Vinny D Social Media » Twitter

What would we do without social media?

dmcsorley — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 13:30:06 +0000

First I would like to say sorry for the delay. I had some major issues with our puppy over the past two weeks. She is doing better now.
So, I wanted to talk about something that I was thinking about over the weekend. What would we do without social media? We all know that some of our friends, family, etc. aren’t on Facebook or do not understand Twitter, but for my family it is a great way to keep in touch with family and friends and to keep them updated on our lives, for example the status of our puppy.

I was talking with some friends over the weekend and many don’t even check their email anymore. Most only use Facebook and Twitter to keep in touch with others. I have heard the reports that younger generations don’t use email at all, which really surprises me, but at some point in the future I can see email not being used at all.

For me, I love using Facebook: to keep in touch with friends and because it is part of my business to help others understand how to use social media.

I have proven to myself that I can break away from social media when I need to (vacations, family time, etc.), but it is tough and I don’t know what I would do without Facebook and Twitter on a daily basis.

So my question to you, what would you do without social media?

Tweets 2009-09-13

admin — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 19:08:00 +0000

Having a great holiday wkend w friends & family… Gotta do alittle work before hitting the golf course later. Have a great day #
FB makes u smarter, while using Twitter makes u dumber -> http://digg.com/d113R7Z | According to DR in Scotland #
The future of libraries is changing -> http://digg.com/u1C8hB| Library 2.0 will be coming … but how long will it take? #
@bViral – crazy.. Isn't it? in reply to bViral #
Measuring real value frm SEO -> http://digg.com/u1CBM0 | Meeting business goals w/ SEO! Makes sense 2 me #
MS Mobile 6.5 phones coming out Oct 6 -> http://digg.com/u1CAXf | Who plans on getting 1? #
Great quote: "Knowledge comes by taking things apart: analysis. But wisdom comes by putting things together."- John A. Morrison #
Ways 2 do good on LinkedIn -> http://digg.com/d113aFc | Some really great ideas in the article. #
Flat month for social media – wow! -> http://digg.com/u1CEjN | Interesting stats! #
Allen Iverson announces he's signing with Memphis on Twitter -> http://digg.com/d113haU | A new way 4 players 2 beat the media #
NFL player Ochocinco says he found loopholes -> http://digg.com/u1CHfa | Will he use the loopholes during the season? #
RT @mikefixs: How Facebook Beat MySpace: From College Dorm to Platform – http://is.gd/35PCV [good article] #
Only about 45% of potential employers check potential staff on social networks -> http://digg.com/u1CIS1 | I'm shocked its so low #
@susiehume – I don't think I'm going to make it. Steelers party at the house tonite w friends in reply to susiehume #
Wow – Yahoo supports 100MB email attachments -> http://digg.com/u1CJQV | That's HUGE #
Why Execs love & fear social media -> http://digg.com/d113qfB | All at the same time. Great article #
@ellieeille – have a great vacation in reply to ellieeille #
@twitter – hey guys.. Can u follow me ? I need 2 Dm u … Thanks #
What a game last night!! Great way to start the #NFL season! Yeah Steelers #
@saychange – nice! Same here. Did u have to pay or was upgrade free? We had to pay in reply to saychange #
@efr0702 – yeah I know. That 2mins was crazy. Can't wait for sun & mon now. College games 2.. I love fall in reply to efr0702 #
@jonathandblack – thanks Jon in reply to jonathandblack #
@saychange – btw follow me so I can dm u. Have a great day in reply to saychange #
@mikelally – HAHA… yes he was in reply to mikelally #
@saychange – wow your lucky on the upgrade.. we had to pay an extra $500 / night. Darn them.. LOL in reply to saychange #
5 ways banks are using Social media -> http://digg.com/d113whi | Very cool stuff. #

Tweets 2009-09-06

admin — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 19:08:00 +0000

Beware Robbers -> http://digg.com/d112YVb | We will find you via my iPhone tracker… haha. Awesome story! #
Wow, Disney is going 2 acquire Marvel ->http://digg.com/u1Bjjr | $4 B deal #
@AaronCU95 – I always had the same issue when I worked there 2. Glad I can just take a break & walk the dogs when I need a break. in reply to AaronCU95 #
What will Apple & AT&T do next? -> http://digg.com/u1Bkip | Will the deal end this year or not? #
MIT students creating robotic fish -> http://digg.com/d112drA | Really cool article! I didn't catch 1 of these this wkend #
@AaronCU95 – HAHA… you knw it Aaron. Esp w/ 2 great danes in reply to AaronCU95 #
@TimMoore – I agree with you Tim – 100% in reply to TimMoore #
RT @TrendTracker: 4 Tips to Build An Engaged B2B Twitter Following http://is.gd/2JONr #SmallBiz #socialmedia [great stuff] #
2nd web hosting facility for Twitter -> http://digg.com/d112iW0 | Growing at record pace #
4 my job seeking friends, check out this link -> http://digg.com/d112gXq | 10 job tweeters u should follow! #
@Wegmans – welcome to Twitter Wegmans. Great 2 see u on here. in reply to Wegmans #
Glad it's not just me -> http://digg.com/d112moS | Gmail is down… #
Steve Jobs maybe announcing new iPods next week -> http://digg.com/d112lCX | What do u think – good / bad? #
@acatalanello – I agree with u. It will be interesting in reply to acatalanello #
@gregfinn – on the little league issue, i was wondering the same thing. haha in reply to gregfinn #
Does Infiniti have a Twitter acct? Anybdy out there knw? #
This week is flying by.. Fall lacrosse starts again next week… Can't wait 2 meet all the new players. Last yr we had 70 trying out #
@infinitinews – awesome. Thanks. Great to meet u in reply to infinitinews #
NFL comes out with this – No tweeting before, during & after games -> http://digg.com/u1BrBR | Will they try to limit Ochocinco fans 2? #
Bing & Yahoo sees slight decline in Aug -> http://digg.com/u1BrKd | Google @ 77.83%, Bing & Yahoo @ 20.14% #
RT @mikefixs: In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure – Bill Cosby #quote [awesome 1] #
Social Media is pushing PR & Interactive Mkting to Align -> http://digg.com/u1BswI | I agree. I see great things coming #
Annoucement coming soon on NetFlix $1Million winner -> http://digg.com/u1Bt3v | Could it be u #
@saychange – what type of seo work?
Negril was good.. What resort did u stay at? We stayed at sandals.. Not as good as last yr dunns rivr in reply to saychange #
Wow – Apple store robbed in 31 seconds -> http://digg.com/u1BuUW | This is crazy! #
@CivicLink – very cool stuff. Loving it #
Is Twitter causing more accidents? -> http://digg.com/u1BwHk | I'd probably say yeah. #
I love this commerical -> http://digg.com/u1BwI1 | I'm sitting on patio… haha. 2 funny #
RT @KennyPordon: Buccaneers fire offensive coordinator Jagodzinski http://bit.ly/koJLb #nfl | Will the Bills be next #
Should u friend ur doc on FB? -> http://digg.com/u1BwRd | Interesting question! #
Timewarner – I have a question abt our digital recorder. Are u out there? #
Interesting social media stats -> http://digg.com/u1ByzZ | "87% of ppl prefer face-2-face interactions than spending time online" #
@SocialPMChick – Same here Wendy. I'll see you & @AuctionDirect in a few hrs #
Wow, unemployment jumps up to 26 yr high -> http://digg.com/u1BzHO | 9.7% now. #
RT @SkeeterHarris: RT @laurie_stewart: I did it – converted to a Mac! What a difference. Woo Hoo | Congrats Laurie #
Honda Crosstour, may not be 4 everybdy -> http://digg.com/u1C03y | But using FB fan page they're listening. #
Wow, maybe the Bills are listening -> http://digg.com/u1C0OI | The 3rd or more offensive coaches fired in the NFLoff-season. #
It's that time of yr.. Enjoying some college football while hanging w fam & friends #

How social media is changing communications!

dmcsorley — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 17:06:26 +0000

As you know I am a huge supporter of social media and wanted to post a short article about a great experience I had with LinkedIn.

Recently, I noticed an issue with LinkedIn. One of my favorite features wasn’t working. After I posted a tweet, many other people told me they had the same issue. A few days earlier I sent an email to LinkedIn tech support and received no answer. After receiving the feedback from others, I decided to DM the LinkedIn account. Within a few hours I received a message that it was a known issue and it would be resolved in a few days. Within the next day or so, I received another DM message that the issue was fixed. I love that! I hate that I did not get a response via email from LinkedIn, but I love the fact that they responded via Twitter. I was then able to send to others that the problem was resolved.

Do you have any similar experiences with companies responding to you via Social Media? I’d love to hear your comments.

Vinny D’s #FollowFriday list

dmcsorley — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:40:41 +0000

Top 10 people you should follow on twitter and why:

Local Tweeps

@mikefixs – If you need help with designing your social media or marketing plan, talk to Mike. He is an awesome dude and always has really cool tweets.

@auctiondirect – Social media guru… this is the guy. Eric has great tweets throughout the day and always shares cool stories. Great guy to follow and you can usually find a few photos of awesome cars as well

@markfrisk – Another great Rochester marketing and branding person. It always a pleasure to talk with Mark and I always enjoy reading his tweets.

@SkeeterHarris – If you need website design, video, 360 photos (for real estate), or have any MAC type questions… Skeeter is the guy to ask. He is a passionate person and knows a lot about social media. He also teaches social media courses here in Rochester. So check him out.

@MatthewRay – One of the co-founders of the SMC meet-up here in Rochester and a very smart guy. Follow his tweets as Matt has a ton to share.

Outside of Rochester

@mmahoney13 – Mike is VP of the Carolina Panthers. I have had the opportunity to talk with Mike on various occasions and it is really exciting to hear about how the Panthers are using social media. He is very passionate and energetic person… follow his tweets.

@berniebay – I find Bernie’s tweets very interesting and source of great information. He also just wrote a new book titled “Marketing 2.0″. He has been a great source of information for my continued learning and I always enjoy talking to him. He is great to bounce ideas off of as well. He is another great marketer, social media expert and so much more.

@delta40 – Based in OH, Mike is a great social media marketing friend of mine. I enjoy talking to him via twitter and live as well. He is very energetic and a passionate marketer. He is also on the radio, check him out here - http://blogtalkradio.com/getsocial

Corporate

@zappos – I find Tony’s tweets to be very entertaining. Always very interesting stuff. Check him out.

@homedepot – Are you looking for companies that do a great job using social media? Well then, check out Home Depot because they are using it really well.

Hope you enjoy my top ten list of #followfriday tweeps. Much more will be coming throughout the next few months.

Thanks and have a great weekend, Vinny D (@dougmcsorley)

Vinny D’s Top 10 Tweets of the Week!

dmcsorley — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 17:49:25 +0000

10. MySpace cut 30% workforce
9. Pens upset Detroit – win the Stanley Cup
8. Lakers win the NBA championship
7. NBA is much more popular then the NHL
6. Coverage of Iran protests
5. Pilot dies in mid-flight. Plane lands safely
4. Teenager wins contest – 500 text messages in 1 day
3. Tweetie vs TweetDeck – Tweetdeck out for the iPhone. Reviews still coming in.
2. Facebook dethrowns MySpace in the US – FB user’s almost doubled since last yr, while MySpace lost almost 5%.
And the #1 Tweeted topic. Anything iPhone – enough said!

Which Social Media tools are working to promote your blog, business, and more.

dmcsorley — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 11:41:36 +0000

As you know, this blog is fairly new, so I’ve been trying a variety of social media tools to promote my new postings. I’ve talked to a few friends and it’s interesting to see what works for them and what may work differently for me. Luckily, with my experience and background in web analytics, I can see almost immediately what’s working when I promote my blog postings on Twitter, LinkedIn and sometimes Facebook.

From my experience and what I’ve seen through Google Analytics tracking, I’ve noticed that when I tweet about my new topic or one of my friends tweets about my posting, I’ll see a jump in traffic of 10 to 20 visitors for that hour. It usually dies off after the initial post, so I would either have to do another tweet or someone else would have to re-tweet my information. Of course that gets a little annoying if I just re-tweet my blog info all the time, so I try and avoid that situation. On LinkedIn, I will usually post something on my status and may post something on one of the groups that I’m in. I usually do this in the morning and then use Twitter later in the day (afternoon) or sometimes the next day.

I was looking at my stats for this past week and it’s interesting to see the comparisons. Besides direct traffic at 43%, traffic from LinkedIn is at 29% and from Twitter it’s at 12% for the week. Right now, my feeling is that I am getting more “quality traffic” from LinkedIN as most of the people I know there are leaving great comments and sending me feedback via email. Most of these friends & connects are then tweeting this information with friends via Twitter which is awesome to see. Hopefully my blog audience will continue to grow. Hint, hint – so tell your friends and co-workers… haha!

What is your experience been promoting your blog or business? Similar experiences or like my friends, totally the opposite? What is working well for you?

Does working from home limit your learning?

dmcsorley — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 11:21:47 +0000

The past few weeks I’ve been meeting many new contacts at various networking events either local (here in Rochester) or via the internet through LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. I’m really enjoying meeting others and feel very energized when I go to these events. I’ve met some awesome people and I’m really happy to call many of them my friends and they’re great business contacts.

As I reflect back, it’s amazing the responses I get when talking about the Social Media tools we all know and that I’ve talked about the past few weeks (Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook). Many people are starting to realize the importance and power of using these tools for business. I think the article about Dell earning $3M since 2007 using Twitter will help with that.

One of the most amusing responses I get is when I tell people that I work directly from home. Many of you that read my blog work directly from home. But others who work in offices think, “I could never work from home, I wouldn’t learn and socialize with my co-workers”. I would say maybe 4 to 5 years ago, when I first started out on my own, that this statement may have been true. But now, with the variety of tools to connect, learn from others and all of the networking events, I would say I’m learning much more now then when I worked in a cubicle type job. I have more friends that are all over the world and I’m learning a ton everyday thanks to websites like Twitter, Facebook and of course, LinkedIn.

Social media tools are great, but I should note that it’s important to meet people (live) through various networking events. The 1 to 1 interaction is so important and for me, it’s just energizing meeting others.

Many people ask me, “Would I go back into the real world?” My response: if the opportunity is right, maybe. I feel I’m much more productive in my own environment and enjoy it so much more. I would say I work longer hours and weekends on my own, but I enjoy what I do and that keeps me going. And when I need a break, I just take my 2 buddies (Jade & Bella) for a walk and come back to the “office” refreshed and ready for more.

Bella & Jade - Our 2 great danes

I hope you enjoyed the post. Do you work from home? If so, do you use social media tools to learn and promote your business? If you work in an office setting, I’d love to hear your feedback on these topics as well.

The Twitter book review…

dmcsorley — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 13:04:10 +0000

In my first blog posting, Lessons learned from using Twitter for the past 4 months…, I talked about one of the books that really helped me to figure out Twitter, Twitter Revolution. Many people that read the blog have picked up the book and found it to be very helpful for them as well. So, I thought since I read so many books per month (or at least try to), I’ll post some book reviews.

Last week I finished The Twitter Book by Tim O’Reilly, Sarah Milstein. I really enjoyed reading this book. It’s an easy read and I finished it fairly quickly. I also picked up a ton of new information. There is a bunch of great links that will help you in finding people (including sport stars, CEO and executives) and useful information for using Twitter. The colorful photos were very nice as well and made the info and content stand out much more. Some of the websites I’ve learned from the book (www.tweetmeme.com) have been very helpful for my posts.

In closing, I would highly recommend reading the Twitter Revolution first and then read this book after. If you’re a tweeter newbie, you will be well on your way to using Twitter.

Have you read these books? What do you think about them?

Interesting metrics that I’ve found about the big 3…. Some may surprise you!

dmcsorley — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:31:13 +0000

In the last posting, I talked about some of the benefits I’ve found using LinkedIN and last week I reviewed an article that talks about the time spent on the big 3 (What percentage of time do you spend on the big 3 social media sites?”). Today, I wanted to talk about some truly outstanding data on the big 3 social media sites I found using a public website (www.quantcast.com).

LinkedIn stats

I’m not going to post the traffic data because we’ve all heard in the news many times over how much twitter and facebook is growing, so I just want to focus on the demographic information.

Twitter stats

Facebook stats

Here’s some of the data that surprised me –

For the sites, Facebook and Twitter, there’ is 10% more females that use these services then males, while in LinkedIN there is an 11% difference between males (56%) vs females (44%) that use LinkedIn.

Over 78% of users on LinkedIn have no kids and 61% of Twitter users have no kids, while it’s almost 50-50 for Facebook users (52% to 48%).

The highest earning demographic on both Facebook and LinkedIn are users earning more then $100K. For some reason this stat really sticks out for me.

The demographic information I have noticed since the last time I viewed this data was for Twitter. More people that make over $100K use the service (26% – 2^nd highest demographic now) whereas before it ranked in the bottom.

I hope you enjoyed this quick little review. If you’re a marketer, I’m sure there is a ton more gold nuggets in the data that you can use. What data is most impressive to you?

** Note: You will notice some of the data has been updated for Twitter and Facebook since I wrote this article over the weekend.

In the next posting, Twitter book review!