and it’s only January. I guess when you are willing, you don’t have to go looking. Opportunities will come to you. I am very excited about what else will come about in 2009.

Keep checking back for more blog posts or follow me on Twitter @coffee_tweets, for more exciting updates.

Related Links:

Official Site of the Big Gosh
Major Success: Greater Orlando Scavenger Hunt
Great Idea Award
On Social Media: Ning Features GOSH Site

Twitter Community Offers Job Search Help

Twitter is growing in popularity and before you know it, it will go mainstream. While checking for updates, I stumbled upon an article re: how one of my followers from the Twitter Community can possibly help you in your job search: Introducing #HAJ and #NAJ! Read more.

Now is the time to be as creative as can be in your job search. As with anything else, however, proceed with caution – especially when releasing personal information.

If you would like to share any of your job search tips, please post a comment.

Wanted: Morale Boosters

Happy Aloha Friday!  It’s nice to be back home in Hawai’i after approximately two years of being away. While it’s great seeing friends, family, and familiar faces and places again, there is one thing that cannot go unnoticed: their morale is down. 2008 has been a very emotional time for everyone, and we are either fearful or hopeful for 2009. President-elect Barack Obama surely has a lot on his shoulders, and he definitely needs our prayers – whether you voted for him or not.

A lot has changed while I’ve been away. My boss, her boss, more bosses, and all the way up to the two Presidents of two different entities within the same large organization have either gotten laid off or have since retired. Many of my friends, regardless of their years of service, have lost their jobs and are about to lose their homes and face foreclosure or bankruptcy. The ones who have retired have lost quite a great deal with their investments during this economic downturn. Then, I hear about many businesses closing down, loss of loved ones in the war going on in the Middle East, and families hurting as they repeatedly see their loved ones off to go to the war zone.

Dwelling on these thoughts long enough can quickly get you in a depressed state. This phenomenon has already increased the demand for psychiatrists and behavioral health institutions! At least, this is what I had heard (and seen) while I was living in Orlando, Florida.

This then brings me back to the time when I had the opportunity to be a part of the Planning Committee for the first Greater Orlando Scavenger Hunt (GOSH). The purpose of the event was not only to serve as a morale booster for the economy during stressful times; it also created added exposure for local businesses as well as raised funds for a non-profit organization of our choice: The National MS Society Mid-Florida Chapter. The all-day event commenced at Blue Jacket Park in Winter Park, Florida, on October 25, 2008, and ended at the Orlando International Airport. Participants proudly marched into the airport wearing their Burger King crowns, pink hair, glittery-pink toenails (for the guys), photos, paraphernalia, and what-not, in an effort to win the grand prize or simply, to have fun. The National MS Society was very impressed with the overall results that they asked Event Coordinator James Zimbardi, Senior Partner with Allgen Financial Services, Inc., that the event be held annually.

This is a great example of how the community can come together to help lift each others’ spirits during tough times while having fun and creating lasting memories. May it serve as an example for others to follow in their own communities.

If you have any great stories to share about how you or someone you know has helped your community, please post a comment. We need more community  morale boosters!

Here are some related links about the 2008 Greater Orlando Scavenger Hunt:

Official Site of the Big Gosh
Major Success: Greater Orlando Scavenger Hunt
Great Idea Award
On Social Media: Ning Features GOSH Site