WhatsTheBuzzAbout.com

Determining Who is Real

In the virtual world, we constantly encounter individuals about whom we have to make judgments; we have to decide whether we want to connect with them, do business with them, have social online connections with them, refer them, recommend them, or have some other type of ongoing relationship with them. Making those determinations without a face-to-face meeting is risky, but reasonable. As we know, even face-to-face interactions do not always ensure that we have a solid and trustworthy relationship.

One of the major social networks has begun to attempt to assist group owners to make strategic, informed decisions regarding accepting members into groups. In this particular case, the network identifies individuals who have one or less connection and who are applying for membership to a group. It remains the responsibility of the group owner to determine whether to allow that individual into a group. Limited connections alone do not indicate that the individual in question isn’t trustworthy.

The determination as to whether someone is factual or honest about his or her identity, location, work, accomplishments, interests, etc., is one that remains subjective. If there was an easy answer, individuals would not be hired and then fired for misrepresenting their information on a resume, etc., deals would not go bad, and the behavior of some individuals would not be characterized as deceptive or false.

The longer you are active in social media, the more aware you will become of how easy it is to misunderstand the emailed word, or the intent of someone; you’ll also realize how many individuals are ‘bad news’ for generating viruses or other conman activities. One thing you should never take for granted is your instinct. 

What are some quick indicators of ‘unreal’ people, or people who may cause you issues down the road?

• They may not use their real name in business environments. For example, they may register on a business web site as Mr. K, or Estate Girl, or the name of the company for whom they work. They may use a name like “Been There” or “Search Search.”
• They may not follow the rules of the social media web site. The site may specifically state that email addresses should not be included in the name, and these individuals include them or other characters or symbols – such as &$#+! – to try to make themselves stand out. If they refuse to follow simple rules, or if they act as though the rules do not apply to them, are they trustworthy?
• They may have web links that do not work, limited or no work history, incomplete profiles, no web site for their place of work, placeholder web sites with little or no information, no connections, etc.
• They create confusion associated with their web presence. For example, they may have multiple profiles on the same social media site instead of a full profile about them –one profile for each thing in which they are involved with different email addresses.
• They may share the same email address with another person — perhaps even register as one person with two names. Sometimes, husbands and wives in business think this is the way to go–that it is a cute and loving thing to do. However, it makes it difficult for the person on the other end to communicate because of the dual issue. Again, this is another example of complication and complexity.
• They are kicked off the same social media site more than once, and bounce in and out of sites.
• They assume different names using the same photo. For example, they could be registered as Rick XYZ, Rick XYZE, Rick XYZEK, using the same email and the same photo.
• Their names or emails may be suspicious. For example, they could call themselves “Exon Veldoz” or  “goldbullion@youcanhaveallyouwant.com.”
• They may have limited profile history and/or few connections.
• They claim to do the impossible in their profile.
• They do not keep their information reasonably up-to-date

Most of these indicators are just that – indicators. You can use these to tweak your decision matrix, and trust your instinct. It is far easier to be circumspect in the beginning than to clean up an electronic association.

What is your buzz about?

Breaking Social Network Ties With Individuals

Have you ever wanted to break a connection with someone on a social network and were reluctant to do so? Do you have connections that are causing problems in your network? Perhaps you have decided that you want to establish a smaller network. The issue is not the technical act of disconnecting, but how to do so responsibly. You have to decide whether you believe that reaching out to an individual is necessary.

Disconnecting from connections without notice

It is not bad form to simply disconnect without notice. Rarely, do individuals notify other individuals when they disconnect, and there is no social protocol that requires notification. In many networks, you can simply disconnect, and the affected individuals are not notified.

Think of disconnecting with someone as discontinuing your membership in a group. When you choose to leave a group, you probably do not notify the members before you take action. In theory, when you leave a group, you are disconnecting from the other members in that particular forum. When you disconnect from an individual in a social network, you are simply disconnecting from them in a larger forum.

Disconnecting from connections with notice

In some networks, individuals are notified when you disconnect. When you disconnect , your previous connection may be notified of your action in a very obvious manner or more discreetly. You may also decide that you want to notify your connection that you plan to disconnect.  Remember, that the very act of reaching out extends the length of time of your connection.

If you decide to provide notice you are under no obligation to provide the reason for your decision unless you choose to do so. You may be disconnecting because you are no longer in the same line of work, and continuing the connection will not be financially beneficial to either of you in the short-term. You may be simply paring down your number of connections. You may be concerned with the postings that your connection is making, etc.  Perhaps your connection is inundating you with requests to connect in many other forums, or perhaps he or she put you on an email blast list that you somehow cannot stop. You do not need a ‘good’ reason to disconnect. Connecting is your choice–disconnecting is also your choice.

If the individual is aware that you disconnected with him or her, and does not want to lose that connection, he or she will reach out to you and inquire why you disconnected in an attempt to re-establish the connection. You can then have a dialogue and decide if you want to reestablish the connection in that same venue, or in another manner, or not continue the relationship beyond that dialogue.

Whether you decide to provide notice or not, do not ponder for any length of time about the decision. Make it and move on.

What is your buzz about?

Don’t Be Fooled – Social Media for Business is Business

We have all seen them–those people who really believe that what they post is private and will stay that way in perpetuity.  They join virtual gift and fighting clubs, set up farms and aquariums, use profanity,  and post negative messages on web sites.  They are your neighbors, your fellow religious observers, your business colleagues, your relatives, and your friends. Start an online group and watch what they do. It is fascinating to follow people on the various sites.

You will find that some people start out gingerly, putting the proverbial test link out to determine if someone is watching them or even cares what they post. Others seek to make notches on their social media chart, adding up connections, as if anyone will be continue to be impressed  that someone has 35,000 people connected to him or her.  With close to seven billion people on planet Earth, these super connectors have barely set foot on the journey.  Some people will not even connect, will not share their name, will bend the rules for registration, and believe they are above the restrictions placed on others. Pride is evident in some profiles, humbleness in others.

If you are a teen in social media, you are expected to use it for fun as well as other reasons. If you are an adult, social media should still be fun. However, if you are a professional business person, while social media is fun, you need to keep yourself focused; even while social media can be fun, potential clients, business partners, employers, and others will search you out and will conduct research (due diligence) on you. Are you happy with what you are doing online?

Each of your tweets, blogs, postings, connections, groups, and networks speaks the silent electronic language about what is important to you. Does marking “like” on something mean you actually support it or do you “like” it because you found it interesting, stimulating, well-written, thought-provoking, or even the anti-thesis of what you support?  How does someone evaluate “like” and understand your intention?  How about when you check that you “like” someone’s profile?  The same questions apply.

Social media for business people is business–it is public business, and it is your business that is publicly displayed.  Does what you do online reflect you? If someone wrote a bio about you, using social media research, would it be something that is a true representation of you and that you could honorably support?

We grew up being taught to think before we speak. Now, we need to be taught to think before we write.

What is your buzz about?

Safeguarding Your Reputation

As you know reputations can be created or destroyed through social media. Perceptions about you can be changed in an instant by those who observe what you post and what is posted about you or about others and entities to whom and to which you are associated. Some people will paint negative pictures with a broad brush when they learn of illegal business practices of a company and will shy away from anyone associated with that company, whether that individual was guilty of those practices or not.

Over the course of a few years, we have seen reputations tarnished by illegal corporate dealings, assumed greed, assumed guilt, inaccurate facts outlined by politicians or the media, irresponsible actions by those in power or who have had a certain degree of prestige and respect afforded to them before the actions, statements which had to be recanted or “clarified,” and the list goes on. The power of the written word memorializes these circumstances. You may read a “bad report” and assume it is factual unless you do further research and discover that it was retracted.

You may assume that that negative reporting will never affect you. Do you know the actions of everyone who shares your name? Even those who share your name can affect you depending upon their actions, etc.  Have  you searched your name thoroughly looking for bad news? Have you ever sent an email and regretted its content or wish you could have tweaked it? Have you ever sent an email to one person in error when it should not have gone to him or her but to an entirely different person? Have you ever posted something and received a call that someone was offended by what you posted–perhaps you posted a restaurant review that wasn’t stellar, or an experience on a particular trip, etc. ? 

Everything you post is public, every group you join is public (whether the group claims confidentiality or not–the members of the group know you are a member), most every email you send or receive can be made public if law enforcement becomes involved, your movements on the internet are tracked by cookies and if you are on racy sites or violent sites that you would not want a child to be on, you could be tracked again by law enforcement.

If you want to safeguard your positive reputation, you can take a number of steps on a consistent basis to accomplish that goal.

1. Keep your word and your commitments.
2. Associate with those individuals and sites which have high ethical standards.
3. Follow the requirements of the social media sites.
4. Temper your postings with respect and well-intentions.
5. Do not evil-speak. That is, unless you have a legally binding obligation to do so, do not speak negatively about others and keep your negative thoughts unspoken.
6. Forgive people who have offended you or for whom you hold a grudge. You will be surprised how a simple act of forgiveness will lighten your load and permit you to treat everyone with respect and kindness.
7. Accept recommendations if a quid pro quo is not expected.  Provide one when you truly believe it is warranted.
8. Go the extra step to help someone who needs that help.
9. Walk in love.
10. Conduct yourself as you would want others to conduct themselves.

You will find that you will attract good people to you and that you will rarely have to apologize for your words or your actions.  Best of all, you will be aware of how your words and actions may be perceived and you will check yourself in the beginning. Your reputation should be a strong and accurate reflection of you!

What is your buzz about?

Make Time to Learn

Have you purchased hardware or software and do not know how to fully use the capabilities offered? Have you joined social networks and do not know how to move around in them? Have you downloaded shortcuts and do not know what they offer in total? Perhaps you purchased accounting software for your business and never set it up. Perhaps you traded in a cell phone and never used its features other than to receive and make calls. You may admire someone who is moving around a mobile device with ease and full use, knowing that you may not even have programmed in the telephone numbers you use all the time. Can you list what social networks you joined or what software and hardware you own without referring to a list or other documents?  Do you jump on the latest technology just because it is new?

Most of us do not take the time to fully use what is available to us to use. We learn what we need to learn in order to use those features which are the most important to us. We choose to take shortcuts in how we use technology and social media for our purposes.  We make a decision to not take time to explore certain things in depth. We take care of business at the moment, and have a cursory knowledge of all the technology with which we interface and then manipulate.

However, with the beginning of the Gregorian calendar year it seems an appropriate time to reflect on how we do things, how we prioritize things, and what is significant to us. It is a good time to remember that our power may be limited by our knowledge. We do not know that which we do not know.  It is an opportune time to  make learning a priority.

It might be an interesting exercise this year just to pick one thing a week and explore it, learn what it has to offer, take advantage of any new features you identify that might be an asset to you, and enjoy the thrill of mastering another product or network. If we begin to explore and learn about capabilities, we may learn that there are features that would help us streamline our work, ease our use, and enable us to spend less time at a task.

You will be surprised if you take the time to learn. There will always be at least one little nugget to take away from this exercise. If nothing else, you will not have any questions about whether you are taking full advantage of your ownership or membership, and you will have a sense of accomplishment. You will be able to be a repository of first-hand knowledge for others and continue to have a strong base from which to build.

Take time to learn. Take time to explore.  The rewards are great!

What is your buzz about?

Maintaining Privacy

You may be impressed with the social networks which permit you to select privacy settings, and particularly impressed with those which seem to permit you to be selective regarding various pieces of information. You may also appreciate those sites which attempt to authenticate their subscribers and verify information through email confirmation or other methods.  All of those special features are important and do make a difference.

Even though sites will permit certain restrictions, you should still be extremely careful  about establishing your privacy settings. Some sites will not enable your membership information to be accessed thus restricting your private information to just that site. Clear examples of that would be alumni groups from some of the top strategic consulting firms. Others will permit just member information to be available and nothing else.  Clear examples of that would be members of certain blogging sites.  Other sites permit a variety of controls over certain parts of your data and complete lack of control over other parts.  Clear examples of that include some of the more commonly-used social networks where you are shown as having an account but can control who can access more detailed information, such as date of birth, employer, etc.

You may find that you want to participate in a certain site and you will have to forgo protecting what you may consider confidential information to join that network. You may want to be more selective about what you choose to share on an item-by-item basis and find that such distinctions are not possible. For example, you may want to share an employer name but not the full dates of your employment or only the day and month of your birth and not the year (particularly helpful for younger children). 

Sometimes cancelling membership wipes out the retention of data by that social network and sometimes it does not. As long as the data remains,  it is subject to release, either inadvertently or proactively. Regardless, once the data is picked up by a search engine, it is extremely difficult to retract.

Releasing private information to friends and colleagues through email is also risky. Data once captured electronically via any medium has the potential to have a long life span and an ability to be retrieved years from then. This data includes photos, emails, text messages, voice mails, postings, video, searches you have conducted, video camera tapes, etc.

Each keystroke is important and has implications. If you are not comfortable with having the information public, don’t write it, don’t email it, don’t leave a voice mail, don’t text it, don’t speak it, and do conduct yourself with dignity in public gatherings where video cameras and cell phone cameras are a way of life.

Privacy was a very sacred tenet, highly guarded, As technology moves forward, our privacy rights have retreated. We are subject to surveillance in actions and speech and writing.  It doesn’t matter if you are a stellar citizen and human being–all “men” are created equal when it comes to this concept.  Parents need to instill in their children an understanding of privacy in order that children are not “embarrassed” later by their actions.

Think of your actions as always being public and it will help you make decisions regarding your privacy settings on sites and your conduct on and off-line.

What is your buzz about?

The Art of the Invitation

It seems that sending invitations to connect one-to-one on a social network or to join a network, forum, or group is a relatively simple, logistical process. However, sometimes individuals do not send invitations with care or respect. Sometimes  you may receive invitations from individuals whom you do not know and who do not make the effort to explain to you why they want to connect with you.

You may receive duplicate invitations from some individuals regardless of whether you respond to his or her initial or subsequent invitations. You may receive invitations from individuals who disguise themselves in emails, by using nicknames, initials, etc. You may receive invitations which have missing links or which contain viruses, worms, Trojan horses, or blended threats.  You may receive invitations simply because some individuals collect contacts or even are driven to compete to be number one in whatever venue with respect to the number of connections.

You may find individuals who send an invitation  and who already apologize for sending it to you if you have already accepted a previous invitation from him or her. You may receive invitations to connect with the same person on ten or more social networks, and question whether there really is a reason to connect with that individual on so many networks. Shortly, you may find that particular connection might result in viral invitations from others whom that same individual has invited to connect on multiple networks.

Invitations, once accepted may result in connections who were once welcome and then become unwelcome as those connections continue to proliferate your inbox with more invitations, blogs, newsletters, promotional information, requests, and “just thought you might be interested” emails. Disconnecting/unfriending is an arduous task and brings up another whole set of etiquette issues.

Establishing Your Own Invitation Style

Perhaps in the rush of your business and personal life you have never taken the time to think about how to frame your invitations or to whom should be the recipient or how those invitations might be perceived.

The numbers game — If you are a “contact collector” whose only goal is to enlarge your number of connections, then the only thing you need to be concerned about is the rate of return. You are an individual who does the electronic version of direct mail and only the response rate matters. Your invitations are framed, not for the purpose of making substantive strategic alliances or friendships, but rather to increase the number of connections for some future purpose. Take a look at the response that you receive from different networks if you are using standard invitations to determine if certain language might result in a higher response rate.

The selective connecter — If you issue only selected invitations in order to increase your network for some definitive business or social purpose, you might want to consider tailoring your invitations to include some information about yourself or your business in order to spur interest in connecting.

The reciprocal connector – If you generally limit your invitations to those who have invited you to connect on a particular group, etc. and you want to continue that connection in another venue, you should have a high response rate. If you do not, then you need to include the fact that you are already connected on another venue and want to perpetuate that connection on this additional group, etc.

The sporadic or casual connector – If you periodically or generally choose to connect with individuals for a variety of reasons your invitations may not be tailored to them.  By including a brief reason for the connection request, other than a simple “I would like to connect,” you will increase the likelihood that  the recipient will accept the invitation.

How you chose to  issue invitations reflects on your professionalism, your personality, and your purpose. As usual, the electronic word may be in perpetuity and, therefore, deserves consideration. Impressions can be made through electronic mediums just as well as in person, whether those impressions are first time or otherwise. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Proof your work, give due respect, and consider the value of the recipient’s time. You will be rewarded with strong, solid connections, and good will.

What is your buzz about?

Managing the Membership of Web Sites, Groups, and Forums

Managing the membership of individuals who wish to join or who are members of web sites, groups, and forums can be rewarding and stimulating. Depending upon your inclination, you can be very hands-on or hands-off, responsive or not, proactive or not, and detail-oriented or not.  If you are not an owner or manager of a social network web site, group, or forum, you will be able to see where you fit in the process and learn a few things to consider if you want to be a group manager in the future.

The stages of individuals in the “membership” process include: 1) the seeker, 2) the applicant, 3) the participant, and 4) the departing. Each stage places its own demands on the moderator and site owner. Without dealing with the information technology systems part of this process, let’s look at the expectations at each stage which might help moderators and owners plan for and respond to the individuals in these categories.

 The Seeker

This individual is usually hesitant. He or she may have been told to check out a group, etc. and has done some research. He or she may have read your description and is not willing to step out and risk becoming an applicant. Think of this person as someone who needs reassurance and more information than the average person. Generally, these individuals will get in touch with a group manager and ask for that additional information. They are the “consumer reports” type of social networker.  They may ask a lot of questions–from how long the group has been in existence to the number of members. You have to decide how to respond to his or her queries and what information you are willing to divulge. The inquirer could, in fact, not be a potential member, but have another purpose for the questions.

It is best to have your objectives and purpose clearly listed in the description in order to help ensure that the group remains focused and on-point. Having that information available to all up front, also helps to ensure that expectations are realistic, and that the rest of the group membership will rally around the purpose.

In general, you should respond to the seeker with clarity and accuracy. The individual will be comfortable in making the decision to join and actively participate in your group if you are open and receptive to receiving questions. You may find that these individuals will ultimately become your group’s strongest advocates.

The Applicant

This individual may or may not be someone whom you know. You need to determine whether you will permit everyone to join without prior approval or whether you want to moderate individuals. Allowing people to join without moderation is certainly easier to manage, but comes with some additional issues to consider. Even though it is impossible to ensure that you eliminate all the “spammers” or other “unwanted members” even with moderation, moderating your membership at least permits you the opportunity to catch some before they join. For example, do you want to permit individuals to register twice because they conduct business under two different names? One social network permits this practice of multiple accounts but does not encourage them. However, this means that one individual could join a single group more than once under the same or different names. Moderating your membership applicants permits you to address certain issues such as registering in a personal name versus that of a business or ensuring that the individuals meet the terms of participation. You can simply choose not to approve the membership of Hotel Manager until that individual uses a personal name. By doing something like the example, you simply help your members know with whom they are dealing—at least to the best of your knowledge. Acknowledging membership is also a great personal way to expand your contacts.

The Participant

Participants become successively easier to manage as the length of their participation increases. You will be able to manage the postings to ensure that they are in line with the requirements of the web site. You will receive questions about how to move around the site or group, which is just the normal participant learning curve. Having general use information available is a start, but keeping your responses also helps going forward.  Encouraging your group to share tips is helpful and encourages participation as well. You may receive also complaints about members or about the group itself. It is important to deal with the questions quickly and effectively. Remember to protect confidentiality and to keep your responses (verbal and written) professional.

The Departer

It may or may not be possible to determine who leaves your web site, group, or forum. If you do have that knowledge, you may or may not want to reach out to them, assuming that their departure was voluntary. Rarely, does someone decide to rejoin a group based on an outreach, but leaving may be a better experience if they do have contact with you.

Summary

Social networking is all about creating relationships. Recognizing individuals at all stages is meaningful to those individuals and encourages building those relationships. Deciding how individualistic/personal to make the process is a major decision. You can always change the process at any of the stages depending upon your objectives, your time, and your willingness to interact. Management is a responsibility and social networking is the art of perception–you want the perception to be accurate. Treat the management of your web site, group, or forum, with integrity and respect and you will find it rewarding and worthwhile.

What is your buzz about?

Using Ideas, Language, and Intellectual Property without Permission

It seems that many people believe that it is acceptable to use another’s ideas, etc., without even discussing it, much less getting approval.  Have you noticed photos used or quotations made without attribution? If so, you have observed just the surface of what is prevalent.  Let’s take a few examples.

Using Photos and Images

How many times have you seen photos used in postings on blogs or in other documents when you cannot find any source for the photos or the images? Often free photos are used, but many times they are not and there is no attribution for them.  Individuals may not have obtained authority to use certain photos or images but are not deterred by that—perhaps they do not even consider the ownership.

Sometimes, the photos and images may be familiar to you, but if you try to locate the source it is impossible. We have great search programs for words, but few search programs for images. If you want to use the same image, you are left with little help in finding the owner in order to obtain approval to use that image.  Have individuals used your images without approval?

Using Language

A certain web site manager used identical introduction, invitation, and thank you language for his group as the language used by another web site manager who had multiple sites and who had developed and used the language to standardize the approach. When the issue was raised to the first individual who had simply copied the language and replaced the name of the web site with his, he quickly changed his modus operandi.  He knew that what he was doing was not appropriate, and he simply waited to see if he would be caught. Imitation is not always the sincerest form of flattery. Had he contacted the other manager first, it might have proven beneficial to both to work out some sort of strategic alliance and coordination. Alas, he blew it by copying something that was already copyrighted and not coordinating.  Have you used language that someone else used and not checked with them to get his or her approval?

Using Ideas

Another individual developed a great introduction idea for a posting in a group. The group owner wanted to adopt it in other groups and wrote to the individual to get approval. He or she never received a reply and went ahead and used it in other groups and invited that individual to join those groups. The individual who came up with the initial idea was able to observe that it was used and expressed no objection.  The idea took off and has been very effective in helping individuals become connected.

However, in another case, a web site owner was speaking with a potential strategic alliance partner about some domains that he or she had. The potential partner agreed that it was worth moving forward on the concept of the domain names. The next thing that happened was that the potential partner registered a similar domain name and launched his own platform. Now, much later, he wants to consider a strategic alliance again. What do you think the web site owner should do?  It is one thing to forgive a dog that bites and quite another to go back into the same yard again where the dog spends his time. 

Summary

It is rarely in your best interest to use ideas, language, images, photos, or anything else which is the property of others and which is not authorized for you to use. Integrity is something for which there is no compromise. These examples present small ethical issues, but they give you an idea of the standards by which people operate. Either your work is original or parts of it are not and you should make it a point to give proper credit when required.

What is your buzz about?

Should You Brand Yourself Through Posting?

Have you noticed that some individuals post new information, others post opinions, and others simply post links to other people’s work, news articles, or web sites?  If you step back, you will see a trend for your postings. Are you contributing new information and insights to groups or are you a referral library sending people to other locations to retrieve information?

Posting New Information

If you provide new content, new information, and fresh ideas using your expertise, you are doing the group and yourself a great service. Others can benefit from your gifts without leaving the site and therefore, can remain focused on the group, the topic and the content that site provides. They are encouraged by your postings to follow suit thereby enriching the group as a whole. The value of the group, understanding of the dynamics of the group, and focused conversations will be increased.  You will also begin to be recognized for your contributions and your expertise.

Posting Opinions

If you post opinions, you are spurring conversations and communication. You may evoke controversy as a result and you need to be prepared to tolerate, ignore, or accept negative responses or judgment which you may or may not deserve. However, you are increasing others’ awareness of a topic or position and causing them to think about it. Posting opinions alone is not a problem. However, if all you post are opinions, your value to the group is limited by your self-imposed limitation. Think about stepping out and sharing information as well.

Posting Links

If you post links, you may be providing new information. However, you are inadvertently sending people away from the group. Posting links alone does not necessarily build your credibility as a person with knowledge, insight, or expertise. If you want to post a link and can do so in the space allotted, think about including information about the link and what is significant in your mind which makes that link valuable. Posting links which are referenced in an article or posting that you wrote is of value and necessary. However, often individuals simply post a link with no commentary and no reference as to the significance of the link. You will see postings that simply say something along the line of “check this out” and then the link.

Branding Yourself

What you post will determine whether you are establishing or cementing your own brand. Think about the content of your postings and whether they will add to or detract from your mission, your goals, and the purpose of the group. If you want to ensure you are continuing to brand yourself according to plan, make certain that whatever you post is clearly attributable to you and is of value to the readers.  

What is your buzz about?