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Social Microbe Turns Some into Zombies, Others Become Superhuman |
The world has succumbed to a microscopic invader in what some might find analogous to H. G. Wells' novel War of the Worlds. Even NASA has been following this epidemic, but that's only the beginning. Our politicians, our universities, firefighters, and even the young fellow that bagged your groceries last week - they are all infected. The concern is, will this microscopic phenomenon turn us all into zombies, or will it allow us to become superhuman? What am I talking about?
It's Like Text-Based Reality TV, Sort of...
It's "micro-blogging," and the biggest carrier of this infectious social affliction is Twitter. In a world of email, phone calls, and blogs, you'd think we were connected enough. But no, it's what happens in between emails, phone calls, and blogs that makes up our real life. And just as many have become addicted to reality TV, micro-blogging has turned millions of people’s lives into a daily text-based reality show, serving up the most minuscule of details 140 characters at a time.
A Quick Synopsis for the Uninfected
Twitter (and other micro-blogging platforms) are a tiny bit like blogging, in that you make posts that appear on a personal web page. The infectious difference is that micro-blogging is free, super simple, and doesn't take near the time or effort to post. It's driven forward by answering the basic question: "What are you doing?" And here's the clincher; you post your answer in 140 characters or less.
Micro-blogging allows you to link to anything, like your blog, a recent camera phone photo, a YouTube video, or a recommended website. Like magic, long web addresses (URLs) get converted into microscopic short URLs so every post can squeeze into it's microbial girdle.
After you sign up, you'll find and follow others that are doing things you find interesting. You can also invite your circle of friends. In either case, this permission based eavesdropping starts when your interest or curiosity piques enough to FOLLOW someone. In turn, others will FOLLOW you.
Like any good virus, Twitter and micro-blogging have already become airborne; users can receive updates via the web, instant messaging, SMS, RSS, email, or through an application such as Facebook or Twitterrific for the iPhone. It's this enriched Petri dish of micro-blogging and mobile phones that has cultured untold numbers of Twitter zombies and countless Superhumans to start micro-blogging. The jury is still out on which camp is more prevalent.
Pure Pithy Genius or Frivolous Fodder in 140 Characters or Less...
Some people use Twitter as a personal news-wire, often discovering global or niche news faster and with more detail than official modes of communication. A recent earthquake in Los Angeles was reported within seconds of the event on Twitter, eventually making the news in 4 minutes and finally picked up by the Associated Press (AP) some 9 minutes later.
NASA used Twitter to break the news of what appeared to be water ice on Mars by the Phoenix Mars Lander. The Los Angeles Fire Department has put the technology to use to help communicate during California wildfires. The University of Texas at San Antonio College of Engineering is using Twitter to relay information to students. And though we cannot verify if God Twitters (yet), many of his followers at Westwinds Church in Jackson, Michigan conduct weekend worship services in what they call Twitter Church.
Whether you deem this twitter flu as frivolous or genius largely depends on how you use it. No doubt you can twit away an entire day without accomplishing anything. Yet, the rewards for exploring Twitter or any other platform for micro-blogging are compelling for both social and business/marketing purposes.
The new chant for socially aware marketers has evolved from subscribe, subscribe, subscribe to followme, followme, followme as they build their lists of devoted followers. And the insights into a business’ niche can be greatly enhanced by scanning the collective commentary of their followers and non-followers.
Twittering Is Not Your Grandmothers Coffee Clutch, or Is It?
If you think about it, few coffee drinkers really liked coffee when they first tried it, but in time it becomes a part of your life, and whether it's a coffee clutch or Starbucks, you're immersed in something you love. Many great friendships, great ideas, great memories, and great discoveries have happened over a robust cup of coffee with friends. Micro-blogging can provide an equally casual, interesting, and robust environment. This is social networking at its most simplistic, yet complex, level.
How to Micro-blog Your Way to Superhuman Achievement.
Start by opening a micro-blogging account. Twitter is good, but there are many others: Spoink, Identi.ca, Pownce, Plurk, or Google's Jaiku. If you prefer video, Seesmic offers a micro-blogging platform that works with your webcam.
Platforms like Twitter are so popular they've spawned spinoff sites and tools that take micro-blogging to the next level. Superhuman searches are available with Summize (Twitter owns Summize); you can now find and target people and interests in a snap. Friendfeed pulls everything together from many platforms so you can enjoy it all in one convenient spot. TweetBeep monitors the twittosphere and sends free email alerts on topics you set-up to track. Tweetlater serves as a reminder system and allows you to schedule tweet posts into the future. Twittersplit allows you to insert links in your posts that drive traffic and followers back to your site.
Sometimes It Takes Something Small to Solve Something Big.
Just remember that in H. G. Wells' novel, War of the Worlds, after all the shock and awe we earthlings could throw upon the invading aliens, in the end, it was something microscopic that saved our planet. Today, micro-blogging seems destined to be the next big small thing that might, yes, just might, save our planet.
Dan Hollings is the man behind the remarkable internet marketing campaign for the smash hit movie The Secret. Dan is an internet marketing consultant and web strategist to celebrities, talk show hosts, New York Times best-selling authors, successful companies, entrepreneurs, and hit movies. You can discover more of Dan's amazing internet marketing and social networking secrets at http://www.danhollings.com/secrets. Contact Dan at:
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