the emotional face of twitter

7/30/2019 The Emotional Face of Twitter

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TheemotionalfaceofTwitter

byLuke

Grange

and

Celia

Prosser


2/51


3/51

Theemotional

faceofTwitter

byLukeGrangeandCeliaProsser


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2

KNOWLEDGESOLUTIONS2009

FirstpublishedDecember2009

KnowledgeSolutions2009

Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformor

byanymeans(electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recordingorotherwise)withouttheprior

permissionofthepublishers,KnowledgeSolutions.Requestsandinquiriesconcerning

reproductionandrightsshouldbeaddressedtoKnowledgeSolutions:

www.knowledgesolutions.com.au

mailto:[email protected] |mailto:[email protected]

Topurchase

copies

of

this

ebook,

please

go

to

www.knowledge

solutions.com.au

Disclaimer

Thispublicationdoesnotpurporttobelegaladviceandisprovidedasageneralguideonly.

Someinformationmaybecomesupersededthroughchangestothelawandasaresultof

evolvingtechnologyandindustrypractices.Usersshouldseekprofessionaladviceinrelationto

theirownonlineactivities.

EditedbyJoTaylerwww.jot.net.au

Typesetin11/16ptCalibribyJoTaylerwww.jot.net.au

Coverimage:Photosani/Shutterstock

Images:SteveBrandon(Flickr)p.27;RichardAudet(Flickr)p.30;

Shutterstockpp.10,12,17,23,33,37,46.


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ContentsAbouttheauthors........................................................................................................................6

0Introduction...................................................................................................................................7

1What

is

online

social

media?

.........................................................................................................

9

Whatismicroblogging?..............................................................................................................10

Thereachofonlinesocialmedia................................................................................................12

WhatisTwitter?.........................................................................................................................11

TheemotionalfaceofTwitter....................................................................................................11

Microbloggingasasegwayengine...........................................................................................11

Thereachofsocialmedia...........................................................................................................10

2

An

introduction

to

the

terms

and

concepts

of

Twitter

...............................................................

13

Yourprofile.................................................................................................................................13

Following....................................................................................................................................14

Followers....................................................................................................................................14

Unfollow.....................................................................................................................................14

Both............................................................................................................................................15

Blocking......................................................................................................................................15

Retweeting.................................................................................................................................15

Thelivetweetstream.................................................................................................................16

Lookingatanindividualstweets...............................................................................................16

Searchingontopics....................................................................................................................16

Hashtags....................................................................................................................................16

3Managingyouronlinecommunities............................................................................................19

Collaborativebusinessnetworks................................................................................................19

CBNtips..................................................................................................................................19

Friendlysocial

network

..............................................................................................................

20

FSNtips...................................................................................................................................21

LinkingCBNsandFSNs................................................................................................................21

Thereachofonlinesocialmedia................................................................................................21

4Theplaceforonlinesocialmediainbusiness.............................................................................22

Isyourbusinessusingonlinesocialmediaeffectively?.............................................................23

ConferenceTwitterusage..........................................................................................................23


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4


5Emotionalintelligenceandonlinesocialmedia..........................................................................24

Whatisemotionalintelligence?.................................................................................................24

WheredidEIcomefrom?...........................................................................................................24

Onlinesocialmediaassocialscience.........................................................................................25

Makingsenseofemotionalintelligence.....................................................................................25

6Personalfiltering.........................................................................................................................27

FilteringandEI............................................................................................................................28

Inattentionblindness..................................................................................................................28

Samewords,differentmeaning.................................................................................................29

7Usingemotionalintelligenceinonlinesocialmedia...................................................................30

It'sanewschoolplaygroundandittakestimetoestablishyourself....................................30

Thinslicing..................................................................................................................................31

Buildingtrustonlinetobuildrapport.........................................................................................31

Beingclear..................................................................................................................................31

Youresellingemotion................................................................................................................32

Isyoursocialmediacommunicationstyleworking?..................................................................32

Keepingyouraudienceinmind..................................................................................................32

8Learningemotionalintelligence..................................................................................................34

Stagesof

learning

.......................................................................................................................

34

Feelthelove...............................................................................................................................35

Emotionsinfluenceourperformance........................................................................................36

HowcanIimprovethewayIcommunicatethroughsocialmediachannels?...........................36

Howsyourreputation?..............................................................................................................36

9Emotionalintelligenceandonlinecommunities.........................................................................37

Belonging....................................................................................................................................37

What

is

a

value?

.........................................................................................................................

38

10Applyingemotionalintelligencetoonlinesocialmedia............................................................39

ReflectionexerciseforEI............................................................................................................39

11Twitterit'sallaboutconnection.............................................................................................42

ConnectingpeopleonTwitter....................................................................................................42

Rulesforconnecting...................................................................................................................43

Thelittlefox...............................................................................................................................44


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12Twitteryourbusiness................................................................................................................45

HowcanTwitteringearnmybusinessmoney?..........................................................................45

Buildingcustomerloyalty...........................................................................................................45

Customersresearchdifferentlythesedays................................................................................45

Measuringgrowth......................................................................................................................46

Customerrelationshipmanagement..........................................................................................47

00Conclusion.................................................................................................................................48


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THEEMOTIONALFACEOFTWITTER

6


AbouttheauthorsLukeGrange

Lukeisopenminded,constantlyrevisitingcommunicationconcepts

toimprovetheirtiming,applicationandrelevance.Histhree

passportsaretestamenttoanadventurousglobalcareer.Leading

KnowledgeSolutions,togetherwiththeteam,hehelpsclientstake

partinnewinnovationandimprovingindividualslivesby

introducingonlinesocialmediaandopeninnovation.Client

engagementisthemeasureofonlinesocialmediacurrencyandLuke

hasbeendevelopingandpromotingonlinecommunitiestohelp

companiesdeveloptheirwealthofsocialmediacapitaloverthelast

10years.Itshispassion!

CeliaProsserWhileworkinginthefieldofinjurymanagementinAustraliaandNew

Zealandfortenyears,Celiadiscoveredthatmanyoftheinjurieswere

ofapsychologicalnature,causedfrominterpersonalconflictor

bullying.Mostoftheseinjuriesstemmedfromabreakdownin

communication,poorleadershipcapabilitiesandlackoftrust.Soshe

builtonherexistingskillsinhealthsciencetoincludeaccreditationin

EmotionalIntelligence

and

Workplace

Coaching.

Celias

wide

range

of

skillsandexperienceenableindividualsandorganizationstoimprove

theirworkplaceculturetobetterachieveeffectiveemployeesocial

networking.

TheEmotionalIntelligenceinstrumentCeliausesistheonly

assessmentsupportedbynumerouspeerreviewedresearchfindings

andpublicationsaswellastangiblebusinesscasestudies.


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ABOUTTHEAUTHORS

7

KNOW

LEDGESOLUTIONS2009

IntroductionTheconceptofonlinesocialmediaisntreallynew.Whileithasonlyrecentlybecomepartof

mainstreamcultureandthebusinessworld,peoplehavebeenusingdigitalmediafor

networking,socialising

and

information

gathering

for

over

30

years.

So

whether

you're

anewbie

orhavebeenusingitforawhilethisebookisforyou.It'sisdesignedtogiveyoupractical

adviceonhowtouseonlinesocialmediaandenhanceimproveandstrengthenyourexperiences

ofsocialmedia.

Onlinesocialmediadidntstartwithcomputersitwasbornon'line'...onthephone.However,

theinventionofthetelephoneisnotwhatweregoingtoexplorehere.Letsfastforwardto

1997,toasocialnetworkingsitebythenameofSixDegrees.Thisinnovativewebsitesoughtto

bringpeopletogetheronline.Butonlythreeyearslateritcloseddown.Thereasonsforits

closureweremainlyduetousersfeelinguncomfortableputtinginformationonlineand

interactingwith

strangers

especially

when

the

internet

hadnt

caught

on

quite

yet.

Basically

it

wastooearlyforitstime.Atthispointmostpeopledidntreallygetitorunderstandwhatit

wasfororhowtheycoulduseitinthewaywedotoday.

DespitetheearlydemiseofSixDegrees,thissitehelpedestablishthecentralcharacteristicsof

onlinesocialmediathatwouldlaterbefinetunedandelaboratedon.

Themovetoemergingwebbasedtechnologyallowedustoshrinktheworldmetaphorically

speaking,ofcourse.Itallowedustohavequickandeasyconversationsonline.That'swhatthe

worldwidewebisreallyallabout...conversation.Initiallywethoughtofitasabiglibrary.Then

wethought

it

would

be

aplace

to

publish

from.

But

its

really

always

been

about

conversation

andwillcontinuetobeaboutconversationaswekeepmovingforward.Thefactthatit

connectedpeoplethroughemailgaveusabuzzbackinthe90s,butthatquicklyworeoffasour

inboxesoverflowed.CCingandBCCingstillmeantwehadtoopenandreadallthoseemails(not

tomentionspam).Basicallythesystemconnectingandallowingustocommunicatecalledemail

isnolongereffectiveandefficientenough.

Butwedon'twanttolingertoomuchinthepastsolet'szoomforwardtothecurrentday,when

wehavereachedatippingpointforthetechnologyofmicroblogging.Ina2009reportcompleted

byMarketingProfsResearchInsightsitwasdemonstratedthatnewmediaisontherise.

Withcompany

websites

and

email

marketing

approaching

saturation

levels

in

terms

of

usage,

attentionisnowshiftingtointeractiveonlinesocialmedia.

0


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8


Twitterhasgrownoverathousandper

centinAustraliasinceearly2009.Its

annualgrowthsincelastAprilexceeds

3200%(ReadWriteWeb).

Withthese

staggering

figures

in

mind,

let'slookathowthisisaffectingour

relationshipsbothon andofflineand

whatthismeansforourabilityto

communicatewitheachother.

Let'sfaceit:Twitterispowerful!Its

bringingmorepeopletogetherthan

anyothertechnologyinthehistoryof

communication.

Microblogginggivesyou140

characterstogetyourmessageacross.

Ifitisnotcommunicatedeffectively

thenyouraudiencehasnooptionbut

tomakeerroneousassumptionsabout

themeaningofthattweet.

ThisiswhywefeelitsimportanttointroduceEmotionalIntelligence(EI)intothesocialmedia

arena.Withmicrobloggingthereisevenmorescopeforbeingmisunderstoodandmoreneedfor

peopleto

think

about

how

and

what

they

say

in

each

message.

Because

emotions

affect

the

way

wethinktheyultimatelyaffectthedecisionswemake.

Haveyoueveraskedyourbossforapayrisewhentheywereinabadmood?Ofcoursenot!

Soletmeaskyouthishowdoyouknowtheyreinabadmood?Isitwhattheyresaying,or

howtheyresayingit?Isitbasedontheirbodylanguageand/oracombinationofallofthese

things?

Nowimagineforamomentthatyouonlycommunicatewithyourbossonline...Howdoyou

thinkthatwouldaffectyourmessaging?(Oryourabilitytogetapayrise!)

Itdoesnt

matter

if

youre

on

Facebook,

Twitter,

Yammer,

YouTube

or

Flickr;

your

online

personalityisnotonlypartofyouroverallbrand,itbecomesaninteractiveexperienceforyou,

personally,and,morespecifically,thecultureofyourbusiness.

Wewrotethisebooktohelpyounavigateyourway

aroundthisnewphenomenonandstrengthenyour

experienceofonlinesocialmediainaproductiveway.

Wealsoalignemotionalintelligenceandonlinesocial

mediaforthepurposeofenhancingeffective

communicationthroughthesechannelsforyour

businessand

in

your

personal

life.

TerminologyYou may see the terms microblogging and

twittering used interchangeably as you move

through this ebook.

Twittering is microblogging. Microblogging is a

concept and Twitter is one of the technical tools

used to execute this concept.

(We would prefer to have called microblogging

'microsharing', which is a term we first heard

used by Laura Fitton @Pistachio follow her,

she really really gets it.)

Wherever you see underlined text

in this ebook, its a live link.

Simply click on the link to open it

in your browser.


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WHATISONLINESOCIALMEDIA?

9

KNOW

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Whatisonlinesocialmedia?Onlinesocialmediaisanumbrellatermthatdefinesthevariousactivitiesthatintegrate

technology,social

interaction

and

the

construction

of

words,

pictures,

videos

and

audio

online.

Thisinteraction,andthemannerinwhichinformationispresented,dependsonthevaried

perspectivesand'building'ofsharedmeaningaspeoplesharetheirstoriesandunderstandings

(Wikipedia).

Allonlinesocialmediaplatformssharefourmaincharacteristics:

publicorsemipublicprofilesforusers

membersconnectwithoneanotherbecausetheyhavesomesortofsharedinterest

memberscanviewandconnectwithotherindividuals(friendsorfriendsoffriends)

onlinesocialmediaServicesallowforusergeneratedcontent.

Onlinesocial

media

is

online

content

created

by

people

using

highly

accessible

and

scalable

publishingtechnologies.Atitsmostbasic,onlinesocialmediaisashiftinhowpeoplediscover,

readandsharenews,informationandcontent.It'safusionofsociologyandtechnology,

transformingmonologues(onetomany)intodialogues(manytomany)andittransforms

peoplefromcontentreadersintopublishers.

Onlinesocialmediahasbecomeextremelypopularbecauseitallowspeopletoconnectinthe

onlineworldandformrelationshipsforpersonal,politicalandbusinessreasons.

Thereareanumberoftechnicaltoolsthatfacilitatetheconnectingofindividualsonline(suchas

Facebook,

MySpace,

LinkedIn,

Twitter,

Yammer,

Flickr

and

the

various

blogging

sites).

Each

one

ofthesetoolscanbeusedforthereasonsstatedabovehoweversomearebettersuitedfor

differentpurposes.

Forexample,LinkedInisbetterforestablishingbusinessrelationshipswhileFacebookhas

traditionallybeenbettersuitedtopersonalrelationships(thoughthisischangingasthedrivefor

thesoftwaretobeallthingstoallpeoplecreepsinandweseeaddedcomplexity.

1


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10


Whatismicroblogging?Microbloggingisaformofonline

socialmedia

that

allows

users

to

sendbrieftextupdatesof140

charactersinlength,ormicromedia,

suchasphotosoraudioclips,and

publishthemeithertobeviewed

byanyoneorjustbyarestricted

groupchosenbytheuser.These

messagescanbesubmittedviaan

increasingnumberofplatforms,

includingSMS,

smart

phone

or

the

web.

Ioftenhearpeoplesay'Idonteven

blogwhywouldImicroblog?'

Wellforastart,thereisavastdifferencebetweenbloggingandmicroblogging.Verysimplyput,

thecontentofamicroblogdiffersfromatraditionalbloginthatitismuchsmallerinlengthand

aggregatefilesize.Asinglemicroblogentrycanconsistofasinglesentenceorfragment,an

imageorabriefvideo.

Users

microblog

about

particular

topics;

these

can

range

from

what

one

is

doing

or

thinking

at

a

givenmomenttothethematic(suchassportscars),tobusinesstopics(suchasbrand

awareness).

Microblogsprovideshortcommentaryonapersontopersonlevel,sharenewsabouta

company'sproductsandservices,providelogsoftheeventsofone'slifeandmore.

Microblogginggivesustheabilitytocommunicateeasilytopeopleallovertheworldinan

instant.Wecansharestories,eventsandmessageseasilyandquickly.Itallowsustocollaborate

withpeopleallovertheglobe.Itallowsforbrainstorming,problemsolvingandcoordinationof

activitiesinarelativeinstant.

Microbloggingfosterscohesiveness,connections,accountability,leadershipandauthenticityif

usedintherightway.

ThereachofsocialmediaFacebook accounted for 14.5% of all UK Internet page views during September 2009,

equivalent to 1 in every 7 (Hitwise).

Twitter is now the 26th ranked website visited by Australian Internet users (week

ending 5 September 2009) (Hitwise).


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WHATISONLINESOCIALMEDIA?

11

KNOW

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WhatisTwitter?ThemicrobloggingtoolTwittergrewoutofabrainstormingsessionatapodcastingcompany

calledOdeoin2006.TheideawasforindividualstouseanSMSservicetocommunicatewitha

smallgroup.ThefirstTwitterprototypewasusedamongOdeoemployees.Itwaslaunched

publiclyinJuly2006.

TwitterbecameitsowncompanyinApril2007.Twitterreallytookoffatthe2007Southby

SouthwestFestivalintheUSA,whereusageincreasedby300%.

TheemotionalfaceofTwitterEveryoneofusonTwitterlooksdifferenteven

though,initssimplicity,itonlyhasfour

fundamentalfacets:

following

beingfollowed

peopleyoufollowwhoalso

followyou(both)

blocking.

WealllookdifferentinTwitterbasedonthefourfacetsintheface.It'sthecombinationofthesefourfacetsthatdeterminesyourpersonalcommunitysurrounding

youinthetwitterverse.

Youcanevengoastepfurtherandarguethatwe'sense','listen'and

'communicate'throughtheface.Thereforeunderstandingwhatyouwantyourfacetolooklike

onTwitterisessential.

LUKE: AsIwasgrowingup,my

motheroftenusedtosay'It'samazing,

isn'titwearebroughtintothis

worldwithtwoeyes,anoseanda

mouth,yetwealllooksodifferent'.


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MicrobloggingasasegwayengineStorytellingissoimportantandtheinternet

isthe

perfect

platform

for

us

to

shoot

the

breeze.Thisbreezemaybeaboutrocket

science,somenewbiotechdiscoveryorthe

latestHollywoodblockbuster.

Yourknowledgedoesn'tallresideinyour

head.Thereisaknowledgesupportnetwork

thatishardatworktryingtopass

knowledgetousandfromustoothers.The

internetallowsustodoallthiswhilehaving

aconversation

which

is

the

most

natural

waytopassonwhatwehaveinourheads.

Alinkinatweettakesyoutomanyplaces.

Oneoftheseisyourawarenessofthe

proximityoralignmentyoufeelwiththose

youhavechosentofollow.

Thereachofonlinesocialmedia By 2010 Gen Y will outnumber baby boomers. 96% of them will have joined an

online social network.

Online social media has overtaken porn as the numberone activity on the

web.

Australians are now the thirdhighest percapita group of Twitter users on the

planet.

It took radio 38 years to reach 58 million users. TV took 13 years. The internettook four years. iPods took three years. Facebook added 100 million users in

less than nine months!

80% of Twitter users are on mobile devices. Imagine what that means for bad

customer service.

34% of bloggers post opinions about products and brands.

ThesestatisticswerefeaturedintheYouTubevideoSocial Media Revolution'it

givesincrediblestatisticsonhowonlinesocialmediacontinuestogrowandisworth

awatch.


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ANINTRODUCTIONTOTHETERMSANDCONCEPTSOFTWITTER

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KNOW

LEDGESOLUTIONS2009

AnintroductiontothetermsandconceptsofTwitterYourprofileHelpyourselfandhelpothersstartbymakingiteasy

toseewhoyouare.SetupyourTwitterprofilewitha

photoandabio.Inyourbio,youneedtoexplainwhat

itisthatyouareallabout.InTwitteryouonlyhave160

characters

to

do

so,

which

is

not

a

lot,

so

you

really

havetothinkbeforeyoustarttodescribeyourself.It's

agoodideatoexplainyourreasonforbeingpartof

Twitterandalsogivealittleinsightintoyourpersonality.Forexample,startwithsomething

abouthowyouwanttochangetheworldandthensayhowmuchyoulikeeatingicecreamona

sunnyday.

Itsreallyimportanttosetyourprofileup(withphotoandbio)beforeyoustarttotryandfollow

others.Ifyoufollowsomeonewithouthavingthesetwothingssetupdontexpectthemto

followyou;youwillprobablybeblocked.Theinternetisnowatwowayconversationandweall

wantto

know

alittle

bit

about

the

other

people

out

there

before

we

get

into

deep

discussion.

Everyonehasasoftersideit'sagreaticebreakerjusttoshowalittleofthissideofyourselfin

yourtweetsandyourbio.

ThinkofasuitablenametouseinTwitteras

yourusername.Thisisreallyimportantasit

makesuppartofyouridentity.Ifyouhavea

reallyuniquefirstnamewhichmostofus

dontyoucouldusethat.Acombinationof

yourfirstandsecondnamesmaybeagood

oneto

use.

Think

about

the

context

of

your

Twitteraccount

YoucannotNOT

haveapersonaonline.

LUKE: IoftenmeetupwithTwitterfolk

offlineaswellasonline.Ifyournameis

HarryCollins,butyoudecidetocallyourself

SpanneronTwitter,expecttobecalled

Spannerwhenyoumeetothersinthestreet

whorecognize

your

profile

photo!

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FollowingInthemicrobloggingworld,justasinreallife,wecanchoosewhowewanttoassociatewith.

Youcanactivelyfollowpeopleandwedon'tmeanstalkingthemorfollowingthemhome.You

simply

decide

that

you

would

like

to

see

their

tweets

in

your

'following

stream'.

If

they

decide

to

followyoubackthentheywillseeyourtweetsintheirfollowingstream.

Andsocommunitiesgetbuiltandoverlapandrelationshipsform.

Eachtimeyoureadatweetfromthepeopleyouarefollowingyoucanunfollowthepersonwith

oneclickiftheirtweetsstopinterestingyouortheirlinksarenotrelevanttoyou.

FollowersIfyouhaveapublicprofile,anyonecandecidetofollowyou.Ifyouhavesomeonefollowingyou

thenthey

will

see

your

tweets

in

their

following

tweet

stream.

Therearetoolstogatheralotoffollowersquickly,whichareeasytosignuptoonline,butwhat

youquicklyrealizeisthatit'snotthenumberoffollowersyouhavebutthevalueofthe

followersthatismostimportant.

Weeachneedtotaketimeselectingwhowewanttofollowandblockingthosethatitdoesn't

makesensetohavefollowingyouthosewhomostprobablylackauthenticityandwoulderode

thetrustofothers.Itsnotagoodideatoautomaticallyfollowanyonethatfollowsyou.

UnfollowWhenyouhitunfollowyouwon'tseethat

personagain.Sowhatdrivesustodoit?Asitsso

easytounfollowwethoughtweshouldprovide

arundownonhowtomanageyourcommunity

inTwitter.

Ifwedon'tseesharingfromsomeonewe

unfollowthem;that'slife.Wehavetosharethe

luvorelsewewillbeunfollowed.Noteveryone

hasworkedthisoutjustyetsodon'tbelievethe

statsabouthowmanypeoplefolloweachother;

itwillchange.Thingswillbegintosettledown

andwewillbegintoseepeoplemanagingtheir

followingandfollowersmoreeffectively.

LUKE:Peoplesellingtomewithouthavingdevelopedaworking

relationshipgetthebootiftheysellto

meina'buythisnow'kindofway.

ThecommunityIhave,thepeople

whoIfollow,wouldnotselltomein

thisway.

Theyletmeknowwhattheylikeand

whytheylikeitandifIwantIcanask

themwheretheyboughtitandthat's

it.Itsdoneinaconversationbecause

thatiswhattheinternetisbecoming:

aconversationonline.


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LEDGESOLUTIONS2009

BothInordertobeabletosendadirect

message(DM)toanotherTwitter

useryouneedtobefollowingthem

andtheyneedtobefollowingyou.

ADMisreallyusefulonceyouhave

establishedarelationshipwithyour

follower.Itsnotsomethingtobe

overused,butitisamoresecure

waytosendcontactdetails,suchas

aphonenumber,toanindividual

withouthavingtobroadcast

personaldetailsto

thetwitterverse.

BlockingThereisadarksidetothetweetspace.Somepeoplepuntpornographythroughtweets.These

individualswillfollowyouontheoffchancethatyouwillclickonalinktheypost,whichwilllink

toapornsite.Itsagoodideatoblocktheseindividualsassomeoftheirlinkscouldleadyouto

gettingavirusonline(oroffline!)

Whenyousendatweetitwillgointothemaintwitterstreamforanyonetosee.However,

thoughmost

Twitter

users

only

look

at

the

individuals

they

follow.

With

this

in

mind,

its

probablyagoodideatoblockthosewhoyoudontfeelneedtoseeyourtweetsintheir

followingstream.

RetweetingRetweeting(RTorVia)isawaytorelayatweetyoufounduseful,funnyorinterestingtoyour

followers,therebygivingthemvalue.Byretweetingyoualsogivetheoriginatorkudosforthe

valueyouseeinthemessage.Inaretweetyoucanaddacoupleofwordsofyourownto

embellishtheargumentofaddyourslant.

ItspolitetothanksomeonewhoRTsyourmessagesinashorttweetorDM.

Ifthoseyoufollowtweetcontent(suchasURLs),andtheyareinlinewithyourobjectives,they

wouldhavereadthecontenttheyarelinkingto.Eachtimetheyvetitonyourbehalfandyou

begintotrusttheirjudgmentovertime.Ifyouretweetsuchtweets,it'simportanttodouble

checkthatthelinkisworkingandthatthecontentthatittakesyoutoisrelevanttoyour

followersbeforeyouRTitoutacrossthetwitterverse.

LUKE:TheotherthingIlookoutforfrommyfollowersisthattheyshare.

Irecentlyaskedmywifewhatitisthatkeepsus

lovingeach

other.

She

replied

that

we

share

stuff.

onlinesocialmediaisallaboutsharingthat's

whatbindsthecommunitiesonline.

CurrentlytheTwittertoolsdontmakeiteasyto

gettogripswithallourfollowersinoneview.

Butsomeoneoutthereisnodoubtdevelopingan

applicationtodojustthat;bythetimeyouread

thistheyhaveprobablyconvincedyoutouseit.

Soonwewillhavetheabilitytofinetuneour

communityand

tweak

the

untapped

value

outthere.


18/51


16


Similarly,yourfollowersrelyonyoufeedingthemvaluablecontentfromthoseyoufollowand

theywillrewardyoubyhandingoutcomplimentsandreturningthefavorwithrelevantvaluable

linksandRTsintotheircommunity.

ThelivetweetstreamThelivetweetstreammeansthatapersontakingpartintwittercanseetweetsastweeters

aroundtheworldarepressingthesendbutton.ThistakestheshapeofastreamofTweetsthat

justkeepcomingaspeopleconversewitheachother,alludetonewsreportsorsimplysaywhat

theyarethinking.

LookingatanindividualstweetsIf

you

want

to

see

the

list

of

tweets

that

one

particular

personhassentovertimeyoucanclickontheirprofile

andreadtheirtweetstream.Thisenablesyoutosee

whotheyhavebeenmakingcontactwithandwhat

informationtheyhavebeensharingwiththe

Twitterverse.Itallowsyoutocometogripswithwhat

intereststhemandwhattheirpassionsare,howthey

expresssentimentsand,ultimately,theiremotions.

SearchingontopicsAnotherwaytoseeastreamofusefulinformationwouldbetosearchonaparticulartopicin

Twitter.If,forexample,youareinterestedinrugbyyoucouldrunasearchforthewordrugby.

Allthemostrecenttweetswiththewordrugbywouldbelistedasastream.Runningsearches

isagreatwaytofindpeopleinTwitterwhomayhavesimilarinterests;youmightdecideto

followsomeofthesepeoplewithsimilarinterests.

HashtagsSearchingonlinebringsusanotherdimensionoftherealtimeinteractionthatmicroblogging

bringsus.

Ahashtagisthehash(#)symbolfollowedbyatermortopicthatdescribesacommoninterest

anddevelopsafollowing.

Forexample,theresarugbygameunderwayandtweetsareflyingoutaboutit.Ahashtagcould

bebroughtintoplay(excusethepun)tocreateastreamaboutthatparticulargame.

LetssayyoudecidetotweetaboutaWorldSeriesrugbygamebetweenAustraliaandNew

Zealandthat

is

taking

place

and

you

want

to

have

others

reply

to

your

thoughts.

You

could

put

Youreunique...just

likeeverybodyelse!


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KNOW

LEDGESOLUTIONS2009

#OzNZrugbyatthestartofyourtweet.Ifotherswanttojoinintheywouldalsoputthehash

tag#OzNZrugbyintotheirtweetsandacommonsearchtagdevelopsmomentum.Youcanthen

clickonthetagandbetakentoastreamofalltweetspeoplehavepostedaboutthetopic.Its

likewatchingthegamewithagroupoffriends;yougettoshareyourthoughtsandfeelingsand

seewhat

others

watching

the

game

think

of

atry

or

tackle.

QuiteafewrealityTVprogramshavehadhashtagsassignedtothem;viewersaddtheiropinions

aboutwhoshouldbegiventheprizeorwhoshouldwin.Onceagain,itslikehavingeveryone

whosinterestedinthe

sameprogramthat

youarewatching

takingpartinonehuge

conversationasthe

eventunfoldsinreal

time.

Thiscanhavesome

interestingresultsand

raiseissuesforTV

programmers,ascan

beseeninthestory

aboutMasterChef

below.


20/51


18


Mainstream media must come to terms

with realtime social media resultsTwitter became a space for the crazed support of the most popular reality

show in the history of Australian TV: MasterChef. (The same was also true

in many other countries.)

But something fundamental was uncovered: airing the same competitive

show across a country with different time zones doesnt work.

The MasterChef final went to air on the east coast of Australia at 7.30pm.

Due to the twohour time zone difference, it was to be aired two hours later

on the west coast of Australia (when it would be 7.30pm there).

MasterChef, during the series, gained a massive following on Twitter. Do a

search for #masterchef in Twitter and see for yourself. For many who use

Twitter, the series was made that much more special when shared with

new and old friends alike online. The advertisement breaks for once

became useful as Tweets leapt between the lounge rooms of viewers. This

is entertainment and we will see this concept grow and grow.

Have you guessed the problem? All the viewers on the west coast who use

Twitter had to endure the final results, which had been guarded till the lastmoment, without having seen the show yet. Big letdown to watch the

suspenseful last episode already knowing the result! This is reality TV if

the results get out beforehand, the shows rating will go down and the

entertainment appeal will decrease. Twitter could spell doom for many

very clever shows, some of which will never get a chance to air as there

may be no point until TV companies work it out.

A possible solution would be to make the shows more localised and

actually incorporate online social media to boost the number of viewers.


21/51

MANAGINGYOURONLINECOMMUNITIES

19

KNOW

LEDGESOLUTIONS2009

ManagingyouronlinecommunitiesLetssaythereare,forsimplicityssake,twotypesofcommunitynetworksoutthere.(Theword

'social'doesnotalwaysapplyinthecontextofonlinesocialmedia.)Therearethemoreformal

collaborativebusinessnetwork(CBN)forumsandtherearethefriendlysocialnetworks(FSN).

Theybothhaveseparatebenefitsandyoushouldtrytomanagethemasseparatelyasyoucan.

Followingaresomerulesofthumbthatmighthelpestablishsanityinyouronlinesocialworld.

CollaborativebusinessnetworksThecollaborativebusinessnetwork(CBN)isanetworkofprofessionalswithwhomyouhave

comeincontactoveryourworkinglife.Asyouchangejobsovertimeyoumaylosetouchwith

thesepeople(someofwhomknewmoreaboutyouandfeltascloseasfamily,giventheamount

oftimeyouspentorspendwiththem).Someofthesepeoplemaybeexbosseswhowillgive

youareference,whichyoucanplaceinyourprofileofthisforum.CBNsrelatetoyour

professionallife.

Butbecareful,thesenetworkscanalsoworkagainstyou.Ifyouinviteeveryoneyouhaveever

receivedabusiness

card

from

or

simply

people

who

you

never

met

who

worked

for

the

same

companiesyouonceworkedfor,youbegintodilutethevalueofyourCBN.Thisisnotasensible

approachandyoumaylosecredibilityasaresult.

CBNtipsHerearesomesuggestedrulestofollow:

1 Don'tdiluteyournetwork.Thinkbeforeyouinviteoracceptsomeoneelsesinvitationto

linkwiththem.

2 Workitanditwillworkforyou.(Investthetime.)

3 Maintaincontactwiththepeopleonthenetworkfromtimetotimeevenifit'sjusta

simplefriendly

hello.

3


22/51


20


4 Beforepostinganymessagestakeamomenttoreflectuponwhatemotionalresponseyou

arewantingtoelicitfromyouraudience.

5 Youmaydisagreewiththisone(yourewelcometodoso!):keepyourCBNandFSN

separate.Toomanypeopleallowfartoomanyoftheirbusinesscontactsintotheir

Facebooknetworkandlivetoregretit!

SitessuchasLinkedInandPlaxocanbelikealiveCVorresumeofallyourcareerexperienceand

professionalskills.Recruitmentagentsandcompaniesareusingthesemoreandmoretolookfor

newrecruitsandcheckuponjobapplicants.

Thesesitesalsoallowfellowcommunity

memberstopostreferences.Thisreferencing

haslackedauthenticityinthepast,butis

startingtobeconsideredbonefideasacritical

massdevelops.

Yourown

credibility

hangs

in

the

balance

ifyou

giveareferenceforsomeoneanditendsup

beinguntrueorinaccurate.Theseforums,asa

result,begintoselfpolicethemselves.

FriendlysocialnetworkYourfriendlysocialnetwork(FSN)isacircleofpeoplewhoyouchoosetosharepersonalstuff

with.

Thisismoreofaleisureactivityand,dependingonyourpersonality,youmayspendhourseach

dayoreveninguploadingstuffandcheckingwhatyourfriendshaveuploadedandwritten

recently.

Thisisanabsolutelywonderfulplacetostayin

touchwithpeoplewhileyouaretravelling.Its

alsoagreatwaytomaintaincontactwithfamily

andclosefriendslivingindifferentstatesor

countries.Itshouldntreplacethephone.Ifused

inconjunctionwithothercommunicationtools,

thistypeofcommunicationenhancesthebond

youcandevelopwithothers.

FSNsmustbeusedwithalevelofmaturity.Too

oftenweseeanaveapproachtotheFSN

concept.Thinkbeforeinvitingsomeonetobe

yourfriend.Doyouwanttoshareeverything

youaregoingtouploadontothesitewith

them?Onceyouhavemadesomeone'afriend'

tolater'discard'orblockthemcouldhave

negativeemotionalconsequences.

LUKE:YourFacebookprofilephotoisvisibletotheworldsomakesureyoure

wearingsomeclothesinit.

Iknowsomeonewhowasn'tandthe

wholeoffice

took

great

delight

in

emailingitaround.

LUKE:Idon'thavetheenergytobreakmyFacebooksiteintomultiplesecurity

groupsandcompartmentalizemyso-

called'friends'intowhocanseewhat

videosorphotos.Iwanttokeepitas

simpleas

possible.

CELIA:IhaveseenrelationshipsbreakupasaresultofFacebookpasswords

beingshared.Ontheflipside,Ihave

heardoflong-lostfriendsgettingin

touchandrekindlingrelationships...

someevenfallinginlove!


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MANAGINGYOURONLINECOMMUNITIES

21

KNOW

LEDGESOLUTIONS2009

FSNtipsHerearesomesuggestedrulestofollow:

1 AskdoIreallywantthemtoseethisstuff?beforeyouinviteoraccept.

2 Considertheemotionalconsequencesofapostoruploadand,ifindoubt,phoneand

explainwhat

you

really

mean.

3 It'sagreatwaytoshareexperienceandhavefun,butrememberthereisaseriousside.

LinkingCBNsandFSNsFSNsandCBNscomingtogetherisbecomingmorethenorm.Whenyouareexplainingonline

socialmediatosomeone,itsfareasiertoseparatethemfirstandthenexplainthattheyoften

dooverlap.Facebook,forinstance,hasbecomeawellrecognizedandeffectivebusiness

platform.

ThereachofonlinesocialmediaYouTube 445

million

users

#2 site in global minutes

over one billion video views each day

17 billion searches in August 09

20hrs+ videos uploaded every minute.

Facebook 390

million

users

#1 site in global minutes

over 6 billion minutes spent each day

over 2 billion pieces of content shared every week

over 2 billion photos

6 million Australian visitors in June 09

(the equivalent of the 4thlargest country on theplanet)

Twitter 55million

users

Realtime micro broadcasting

5,000 messages/second sent

available via web and mobile

800,000 Australian visitors in June 09


24/51


22


TheplaceforonlinesocialmediainbusinessBringingonlinesocialnetworksintothemainstreamandembracingthemisarelativelynew

conceptforbusinesses.TheMySpaceandFacebookgenerationhasgrownupwiththem.As

theseindividualstakeupmanagementpositions,onlinesocialnetworkingissimplybecominga

partofthefabricofbusinesswhetherinaformalorinformalway.

Buteventhoughyoungergenerationslivetheirlives

bathedinsocialmedia24/7,thisdoesnotmeanthat

theyimmediately

see

the

relevance

of

it

in

business.

Theorganizationsthatworkoutnowhowtointegrate

onlinesocialmediaintotheiroperationswillbethe

mostsuccessful.

Thisseemslikeasimpleequationonthesurface,but

inrealityit'sacomplextaskthatneedstobe

addressedbyeffectiveemotionalintelligenceskillsat

eachpointalongthecommunicationjourneyby

everyoneinvolvedintheconversation.(Thisincludes

thosewhoonlylistendon'tforgetthem!)

Twitterisincrediblypowerful.Itsbringingmore

peopletogetherthananytechnologyinthehistoryof

communication.

Thebenefitsofusing

onlinesocialmediafor

businessareaboutreturn

onengagement:Connect

withpeople.Build

opportunitiesthrough

dialoguethatwouldnot

haveotherwise

occurred.

Thenconnectthemwith

yourbusiness.

4


25/51

THEPLACEOFONLINESOCIALMEDIAFORBUSINESS

23

KNOW

LEDGESOLUTIONS2009

Isyourbusinessusingonlinesocialmediaeffectively?Asyoubecomemoreawareofhowyoucommunicateonlineyouwillengagemoreandmore

effectively,which

strengthens

your

ability

to

communicate

over

all

social

media

channels

includingTwitter.Itsimportanttoestablishacommonstrategyforapplicationineachofyour

socialmediachannelsinordertoremaineffectiveonline.Youcanrepurposecontentfrom

differentchannels,butitsessentialthatyoudontsimplyrepeatthemessage,butreviseoredit

accordingtotheenvironmentandaudience.

ConferenceTwitterusageTwitterisreallytakingoffatconferencevenuesthis

bringsawhole

raft

of

value

to

the

experience

of

the

event.Asthespeakersaredescribinggroundbreaking

findingsorconcepts,twitterersintheaudienceare

tweetingtheessenceoftheinformationtotheir

followers.

Thishasanamazingeffectinthatitbringstheoutside

worldintotheroomandfollowersstarttobuildonthe

ideasastheyarebeingexpressed,soaggregating

value.

Typicallyacommonconferencehashtagisusedand

followersstarttoclusteraroundthethreadsof

information.

Somepeoplefollowingtheinformationcoming

outofasessionwillsimply

takeitallinwhileotherswill

starttoparticipateandadd

theirownviewsandideas.

Wehave

often

seen

people

insidetheauditoriumthink

thatthetweetsarecoming

fromwithinnotso.People

outsidesimplyneedtoget

holdofthecontextandthey

canbuildonthevaluebeing

givenandpropagatethatto

thetwitterverseforothers

tocontribute

to.

Imagineifyoucouldhookupwithallthepeopleyouwouldconsiderjustbrilliant...Wehopethissectiongeneratessomeconversations!Letusknowwhatyouthink.


26/51


24


EmotionalintelligenceandonlinesocialmediaWhatisemotionalintelligence?EmotionalIntelligence(EI)canbedefinedasasetofskillsthatdemonstratehowoftenwe

perceive,understand,reasonwithandmanageourownandothers'feelings,emotionsand

moodstates.Ifthat'stoomuchofamouthful,anotherdefinitionis:anawarenessofandability

tomanageemotionsinahealthyandproductivemanner.

Afterall,

emotions

give

us

vital

information

and

we

need

to

learn

to

listen

to

that

information.

WheredidEIcomefrom?Emotionalintelligencereferstotheabilitytoperceive,control,andevaluateemotions.

Since1990,PeterSaloveyandJohnDMayerhavebeentheleadingresearchersonemotional

intelligence.Theydefinedemotionalintelligenceas'thesubsetofsocialintelligencethat

involvestheabilitytomonitorone'sownandothers'feelingsandemotions,todiscriminate

amongthemandtousethisinformationtoguideone'sthinkingandactions'.1

SaloveyandMayerproposedamodelthatidentifiedfourdifferentfactorsofemotional

intelligence:

theperceptionofemotion

theabilitytoreasonusingemotions

theabilitytounderstandemotion

theabilitytomanageemotions.

1PSalvoney

&

JD

Mayer

1993,

The

Intelligence

of

Emotional

Intelligence

in

Intelligence,

17(4),pp.43342.

5


27/51

EMOTIONALINTELLIGENCEANDONLINESOCIALMEDIA

25

KNOW

LEDGESOLUTIONS2009

In1995theconceptofemotionalintelligencewas

popularizedafterthepublicationofpsychologistand

NewYorkTimessciencewriterDanielGolemans

bookEmotionalIntelligence:WhyItCanMatterMore

ThanIQ.

OnlinesocialmediaassocialscienceRealistically,onlinesocialmediaisaboutsocialscience

andnottechnology.Socialsciencecanbedefinedas

thescientificstudyofhumansocietyandsocial

relationships.Itcanbearguedthatthesedaysdigital

communicationchannels:

canactasyourreceptionistorfirstpointof

contact

areyourspokesperson

arethemaincontactforyourtalkativecustomers.

Soitmakesperfectsensethatweshouldbeworkingouthowtouseemotionalintelligenceto

makesureouronlinecommunications,especiallythoseinonlinesocialmedia,havethebest

chanceofbeingclearandunambiguous,engagingandrepresentourbusinessaccurately.

MakingsenseofemotionalintelligenceBelowisatableshowingthesevenskillsthatdefinehoweffectivelyweperceive,understand,

reasonwithandmanageourownandothersfeelings.Wehavesimplifieditsoitisnottoo

overwhelming.Wehavedonethisbecauseemotionalintelligenceisanewconceptinthespace

ofsocialmedia.WhetheryouarenewtoTwitterorhavebeentweetingforageswewanttohelp

youenhance,improveandstrengthenyourexperienceofthetools.

Dontgettoohunguponeachoftheskills.Thefirststepisawareness.Thereisareflection

exerciseattheendofthissectiontohelpwiththat.

Dontoveranalyzeyourself.Becausewetrytobeawareofhowoftenwedemonstrate

emotionallyintelligentbehaviors,youmaythinkyouarelowincertainskills.But,infact,other

peoplemayhaveadifferentviewofyou.

Orviceversayoumaybelieveyoudemonstrate

certainbehaviorsregularly,butotherpeoplemaynot

seeitasbeingso.

Itisbydevelopingawarenessthatthegapcanbe

closed,creatinganopportunityforgrowthand

learning.

Sodoyouplaceenough

emphasison

how

effectivelyyouare

communicatingonline?

...Seriously...Doyou?

Wewouldlovetohave

loadsofdiscussionon

thispointsofeelfreeto

builduponwhatwe

havelaidopen.

Weadmitit...wealsowant

toopenupsomedialogue,

sohaveareadandletus

knowwhatyouthink.


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26


SKILLOFEI DEFINITIONEMOTIONALLYINTELLIGENT

LEADERSUSETHISSKILLTO

Emotionalself

awareness

Theskillofperceiving

andunderstanding

ones

ownemotions

recognisehowfeelingsareimpacting

thoughts,decisions,

behaviour

and

performanceatwork

Emotionalexpression Theskillofexpressing

onesownemotions

effectively

generatetrustandperceptionsof

genuinenesswithothers

inspirecommitmentfromthosetheylead

whenpresentingtheorganisationsvision

Emotionalawareness

ofothers

Theskillofperceiving

andunderstanding

othersemotions

betterunderstandothersandhowto

engage,respond,motivateandconnectwith

them

Itisafundamentalelementofinterpersonal

successandqualityofinterpersonal

relationships

Emotionalreasoning Theskillofutilising

emotionalinformationin

decisionmaking

influencemarketingstrategies(astheytake

intoaccounthowcustomersmayfeel

towardsaproductorservice).

(Lowscores

may

indicate

an

individual

has

a

morefactbaseddecisionmakingstyle.)

Emotionalself

management

Theskillofeffectively

managingonesown

emotions

improvetheirabilitytocopewithwork

demands

practiceeffectiveselfleadership

managestresslevels

Emotionalmanagement

ofothers

Theskillofinfluencing

themoods

and

emotions

ofothers

createpositiveworkenvironmentsforthose

theylead

generategreaterproductivityand

performancefromothers

Emotionalselfcontrol Theskillofeffectively

controllingstrong

emotionsexperienced

improvetheiremotionalwellbeing

thinkandleadothersclearlyinstressful

situations

Source:adaptedfromGenosEI(Researchpartner,TheBrain

SciencesInstitute,

Swinburne

University).


29/51

PERSONALFILTERING

27

KNOW

LEDGESOLUTIONS2009

PersonalfilteringAccordingtopsychologistMihalyCsikszentmihalyi,wegatherinformationfromtheworld.

2Outofapproximatelytwomillionbitsofinformationsurroundingus,weareonlyconsciouslyaware

ofaround134bitspersecond(BPS).Ateverywakingmomentweareliterallyinundatedata

consciousandunconsciouslevelwithinformation.Imaginegoingtothesupermarket.Youwalkintothestoreandyouaresurroundedbyexternal

stimuli(suchassigns,color,noisesandpricing)andyourbodyresponds.Perhapsyourheart

beatsalittlebitfaster,thesoundofacryingchilddisturbsyou,youfeelwarmorcool,youhave

selftalkremindingyoutobuymilkoryoumentallyaddupthecostofyourgroceriesasyoupush

yourtrolleyaroundtheaisles.

Ifwehadtobeconsciouslyawareofeverythingwesee,taste,touch,smellandfeelandpay

attentionto

it

we

would

be

overwhelmed.

So

we

haveafilterCsikszentmihalyicallsthereticular

activatingsystem,whichfiltersmostofthe

informationforus.Weareonlyawareofasmall

pieceoftheactualrealityoccurringaroundus.

Someofuspaymoreattentiontowhatwesee,

sometowhatwehear.Someofusaremoreaware

ofhowthingsfeelandsomeofuspaymore

attentiontodata,factsandfigures.

Whatthatmeansisthatnoneofusperceiverealityasitreallyis.Weeachonlyperceiveadifferentsetof134bitsofrealitypersecond.We

allhaveadifferentperceptionofreality.Thisexplainswhytendifferentwitnessesatanaccident

scenecanhavetendifferentexperiencesofwhat

occurred,basedonwhattheyhaveseen,heard,

feltandcalculated.

2Csikszentmihalyi,M1990,Flow:ThePsychologyofOptimalExperience,HarperandRow,NewYork.

6


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28


Aswegatherinformationfromtheworldtheminddeletes,distortsandgeneralizesinformation

basedonthebeliefsweholdinternally.Ifsomeonebelievestheyarestupid,theymaydelete

fromtheirexperienceanytimetheydosomethingclever.Theirmindwilldistortinformation,so

ifsomeonesaystothemYouaresoclevertheymayhearasarcastictonewherethereisnone.

Theirmindwillgeneralizetheirexperiencestosupportthebelieftheyarestupidsotheycreate

experiences,suchasalwaysfailingexams,tosupportthattheory.

Ofcoursethisisallunconscious.Noneofuswouldwanttodothisconsciously.Itshuman

natureto

want

to

be

happy

and

successful.

Yet

we

have

so

much

fear

that

we

fabricate

stories

tokeepourselvessafe.Ourunconsciousmindsthencontrolandrunprogramsautomatically

forussometimesevenprogramsthatgiveusaresultwedontwant,onethatwestruggle

toturnoff.

Thedeletionofinformationalsohasanimpactonhow

wecommunicateonlinewithotherpeople.Whenever

wejudgesomeoneorhavenegativeopinionsabout

someoneorsomething,wetendtojustifyourown

realityandmakethatpersonwrong.Weeffectively

deleteanything

good

about

them

from

our

reality.

Becauseofthis,whenwecommunicatethroughonline

socialmediachannelsourmindswillarrange

informationinsuchawaythatmakessensetous.

FilteringandEITheexistenceofthesefiltersandtheneedtobecomeawareofouremotionalintelligenceisthe

reason

we

wrote

this

e

book.

We

want

to

get

everyone

thinking

about

what

life

is

like

in

Doweeverknowwith

100%certaintywhatis

goingon

in

someone

elsesmind?...Unlikely!

InattentionblindnessDaniel Simons (University of Illinois) and Christopher Chabris (Harvard University)conducted a study to demonstrate how much we can actually delete information.

In their study subjects were asked to watch video footage of people throwing a

basketball back and forth. They were asked to focus and count how many times the

basketball was passed. In the middle of the video clip a person in a gorilla suit

passed through the middle of the game for nine seconds and then out of sight.

When asked, an average of 50 per cent of the subjects didnt see the gorilla pass

through the game! Why? Some people were focusing so much on the counting and

data that they missed out on the visual detail of a gorilla in the middle of their view.


31/51

PERSONALFILTERING

29

KNOW

LEDGESOLUTIONS2009

someoneelsesshoes.Someonemayputa

messageonlinethatyouviewassarcasticor

arroganthowdoyourespondtothat?

Hopefullythisebookhelpsyoutoviewthingsa

bitdifferently,

thus

enhancing

your

experience

ofTwitterandothersocialmediachannelsand

helpingyoubuildamorerobustcommunity,

keepingconstantawarenessofothersinyour

mindseye.

Weneedtothinkaboutourlanguageusagein

onlinesocialmediaandwhathappenswhenwe

createastoryaboutwhatsomeoneelseis

thinking.WhenweusetoolssuchasTwitterwe

shouldrealizethatourcommunitiesarea

collectionofpeoplewithfeelings,needsand

aspirations.Weneedtoconsiderthemakeupof

ouraudience.Askyourself:haveyoutakenthetimetogettoknowyouraudienceandareyou

tryingtobuildarelationship?Doyougettoknowthembydippingintothetweetstreameach

dayoreverycoupleofdays.

Wecanneverknowforcertainwhatisgoingoninsomeoneelse'smind.Wecan'tpossibly

becausewedon'tknowwhatexperiencesthey'vehad,whatvaluestheyholdorandwhatbeliefs

they

have

that

shape

and

influence

the

way

they

communicate.

Ifwesimplykeepthisinminditwillhelpuscommunicatemoreeffectively.

Samewords,differentmeaningThis old example helps us understand how many meanings can be derived from the

same few words. Read aloud the following sentences, emphasizing the highlighted

word:

I never said I would do it.







CELIA:Nothinghasmeaningbutthemeaningwegiveit

Haveyouevercomeacrossatweetor

blogpostwherethetweeteruses

languagethatssofamiliartothem,but

theydontseemtorealisethatthesame

languagecanhavedifferentmeanings

topeopleinadifferentindustriesor

cultures?Thiscanresultinabarrierto

developingrelationshipsonline.Sohave

alookyourself.Noticehowyou

interpretdifferenttweetsandhowthey

makeyoufeelareyoumaking

assumptionsabouttheintended

meaning?


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30


UsingemotionalintelligenceinonlinesocialmediaWemustrealizeandrememberthatthereisapersonontheendofallcommunicationstreams

andthereforetheabilitytodemonstrateahighlevelofemotionalintelligenceinsuchforumsisessentialnotonlyforgettingthedesiredoutcome,butperhapsmoreimportantly,for

nurturingongoinginternalandexternalrelationships.Weneedto'evolve'online.Justasittakes

timetoevolveintothepersonwearetrulymeanttobe,italsotakestimetoestablishrelationships,communitiesandnetworksonline.

It'sanewschoolplaygroundandittakestimetoestablishyourself.Ifyoujoininthegameondayoneandwant

toplayhopscotchwheneveryoneelseis

playingbasketballyou'renotgoingtoconvert

theplayerstoyourwayofthinkinginan

instant.Theymayeventhrowyouoffthe

court.

Youmay

need

to

play

agame

or

two

of

basketball(whoknows,asyour

understandingofthegameincreases,along

withyourskills,youmayevengettolikeit)

beforeyouintroduceyourselfasateam

playerandthensuggestanewgame.

Bythistimeyouhavethetrustoftheother

playersandtheyaremorewillingtolistento

yourideasandhaveagoatsomething

different.The

same

is

also

true

for

online

socialmedia.

7


33/51

USINGEMOTIONALINTELLIGENCEINONLINESOCIALMEDIA

31

KNOW

LEDGESOLUTIONS2009

ThinslicingMalcolmGladwellintroducedtheconceptof'thinslicing'inhisbookBlink.Hebelievesweareall

capableofjudgingandevaluatingaperson'sauthenticityandproximitytoourvaluespractically

in

an

instant.

This

is

a

process

we

have

within

us

to

rely

on

a

gut

feeling

about

people.

If

we

believeGladwell,wesimplyneedtogowithourinitialinstinctinordertoscreenindividuals

onlinewhomayormaynotaddvalue,asourinstinctispracticallyalwaysright.

OnTwitterwearethinslicingindividualsin140characterstodeterminewhethertheyareworth

followingornotorwhetherweshouldblockthemaltogether.Thismaysoundcallousatfirst,

butwhenthenumbersoffollowers/followingstarttogathermomentumyouneedtocopeand

relyingonyourintuitioniscritical.

Buildingtrust

online

to

build

rapport

Abusinessthatpeopledonttrustisnotgoingtosurvivelong.Trustisessential.Onceeroded,

itshardtowinback(evenifaclaimorrumorwasnteventrueinthefirstplace).

Togrowyouronlinecommunityyouneedpeopletofeeltheycantrustyoutoliveuptotheir

expectations.Oneofthethingsaboutbuildingtrustonlineisthatit'snotgoingtohappen

overnight.Butitwillhappenifdonecorrectly.

Buildingtrustisaboutbuildingrapport.Sohowdowebuildrapportonline?

Whenwetalkaboutrapportwereallywanttolookatbecomingwhatcanbecalleda

charismaticcommunicator.

The

word

communication

comes

from

the

Latin

communicare

meaningtoshare.Itsaboutsharinginformation,giveandtake.Communicationinvolvesthe

abilitytobeawareofotherpeopleandtheirneeds.Thisawarenessenablesustocommunicate

inawaythatisuplifting,inclusiveandgenerallyfavorsothers.

Rapportisnotabouttryingtomakepeoplelikeyou.(Thatscalledmanipulation!)Creating

rapportisabouthavingpeoplefeeltheyarelikeyouinsomeway.Thisdevelopstrustatamuch

fasterrate.Rapportistheabilitytoentersomeoneelsesworld;tomakethemfeelthatyou

understandthemandthatyouhaveacommonbond.Themoreyoudothis,themoreflexible

youcanbeinsituationsandthegreateryourchancesofobtainingrelevantinformationtocreate

awin

win

situation.

BeingclearNothinghasmeaningbutthemeaningwegiveitsoifwearenotclearinourcommunication

thenotherswillhallucinate(makeassumptions)aboutwhattheythinkwearethinkingand

feeling.Theywillmaketheirownjudgmentcallandcomeupwithananswerthatmakessense

tothem.Theresultingresponse,however,maybeinappropriateorinaccurate.


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32


YouresellingemotionTheobvious,thoughoverlooked,aspectofcommunicationboilsdowntothefactthat:youre

sellingemotion.

Weare

emotional

creatures.

Everything

we

do

is

for

an

emotional

response.

Think

about

it

...

whenyougofastinyournewredsportscaroradmiretheresultsofyourrecentbotox

treatment,whatareyouhopingtogetoutofit?Behonestnowyouwanttofeelfree,

powerful,alive,energized,whatever.Thepointisyouwanttofeelsomething.

Wefeelfirst,thenthinklaterthisisourbasicsurvivalinstinct.Youdonttendtoanalyzehow

manyclawsthelionhas;youfeelfearandrunlikehell.(Penn)

Weneedtoconsiderthathowwecommunicateisgoingtohaveahugeimpactonourabilityto

formreallyvaluablenetworksandproductiverelationshipsandmaintainourreputationand

credibilityinthemarketplace.Wecreateourownmarketplacenowbywhowefollowandwho

wehavefollowingus.

Isyoursocialmediacommunicationstyleworking?Areyouattractingattention?(Intherightway,ofcourse.)Areyouconvincingyouraudienceyou

havesomethingworthwhiletosay?Areyouconvertingleadstocustomers(havinglistenedto

themandreplied)?

Thisallstartswithyouhavingtodecidewhatendemotionyouwantsomeoneelsetofeeland

workingyourwaybackfromthere.Thisiseasiersaidthandone;ittakesconsciouseffort.

MarkTwainoncesentalettertoacolleaguewithanoteattached:Sorryaboutthelongletter,

Ididnt

have

time

to

write

ashort

one.

KeepingyouraudienceinmindIn order for us to make as much sense as possible to our audience we need to ask:

What do we want our audience to feel as a result of this tweet?

Could the message be construed as ambiguous, aggressive or damaging in

some way?

Is your messaging resulting in you being like what your audience expects you

to be like?

If not, how can you say it differently to be more yourself and authentic?


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Thisreallyappliestomicroblogging

aswell.Wemightthinkwritinga

messagein140charactersis

simple,butactuallyconveying

everythingwe

want

to

say

and

get

thetonerightinfewerwordsisnot

thatsimpleatall.

Theconstraintsof140charactersin

aTwitterpostmeanswehaveto

putquiteabitofthoughtintoitto

getitright.Don'tforgetthatevery

tweetconveysemotionandcanbe

misinterpreted!Itisaskillthatwe

getbetter

at

with

more

experience

though.

ChristopherSPenn,inItshowyoumakemefeelthatmatters,explainsthatcommunicationis

aboutsellingemotion.Helistssomeexamplesofsomeofthewellknownfolksinonlinesocial

mediaandasks:

Examinethefeelingsandnoticewhatisgoingonforyou:HowdoesChrisBroganmakeyoufeel?HowdoesGaryVaynerchukmakeyoufeel?HowaboutAnnHandley,PeteCashmore,GuyKawasaki,SethGodin,PerezHiltonorJustineEzarik?

Theanswerisnever'nothing'.Theyallcreateemotionsinyouthatbringyouclosertoknowing

themandhelpbuildtrust.Eachoftheaboveexamplesallelicitacertainemotionalresponse

fromtheaudienceandthishelpsbuildtrust.


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LearningemotionalintelligenceOnlinesocialmediaexposesus:Wehavelongbeensegmentingourworklifeandprivatelifeand

thepassioninbothhasbeendilutedasaresult.Nothingissacredontheinternetandweare

exposedbasedonwhatwepasteontoit,goodorbad.Communityshameisthelawbywhichwe

arejudged.Ifwewanttodelveintothedepthsoftheinternetanddragupthedirtonsomeone

whohasmultipleidentitiesitsonlyafewclicksaway.Don'tfeelyouhavetotryhardtofindout

moreaboutsomeonesidentity.It'soutthereforyoutofind.Andlikewiseforotherpeople

learningstuffaboutyou.

Henceweshouldpracticeconstantawarenessthatwhatwearesayingonlinecouldbeforever.

Makesurethatyoudon'tdoanythingthatcouldadverselyaffectyouronlinecommunityunless

youarepreparedtohaveyournameandallexposed.Andintheblinkofaneyeyouwillbe

unfollowed.

Microblogginghasmadeitassimpleaspietoneverhaveanyoneyoudon'twanttraipsinground

yourbackdoor.Microbloggingletsyoumouldatrueandauthenticcommunity,whichwillform

overtimeandprovidevaluethroughoutyourlife.

Weoftenhearpeoplecomplainthatitstoo

hardtolearnhowtomoldtheircommunication

sothatitsmoreeffectiveandreceivedwellby

theircommunities.Butitsnotimpossiblewe

canchangeandwecanlearn!

Forexample,itsnosecretthatyoucansweat

yourwaytomoresculptedabsandastronger

heart.Butresearchhasfoundthatyoucanalso

buildabetterbrain.

NormanDoidge,authorofTheBrainthat

ChangesItself,stated'Forabout400years,

scientistsviewedthebrainasacomplex

machine...andthatmeantitcouldn'tgrow

newparts.'

StagesoflearningUnconscious

incompetence

ConsciousincompetenceConsciouscompetence

Unconsciouscompetence

8


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'Butrecentstudiesandimagingtechnologyshowthat

it'smorelikeamuscleoragroupofmusclesworking

togetherthatbulkupwhenexercised.'Muchlikea

footballplayerwhocrosstrainstoimprovehis

performance(sprinting,

weightlifting

and

stretching),

crosstrainingyourheadwithdifferenttasksboosts

yourmentalfitnessbyincreasingyourbrain'sneural

connections,bloodflowandeventheweightofthe

brainitself.

Soeventhoughpeoplemayhavethemisconception

thatyoucantlearnhowtobemoreemotionally

attunedtobothyourselfandyouraudienceitssimplynottrue.Likelearninganynewskill,ifyou

practice,youmovethroughthedifferentstagesoflearninguntiltheskillbecomespartofwho

weare

our

neurology

learns

anew

behavior.

Takeyourselfbacktowhenyoulearnttodriveacar.Whenyoufirstgotbehindthewheelthere

wassomuchtothinkabout.Youhadtocoordinateallthepartsofsteering,changinggear,

depressingtheclutchandbrakes.Itallseemedsochallengingbackthen,butnowyouprobably

dontgiveitasecondthought.

FeeltheloveBecauseemotionsaffectthewaywethinktheyultimatelyaffectthedecisionswemake.Thisis

whereemotional

intelligence

comes

in.

Exercising

emotional

intelligence

not

only

makes

ahuge

differenceintheworkplaceandlifeingeneral.Theseskillsareessentialforbuilding

relationshipsonline.Forexample:

Effectiveleaderscommunicatehowtheyfeeltoinspireandgenerateconfidencefrom

others.

Highperformingsalesteamsthinkmoreabouthowtheircustomersfeeltostrengthen

theirsellingrelationships.

Teamsthatworkmorecloselyaremoreawareofhowemotionshelpandhinderthe

teamsperformance,increasingjobsatisfactionandretention.

Ask

yourself

the

following

questions.

Haveyoueverbeeninasituationwhereyoudidnothireoracceptsomeonebecause

somethingjustdidntfeelright?

Haveyoumissedoutonajobpromotionbecauseofpoorleadershiporcommunication

skills?

Haveyoueverhadanyinterpersonalconflictorbeenbullied?

Wouldyouaskyourbossformoreresourcesortimeoffwhenyoucanseetheyarehaving

abadday?

Emotionsinfluencethebehaviorthatwedisplaytoothers.Thisgetsreflectedthroughourtone

ofvoice,ourbodylanguageandourfacialexpressions.Sohowcanthisbetransferredinto

effectivecommunication

online?

Its

the

same

principles

as

face

to

face

interaction:

listening,

sharingandremainingastransparentaspossible.

Theysayyoucan'tteach

an

old

dog

new

tricks

...

butyoudonthavetobe

anolddogtobestuck

inarut!


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EmotionsinfluenceourperformanceHowdoyouperformatworkwhenyoufeelfrustrated,bored,distracted,irritatedorannoyed

aboutsomethingorsomeone?Contrastthistohowyouperformwhenyouareupbeat,positive,

satisfied

and

optimistic.

Now

think

about

your

interaction

online.

Have

you

ever

posted

somethingandthenlaterregrettedit?The

troubleis,nowitsupthereforeveryoneto

see(orifyoudeleteit,youreprobablytoo

lateandlotsofpeoplehaveseenit).

Thesedaysmanyorganizationshaveonline

socialnetworks.Withinthesenetworksthe

membersdemonstratedifferentlevelsof

emotionalintelligenceaccordingtotheir

individual

experiences

and

filters.

In

general,

businessesarenotusedtocommunicating

throughmultipleonlinechannels.Because

onlinewedon'thavetonalityandbody

languagetohelpusespeciallyover

modalitiessuchasTwitter,whereyouonly

have140characterstogetyourpointacross

webegintomakejudgmentsor

assumptionsaboutanotherpersons

character.Itsonlyhuman.

HowcanIimprovethewayIcommunicatethroughsocialmediachannels?Greatquestion!We'resogladyouasked.Youcanstartbytryingtoimproveyourownemotional

intelligenceandapplyittoourcommunicationonline.Readon!

Howsyourreputation?A 2009 social networking study by

Deloitte LLP found that 74 per cent of

employed Americans believe its easy

to damage a brands reputation via

sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Deloitte also reported that nearly

onethird of those surveyed say they

never consider what management, co

workers or their clients would think

before posting material online.


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EmotionalintelligenceandonlinecommunitiesBelongingItwouldbeniceifwecouldforceourcommunitiesandnetworkstoloveusandstickaround

forever.Thetruthiswecant.Theyeitherexistortheydon't.Memberseitherswarmorthey

leave.TheyareeitherinterestedandparticipativeortheyareNOT(andthisincludeslurkerswho

simplylisten).

Sowhatisitthatgluesthesecommunitiestogether?It'sasimilaressencethatmakesagroupof

colleaguesgotothepubafterworktogether.Theyhavetheopportunitytogostraighthomebut

theydon't.Theyfeeltheybelonginthisgroup(thisnetwork)andarebetterabletofendoffanyattackinglionsbybeingina

groupitsbasicsurvival.

Thereisalsoacommon

thread,whichappears

throughthelanguagewe

use.It

is

interesting

to

note

thatwordssuchas

authenticity,transparency,

honesty,trust,genuineness,

safety,respect,security,

integrityandcongruency,

allseemtocomeupwhen

speakingaboutonlinesocial

media.Thesearevaluesthatareimportanttomany

peopleinourcommunities.

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Whatisavalue?Verysimply,ifyouplaceimportanceonsomethingthenyouvalueit.Thereforevaluesare

thewaywejudgegoodandbad,rightandwrong,appropriatenessandinappropriateness.

In

our

minds

we

unconsciously

arrange

our

values

in

hierarchies.

As

we

evaluate

our

actions,themoreimportantvaluesareusuallysearchedforfirst.Afterthemoreimportant

valuesarefoundandsatisfied,thenthenextmostimportantonesbecomeimportant.We

canlikenthistothoseRussianbabushkadolls.Allourvaluesareasubsetofouronebig

valueandthemorelayersyoutakeoffthevaluesbecomemoresubtleandthedolls

becomesmaller.

Ifwefeelthatlifeismeaninglessorpointless;ifwe

feelconflictoverissuesatworkorhome,inour

relationshipswithourselvesandwithothers,itisoften

a

result

of

conflicting

values.

Because

values

are

emotionalstateswewanttoexperienceonadaily

basisandtheyshapeourdecisionsandwhatourlives

looklike.

Therefore,ultimately,ourvalueswilldictatehowwe

communicateonline.

Valuesarethe

unconsciousrules

weliveby.


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ApplyingemotionalintelligencetoonlinesocialmediaRereadtheemotionalintelligencetableonpage26.

Nowletsbreakdowntheskillslistedtoexaminewhattheymeanifapplieddirectlytoonline

socialmedia.Seethetableonbehavioralindicators,EIskillsandexamplesonthefollowingtwo

pages.

Notethat,asyet,thereisnoresearchavailabletoshowwhichoftheskillsisadirectpredictorof

certainbehaviorsonline.

Wehaveaprojectunderwaytouncoverthis.Thepredictedoutcomeofthisistomakeiteasier

todirectlymeasureeachskillandassesshowitisaffectingpeoplesabilitytobuildeffective

onlinerelationships.

ReflectionexerciseforEIKeepadiaryforthenextsevendays.Takenoteofsituationsthatoccuronlineandhowthey

makeyoufeel.Howdidyoureactorrespond?Comebacktosomeofthesituationsadayortwo

laterand

note

how

you

feel

then.

Attheendoftheweek,examineyourdiary.Reconsidereacheventandtheemotionsyoufelt,

thestrengthoftheemotionsandyourreactionstothem.

Considerwhetheryourreactionswereappropriatetothesituationandhowyouexpressedyour

feelingsonline.

Recallyourthoughts,yourbodylanguage,facialexpressionsandwhateverelseisrelevantfor

youatthattime.Didthataffecthowyourespondedonline?

Rerunthesituationthroughinyourmind.Couldyouhavedoneitdifferentlywithmore

emotionalawareness

and

expression?

Would

this

have

made

adifference?

10


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BEHAVIOURALINDICATORS SKILLSOFEI EXAMPLE

Engagesincreativewaysofenhancingand

disseminatingrelevantinformationthroughonline

socialmedia.

Resolvinggroupconflictwithappropriateetiquette

(i.e.outsidetheviewofnonpartialonlineparties).

IntegratingvariousOnlinecommunitymembers'

perspectivesandfeedingthoseouttotheother

onlinegroupsofinterest.

Emotionalawarenessofothers

Emotionalmanagementofothers

Emotionalexpression

Emotionalselfcontrol

Emotionalselfmanagement

Agreatexampleof'w

Shankmansblog,How

communicates.These

notsonicesideofhis

whichcouldpotential

beenmoreawareofh

probablyhavethough

Isproactiveinopenlydiscussingdifficultissues,

concernsandpeopleproblemsintheappropriate

onlinesocialmediachannelofcommunication(e.g.

Facebook,Twitter,email,videoconferencecall).

Canadvocateanissueorcausethatisoften

sponsoredbybusiness.

Emotionalexpression

Emotionalselfawareness

Over$7,000wasraise

forwomeninpoverty

Twitter.Hadtheorigi

nothavebeentheout

toatweetup(faceto

causeallorganisedt

Flickr.

Thisisagreatexampl

initiatedonlinethata


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41 KNOWLEDGESOLUTIONS2009

BEHAVIOURALINDICATORS SKILLSOFEI EXAMPLE

Encouragesandsupportsteammembersintheir

onlinesocialmediaactivitytocontributeactivelyand

fullytoprojects.Thisalsoactsasadecisionsupport

systemandcrisismanagement.Italsoallowsfor

assemblyofrelevantpeopleatshortnotice.

Emotionalawarenessofothers


Emotionalreasoning

Twitterwasusedtob

bushfiresinthestate

Onlinesocialmediaallowsforcollaborative

brainstormingandcontributestoprojectoutcomes

regardlessofwhereallcontributingpartiesare

located.

Microbloggingisoftenusedasatooltoaggregate

relevantmaterialandallowallpartiestococreate

valuableknowledge.

Emotionalreasoning


Whenlookingforinfo

performing,amarket

tweettocategorisea

group.(Forexample,

Eachtimeamarketing

articleontheinternet

tag.Thenthepersonw

analysiscansearchon

articles.Thatpersonc

manyrelatedarticles

theresearch,giveenc

membersalongthew


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Twitterit'sallaboutconnectionConnectingpeopleonTwitterThehighestlevelofnetworkingisnotwhenyouconnectyourselfwithothers,butwhenyou

connectotherswithotherswhoneedeachother.Whenthislevelofconnectivityisattainedthe

degreesofseparationbecomesinextricableandthevaluegainedisenormous.Whenthese

individualsstarttoshareinformationitisprofound,butwhenthisinformationissharedand

otherswhomighthaveanontologicalbindtoitstarttotapthesourcesomethingamazing

happens.Thestrengthofthemultipliereffectexperiencedinknowledgesharingissomething

wehaveneverseentosuchanextentbefore.

Microbloggingistheplatformthatwilldrivethisfreeflowofinnovationandknowledge

aggregation.Twitterhasalreadyreachedatippingpointinthisregardanditispassing

knowledgeatthespeedofconversation.

Restrictionstoknowledgesharingfromthemicrobloggingplatform:Einsteintooktheconceptof

timeveryseriouslyandforgoodreason.Youjustcantchangeit.Itssetinourthree

dimensionalworld.ThereisanamazingbookcalledEinstein'sDreamsinwhichtheauthor

exploreswhattheworldwouldbelikeifwehadadifferentperspectiveontime.Forexample

onechapterdelvesintohowthelivesofpeoplelivinginavalleywheretimeisfasterthelower

downintothevalleyyoulive.Youmoveslowerasyouwalkupthehillssurroundingthevalley.

Microbloggingcant

get

away

from

the

concept

that

it

is

best

lived

as

it

happens.

Authenticity

is

aresultofusbeinginthemoment.Wecan'tdelayatweetuntilearlymorningandexpectitto

havethesameresult.It'sjustnotreal!

ThereareanumberofTwitterapplicationsthatwillallowyoutostoreuptweetsanddeliver

theminastaggeredapproach.Thisisausefultoolforsome,thoughwefeelthetruevalueof

Twitteristoknowthatthereissomeoneontheothersideofthetweetwhojustpressedthe

sendkeysomeonesstuckinabusshelterhasjusttweetedthatacardrovethroughapuddle

andsprayedwaterupontothem.Thistypeoftweetisrealtime.

That'swhataconversationis:realpeople,livingrightnow,talkingaboutit.

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RulesforconnectingOKwecan'tleaveyouhanginglikethatwithoutsomekindofsolution,soheregoes:

Itsgoingtotakeacombinationofsocialmediatoolstosuccessfullymanageournetworkof

communities,but

Iguess

you

knew

that

already.

ItsgoingtotakeacombinationofLinkedIn,FacebookandTwitter(withafewothersinthepot

togetthebalanceright).

Itscomplex,timeconsuming,convolutedandeverchanging,butmassivelyrewardingifyou

manageallyoursocialmediachannelseffectivelyandlistentothesignals.Thesesignalsare

drawingonalltheskillsofemotionalintelligence!

Repurposeyourcontenttospreadyourselfeffectivelyacrossthesechannels.Doso,however,

withoutrepeatingyourselfwordforwordandremainauthenticandreal.

LUKE:TwitteringinthetimezonesIhaveanextensivenetworkinEuropeandtheUSA.IfIstarttomovemyfocustowards

TwitterandhypotheticallystarttoignoreothersocialmediachannelsasTwittertakesup

moreandmoreofmysocialmediatimeI'llstarttoignorethosewhoarenotinasimilar

timezonetome.

OMGwearegettingbacktohowisreallyisintherealworldandchattingtopeoplewho

are

awake

when

we

are

...

how

about

that!

Seems

strange

to

even

contemplate.

IhavethoughtaboutthislongandhardandunlessIstayupverylateorgetupveryearly

therearefollowersandpeopleIfollowwhoIwon'tactuallygettoseeinmytweetstreams.

Iwillhavetoactuallygoandlookattheirtweetstreams.I'mnottendingtodevelopa

relationshipwiththemasIdon'tseetheirtweetsthatoftensoI'mgoingtostarttoforget

aboutthemovertimeandmayevenunfollowthem(heavenforbid).

What'sthepointoffollowingloadsofpeopleontheothersideoftheworldwhodon'tget

involvedintheconversationsthatIamsopassionateabout?

It

would

seem

that

any

time

zone

which

is

more

than

a

few

hours

either

side

of

me

will

starttobeforgotteninmonthstocome.(I'mgeneralisinghereasthereareafew

dedicatedtweetersintheStatesandEuropewhodosomecrazyhoursandImnotreally

consciousofwheretheyareandwhattimeitiswheretheyretweetingfrom,thoughthey

arenotthenorm.)SoformeTwitterisalatitudinalrelationshipbuilderI'mstartingto

adapttothiswayofthinking.

LoadsofyoumaythinkthatI'monanotherplanetwiththisconceptbutinTwitterit'sthe

authenticityofthemomentthatgivesmeathrill.Delayingtweetsisamarketinggame.

Keepitrealpeopleanditwillworkforyou.IdontfeeltheLuvunlessIthinktheresa

personbehindthetweet.Imnotaro(bot)sowhyshouldIreplytoanautomatedtweet

sentby

abot?


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Itsimportanttoextracttheessenceofcommunityforustounderstandhowtoconnectonline.

Thefollowinganecdotehighlightstheimportanceoflooseties.

TheLittlePrince It was then that the fox appeared.

'Good morning' said the fox.

'Good morning' the little prince responded politely, although when he turned

around he saw nothing.

'I am right here,' the voice said, 'under the apple tree.'

'Who are you?' asked the little prince. He added, 'You are very pretty to look

at.'

'I am a fox,' the fox said.

'Come and play with me,' proposed the little prince, 'I am so unhappy.'

'I cannot play with you,' the fox said, 'I am not tamed.'

'Ah please excuse me,' said the little prince. But after some thought, he added:

'What does that mean: tame?'

'You do not live here,' said the fox, 'what is it you are looking for?'

'I am looking for men,' said the little prince. 'What does that mean: tame?'

'Men,' said the fox, 'they have guns, and they hunt. It is very disturbing. They

also raise chickens. These are their only interests. Are you looking for

chickens?'

'No,' said the little prince. 'I am looking for friends. What does that mean:

tame?'

'Oh, it is an act too often neglected,' said the fox. 'It means to establish ties.'

'To establish ties?'

'Just that,' said the fox. 'to me, you are still nothing more than a little boy who

is just like a hundred thousand other little boys. And I have no need of you.

And you, on your part, have no need of me. To you I am nothing more than a

fox like a hundred thousand other foxes. But if you tame me, then we shall

need each other. To me, you will be unique in all the world. To you, I shall be

unique in all the world ...'


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TwitteryourbusinessHow

can

Twittering

earn

my

business

the emotional face of twitter

Documents