It is true what they say. The good ones are worth the wait.

Christmas came early for those of us — in fact, most of us, according to a November 16, 2009 article on Read Write Web — who use TweetDeck as oru third-party Twitter client of choice. This week, TweetDeck released a series of several updates including Twitter lists, geolocation, more Facebook support, and brand new LinkedIn support. A great article on Read Write Web covers the most significant changes in the new version of Tweetdeck. Here, I will discuss some implications and considerations for those of us who plan on continuing to use TweetDeck now that it has been cranked up to 11.

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace integration

Because Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are now integrated, those who know that most of their friends and followers are shared across networks should consider NOT updating Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn with the same thing. TweetDeck is now TRULY a deck, so use it as such. Instead of finding thinking of using the new TweetDeck as a shortcut to cross-posting the same thing all over the place, think of how to tailor your message accordingly to where people are going to care to read about it. If it’s work-related, Link it in, and so on and so forth.

Now that you can easily access your Twitter lists AND your TweetDeck groups, be smart about how you build them. TweetDeck groups aren’t public, so save your “cool people I tweet with all the time” list for a TweetDeck group and use Twitter lists, which are public, with a little more purpose in mind. Use them to add value and become a point of reference.

The new TweetDeck lets you write on the wall of the Facebook Pages with the same ease with which you tweet. This means that you can be more proactive and engaging with your fans on Facebook. Time to be more consistent about showing fans some love, as opposed to only updating the page every time you need something from them.

Should you choose to activate the Facebook news updates column on the new TweetDeck, be strategic about it. I don’t check Facebook as often as I do Twitter and when I do, I tend to see what a few number of my friends are up to  — I write a few witty wall posts, comment on pictures and then I’m off. Now, I’m using TweetDeck to try to catch what some of my new friends or old friends whom I have lost a bit of touch with are up to. In other words, I’m using it to maintain relationships that I may be giving less attention to simply because I’m not on Facebook as much and when I am, I default to commenting on the walls of friends with who I interact more often.

LinkedIn updates come in with less frequency than everything else, so why not activate that on the new TweetDeck? It’s information that I rarely, if ever, was paying attention to. Now, I can tell who is on the move and maybe some opportunities to connect people or connect with people will arise. I haven’t gotten there by using LinkedIn yet but maybe the new TweetDeck will make all the difference in that world.

More updates

TweetDeck’s new profile view includes geolocation; your bio; your link; and followers, following, tweets, and lists information. Don’t set your geolocation as “global” or “wherever the wind blows,” because that tells me nothing and it won’t help you make local connections — and the potential to scaling things back to local is where social media eventually wins and rules above everything else. Also, make sure your link actually goes somewhere, because it is now featured more prominently on your profile view and I might just click on it.

The infamous retweet function is opt-in on the new TweetDeck. All I have to say about that it… you guys are smarter and now your users better than Twitter. And, thank you.

Final Thoughts

TweetDeck, if you’re reading this, Flickr integration would be the cherry on top

February 8, 2010 Update: TweetDeck is now allows you to view Flickr, YouTube and Posterous media within the client.

Watch a video of the features in TweetDeck’s latest version below.

Your turn. How is the new TweetDeck fulfilling your every need? Or is it still coming up short?

More screen shots of the new TweetDeck here.

I spent a few days of my COM 107 class talking to my students about social media. My point was to help them see the light and encourage them to get involved in the social media space because, let’s face it, we’re not ahead of the curve anymore. To illustrate, Mashable and TechCrunch are mashing and crunching up dozens of new blog posts on a daily basis, which — correct me if I’m wrong — means we are all technically dropping the ball and having to pick it back up constantly.

I was very concerned to learn about the social media usage habits of my classes of 48 (total) 18 – 20 year olds. Their use of social media is limited to sites like Facebook where they post on friends’ walls, update their status and, most recently, become virtual farmers of pink cows that I believe, when processed and canned, make spam. They have heard about Twitter but have no clue or interest in “knowing what people have for breakfast” (sigh). Of course, they know all about YouTube and how hilarious it is. A few of them have heard of Flickr. None of them had heard about LinkedIn… Honestly, none of this should have come as a surprise after I asked who had an email account outside of their university account and only 7 out of 48 students raised their hands.

Needless to say, all of them were simply AMAZED when I showed them the Conversation Prism.

My concern is that my students are caught in a sort of social media limbo. While they are worried about turning in papers, attendance policies, homework and exams the world outside of the university microcosm is rapidly changing. The problem is that those of us “out there” are also learning. This is where initiatives like the Social Media Club‘s “ad-hoc” Education committee (#SMCEDU) are very commendable. They are getting educators together to talk about introducing social media curricula at higher education institutions so that students — not all necessarily majoring in communication, public relations, journalisms, etc. — can catch up. However, while we might be able to institutionalize and pass on our knowledge about social media to future students (those who are currently in their teenage years or just about to start college) … what happens to those in school now?

In his post, “Revealing the people defining social networks” Brian Solis indicated that the 18 – 24 year old demographic comprises the smallest percentage pretty much all across the board. Not good.

Firs-years, sophomores, juniors and seniors of the world. I urge you to get a clue. It doesn’t matter what your major is, social media WILL affect your life WAY beyond Facebook. Don’t be surprised that your parents are on Facebook either, be surprised (and very concerned) with the fact that they might be BETTER at Facebook than you. A few more suggestions:

• Get a Gmail account and start using Google. You can forward your university email there so that you can check everything from one place. Once you are on there learn to love: Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Reader and make sure you fill out your Google Profile
• Get smart about your Facebook privacy settings. You don’t want to be the kid who doesn’t get hired for an internship because your Facebook pictures gave a bad impression of who you really are
• Get an internship, or several! (I know, not social media-related but important nevertheless)
• Hop on Twitter and realize that it is not all babble
• Figure out what RSS means and use Google Reader to subscribe to blogs that interest you for fun, subscribe to at least a couple of others that post useful news information on a regular basis, and get comfortable with the idea that you will be a student for the rest of your life — the learning process never stops
• Create a profile on LinkedIn and start building your resume there. You may not use it as often as other networks but it will come in handy at some point
• After the “magic three” – Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn – you should take some time to see what else is out there and then make the most of all of this by synchronizing your life. For example, if you like photography, upload your pictures to Flickr and synchronize your account so that it will publish on your Facebook wall and send a tweet with a link to your Twitter account. Who doesn’t love more exposure?

I’m sorry if this sounds like homework and I’m sorry if it was an overwhelming post that I had to get off my chest. I promise that once you get to know the social media space for all the great things that it is you will actually think it’s fun.

Teachers, parents… encourage your students and kids to get our there. Heck, teach us the way… you are the fastest-growing demographic here after all.

Everyone else, sorry if I just beat a dead horse to the ground, however, it might help you to know that this is still a pervasive issue among the group of people you will very soon be hiring from.

Flickr user shutupyourface

I was watching an episode of The Office where Michael quits Dunder Mifflin and recruits Pam and Ryan to start a new paper company. In this episode, Michael tries to get his former Dunder Mifflin clients to switch over and buy paper from his new company. In an effort to thwart Michael, Dwight tells him, Pam and Ryan to meet him for lunch and then sneaks into their empty office to steal Michael’s rolodex with all his clients’ information.

Pam mentions that she had spent months entering all the contact information into Michael’s Blackberry so that he wouldn’t have to use the rolodex anymore but I’ll save that for another post. Moving on.

Dwight goes through the business cards and discovers that Michael had written two words behind each one of them. The words were meant to help him remember who each client was so that he could have more personable conversations every time he called them to renew their paper contract.

Reading the two words behind his own business card Dwight says, “Schrute comma Dwight. And on the back he wrote great salesman, better friend.” Then he shakes his head at the camera and says, “Tall and beats.”

Some of us have Twitter accounts, LinkedIn accounts and Facebook profiles and pages where we follow, connect with and befriend hundreds of people. That’s a ton of contacts. But how many do we really know? How many do we pretend to know? Are we ever really interested in people? Do we just follow, befriend or connect with those whose acquaintance might be beneficial to us in the future?

We’re constantly looking for ways to turn down some of the noise online. So I understand how writing two keywords behind a business card can be perfectly acceptable as a jumping off point. But if you stop there then you are not doing yourself of anyone else any justice. There is more depth to people than two words.

I’d had the opportunity to meet some great, brilliant people through a few of my social networks. People who I’m sure I will stay in touch with for many many years to come. Yes, it’s impossible get to know everyone we meet on our social networks. My point is, if the opportunity does present itself – don’t just let it pass you. Take the time to jot down a few more words behind people’s business cards. You may exchange a few tweets after that, maybe an email or two, maybe you’ll never speak to or see that person again. But don’t discount the chances that one day – when the timing is just right – you’ll might find yourself going through your Rolodex and that person is exactly who you needed to talk to at that moment in our life.

It’s simple actually. Be human. Don’t get greedy. Be genuine. And, for Pete’s sake, don’t sign up for any service that promises to get you 300 followers per day or turn you into a social media superstar.  That would be like stealing the bowl of business cards from a restaurant that collects them to give away free lunches, saving the contact information and spamming everyone. And dishonest Rolodex is nothing to be proud of. You would only be helping dilute the definition of the word “relationship” and those are tough to develop, nurture and take to the next level as it is.

I am at Podcamp San Antonio 3.0. So far I have seen people in jeans and t-shirts, army uniforms and sequin coats and hats. And, as one would expect based on the eclectic mix of people, the sessions have covered a diverse set of topics all under the social media sun.

A recap:

Coworking

@firecatsue talked about coworking, which to me is a perfect example of how we can take social media offline and into the 3-dimensional world that all of us are familiar with. Coworking is heaven-sent for people like me who need distractions to focus and feed off other people’s energy and unique passions.

Check this out to get a sense for how coworking is taking off all over the coutry and, if you are in San Antonio… check out C4 Workspace, follow @coworkingsa and hey, why not take a day to actually try it out?

Journey through social media

@TXconflictcoach talked about her journey into social media. She talked about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, BlogTalkRadio, blogging and MySpace (no, wait… take that back. MySpace is apparently where all the porn is). The thing to highlight about this session is the importance of experimenting and – one of my favorite words – TINKERING with different social media networks, channels, approches, strategies… in order to find the one (or ones) that fit you and what you do best. I highly recommend you do it. Hit the ground running and don’t be afraid to trip and fall – you’ll get back up. I promise.

What does social media have to do with business?

Bruce Hughes talked about how SBDC is helping businesses grow by guiding them through pretty much every step of the business development process. How does this relates to social media you ask? SBDC provides marketing assistance to businesses, which helps increase revenue…. but don’t forget! Social media also helps build communities, develop relationships with your business’ constituents, establish your business as a helpful resource…

We really must make it a point to stop looking at social media first and foremost as a way to make money. Your priority should be to use to to build your business around what your potential customers need, want and care to interact with.

Military and social media

@AFRC_433 talked about how the air force is using social media. Every airman is a communicator, they Twitter and now the base is working on their Facebook Page. So, why would the air force want to use social media? To let the public know what they were up to but do so by communicating on a more personal level.

This was one of the coolest session at Podcamp because it demostrates that with a little persistence, even institutions that have insane amounts of restrictions and levels of hierarchy to cut through in order to get permission to do, well… anything… can start using social media to connect with the public.

@AFRC_433 talked about using her phone to start Twittering, blogging, etc. while she waited for approval to do social media on personal laptops. To the air force, public affairs is public affairs is public affairs. Anything that gets on Twitter goes out with a link to more information and to the Web site. However, she also tweets cool facts like how many tortillas fit in a CS Galaxy (answer: 322, 857).

And that’s the way. Aha, aha, I like it.

I really, really like it.

YouTube, make videos and SEO

Another way of getting your content into Google is video. You didn’t know that? Well there ya go.

Some tips for SEO with YouTube videos:

• Think keywords when you name your video and make it easier for people to find you on Google.
• The actual file you upload to YouTube should also be keyword-conscious.
• Oh yeah, go to Google and do a bit of keyword research to discover what people are looking for.
• Optimize your video content. Pick descriptive keywords that are not used as much in competitive areas to catch the low-hanging fruit in terms of SEO.
• Pillar content vs. Feeder/Teaser content – the first is content people are looking for and the other is content that directs people to another site/source.
• (Me talking…) Subscribe to Top Rank’s Online Marketing Blog and follow @leeodden. The man knows about SEO and the blog is a great resources for tips, best practices, ideas, enlightment, etc.

PS: Don’t be afraid of videos. They don’t need to be edited professionally, scripts, storyboards, etc. If you think you have something of value that could be turned into a video consider it a green light. Get yourself a Flip camera and start rolling. And hey, if you feel uncomfortable about making videos but still want to publish your content in a way that doesn’t involve blogging, try slideshows and narrated visual presentations.

Pay it forward with a virtual network

@Matt_Scherer talked about not just using social networks but doing so to help others. Logical right? We are social beings and we love to share. Matt talked about several places online that are taking this innate quality of human beings and harnessing it to create communities that gather to help each other.

Something that stuck with me was the idea of champions – people who help others find connections and get into the right places to launch their careers, projects, ideas, etc. Ultimately, it is your job to post your resume online, join social networks and begin by eavesdropping on people who share common interests. As Seth Godin would say, find your tribe. If there isn’t one, create one.

Takeaway – whether you are an individual or a company, you are the master of your own destiny but know that you have a world (literally) of people out there who are willing to help you on your way to get there. We all have something everybody wants. Find out what you want, figure out what you have to give in return and get a move on.

Blog your heart out: How to start a blog and stick to it

[My session!]

It went a little like this… if you think you have something of value that could take the form of a blog… start a blog

• Find out who you are and what you want to write about ahead of time. Even if you want to write about everything, know that ahead of time so that you don’t all of a sudden get hit (and hard) by this realization.
• Find your software. Shout out to WordPress for easy stats, great SEO tools, user friendliness, customization, plug-ins and a world of other cool things.
• Customize your blog! Give it a personal touch and write your “About Me” page to let your readers know who you are and what they can expect. This makes you transparent, personable and credible.
• Set up RSS feeds to see what others are blogging about on the topics that interest you. This way, you can add unique content to the online conversation and place the RIGHT inbound links into your posts to make the hallway of mirrors that is the internet a little less dizzying for readers
• What’s that? You want to get blogging already?… Come up with an editorial calendar and evergreen topics you can write about to avoid bloggers’ block.
• Come up with ideas for list posts, how-to posts and other short and sweet content that is helpful, fun to read and that helps you vary the style of your posts.
• More importantly, think of topics that you are PASSIONATE about. If you are not genuine, blogging is a no-go.
• Figure out when you’ll post. Start off with once or twice a week but make sure that you are consistent and good to your readers. Don’t feel pressured. This should be fun.
• Don’t just assume that you are going to have readers. If your blog is your personal diary don’t be outraged if hundreds of comments ensue after every post. If what you are posting useful content and want to share it with people who might be looking for the information you are putting out there, get a Twitter account, feed it, NOURISH it.
• Make your useful content easy to find. Register your blog on Technorati, Bloglines, Feedburner, etc. And use Simplaris Blogcast on Facebook to publish your blog post on the Notes section of your profile.
• Follow @problogger on Twitter. He has a lot of helpful advice and a 31-Day Challenge to Better Your Blog
• Ready. Set. Go.

(By the way, I’m moving to http://andinarvaez.com this weekend – It took a while for me to build up!)

Twitter. All of it.

Oh my… I’m afraid to go there. Basically, register for TweetCamp San Antonio on July 18, 2009 and learn all there is to know

PREVIEW: Twitter is making things HAPPEN.

… Must go. Had an amazing time!!!

Check out the #podcampsa Twitter hashtag and the live stream to catch up with more of what went down inside the Habana Room at El Tropicano hotel today.

Signing off.

A post on Mashable today, reposting the news about  Birmingham City University’s new social media graduate program got me thinking about the implications of more universities offering courses in new media, social media and all of the above.

I have a great passion for education and, especially when it comes to communications, I believe there is nothing better than when scholars’ work goes hand-in-hand with that of those who pratice the profession in order to improve best practices.

As an undergraduate I read my share of public relations and marketing text books, sat through lectures and took tests to eventually earn the degree that now lets others know that I probably know something about the Uses and Gratifications theory and the four P’s of Marketing. But theory is best learned when put into practice. My interships allowed me to truly see what I was getting myself into in context.

I know about social media because Facebook launched when I was a freshman in college and ever since then it has been second nature to me (also I am very curious). But what I think we are coming to, finally, is the inevitable – the writing of social media textbooks and the acknowledgement of social media as not only a field in communications but perhaps an industry in and of itself.

My alma mater taught courses on Web design and virtual reality games while I was still in school, Syracuse University managed to establish a New Media Studies graduate program but ended up dissolving it last semester (the courses are still available as electives) and more universities are offering new and social media courses to complement existing communications programs. Here is a description of Birmingham City University’s social media M.A. program.

Here are my questions:

1. If or when degrees in social media become widespread and standard, how will universities ensure that students get the amount of hands-on experience that this field requires?
2. Where does a master’s degree in social media leave the self-taught?
3. If social media is best learned through practice, how do we even out the playing field for future generations?
4. Will social media also lead to the reinvention of academic curricula (I must admit that’s the first time I’ve used the word curricula) with less time spent in class and on theory and more time spent “out there” and on practice?
5. Will social media degrees only be offered at the graduate level so that students can first learn a more traditional trade?
6. Can we think of the books, blogs and analytics that are already out there as the first pages of the new social media textbooks? Will they only be available to students on Kindles?
7. If Edward L. Bernays is known as the father of public relations, who is the father of social media?
8. Who is the mother?
9. And, generally speaking, shouldn’t it be mother instead of father seeing as how the mother literally births and nurtures the child? Just a thought.

If you wish you were back in school raise your hand.

Flickr image user, 100 watt dream

This post was in the works from the moment I created this blog.

I finally found a name for the blog that is something other than my name. I know, my name is still on there… I can explain.

My name was a good place to start off with for the blog in order to bring my Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook… you-name-it accounts back to the same place and have it all make some sense. But never, for a moment, did I think that it would be  the sole thing to let those who might read the blog  know what it was about. Assuming, of course, that anything I might have to say would ever interest anyone.

My problem in giving the blog a proper name was that I wasn’t sure what exactly I was writing about. Guilty. I’m a hit-the-ground-running sort of person (on a somewhat relevant note I also eat pizza the other way around and start with the crust) and failed to follow the step-by-step procedures for blogging that make it clear that you shouldn’t start writing before finding a purpose based on the audience you are reaching out to. I knew this much – I enjoy writing, I read a lot of what others write, I watch / listen to news and I’m really (shall I say ricidulously?) interested, curious and in touch with the ongoings of social media, the Web and the changing technological landscape that is reinventing the communications industry and our society.

I realize that this describes a lot of people out there so I knew it was important to find my own voice and reason for b[log]eing within such a broad scope.

It hit me the other day when I was watching TV with my friends. To make a long story short, I annoyed them (and I say that in a loving way) when I mentioned something about Twitter, that I had read on Mashable that sort of related to what we were watching.

“One track mind”? Nah. That wouldn’t have been a good name because I try to be well-rounded. It just happens that I’m the token geek in the group and the only one that knows Twitter isn’t a mixed drink.

I did realize that I like to take things in and any time I see/watch/hear/you-get-it something – anything – I find a way to tie it all back to communications, the Web, social media, technology, public relations, my life… those things I am most passionate and make an effort to learn more about.

I thought about “Taking it in” but decided against it two seconds later when I noticed how many inappropriate connotations it could lead to. Some people clicking on my blog from the results of a Google search may have been quite disappointed.

flickr user: etohaholic

I let the subject go for a moment and picked up The New York Times crossword puzzle. As usual I worked my way through it. I filled in the words I knew and guessed the words I didn’t know the clues for by using the letters of seemingly unrelated words to help me out. Eureka.

I once wrote that my favorite words were collaboration, sharing and drank. Well, throw integration in there.

I find it fascinating when I see how much integration happens at all levels and all aspects of life and how much it helps us make sense of our society’s “big picture.” I”m talking “Beatiful Mind” sort of stuff here… minus the conspiracy part.

This post hereby makes it official, “Down and Across” is the blog’s new name and it’s just the right amount of ambiguous so that I may still write about all the things that interest me from (hopefully) an original point of view (my point of view, which explains why I kept my name on there) and that will make it worth wrtiting and taking the time to groom and improve on it more and more.

The best part? Crosswords. Newspapers. I love that I found a name that references something I am hugely fond of and have great respect for.