Following the solo media vs. traditional media race that led Twitter into both relevance and irrelevance, the result is that the carefully guarded community and its unique culture are now permanently altered – for better or for worse.

According to estimates sourced by Engadget Editor-in-Chief Ryan Block, Twitter grew by 1.2 million users simply as a result of the “Oprah-effect.”

TechCrunch’s MG Siegler also explored the process for estimating Twitter’s path into the mainstream.

What does 1.2 million new users mean for Twitter?

So, how many new users really joined Twitter as a result of the celebrity-fueled popularity contest?

I’m not sure the answer truly matters. If we explore it from a sociological perspective, I believe that the culture of Twitter has been introduced to a significant event that may indeed shift interaction and behavior overall.

Going into the race, estimates pegged the active userbase anywhere between 5 – 8 million. Now post race and the Oprah-effect, over 1 million people were introduced to the service guided by a “follow me” mentality. This “overnight” expansion represents a potential 10-12% saturation ratio. These new users will participate and build communities around them based on their interpretation of the network as framed by those whom they follow. Remember, we are measured by our last 20 tweets or updates within each social network. Take a look for yourself, www.twitter.com/insertusername

It is what it is. The real question is, what do you want to get out of these connections?

In the end, we are still responsible for creating our own experience within the community and that is one of the true advantages and rewards of Twitter. We foster and cultivate individual ecosystems that bind us contextually.

Competing for Attention

Perhaps what is most interesting and prevalent is the behavior transformation in content consumption that is taking place in “Twitter time” and it’s establishing a new world authority. For many of us, we’re migrating away from destinations and potentially RSS readers as well as our primary source of news, relevant information, pleasant distractions, and trending topics. We’re quickly focusing on Twitter, Facebook News Feeds, FriendFeed and the statusphere as our highly curated and personalized attention dashboards.

As content publishers, producers, and creators, we need to acknowledge, understand, and embrace this critical disruption.

Let’s take a look at Twitter as an example. Before the April’s madness of follower contests, Comscore reported that Twitter had experienced a new record of 9.3 million visitors in March, which represented a 131% jump.

As you can see, the growth curve is practically vertical. And, we’re sure to see yet another surge in growth when April numbers are released.

However, Comscore is also observing what I believe to represent the hope and potential future for traditional media.

When they examined the percentage of visitors to Twitter who also visited the top online news brands and compared it to that of the total U.S. Internet audience, they discovered a strong level of overlap. The result is that the average Twitter user was often 2 and 3 times as likely to visit the top online news brands as the average person. For example, while 17 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience visited CNN.com in March, more than double that percentage (38 percent) of Twitter users did so.

Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed and active online social interaction breathe new, and measurable, life into great content where it’s hosted, simply by connecting it to the potentially attentive people where and how they are currently engaged.

This is the Statusphere, a new ecosystem for sharing, discovering, and publishing updates and micro-sized content that reverberates throughout social networks and syndicated profiles, resulting in a formidable network effect of viral activity. It is the digital curation of relevant content that binds us contextually and through the statusphere we can connect directly to existing contacts, reach new people, and also forge new friendships through the friends of friends effect (FoFs) in the process.

In order to compete for prominence in the future, we must first compete for attention where and when it’s captivated. While we contribute to the evolution of new media and the supporting cultures within each network, we are responsible for what we contribute and what we gain from the interaction. We earn the relationships we deserve.

Update: comScore released global numbers that show a worldwide surge of 19.1 million visitors in March 2009.

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It’s been an incredible week for stats, demographics, and authority trends related to Social Media this week.

The Social Web is our Industrial Revolution and our Renaissance period. It is at the very least completely transforming how we communicate with each other and how we also discover and share content.

Twitter, Facebook News Feeds, FriendFeed and other micro communities that define the Statusphere, are captivating and distracting our focus. But, while many argue that it’s decreasing productivity, I say it’s arousing a more active, engaging, and enlightened community of media literate information socialites.

While Twitter is stealing the spotlight with somewhere between 4-6 million passionate users and Facebook is taking over the networked world with 175 million nodes on the social graph, one thing is crystal clear, the statusphere is strengthened by the updates that inspire action, not those that reinforce the ME in Social Media – a.k.a. the narcisystem (coined by Chris Pirillo).

It’s in the way that you use it.

It’s the art of curation. Producing and posting updates that people find invigorating, insightful, entertaining, and enriching is how you build a meaningful foundation for which people to follow, admire, and trust you. You are a beacon for all that moves you.

Remember, the secret to attracting comments, likes or stimulating retweets is not governed by a formula, but instead by the intent and nature of sharing something worthy of response.

Jay Rosen calls this mindcasting. I would also add that this is key to community building.

It’s micro curation with macro education and collaboration served in Twitter time. It serves as a strong catalyst for valuable relationships in our personal and professional lives.

We’re living history as we not only document the transformation of media, but how information finds us.

We’re engaged at the point and place of introduction and bound by context and time. Striking content sparks curiosity and dictates our next move and subsequently the next moves and reactions of friends and friends of friends (FoFs). Some of us are smarter and humbled because of what we learn.

Hitwise released some very interesting information that reveals the emerging trends, activity, and true impact of injecting useful, interesting, and thought provoking updates into the micro social timeline.

The following numbers and charts surface the activity of where people go from Twitter.com. Note, that Twitter is one of the most dominant forces in referring traffic to blog posts, social profiles, news articles, and pictures and video on the Web.

The numbers indicate that Twitter is much more than a timeline for sharing and responding to useless or self-promotional content. Based on my own research using Bit.ly and Poprl, my numbers also corroborate the notion that Twitter can be a highly valuable source of personal and professional growth and a petri dish for growing invaluable relationships dictated solely by whom you follow.

Notice how Twitter users flock to interesting content wherever it’s hosted.

If you buy into the curation methodology, Twitter and other Statusphere networks represent the CPR and a new opportunity for the media industry disparately needs to engage a more discerning and constantly shifting audience.

As Steve Rubel so correctly observes, Twitter Search is poised to replace Google Blogsearch. His observation, HitWise numbers and an astute command of the obvious only reinforce the reality that The Blogosphere is Losing Authority to the Statusphere. Also Danny Sullivan documents how we search with the Twitter Search Engine.

Blogs will retain prominent influence as an online library of intellectual capital and social networks will also host compelling and relevant media assets and personalities. The Statusphere will serve as the bridge that connects people to content and the people behind the content, building relationships rooted context, interests, and passion.

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Social Networks are among the most powerful examples of socialized media. They create a dynamic ecosystem that incubates and nurtures relationships between people and the content they create and share.

As these communities permeate and reshape our lifestyle and how we communicate with one another, we’re involuntarily forcing advertisers and marketers to rapidly evolve how they vie for our attention.

Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Yelp, and other online communities transformed the regimen and practice of marketing “at” people into an opportunity to engage and interact with us – on our terms. It is the zeitgeist of socialized media and it’s manifesting into an obsession for branding, advertising, “viral,” marketing, and communications experts and professionals worldwide.

But, the people who define each network are reticent to the hollow attempts of faceless friending and in-network marketing. Many businesses are building social channels to broadcast messages in a one to many, top-down practice that not only prevents relationship building, but impedes any hope of cultivating communities and empowering brand ambassadors.

As marketers, it’s your responsibility to peel back the layers of each network to observe and eventually interact with the very people you wish to reach. Each network possesses a vibrant culture and ecosystem that is powered by context and connected by influential social graphs.

While nothing beats anthropological fieldwork and observation, let’s take a look at numbers behind the top social networks to get a better picture of network engagement and user demographics. Remember, it’s how you interpret these numbers combined with an understanding of the real world needs and experiences of the people you’re attempting to engage that determines the success or failure of your social media program. They are not demographics, they are not statistics, they are not avatars, nor are they waiting with baited breath for you to friend or market at them and their network friends. This data represents whole numbers and is not representative of the individuals that are looking for resources and guidance, and in turn, will help you participate as a community member, and not as a traditional marketer.

So, how will you use this information to engage more effectively and genuinely?

Unique visitors provided by compete. All remaining numbers provided by Google Ad Planner.

Facebook

30-day traffic, Country, Worldwide

Unique Visitors – 73 M, 250 M
Reach – 31.5%,18.1%
Page views – 22 B, 84 B
Total visits – 1.5 B, 4.5 B
Avg visits per visitor – 21,18
Avg time on site – 1100s, 1200s

Gender

Age

Household Income

Children in Household

Education

Twitter

30-day traffic, Country, Worldwide

Unique Visitors – 5.1 M, 13 M
Reach- 2.2%, 1.0%
Page views – 410 M, 660 M
Total visits – 52 M, 90 M
Avg visits per visitor -10, 6.9
Avg time on site – 780s, 740s

Gender

Age

Household Income

Children in Household

Education

Flickr

30-day traffic, Country, Worldwide

Unique Visitors -21 M, 81 M
Reach – 9.2%, 5.9%
Page views – 960 M, 2.7 B
Total visits – 80 M, 230 M
Avg visits per visitor – 3.8, 2.80
Avg time on site – 480s, 520s

Gender

Age

Household Income

Children in Household

Education

Digg

30-day traffic, Country, Worldwide

Unique Visitors – 7.5 M, 21 M
Reach – 3.2%, 1.5%
Page views – 190 M, 310 M
Total visits – 41 M, 68 M
Avg visits per visitor – 5.5, 3.2
Avg time on site – 460s, 430s

Gender

Age

Household Income

Children in Household

Education

Mixx

30-day traffic, Country, Worldwide

Unique Visitors – 1.2 M, 6.8 M
Reach – 0.5%, 0.5%
Page views – 8.3 M, 26 M
Total visits – 2.7 M, 8.4 M
Avg visits per visitor – 2.2, 1.20
Avg time on site -170s, 180s

Gender

Age

Household Income

Children in Household

Education

MySpace

30-day traffic, Country, Worldwide

Unique Visitors – 67 M, 130 M
Reach – 28.9%, 9.4%
Page views – 47 B, 57 B
Total visits – 1.3 B, 1.7 B
Avg visits per visitor -19, 13
Avg time on site – 1500s, 1400s

Gender

Age

Household Income

Children in Household

Education

Ning

30-day traffic, Country, Worldwide

Unique Visitors – 4.2 M, 13 M
Reach – 1.8%, 1.0%
Page views – 280 M, 600 M
Total visits – 21 M, 47 M
Avg visits per visitor – 4.9, 3.6
Avg time on site – 820s, 840s

Gender

Age

Household Income

Children in Household

Education

LinkedIn

30-day traffic, Country, Worldwide

Unique Visitors -11 M, 26 M
Reach – 4.8%, 1.9%
Page views – 500 M, 880 M
Total visits – 48 M, 84 M
Avg visits per visitor – 4.4, 3.2
Avg time on site – 560s, 550s

Gender

Age

Household Income

Children in Household

Education

Viddler

30-day traffic, Country, Worldwide

Unique Visitors – 350 K, 1 M
Reach – 0.2%, 0.1%
Page views – 3.8 M, 7.4 M
Total visits – 960 K, 2 M
Avg visits per visitor – 2.80, 2
Avg time on site – 580s, 520s

Gender

Age

Household Income

Children in Household

Education

Scribd

30-day traffic, Country, Worldwide

Unique Visitors – 4.3 M, 31 M
Reach -1.8%, 2.3%
Page views- 26 M, 130 M
Total visits – 9.2 M, 41 M
Avg visits per visitor – 2.1,1.3
Avg time on site – 260s, 310s

Gender

Age

Household Income

Children in Household

Education

Upcoming.org (these stats need verification)

30-day traffic, Country, Worldwide

Unique Visitors – 3.3 K, 7 K
Reach – 0.0%, 0.0%
Page views -11 K, 22 K
Total visits – 5.8 K, 11 K
Avg visits per visitor – 1.8, 1.5
Avg time on site -100s, 120s

Gender

Age

Household Income

Children in Household

Education

Delicious (Factor the switch from del.icio.us to delicious.com)

30-day traffic, Country, Worldwide

Unique Visitors – 1.4 M, 5.2 M
Reach – 0.6%, 0.4%
Page views – 26 M, 68 M
Total visits – 6.2 M, 16 M
Avg visits per visitor – 4.4, 3.2
Avg time on site – 380s, 410s

Gender

Age

Household Income

Children in Household

Education

Ustream

30-day traffic, Country, Worldwide

Unique Visitors – 4.8 K, 11 K
Reach – 0.0%, 0.0%
Page views – 23 K, 36 K
Total visits – 16 K, 27 K
Avg visits per visitor – 3.3, 2.40
Avg time on site – 290s, 240s

Gender

Age

Household Income

Children in Household

Education

Qik

30-day traffic, Country, Worldwide

Unique Visitors – 91 K, 240 K
Reach – 0.0%, 0.0%
Page views – 1.1 M, 2.1 M
Total visits – 230 K, 500 K
Avg visits per visitor – 2.6, 2.1
Avg time on site – 420s, 420s

Gender

Age

Household Income

Children in Household

Education

Friendfeed

30-day traffic, Country, Worldwide

Unique Visitors – 520 K, 2.2 M
Reach – 0.2%, 0.2%
Page views – 11 M, 37 M
Total visits – 2.3 M, 7.6 M
Avg visits per visitor – 4.4, 3.4
Avg time on site – 540s, 560s

Gender

Age

Household Income

Children in Household

Education

Docstoc

Unique Visitors – 690 K, 1.8 M
Reach – 0.3%, 0.1%
Page views – 5.1 M, 10 M
Total visits – 1.3 M, 2.6 M
Avg visits per visitor, 1.9, 1.5
Avg time on site – 290s, 300s

Gender

Age

Household Income

Children in Household

Education

Yelp

Unique Visitors – 6.7 M, 8.1 M
Reach – 2.9%, 0.6%
Page views – 89 M, 97 M
Total visits – 19 M, 20 M
Avg visits per visitor – 2.80, 2.5
Avg time on site – 360s, 350s

Gender

Age

Household Income

Children in Household

Education

YouTube

Stats are not readily available. Information sourced from Quantcast.

YouTube has in excess of 258 million users, half of which visit at least weekly.
An average of 100 million videos are viewed every day. Comscore estimates the number of uploaded videos at 5 billion. Wikipedia states that 13 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every minute.

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- Tracking Brands on Twitter to Improve How You Listen and Engage
- Top Trends and Apps: How Do People Use Twitter?
- The Ties that Bind Us - Visualizing Relationships on Twitter and Social Networks
- Make Tweet Love – Top Tips for Building Twitter Relationships
- The Battle for Your Social Status
- Twitter Tools for Communication and Community Professionals
- Is Twitter a Viable Conversation Platform
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- The State of Social Media
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- The Social Media Manifesto
- Free ebook: The Essential Guide to Social Media
- Free ebook: Customer Service, The Art of Listening and Engagement Through Social Media

Source

Depending on which numbers you source or believe, all reports agree that the blogosphere continues to expand globally.

As the leading blog directory and search engine, Technorati maintains a coveted Authority Index which is considered amongst bloggers as the benchmark for measuring their rank and selling their position within the blogosphere. Authority is defined as the number of blogs linking to a website in the last six months. The higher the number, the greater the level of Authority a blog earns.

However, a disruptive trend is already at play. While blogs are increasing in quantity, their authority—as currently measured by Technorati—is collectively losing influence.

In its annual State of the Blogosphere last year, Technorati revealed that it had indexed 133 million blog records since 2002. In March 2008, Universal McCann published a report that indicated 184 million blogs worldwide were created, with 346 million people reading blogs globally.

Indeed, consumers, businesses, content publishers, and media channels are embracing blogs as a way of engaging existing and reaching new readers to build an ecosystem around relevant conversations. It’s the convergence of dialog and journalism, creating a new generation of interconnectedness between publisher and community.

Blogging is entrenched in the mainstream.

So why do I believe that blog authority is losing its authority?

It goes back to the definition of authority. Links from blogs are no longer the only measurable game in town. Potentially valuable linkbacks are increasingly shared in micro communities and social networks and its affecting detouring attention and time away from formal blog responses.

As the social Web and new services continue the migration and permeation into everything we do online, attention is not scalable. Many refer to this dilemma as attention scarcity or continuous partial attention (CPA) – an increasingly thinning state of focus. It’s affecting how and what we consume, when, and more importantly, how we react, participate and share. That “something” is forever vying for our attention and relentlessly pushing us to do more with less driven by the omnipresent fear of potentially missing what’s next.

We are learning to publish and react to content in “Twitter time” and I’d argue that many of us are spending less time blogging, commenting directly on blogs, or writing blogs in response to blog sources because of our active participation in micro communities.

With the popularity and pervasiveness of microblogging (a.k.a. micromedia) and activity streams and timelines, Twitter, Facebook, FriendFeed and the like are competing for your attention and building a community around the statusphere – the state of publishing, reading, responding to, and sharing micro-sized updates.

This new genre of rapid-fire interaction is further distributing the proverbial conversation and is evolving online interaction beyond the host site through syndication to other relevant networks and communities.

In most cases attention for commenters at the source post are competing against the commenters within other communities. Those who might typically respond with a formal blog post may now chose to respond with a tweet or a status update.

Attention is engaged at the point of introduction, and for many of us, we’re presented with worthwhile content outside of our RSS readers or favorite bookmarks. Relevant and noteworthy updates are now curated by our peers and trusted or respected contacts in disparate communities that change based on our daily click paths.

Retweets (RT) and favorites in Twitter, Likes and comments in FriendFeed and Facebook, posting shortened links that connect friends and followers back to the source post, have changed our behavior and empowered our role in defining the evolution of the connectivity and dissemination of information.

Now, we have the ability to instantly interact with, respond, or promote blog content away from the source blog, but that shouldn’t make the original post any less valuable. In fact, while blog authority isn’t capitalizing on these new sources for linkbacks, link authority is still affected, no matter the source, and helps increase the visibility and weight of the host blog in search engines.

The immediacy of publishing, sparking dialog, and receiving responses only reinforces this behavior. And, it encourages participation without having to write a blog post tracking back to the originator of each discussion. So, posts are missing out on a trove of valuable linklove that would otherwise contribute to their authority

Think about it.

There are supposedly 133 million blogs created, with far less in real use today. There are reportedly 175 million users on Facebook and another four million (and growing) on Twitter. The online social populace is necessitating the need for a new generation of establishing and measuring authority in the blogosphere before current blog metrics inaccurately paint a grim picture that they’re influence is declining – again as measured today.

One blog post can spark a distributed response in the respective communities where someone chooses to RT, favorite, like, comment, or share. These byte-sized actions reverberate throughout the social graph, resulting in a formidable network effect of measurable movement and activity. It is this form of digital curation of relevant information that binds us contextually and sets the stage to introduce not only new content to new people, but also facilitates the forging of new friendships with the publisher in the process.

With the right tools, everything is measurable.

BackType tracks tweets associated with a source URL regardless of the shortener used to link back to it. twInfluence measures Twitter influencers, not just by followers, but also by reach, velocity, social capital and centralization. Retweetist tracks the most “retweeted” people, URLs, and also those who actively “RT” others. Tweetbacks, Disqus, and Chatcatcher are tracking related tweets and directly connecting and listing them as traditional trackbacks at originating blog posts.

FriendFeed already released APIs and with Facebook opening up the News Feed to developers, apps will emerge that can track blog posts by volume of likes and shared links.

At SXSW, Klout will debut a new service that helps bloggers and content publishers measure Link Authority and a conversation index by tracking the frequency of shared URLs tied to the weighted stature of those sharing them compared to other links shared during the same time frame. The service will eventually provide a foundation to compare source URLs ranked within the service over time.

The ideas are abundant.

Shortly before publishing this post, I contacted Richard Jalichandra, CEO of Technorati, and we discussed the future of blog authority in the era of micromedia. His response was positive and immediately revealed that the team is actively entrenched in the creation of a modified platform that embraces widespread, distributed linkbacks to blog posts in order to factor them into the overall authority for affected blogs. He also, on the spot, set up a briefing to review where they’re at in terms of development as well as new options to factor into the equation.

Widespread blog responses are dwindling in favor of micro responses.

Authority within the blogosphere demands a new foundation to measure rank and relevancy that is reflective of the real world behavior and interaction of those who are compelled to link back to the post and extend its visibility in new, engaging, and prominent communities.

Blog authority as measured by Technorati is declining. However, blog authority as measured by links is booming. It’s now more authoritative than ever before as bloggers can reach and resonate with new readers outside of their traditional ecosystem to cultivate a dispersed community bound by context, centralized links, and syndicated participation. Microblogging will only grow in importance and prevalence. It’s just a matter of embracing the inevitable and measuring the linklove in and out of the blogosphere.

Looking into the crystal ball, this discussion also begets the question, will we need a seperate Technorati channel for measuring authority for content publishers on Twitter, in addition to blog authority?

Feel free to share your ideas…

Update 1: At 11:00 a.m. PDT, BackTweets had tracked over 350 Twitter links to the original TechCrunch post, none of which are contributing to the overall authority index.

Update 2: Technorati published a blog post and a Tweet that explains new data-set modifications to blog links and authority, not including Twitter and other forms of micromedia linkbacks.

Update 3: I am meeting with Technorati within the next two weeks.

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You heard that right…no matter how much time we sink into our inbox trying to keep up with all that barrage of never-ending mail, a new report sent over by Nielsen (thanks Sandra Parrelli) claims that Social networks and blogs are now the fourth most popular online activity today.

The report, “Global Faces and Networked Places,” features data captured from December 2007 through December 2008 and reveals some very interesting statistics worth noting.

Here’s are the highlights:

Two-thirds of the world’s Internet population visit social networking or blogging sites, accounting for almost 10% of all internet time

Time spent on social network sites is also expanding: Across the globe in 2008 activity in ‘Member Communities’ accounted for one in every 15 online minutes – now it accounts for one in every 11.

While social networks started out among the younger audience, they’ve become more mainstream with the passage of time.

This shift has primarily been driven by Facebook whose greatest growth has come from people aged 35-49 years of age (+24.1 million). From December 2007 through December 2008, Facebook added almost twice as many 50-64 year old visitors (+13.6 million) than it has added under 18 year old visitors (+7.3 million).

Facebook started out as a service for university students but now almost one third of
its global audience is aged 35-49 years of age and almost one quarter is over 50 years
old.

Time spent on social networks and blogs is growing at over 3x the rate of overall Internet growth.

The total amount spent online globally increased by 18% between December 2007 and December 2008. In the same period, however, the amount of time spent on ‘Member Community’ sites rose by 63% to 45 billion minutes; and on Facebook by a massive 566% – from 3.1 billion minutes to 20.5 billion. Facebook’s time is so high due to being the ninth most popular brand online and having the highest average time per person (three hours 10 minutes) amongst the 75 most popular brands online worldwide.

Social networks and blogs are eating into the share of time held by other sectors.

People under 18 years old are making up less of the social network and blogging audience, whereas the 50+ age group are accounting for more of the audience.

Facebook has replaced MySpace as the world’s most popular social network.

Reasons contributing to Facebook’s rapid growth:
- An organized and simple design
- Broad appeal
- Activity focus
- Architecture for applications, peer-to-peer activity influence, third-party developers have increased word-of-mouth and visitor engagement
- Privacy
- Media coverage

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Like is the new favorite, which was at the time, was the new bookmark. This small, but important feature will no less, reinforce relationships between friends and followers and those who produce, interact with, and share content.

Made popular by services such as FriendFeed, and now Facebook, the idea of liking an update is much bigger than merely bookmarking or favoriting (yes, it’s a new verb in the social web) updates from friends and contacts for later reference. The act of liking is quickly emerging as a simple, but complimentary gesture of acknowledgment and reciprocation to recognize the contribution of someone whom you follow.

FriendFeed

As Robert Scoble notes, FriendFeed is Facebook’s R&D; department. Recently, Facebook introduced the act of liking updates directly into the personal, and precious, News Feed a.k.a. the Statusphere.

New services and communities are also debuting based on the premise of liking. Likaholix, for example, builds a community around reciprocity and those who actively like relevant material.

Likaholix fuses bookmarking and the kindness of liking with influence. It creates a layer of “tastemakers” around those topics and fields in which users emerge as experts based on their consistent, themed contributions and activity within the network.

Liking is the epitome of the relationship-based culture powering the authenticity, ethics, and reciprocal interactions on the Social Web. It’s a powerful form of micro recognition, which serves as an approving, motivating, and uplifting nod from someone else.

Likes also offer a macro impact within social networks. The deed of liking an update resonates within and outside the social graph as those who follow your activity will now receive an introduction to something that caught your attention, thus amplifying the source post or update to span across the relevant net as well as the network of friends of friends (FoFs).

As the social Web and new services continue the migration and permeation into everything we do online, we’re endlessly faced with an increasingly thinning state of continuous partial attention (CPA). It’s affecting how and what we consume, when, and more importantly, how we react, participate and share. That “something” is forever vying for our attention and relentlessly pushing us to do more with less driven by the omnipresent fear of missing out on what’s next. However, the act of liking is a symbol for how we can still publicly appreciate updates and those behind them without carving out precious time to formally comment or bookmark them in external networks.

Source: Andreina

Likes are incredibly powerful as they facilitate the sharing of love in byte-sized actions that reverberate throughout social networks, resulting in a formidable network effect of movement or diversion. It is the digital curation of relevant content that binds us contextually. Liking sets the stage to introduce not only new content to new people, but also facilitates the forging of new friendships in the process.

How does this change how you discover and share updates and content?

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I’m a strong supporter of BackType and the work of Christopher Golda since the debut of the highly valuable comments search engine last September.

Listening effectively requires extensive and active monitoring of not only blog posts and Tweets on Twitter, but also blog comments and other active networks that define the Conversation Prism. It’s how identify active communities that necessitate not only responses, but ongoing participation.

BackType brings blog post comments into the spotlight. Whether you’re managing an online reputation management (ORM) or an online monitoring system (OMS), BackType allows you to search keywords across the blogosphere to uncover important conversations that may require our participation, or at the very least, provide you with insight into critical community perspective. You can also search all comments by a particular person and date range to create a snapshot of someone’s area of focus, bias, or expertise.

Golda reached out to let me know that the company introduced two new services that will assist in the listening and monitoring workflow by connecting you to the conversation graph that ultimately connects and powers the Conversation Prism.

BackType Connect reveals all of the conversations that link to a particular post or article. Up until now, many of us have relied up BlogPulse Conversation to track all posts related to a host link – which is still highly effective. Now with BackType Connect, you can unearth related Tweets and highly relevant comments from blogs, FriendFeed, Digg, Reddit, and other networks.

It’s not just about the visualization of comments related to links, BackType Connect “connects” you to the distributed coversations across the Social Media landscape directly in the communities were people are interacting around the content.

Did you know that over one million links are tweeted per day? The problem to date has been that many use URL shorteners to save room for precious characters in Twitter. Unfortunately, when we use intermediary linking bridges, we disrupt the conversation graph by breaking the direct connection between a shared public link and the host link. Instead, we inject a new step by linking to a third party site that then redirects the viewer back to the original source. Most tools are unable to track this path, so the originator of the shared content loses the ability, and corresponding authority, to track affiliated conversations.

To solve this problem, the BackType team released BackTweets, a new service that lets you search for links on Twitter.

You can search keywords to match any URL in which they’re used or complete source URLs to track links to articles, blog posts, videos, bookmarks, etc. It surfaces pertinent tweets that search.twitter.com can’t find.

For example, here’s a BackTweet search for the original URL for my post on mapping relationships on Twitter and social networks, “The Ties that Bind Us.” Notice how it uncovers all related links that I would normally miss through traditional linkbacks, searches on Twitter for my name or username, and most importantly, traverses the tricky waters of URL shortneners from Bit.ly to is.gd to TinyURL.

Brands, publishers, BackType reveals how people are interacting and engaging with your company and/or content.

BackType Connect and BackTweets should find permanent residence in your toolbox of solutions for listening to related conversations and online reputation management (ORM).

Please let me know how BackType helps you…

Related Posts on PR 2.0:

- Tracking Brands on Twitter to Improve How You Listen and Engage
- Comcast Cares and Why Your Business Should too
- Facebook Swims Its Way into Your Lifestream: What the Facebook news means to you
- Top Trends and Apps: How Do People Use Twitter?
- The Ties that Bind Us - Visualizing Relationships on Twitter and Social Networks
- Make Tweet Love – Top Tips for Building Twitter Relationships
- The Battle for Your Social Status
- How Dell Deals with Twitter
- Need a Dictionary for Twitter?
- Introducing MicroPR, A Resource for Journalists, Analysts, & Bloggers on Twitter
- Twitter Tools for Communication and Community Professionals
- Is Twitter a Viable Conversation Platform
- Is FriendFeed the Next Conversation Platform

Recently, I reviewed Twibs, a directory that lists all brands and businesses currently using Twitter.

Electric Artists released Tracking Twitter, a new app that is a real-time listing of the top brands, media, television, entertainment, and celebrities that the team is currently following on Twitter.

While this service offers appeal as a directory for consumers seeking their favorite brands and personalities on Twitter, it’s much more promising as a real-time monitor of how businesses, media properties, and celebrities are using Twitter – for better or for worse.

The directory includes notes next to each account, although I’d suggest that it’s far more effective to simply click through and view their update history on Twitter to get an idea of how they’re interacting with the public and also identify helpful patterns. Also open up an additional window and run each account through TwitterFriends to get an overview of how they score according to their tweeting behavior.

For example, @comcastcares is listed as a recommended brand, so let’s take a look at the work of Frank Eliason and team on Twitter (A long overdue hello goes out to you Frank!)

As you can see, @comcastcares is the definitive example of how to participate on Twitter. He’s active, engaging, helpful, and resilient. The stats on TwitterFriends echo this sentiment based on an analysis of the collective tweets and @’s.

Perhaps most notably, @comcast cares boasts high marks for the metrics that count for service-minded brands, strong @ replies, high Twitter Rank, an engaging conversation quotient (CQ), and a supportive community. The only opportunity for improvement is the bridging of the gap between incoming tweets and outgoing responses.

Using Tracking Twitter or Twibs as a looking glass into the brand adoption of and practice on Twitter can only help you garner intelligence, ideas, and effective engagement strategies.

The rest is up to you.

Will this help you or do we need a service that integrates a brand directory with TwitterFriends functionality?

Related Posts on PR 2.0:

- Comcast Cares and Why Your Business Should too
- Facebook Swims Its Way into Your Lifestream: What the Facebook news means to you
- Top Trends and Apps: How Do People Use Twitter?
- The Ties that Bind Us - Visualizing Relationships on Twitter and Social Networks
- Make Tweet Love – Top Tips for Building Twitter Relationships
- The Battle for Your Social Status
- How Dell Deals with Twitter
- Need a Dictionary for Twitter?
- Introducing MicroPR, A Resource for Journalists, Analysts, & Bloggers on Twitter
- Twitter Tools for Communication and Community Professionals
- Is Twitter a Viable Conversation Platform
- Is FriendFeed the Next Conversation Platform
- State of the Twittersphere

This week Facebook hosted a blogstar-studded event to introduce a more people-focused platform for interacting around your Facebook statusphere in “Twitter time.”

Let’s review what this news means to you as a user and as a new media enthusiast.

After Facebook’s failed attempt at acquiring Twitter, the company seems to be on a b-line to unite people in an online social graph while connecting them through a dynamic and rapid fire conversation and engagement platform.

The company introduced new profiles for public figures and organizations, which were once called Fan Pages. These new profiles will look and feel just like regular individual profiles. The idea is to facilitate the connection and communication of fans and constituents with celebrities, musicians, politicians and organizations.

Facebook also redesigned the home page for you and your social graph. Now you can visually experience all that is shared by your friends and connections, as it happens. It also provides you with additional control by allowing you to filter what you see and from whom.

What could be considered the Wall 2.0 or quite simply, a personal or branded activity stream or timeline for people, public figures, and brands, the company is placing your in-network and external network activity at the front-and-center of your public profile for friends, associates, and followers to not only stay up to date with you aggregated Web activity, but also participate in the stream.

Essentially, Facebook channels all of your activity from the Conversation Prism (the social web) from networks such as Twitter, Last.FM, blog posts and comments, Digg, Flickr, YouTube, and all other services, including your in-network updates, into one timeline.

Perhaps whats most interesting, and truly indicative of the potential of the social graph and the relevant net, is the ability to extend “status” across multiple friend networks (friends of friends, or FoFs).

Source

Many suggest that Facebook’s new focus on the statusphere is a direct attempt to eradicate Twitter. And, with 175 million users compared to four million at Twitter, it might seem possible. I’m not so sure I agree however. Twitter is one of the most vibrant and unique online communities, micro or macro, that is creating its own ecosytem dubbed the Twitterverse.

I believe that FriendFeed is potentially at risk of stern competition as Facebook becomes continually pervasive. Over the last year, Facebook has integrated many features and capabilities made popular by FriendFeed. FriendFeed gained noteriety for offering Twitter users an alternative conversation platform that hosted threaded dialog around the disparate updates strewn across the social Web.

Designed to foster ongoing dialog, gestures such as “Liking” an update, commenting on status, and sorting updates by indivduals, are features that have also slowly rolled out on the Facebook platform. Robert Scoble has said that FriendFeed is Facebook’s R&D; department.

Conversations on Facebook will continue to increase in relevance and engagement between branded personalities, organizations and people as well as everyday people and their first-level of friends combined with the extended friends of friends network.

The question is, does Facebook’s new features impact or change where you or your contacts update status, respond, or participate in social timelines?

Related Posts on PR 2.0:
- Facebook and the Reality of Your Online Content
- The Socialization of Your Personal Brand
- In the Social Web, We Are All Brand Managers
- Is Twitter a Viable Conversation Platform?
- Facebook is the Hub for Your Personal Brand
- Facebook is a Beacon for Bad PR
- Mark Zuckerberg Listens and Responds to Beacon Crisis
- Beware the Things You Share in the World of Social Media
- The Essential Guide to Social Media
- The Art and Science of Social Media and Community Relations
- Lifestreams Channel Online Activity into One River of Relevance

Over the past few years I have been a vocal and vigorous supporter of the Social Media Release (SMR) for one simple reason – it represented a new and promising opportunity to renew the dialog around improving the foundation for the communication of news, information, and events that left most immune to its overdue potential.

It wasn’t a new tool to package the useless and hollow marketing “speak” that is prevalent in so many releases today. It was and is a blank slate to reinvent how we, as human beings representing a company that helps other human beings, share our story with them in a way that means something. The SMR is a chance to rethink our entire approach, from writing to distribution to relationships.

It’s marketing without marketing. It’s the difference between being human and humanizing the story.

The Social Media Release modernized an aging 100-year-old tool and adapted it for the social web, making the foundation for a new type of press release relevant again. But, perhaps most importantly, the Social Media Release was our chance to not only invigorate the traditional press release, it provided visionaries and evangelists with the ability to embrace new tools, mediums, and narrative voices to tell stories more convincingly to those seeking information, their way.

SMRs effectively package disparate social content strewn across multiple social networks in one contextual, market specific dashboard. It substantiates the value that scrawls the respective storyboard and correlated brand essence for influencers and consumers to absorb and retell more realistically, passionately, and complementarily.

PitchEngine

Jason Kintzler is someone whom immediately grabbed my attention. A former journalist, Kintzler sought to energize the process of writing and sharing press releases and material company information in general. Five months ago, he created PitchEngine, a fresh, bottom-up solution for developing and distributing social media releases to help online reporters and bloggers retell stories more efficiently.

In just under half a year, 3,100 brands have embraced PitchEngine to host and present important information as SMRs.

Over the past several months I’ve unofficially worked with Jason to help contribute to PitchEngine’s potential of becoming a universal hub for connecting companies to influencers as well as consumers using a social platform to facilitate the exchange of information and also foster potential relationships.

The relationship is now official.

I’ve joined the PitchEngine team as a strategic advisor and stakeholder. (Here’s the social media release on PitchEngine)

Together, we’re going to continue to socialize the news release and corporate newsrooms to extend the importance, poignancy, and reach for any business with something meaningful to share. We’re also going to innovate the way companies engage influencers, traditional, new, and emerging, to foster richer and rewarding relationships.

With Respect to Wire Services

Over the years, I’ve shared my views, opinions, vision, ideas, and hopes with all of my friends working at the top wire services. – some more than others. I hope to continue to provide counsel on how we can create a more effective working foundation for the press release of tomorrow, today.

Just to clarify, PitchEngine is not a wire service. It is a social platform to quickly and easily create, host, and share visually rich and dynamic social media releases. Like all forms of social media, it is powered by relationships and also traditional and social sharing and discovery. As I’ve always expressed, SMRs are complementary to wire-based press releases, not their replacement.

The days of creating and pushing one press release are over. These are the days of reaching diversified and equally pivotal communities when, where, and how they choose to be reached.

This is an opportunity to work together.

It’s the reason why I, along with Shel Holtz, Chris Heuer, Todd Defren, Shannon Whitley, and the Society of New Communications Research (SNCR), announced in March of last year that the IABC would take a leadership role in the Social Media Release Workgroup and our work to propose an industry standard for new media releases. We started this work almost three years ago sparked by the work of Todd Defren. For the record, Jason Kintzler is also a member of the renewed board of advisors governing the IABC-driven social media release workgroup.

What lies ahead is nothing less than remarkable. The social media release is no longer an “if” or “when.” Thousands of SMRs are live and wild in the socialmediasphere thanks to the inventive, resourceful, inspired champions who’ve helped ensure their vibrancy, effectiveness, and residence as a permanent fixture in the day-to-day toolbox of communications professionals.

After all, it is the new generation of online storytellers and peers who are changing everything. It’s forcing the evolution of interaction and connectivity – from PR to media creation and distribution. In the end, whether PR, media, citizen, or consumer, we are all contributors to the global democratization of content and information.

Stay tuned…

Related Stories on PR 2.0:

The Definitive Guide to Social Media Releases

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Anheuser-Busch Debuts AB-Extras.com; Fuses PR with Social Media to Humanize Stories and Ads

The Evolution of the Press Release

Social Media Releases – Everything You Ever Wanted to (or Should) Know

The Future of the Social Media Release is in Your Hands

Social Media Releases In Action

As one of the founding members of the Media 2.0 Workgroup, I contribute to the greater collective of intellectual activity dedicated to advancing media and communication.

Fellow members, Chris Saad and Stowe Boyd have been discussing the ethics and best practices around social media and social tools specifically with Eric Blantz and Khris Loux with specific regard to JS-Kit. Independently, I have also discussed and supported a more people-focused approach to connecting with courtesy of those companies that continually force the discussion by upsetting the balance between brand and community.

Facebook’s introduction of its new Terms of Service (ToS) was the most recent example of what not to do. Facebook also learned from this occurrence and created a new paradigm for user generated governance (UGG) empowering its community of users with the ability to contribute to the process of policy making.

The work of Eric Blantz, Khris Loux, Chris Saad and Stowe Boyd was presented to the Media 2.0 Workgroup for evaluation, sculpting, and ultimately introduction to the greater community to serve as inspiration for any business that seeks guidance when engaging users, customers, and peers.

Version 1.0 is currently hosted at www.mediabestpractices.com for interaction and collaboration.

The initial group includes the following: Chris Saad, Khris Loux (On Behalf of JS-Kit), Eric Blantz, Stowe Boyd, Micah Baldwin (On behalf of Lijit), Ben Metcalfe, Marianne Richmond, Jeremiah Owyang, Daniela Barbosa, Peter Kim, Loïc Le Meur (on behalf of Seesmic/Twhirl), Deborah Schultz and me.

Related Posts on PR 2.0:
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- Facebook is a Beacon for Bad PR
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- The Essential Guide to Social Media
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My friends over at HubSpot released the latest market data that reveals which tools and services people are flocking to when communicating on Twitter.

According to the research, most people interact on Twitter using Twitter.com from their browser of choice – almost half of all users in fact. Note to hubspot, would love to see that data broken out by browser.

Second, and it’s a distant second, people are interacting on Twitter using downloaded or web-based desktop apps, which provide additional functionality beyond the basic services provided on Twitter.com. Interestingly, mobile shows a strong placement in third, just behind desktop. As mobile applications on the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, and Palm evolve, this number will continue to swell as they rival their desktop counterparts.

Twitter Interface Type – Percentage

Web – 48.1%
Desktop – 21.8%
Mobile – 17.9%
Aggregation / Automation – 11.7%
Pictures – 0.5%

HubSpot also reviewed the top applications in the Twitterverse. No surprise, the Web continues as the dominant source for Tweets, again representing almost half of all usage. What is surprising however, is the chasm of market share between the Web and the top Twitter apps. TwitterFeed and TweetDeck follow in a distant second and third place at 9.2% and 7.3% respectively. HubSpot found that a collective of over 600 apps combine for a total of 14.5%. I would love to see the list of those apps independt of this study.

Top Twitter Interfaces Percentage

Web – 46.5%
twitterfeed – 9.2%
TweetDeck – 7.3%
txt – 4.6%
twitterrific – 4.3%
twhirl – 4.0%
TwitterFox – 4.0%
Tween – 2.0%
TwitterBerry – 1.9%
TwitterFon – 1.8%
Over 600 Others – 14.5%

Would love to see PeopleBrowsr make the list, so stay tuned…

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Facebook is learning to listen.

In the middle of February 2009, the company was yet again a “Beacon” for bad PR as it introduced an updated Terms of Service (Tos) for its entire community of users. We the people responded with defiance and vigor and the company retracted its new language, reverted to the previous ToS, and listened to the valuable feedback that poured in from the community.

By all accounts, this was the right thing to do.

Today in a blog post entitled, “Governing the Facebook Service in an Open and Transparent Way,” Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg released a publicly influenced iteration of its new terms in draft form and invited the public to provide feedback and input.

“Our main goal at Facebook is to help make the world more open and transparent. We believe that if we want to lead the world in this direction, then we must set an example by running our service in this way. We sat down to work on documents that could be the foundation of this and we came to an interesting realization—that the conventional business practices around a Terms of Use document are just too restrictive to achieve these goals. We decided we needed to do things differently and so we’re going to develop new policies that will govern our system from the ground up in an open and transparent way.”

The company is employing one of the social web’s greatest assets, people. In doing so, Facebook is banking on a new genre of user-generated governance (UGG) to improve brand equity as well as customer interaction and loyalty.

Zuckerberg continued, “Beginning today, we are giving you a greater opportunity to voice your opinion over how Facebook is governed. We’re starting this off by publishing two new documents for your review and comment. The first is the Facebook Principles, which defines your rights and will serve as the guiding framework behind any policy we’ll consider—or the reason we won’t consider others. The second document is the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, which will replace the existing Terms of Use.”

More About the New User Participation Mechanisms:

Transparency and User Input

Facebook will host virtual Town regarding the proposed Principles and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities for 30 days, with the comment period scheduled to close at 12:01 am PDT on March 29. During this time, we have an opportunity to comment on the proposed policy. You can discuss the Principles in this group; and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities in this group.

After the comment period ends, Facebook will review and consider submissions. Facebook will then republish the Principles and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, incorporating any changes it has made. The company will also provide users a summary of the most common and significant comments received, including its response to those comments.

If these documents are approved, then all future policy changes would be subject to notice and comment periods. Facebook would then publish a final policy proposal that reflects the comments received.

Direct Voting

Following the first Town Halls, The Facebook Principles and the Statement of Rights and Responsibilities will be the first set of policies subject to a vote. The vote will be open to all Facebook users active as of February 25, 2009. The results of the vote will be made public and will be binding if more than 30% of all active registered users vote.

If users approve the draft Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, then all future policy changes would be eligible for a vote by users, provided the level of intensity of user interest would justify it. User interest would be determined by the number of users who comment on any proposed change during the comment period.

User Council

Facebook also announced its intention to establish a user council to participate more closely in the development and discussion of policies and practices. As a start, the company indicated that it would invite the authors of the most insightful and constructive comments on the draft documents to serve as founding members of the group.

Creating a Community for Influence

The PR team also created a group within the popular network to communicate more transparently and efficiently with influential voices – those press, analysts, bloggers and pundits who actively cover and analyze the company’s activities and business strategies.

“Welcome to the official group for reporters, bloggers and industry influencers following Facebook. As a member, you will be among the first to learn about new developments at Facebook.”

I believe this move, although long overdue, is a positive step for improving the foundation for future corporate communications and will serve as the epitome and standard for other brands as well as any organization involved in “public relations” and policy making moving forward.

Transparency, genuine intent and proactive communication (in advance of public introduction) will inspire useful and less speculative conversations in the social web. By engaging and involving those who shape the brand perception, Facebook and companies who follow suit, will improve the foundation for important relationships and ultimately set the stage to proactively steer the interpretation of future activity and positively steer brand awareness and resonance.

The Dawn of User Generated Governance

Facebook is serving as one of the most prominent examples of socialized media in action and is building one of the world’s largest new networks dedicated to changing, and ultimately enhancing, how we communicate and interact with each other, and also how we build, nurture, and even define online relationships.

As content contributors and relationship managers, we’re proactively investing in the social economy and Facebook is among the most vital global exchanges for earning a more equitable individual and corporate brand – determined by the capital we net as a result of our interaction within Facebook and also across the Social Web.

We become influencers.

Crowdsourcing policy change or any activity that involves the public it serves is the future of the social web. We’ll see increased activity and transparency from corporations to small businesses to local and national government agencies – all the way to the White House.

Companies in general often underestimate the ability to catalyze a public response – whether positive or negative. Control is but a mere illusion. It is the recognition of this stature, associated public responsibility, and the corresponding cause and effect as it relates to people specifically that will force the rapid evolution of outward and inward Public Relations policies and practices to improve interaction, instill trust, and engender champions.

This evolution will humanize the entire process of development, communication and support, commencing with the creation or iteration of a product, service, or policy, followed by the public introduction of the news and information, as well as the associated response – measured by company engagement, public sentiment and ultimately relationships.

It is this realization that will inspire a new era of crowd-sourced brands as companies embrace the value and potential of the people who define not only the health, state, and future of its population, but also serve as its community ambassadors to the rest of the world.

Related Posts on PR 2.0:
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Bernardo A. Huberman, Daniel M. Romero and Fang Wu of the Social Computing Laboratory at HP Labs conducted an in-depth study of the relationships that power Twitter. The team recently released its report, “Social networks that matter: Twitter under the microscope.”

The abstract:

Scholars, advertisers and political activists see massive online social networks as a representation of social interactions that can be used to study the propagation of ideas, social bond dynamics and viral marketing, among others. But the linked structures of social networks do not reveal actual interactions among people. Scarcity of attention and the daily rhythms of life and work makes people default to interacting with those few that matter and that reciprocate their attention. A study of social interactions within Twitter reveals that the driver of usage is a sparse and hidden network of connections underlying the “declared” set of friends and followers.

The paper captures the definition of online relationships in the Social Web and why they are inherently ambient and not intimate as opposed to those we maintain in the real world. In life, we embrace those relationships that are mutually beneficial and not necessarily one-sided.

In social networks, however, many factors are present that impact the social graph as well as the ebb and flow of information and ultimately dictate what becomes a top trending topic, who garners relative authority, and also what goes viral.

According to the report, “A link between any two people does not necessarily imply an interaction between them. As we showed in the case of Twitter, most of the links declared within Twitter were meaningless from an interaction point of view. Thus the need to find the hidden social network; the one that matters when trying to rely on word of mouth to spread an idea,
a belief, or a trend.”

The intentions of Social Networks and Micro Communities (such as Twitter) were genuine and innovative as they attempted to improve communication, sharing, and connectivity between friends, family, associates. The new social economy also aspired the building of bridges between the previously disconnected and interspersed relationships that join friends of a friend (FOAF).

What has evolved however, is so much more than the connection of friends and friends of friends. Social Networks have created a parallel friend/follower archetype that injects a homologous top-down network where individuals not only connect with those they know, but also with those who are interested in following their online activity, and not necessarily with the expectation of reciprocation. This injects a new dynamic into online social relationships, one that facilitates and fosters a less personal, but still meaningful engagement, creating an ambient, persona-audience interconnection.

In an attempt to measure influence while revealing relationships on Twitter, Benedikt Koehler developed Twitter Friends. Koehler’s application is by far the most compelling and valuable analysis tool for measuring the @-crowd or “the relevant net,” those people that any given user converses with most often.

He observes, “The number of people you follow on Twitter is not the whole truth. It’s more interesting [to see] who you are talking to whether you are following them or not. It [is] not a connection-based network but a performance-based network.”

Revealing the Hidden Network – The Outbound Relevant Net

Using TwitterFriends to visualize the outbound relevant net for someone, in this case me, on Twitter, here’s a snapshot of those I most recently conversed with in the public timeline:

This is what’s called the “Hidden Network,” but it’s not representative of the whole story. This map merely represents a moment in time where context and related events connected individuals and therefore formed a transient first-level map of contextual relations or conversations.

The Inbound Relevant Net – Public Conversations @username

The followers and followers of followers that consistently, and loyally, RT, @, promote, or cite (tweet) excerpts of content related to a particular username is a far more compelling revelation into the true influence and authority of a relevant network – one that is powered by both parallel and divergent factors associated with outbound conversations sourced from the host ID.

Using TwitterFriends to visualize the inbound network as it relates to @briansolis, let’s compare the corresponding map to that of the Relevant Net above:

Both reveal valuable information as they transform hidden networks into visual maps of contextual relations and associated influence for deeper analysis. But to assume online social influence or connectivity is limited to only the above networks, incoming or outgoing, is insular.

Contextual Networks

I suggest we inject another dynamic into the equation, one that in my opinion, weighs more than the conversation quotient that measures the hidden network of those you (or any username) message in public – whether inbound or outbound. Whether or not these conversations are intended to elicit a response directly from a source or @username, the orbiting dialog around a particular person and the topic of conversation is paramount. We’re seeing this increasing level of shared behavior in the practice of RT (retweeting) on Twitter or “liking” on Facebook or Friendfeed. The public sharing of relevant content introduced by any given individual sparks conversations across social graphs with or without the formal participation of the original contributor. This exchange changes based on the content that’s introduced to the public.

This is what I call the Influence Factor (IF). It is a related network that connects second, third-level and sequential friends and friends of friends (FOFs) that are bound by topic and time.

The Backchannel

Perhaps the most accurate Relevant Net that truly documents actual relationships is The Backchannel – those individuals whom someone directly engages behind the scenes.

This additional, but no less relevant, hidden phenomena is the explicit exchange of content, a private request, or an implicit action that catalyzes the sharing of information, content, or ideas across multiple, distinct social graphs to directly influence and catalyze the friends of those trusted social beacons as well as the progression levels of the friends of friends effect.

The Social Economy

In day-to-day online conversations, content exchange and reciprocity are the currencies that finance the Social Economy. This entire discussion is true and constant whether focused on Twitter or traditional social networks such as Facebook or MySpace.

A social network is not necessarily bound by relationships as much as it is driven by the exchange of shared ideas and information through a one-to-one and one-to-many conversation that is inclusive of top-down, bottom-up, inside-out, and outside-in peer-to-peer interaction.

Many of us forge relationships and engage in online conversations unlike those we maintain in the real world.

The Ties that Bind

Source

We’re bound by context and it is under these circumstances, the relevant network actively transforms in each of the scenarios above.

The ties that bind us together in online networks aren’t intrinsically dictated by people, but instead by constant as well as shifting contextual themes that unite us. It forms the foundation for a different dynamic for engagement and a new definition of relationships.

The individual social graph is then networked by the common interests of people as they relate to specific dialogue over time and also in the moment, and thus, it’s always expanding and contracting. We identify uniquely with different individuals across varying topics. A true social graph and the relationships that define it are constantly influx and measurable only as snapshots tied to subjects frozen in time.

It is for this reason, that we should also create and analyze contextual maps based on the themes that bring us together.

Therefore keywords, not necessarily those conversations we host or “@” in aggregate, are the primary research criterion when analyzing the connection and interaction between individuals and groups to more accurately identify and chart a “contextual map” that visualizes the distinct relationships united by commonality, affinity, and/or loyalty.

Viral marketing, videos, content, “insert keyword here,” as governed by an identifiable and formulaic process and Relevant Net, technically become myths. It’s people and their shifting network of relationships combined with the extended reach of their contextually-based friends’ networks that can make something viral or make someone influential within specific social realms.

Everything starts with listening and observation – a bit of digital anthropology if you will – in order to assess and understand diverse cultures, relationships, behavior, and dynamic influence, as well as the migration and impact of content, across the relevant net.

A connection-based network now also becomes a performance-based network. But metrics, maps, and hidden networks aside, the culture of social networks is cultivating a new breed of influence and connections that tie us to more than those we know in the real world, but also those whom we connect with because of what we represent through our online personae.

How does this change how you view and manage important relationships if at all?

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This post highlights the nuances associated with crisis communications and not the merit of either case.

In the era of socialized media, brands and businesses are now vulnerable to a new era of influencers – their customers.

But what happens when the community that championed consumer experiences is accused of exploiting them to extort advertising dollars from the businesses affected by the reviews?

User generated reviews aren’t necessarily a brand new concept, epinions, Amazon, among any others have provided dedicated outlets for customers to share their experiences over the years so that other consumers could heed the words of their peers before making a purchase. The ability to integrate reviews at the point of purchase empowered consumers to contribute content as well as help them make more informed decisions – before the purchase.

Enter Yelp.com.

Yelp is an Amazon reviews fused with the Yellow Pages of local services and businesses. It empowered patrons and consumers alike to share experiences and sentiment associated with businesses, by locale, with other yelpers. Yahoo, City Guide, Trip Advisor, and other online properties have offered similar capabilities for a while, but Yelp connected people and experiences and built a dedicated community around them – whereas the other services organized experiences tied to somewhat isolated and explicit search results. Yelp connected people based on interests while giving them a voice that collectively could, in theory, influence a business to grow, adapt, participate, and learn.

Initially, businesses gasped at the popularity of Yelp. Most weren’t quite sure how to react – and still don’t to this day. Was it a threat? Was it wrong to empower customers to share negative and positive reviews together? Many businesses under estimated the socialization and amplification of experiences, and attempted to suppress them rather than address them. Others assumed the role of patrons and raved about their own services hoping to balance negative experiences or influence future contributions instead of simply embracing and responding to individuals, and/or evolving because of the interaction.

The same platform that can provide small businesses with visibility, a collaborative community, and new revenue opportunities can also affect their bottom line through negative commentary.

Now approaching 23 million unique visitors every month, it continues to change everything.

This week, the tables were turned, when Yelp found itself the victim of a bad review. The East Bay Express published what actually could be considered an exposé of the company, practically accusing certain salespersons of practicing what the piece dramatically referred to as “Extortion 2.0.” Essentially, the author, Kathleen Richards, interviewed several local businesses that claimed Yelp applied strong-arm sales tactics to exchange the promotion of good reviews and the elimination of negative commentary for advertising dollars to the tune of $300 per month.

As a practitioner of total transparency and just good business, Jeremy Stoppelman, CEO of Yelp, responded with an impressive blog post.

If the story ended there, we’d have a textbook case of what to do when confronted with bad PR.

However, The East Bay Express’ detailed six page article didn’t just accuse a highly popular company of unethical behavior, it humanized the alleged victims through their fearful narration of Yelp’s purported blackmail attempts over time. It engendered empathy.

And, Jeremy didn’t just write a blog post in defense of his company, he also fired back with a defense worthy of a legal drama, at one point, insinuating that Kathleen’s use of anonymous sources was beneath the standards of journalism and therefore less credible.

So let’s back up a bit and analyze this scenario from a communications and crisis response viewpoint.

Whether or not you agree with the practice of referencing anonymous sources is moot. The East Bay Express still published a piece that references several businesses who came forward, but chose to remain anonymous as they were literally afraid of any potential acts of retribution from Yelp.com. For the record, citing anonymous sources is a long-standing and respected practice in journalism and is protected by law in order to uncover the truth behind many stories

The article states, “During interviews with dozens of business owners over a span of several months, six people told this newspaper that Yelp sales representatives promised to move or remove negative reviews if their business would advertise. In another six instances, positive reviews disappeared — or negative ones appeared — after owners declined to advertise.”

The case was reinforced with a condemning statement, “Several business owners likened Yelp to the Mafia, and one said she feared its retaliation. “

The themes are reiterated throughout the verbose feature and actually serve as the foundation for Yelp to develop a strategic and meaningful response.

- Many business owners believe Yelp employees use such reviews as sales leads.

- Several suspect Yelp employees of writing them.

- Yelp does pay some employees to write reviews of businesses that are solicited for advertising. In fact, the publication uncovered one documented instance where a business owner who refused to advertise received a negative review from a Yelp employee.

Whether these accusations are right or wrong, they’re incredibly defamatory. And, if the reporter indeed interviewed dozens of fearful companies who shared this sentiment, perhaps there’s credence in the experiences. Either way, there’s a perception that certain Yelp salespersons are crossing the line. And, in the world of online social influence, perception can be reality.

It’s what you say about you, what they hear, how they share that story, and how you weave that insight into future conversations that underscore meaningful community-driven efforts. And, everything starts with listening and observing in order to maintain relevance to the very communities we wish to reach, learn from, and inspire.

In Yelp’s response, Jeremy cited an everyday local business to deconstruct Kathleen’s case, “As you can see while the first review is positive (and very clearly marked up) the reviews below are neutral and yes even negative. This is quite normal and if you look around the site and click on some ads you’ll find plenty of advertisers with reviews that look like… well, everybody else. We showed this evidence to Kathleen, but it didn’t find prominent placement in her story.”

He continued by sharing three additional supporting points that he hoped would discount the article.

1 – Kathleen relied on five anonymous sources and only three non-anonymous sources. Use of anonymous sources is fraught with hazards and is strongly discouraged by most editors, as explained by the American Journalism Review.

2 – Sadly at least one of the named sources is affiliated with a business that has spent a considerable amount of time and energy trying to mislead customers like you with fake reviews. Below is a sample of some of the many reviews we’ve removed from Sofa Outlet’s page…

3 – The accusatory thrust of article is essentially overturned at the very end.

But, what if those dozens of companies, irrespective of anonymity, actually experienced a fraction of their claims? After all, the COO of Yelp conceded in the article that there may be a miscommunication depending on the conversational skills of the individual sales rep. The pitch can be open to interpretation, “Do I think that sales reps call are saying, ‘We’ll move your bad reviews?’ No. But I think it could be true — when you get to pick your favorite review and put it to the top, if I said it a little different way, it might sound a little nefarious.”

This is the social web and not only is perception reality; it’s highly influential when not proactively engaged and steered.

Remember, the Motrin Mom controversy? Whether or not the Motrin Mom’s were justified in their reaction, it still reached a boiling point fueled by the absence of a corporate response or acknowledgment.

In every negative discussion there exists an opportunity to change perception and also learn and improve the communications and service infrastructure – winning customer support along the way.

I weighed in:

The Twitter community responded:

effbentley: their blog post was a pretty weak response imho

RunningRebel: it’s not just the sales tactics that bothered me. Crazier is that they pay people to seed reviews! Is anything legit there?

erikbratt: Think the Yelp response is effective, changing initial opinion. Interesting how cos. can now respond directly to neg. news

leslysimmons: re: yelp… sounds like they have some credibility work to do, and this is coming from an Elite Yelper!

kfleisher: I think that Yelp’s blog post was a great way to address the issue. transparent and informative.

Mjausson: Seems that EBE’s coverage of Yelp has had the desired effect. Time will tell if they return to their old ways.

Serena: I’m surprised. Is it true? Is it not? Do I still use yelp? I’m actually torn

slazarus: I like the fact a senior person responded directly to the article. Most companies ignore bad PR hoping is would go away

journalistics: they get points in my book for addressing the issue head on – “we don’t do this” and trying to provide proof via pictures

KPfefferle: Strange response, not sure Yelp really addressed the issue. The counterattacks alone make me think they’re hiding something.

However, this exchange published in the Wall Street Journal between Susan Mernit, Jeremy Stoppelman, and Schlomo Rabinowitz paints a very different picture…

Susan Mernit: Do Yelp sales reps sell bad review removal to local biz? East Bay Express says mebbe, yes

Stoppelman: @susanmernit We don’t: http://tinyurl.com/bbuvfa

Schlomo Rabinowitz: @susanmernit Yes, Yelp has offered me monthly plans where I can bury negative reviews for @houseofshields They are scummy; CitySearch2.0

Stoppelman: @Schlomo We have no such program, never have, never will.

The best defense is not being “defensive,” nor is it simply powered by going on the offensive. Bottom line, there’s always room for improvement. Communicate that message and watch the tone and flow of the conversations shift to your favor.

It’s the process of not only using the same tools that your community is using to share their opinions and emotions across the social web, it’s the ability to breathe it in and demonstrate acknowledgment – regardless of frequency.

Yes, the blog post was an excellent start. Yes stating, “You don’t do that” was reaffirming. But obviously, there are those that attest to the likelihood of miscommunication. Perhaps an opportunity exists in extending the COO’s acceptance that, “Yelp could do a better job of training our sales team to be crystal clear about what you get and don’t get.”

- Simply say that you’re looking into it or ensuring that training eliminates any likelihood of miscommunication

- Promote an official support network within Yelp

- Solicit anonymous feedback, but ask for specifics under a proactive immunity program

- Communicate information and status regularly

- Recruit and deploy a special service-focused community team (perhaps the Yelp Elite) and document the tonality and frequency of related conversations and impressions in a Conversation Index before direct engagement

- Then, participate in those conversations through genuine, helpful, and non-confrontational dialog. Document the results and effects of the team’s outreach as compared to the original index

- Monitor blog posts and blog comments, spark new dialog to demonstrate that you’re listening and learning

Participation is a powerful catalyst for positive reform and also garnering additional insight and support. Maybe it’s simply relegated to one salesperson or team. Maybe it’s a miscommunication from sales training to direct sales calls. Either way, the brand reputation was called into question and in all reality; it won’t be the last time. It’s the actions of the individuals representing the brand that define brand character measured ultimately by the trust and relationships that forge, break, or strain customer and influencer relationships.

In the court of public opinion, you’re guilty until proven innocent.

What would you do differently?

UPDATE: Stowe Boyd discusses the extortion claims and the potential fallout that possibly looms ahead of the popular reviews site. Yelp attempts to dispel the myths and also claims that the EBE story is unraveling. Yelp, this is bigger than your current defensive strategy. A simple, “We’re looking into this as your trust is paramount to our success. This is not anything we endorse or support. If someone is indeed communicating or reinforcing this inaccurate perception, we find it and stop it immediately.”

As Stowe says, “Even more important, reality can be reality. If Yelp is in fact — directly or indirectly — using strongarm tactics they should deal with the consequences, which may include legal action. I hope there is a DA out there somewhere willing to look into these allegations. And we, the social media technorati, should treat this on a much more serious level than the PR fallout. If a company like Yelp acts in the way that has been alleged, we should call for a boycott of the company, and an investigation to get to the bottom of this.”

@queenofspain chimes in at /Message, “Regardless of what comes to pass, it’s an issue and it should be blogged and looked into. Is this a matter of a digerati turning their heads to the sweatheart start up? I’m curious.”

Related articles on PR 2.0:

- Reinventing Crisis Communications for the Social Web
- Comcast Cares and Why Your Business Should Too – The Socialization of Service
- Crisis Communications: Facebook and the Reality of Your Online Content
- Crisis Communications: Ariel Waldman vs. Twitter, When TOS Doesn’t Apply to You
- Crisis Communications: Mark Zuckerberg Listens and Responds to Beacon Crisis
- The Art of Conversation - It’s About Listening Not Marketing
- Free ebook: The Essential Guide to Social Media
- Free ebook: Customer Service, The Art of Listening and Engagement Through Social Media

Shot at SXSWi 2008

A few news outlets reached out to me for comment regarding the uproar sparked by the recent change to Facebook’s Terms of Service (ToS). It inspired a public response as I am not only someone who spends a significant amount of time in the online social field studying digital anthropology and new marketing, I’m also a willing participant in and contributor to the Facebook economy.

So, why is everyone upset?

When you read the new ToS, it’s actually quite alarming…

You hereby grant Facebook an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to (a) use, copy, publish, stream, store, retain, publicly perform or display, transmit, scan, reformat, modify, edit, frame, translate, excerpt, adapt, create derivative works and distribute (through multiple tiers), any User Content you (i) Post on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof subject only to your privacy settings or (ii) enable a user to Post, including by offering a Share Link on your website and (b) to use your name, likeness and image for any purpose, including commercial or advertising, each of (a) and (b) on or in connection with the Facebook Service or the promotion thereof.

If you were to summarize this section, it basically screams that your content is theirs to use when and how they want.

Naturally, bloggers, reporters, analysts, and influential Facebook pundits collectively responded in outrage and surprise. The news continues to draw angst, frustration, and also sparking debates as it permeates real world communities outside of Techmeme. Famed celebrity gossip blogger, Perez Hilton recently called for a boycott to the globally dominating social network.

The reaction is reminiscent of the unbridled public objection to the ill-designed and communicated Beacon 1.0 marketing/advertising program. In that case, the public rightfully forced a response from the elusive and somewhat quiet Mark Zuckerberg and ultimately, a change to the Beacon policy.

Now, confused, somewhat hostile, and critical Facebook constituents have solicited a very human response from Zuckerberg. In it, he attempts to provide a deeper explanation and meaningful rationale behind the ToS modification. It is this response that is potentially difficult for everyday people to comprehend and accept as it is a stark reminder that the social web, is well, social.

“People want full ownership and control of their information so they can turn off access to it at any time. At the same time, people also want to be able to bring the information others have shared with them—like email addresses, phone numbers, photos and so on—to other services and grant those services access to those people’s information. These two positions are at odds with each other. There is no system today that enables me to share my email address with you and then simultaneously lets me control who you share it with and also lets you control what services you share it with.”

Mark Zuckerberg basically attempts to extinguish the flames of his critics by asking us to “trust his team” that our content will not be used in any way that we would disapprove. The ToS language is explicit in its design and ambition that could serve as the flash point for something not yet visible or public. However, their is a potentially disastrous risk involved for any company with a multi-billion dollar valuation and how it uses personal content. For this reason, Facebook’s actions are governed by the market and its ability to dictate the future success or failure of the network.

But to be honest, we should be worried less about how Zuckerberg and co. will use our content when compared to the bigger threat and perils associated with publicly sharing content in general.

His explanation essentially serves as a wake up call to users of all social networks and other forms of social media that what we share online is now shared not only with those we know and trust, but those we don’t know. And, trust is moot when content can freely traverse network to network and person to person without feedback, knowledge or insight until something or someone potentially forces a new revelation wrapped in unsolicited context. Trust gives way to blind intent.

What you share online, from pictures to updates to virtual gifts to videos, paints a picture of who you are and what you represent, regardless of your intentions. Everything accumulates into one vault that ultimately represents your social capital and Facebook, and any other social network – including Twitter – is merely providing you with the ability to define the impressions you feed, the perception you shape, and the personal brand that results from your online participation and contributions across the entire social web.

Once you share content online, control of its course and interpretation is traded for the hope of a positive public response and the ensuing support it may bring. The reality is that it’s an exchange which requires calculation as content can reside on the web for years.

As Kara Swisher so brilliantly educates us, “Here’s the key definition of interactive: ‘Mutually or reciprocally active. That means once you send something to others, it is out there in cyberspace forever, never ever to return. And that goes double on social networking sites, where–let’s be honest–people egregiously overshare and then get all righteous when it is explained to them that sharing means, um, sharing. As in: You cannot take it back, if you have shared with 476 of your closest “friends,” your bikini shots from Cabo.”

I was specifically asked if this change to the ToS wil affect the traffic and popularity of Facebook and other social networks.

My answer?

I hope so.

I would hope that these networks flourish because of their innovation for facilitating new dynamics for public and personal dialog and their transparency to frequently remind us that what we share online really belongs to the community in which we share it.

Facebook and other social networks directly influence their future as measured by their actions and public reaction, which ultimately engenders the community support they deserve.

In the end, it is our responsibility to protect ourselves and our online persona. We must also realize that in the process of sharing and participating online, our content is shared within our seemingly protected inner circle of friends, but the reality is that it also potentially reaches the extended networks that connect our social graph and the graphs that link our friends of friends, their friends of friends, and so on.

In the Social Web, we are now brand managers.

Related Posts on PR 2.0:
- Ariel Waldman vs. Twitter, When TOS Doesn’t Apply to You
- The Battle for Your Social Status
- The Socialization of Your Personal Brand
- In the Social Web, We Are All Brand Managers
- Facebook is the Hub for Your Personal Brand
- Facebook is a Beacon for Bad PR
- Mark Zuckerberg Listens and Responds to Beacon Crisis
- Beware the Things You Share in the World of Social Media

Twitter continues to inspire creativity and innovation among third-party developers. The latest useful solution is Twibs, a directory of businesses using Twitter to communicate with consumers, peers, and tastemakers.

Twitter is a conversation platform and it continues to fundamentally transform how people communicate with each other. Along with other socialized channels of online interaction, Twitter has also re-ignited the long-forgotten art of listening to and communicating with customers.

What started with forums and online reviews, then evolved to include blog comments, groups, social networks, and now micro communities, businesses are once again embracing the methodologies associated with excellent customer service – after all, the customer is always right. And, the customer is now potentially more influential than ever before.

Twibs is currently tracking roughly 4,500 brands on Twitter as well as associated promotions that they’re running within the popular micro community.

According to the founders, “Twibs was created by a small group of people with one purpose: Give twitter users a place to find businesses on twitter. We are big believers in the power of twitter to connect customers with businesses. We’re working on making it easy for consumers to find businesses, both local and national.”

Ways you can help:

- Add a new business
- Manage your own

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Related Posts on PR 2.0:

- Finding the Tweet Spot – Top Tips for Building Twitter Relationships
- Twitter Bowl 2009: And the Winners are…
- The Battle for Your Social Status
- How Dell Deals with Twitter
- Need a Dictionary for Twitter?
- Introducing MicroPR, A Resource for Journalists, Analysts, & Bloggers on Twitter
- Twitter Tools for Communication and Community Professionals
- Is Twitter a Viable Conversation Platform
- Is FriendFeed the Next Conversation Platform
- State of the Twittersphere

Twitter is an incredible medium for listening, learning, and sharing. And, for those in the media and communications industries, it’s also a rapid and immersive education in meaningful, two-way micro messaging that helps both parties walk away with a new form of value.

While there are no shortage of posts that offer tips and tricks to help you boost your Twitter followers, it is by no means a popularity contest. The surmounting ploys, friending races, theatrics, and contests to tempt those into following individuals can be fun, but short-sighted, when in fact the true technique for building relationships, regardless of volume, is the genuine act of earning and investing in them. It’s rooted in selflessness and rewarded with a rich stream of relevance and a network of valuable contacts that can also help you in the real world.

Twitter is a unique and vibrant community that thrives because of your participation and interaction. The Twitter culture evolves and matures though the greater collective of those who invest in the caliber and meaningful dynamic of the micro exchanges and relationships that we earn and forge everyday.

Our experience is defined by what we share, learn, and discover, what and who we follow and spotlight, and how we give back to those who help us and others.

Brevity speaks volumes.

So, to give back to the Twitter community and invest in building more mutually beneficial relationships, here are the top tips to pay back and pay it forward on Twitter:

- Twitter asks what you are doing. Instead answer the question, What do you think we are better off knowing right now? Other questions to consider…What/who inspires you? What just happened? What am I missing? What did you learn today? What’s out on the Web worth sharing on Twitter?

- Curate and share helpful and applicable content on the stream and apply relevance and/or context. Offer perspective. You are unique and your ideas, opinions, and experience can help or offer value to those who are learning.

- The public should feel included in almost everything you share.

- Think about your tweets in aggregate and assess the picture you’re painting through your last 20 updates. To get a picture of how you’re perceived, visit www.twitter.com/yourusername and take a moment to see your tweets through the eyes of a visitor.

- Build a brand theme that complements who you are and what you do.

- Consider establishing a username that people can connect with and remember. Many either use their name or are currently changing their ID to reflect their personal or corporate brand. The Twitter culture is much different than the culture associated with IM (where aliases are much more common).

- Earn a reputation and authority based on the niche you establish for yourself, reinforced by the tweets your post and share. Dan Schawbel has tips to help you do this more effectively.

- Engage with individuals in the public timeline around a given topic. But, draw a line between a public @message and a DM. Not everyone needs to follow your 1:1 dialog in the public timeline, especially as the volume increases everyday. Some things are just better left for the backchannel. If it’s an A and B conversation, your followers may “C” there way out of it.

- Try to thank or acknowledge, in some way, those who RT your updates or promote your outside activity. Personally, this is an area where I’m working on devoting more time. Everyone who takes the time out of their busy day to share something you posted deserves recognition.

- Ask questions and share the results. Twitter is a magnificent forum for sparking conversations that pull responses from your friends as well as from friends of friends. Most vanish without closure or results. Share highlights and observations.

- Pay it forward. This is important. About two months ago, I Tweeted, “Remember, Always Pay it Forward and Never Forget to Pay it Back…it’s how you got here and it defines where you’re going.”

- Don’t just follow the Twitterati. Find and follow everyone who can help you learn and improve your skills as well as the value of your overall network. I recommend using TweepSearch, which is the first search engine that allows anyone to search and discover relevant Twitter bios and location information using keywords. It’s ideal for learning more about those following any given username as well. Mr. Tweet is your personal networking assistant on Twitter. It helps you easily build meaningful relationships by looking through your network and tweets. Mr. Tweet will then suggest new and relevant tweeps and existing followers you should also follow.

- 120 is the new 140. Retweeting is one of the most valuable currencies in the Twitter economy. Leave room in your tweets to make it easier for someone to RT and also add a short reaction or endorsement. The magic number seems to hover around 120 characters.

- Listen AND respond to those who offer insight tied to keywords that are important to you, not just those who send messages in public with your @username. Follow conversations related to the keywords that are important to your ecosystem. Make new friends. Offer value and insight to those conversations related to your industry. Give back to those seeking guidance.

- Don’t share anything you wouldn’t want a co-worker, your boss, friends, or family to see.

- Learn from your tweets by analyzing the statistics associated with your activity. The criteria associated with defining Influence and authority on Twitter are still debatable. However, your numbers of associated followers, RTs, and unfollowers, are undeniable. Tools such as TwitterCounter provides an interactive chart that chronicles the quantity of Twitter followers for any given username. TwitterFriends is one of the most compelling analytical tools for identifying relevant conversationalists, revealing conversation patterns,
and visualizing material conversation networks, by Twitter ID. On the oth
er side of the equation, Qwitter is a humbling and instantaneous solution for honing your updates to better match what your friends and followers hope to see or not see. Qwitter will send an email to you when someone unfollows you and will link the action to the most recent tweet that you posted.

- Host or attend tweetups, conferences, events, etc., where your Twitter friends and contacts are participating. It’s important to remember, as it’s easy to forget, that relationships count online and in the real world. Investing in meaningful relationships requires in-person engagement over time.

- Share visuals that capture your attention or better help you tell a story, as long as it will appeal to your community. I use Twitpic and BrightKite.

- Respond to negative criticism as well as the accolades. There may be points worth considering to embrace and visualize a broader perspective. Those who respectfully push back, contribute to what we learn, while also push things forward. But, sometimes there’s also a point of diminishing return. Certain individuals are steadfast in their views and it’s their right to maintain an opposing viewpoint. Beware: Don’t feed the trolls.

- Be helpful.

- Make this about conversations, sharing, and learning. Tweetcasters and self-promoters are eventually tuned out.

- Ensure that your bio is representative of the brand you wish to convey. In addition to your bio, consider strategically branding your Twitter background as well. Here’s how…

- If you witness a series of RT’s regarding a post that sings to you, consider following the source.

- This one is a bit of a controversial subject. Do you follow everyone who follows you back? Some say yes, some say no. It’s a personal choice and a topic that usually ignites a passionate discussion. I treasure the tweets of those I follow and everyday, I follow new people whom I believe to add value to my Twitter stream. It’s important to listen to those you follow and regard and by amplifying the quantity of people simply to return the favor of a follow, makes it incredibly difficult to actually hear anyone. There are those who follow everyone and that may work for them. There are also those who create an alternative account to simply listen to those individuals whom they appreciate and respect. PeopleBrowsr is an incredible Twitter service that allows you to follow everyone back, but also create a column for “VIPs” to see only their tweets on your visual dashboard. In the end, do what’s right for you and your network of friends, followers, and mentors. This is something that I’m thinking about quite a bit these days.

- Relationships, whether they’re on Twitter, Facebook, or any other social network, are held to the same guiding and ethical principles of those we cherish in the real world. Think of them as investments where the ROI is intelligence, social capital, respect, trust, and friendship. Individuals on both sides must realize mutual benefits and advantages for cultivating short-term or long-term relationships. You are equally responsible for contributing ongoing value.

But don’t just take my word for it. Leave your tip in the comments section below…

Also, I took the conversation to Twitter and here are some of the highlights(I tried to include everyone, apologies in advance if I missed something):

Question: If you could share 1 tip to build new & more meaningful relationships on Twitter, what would it be?

Be Engaged @VirtueIMC

be yourself. it’s the only sustainable voice you’ve got. @alexknowshtml

business comes second. @spotcher

always (or at least most of the time) reply back to people when they @ reply you @pepstein

Adopt the Tit-for-Tat version of the Golden Rule. And always say “please” and “thank you.” @cheeky_geeky

don’t get hung up on the numbers, instead…focus on genuine connections. More isn’t always better. @promodiva

just think it goes back to what Doc Searls once said: “screw popularity, just make yourself useful” @triciabuck

Give support. @SavvyAuntie

Be honest. @justinmwhitaker

Make the effort to help followers and followees out (not just to the twelebs!) @seanfee80

Personally send a DM thanking every new person who follows you. @DixonTam

help people solve their problems. don’t just twisten (twitter listen) but also respond @healthworldweb

Take ur time; treat it like the adventure it is. Other people are so fascinating! Enjoy it! @ROICoaching

Make it a habit to respond to people not just to what they post @Taiwriter

Don’t try to be anything but yourself. @jtnt

Simple, just TALK to people. Isn’t that how you create relationships in person? @GlazrKenndyCopy

Follow people within your industry and also follow people with similar interests. @pliadesigns

I’d change the prompt question of Twitter to: “What has just captured your attention?” @barbaranixon

express all the different sides of your personality, don’t just twitter about one topic @woodlandalyssa

would say reach out specific requests & support via DMs, just do not auto DM as it feels careless, meaningless @PinkOliveFamily

It matters much more who you’re following than who is following you. (Don’t get me wrong – I love my followers!) @jfraga

Eagerly follow industry peers. No matter where you are in your career you can learn from others. Share ideas and opinions. @rachelakay

It is about engagement – from all sides… I call it the world’s largest cocktail party conversation for clients @VirtueIMC

Find a way to meet in person. Conference, events in your local area, while traveling. And make the effort to follow through. @sloane

Respond to direct questions/feedback. This might not build bigger followings but would build better links across the ‘brands’. @jenajean

engage, don’t just be a listener or a monologuist, engage, engage, engage. And don’t mass follow. Ugh! @tyamdm

Be genuine. You are what you are – be that same person on Twitter not someone you are trying to be. @keithdon

share relevant, new content. Engage in dialogue. @gogocomm

find interesting people and engage them. Ask them questions about themselves, their projects, be genuinely interested in them. @gingerw

Be real, be transparent, don’t sell, don’t fall into the follower ego thing. @davidfeldt

find out more about your followers and try to engage them in converstaions. like this one. @kmvictory

Be open minded. You never know who is going to be a valuable relationship until you start interacting, listening and learning. @aarond22

To never be afraid to put a bit of yourself and your real thoughts out there when Twittering,no matter how drastic or dynamic(: @themissingsock

Notice. Really notice. Whether you’re an A-lister with a huge blog/ gig. Or new-ish. Notice who’s supporting you & return love. @Ed

be yourself in all the glory 140 letters let you be… @dgourlay

Like any relationship building activity, I’d say “Listen, engage and converse” is extremely important – especially “Listen”. @zubintavaria

it might help if u actually “talked” 2 them instead of adding people like they’re poker chips.. Have at least 1 meaningful convo @MarcMeyer

answer the questions others are asking. @gbender26

Hottwiitertips says, “GET REAL.” to make twitter more meaningful. What does that mean anyway, “meaningful?” @jmacofearth

Stop calling your followers…”followers.” @jaculynn

Attend Tweet-Ups, without a doubt. Physical interaction is still the key to connecting. @andrewlockhart

share your connections @1day4me

Meeting people IRL is the best way to have meaningful twitter relationships. I’m excited to meet tweeps upcoming events. @khartline

Listen, react, converse, and be informative. Reply to others’ questions, and ask questions yourselves. @emd5005

Don’t feel obligated to follow everyone who knocks on your virtual door. Sometimes less is more. Take time to read profiles. @TobyDiva

focus on real-life relationships @Jesse

Be curious and talk to people. @JohnCannon

have real convo-tweets with people. Respond to replies always, and keep the convo going. It’s tough to do in 140 characters. @adenasf

Create an “inner circle” or a subset of your subscriptions that you interact with on a regular basis. Feed that stream! @BostonDave

Add as much value as possible in every reply and RT @JodiEchakowitz

always try to give more than you take. @getshust

join the conversation. Meaning don’t always be a watcher: share, discuss, react, repeat. @jacquelynmogol

2 Build meaningful relationships on Twitter, connect & engage. Don’t just push your info; interaction = trust; It’s addictive 2. @CathyWebSavvyPR

Tip #1-Read the tweets, bio, and any links to see who person is and begin convo on what you find. @3keyscoach

Be authentic: Do not self-censor and do not Be Safe. Numbers are meaningless. @AdRanchJason

Follow people who are unlike you, too. Different industries, different beliefs, different geos, etc @jaculynn

Actually read some of the Tweets from those you follow. I have 1200 followers, but I’d guess 20-30 read my Tweets. @chucklasker

Arrange for a tweetup or phone meeting with interesting tweeps. I’m meeting fab people this way. @3keyscoach

Be seen elsewhere. @MaryannM

do stuff for people: quid pro quo @scriber

introduce my network to people who can benefit from knowing them @ducttape

Add value to other peoples tweets, not only the ones that serve your agenda. Be a giver always. @MikeAbrams

Being honest, direct, and “real”. @MikeMathia

It will ALWAYS be: be yourself…in 140 characters or less, or more, or whatever — just always!!! @SteveRepetti

2-way comm, provide info to help others succeed @relth

i like connecting around specific subjects. as u tweet consistently about one thing you converse with people who do the same @rgujral

Go beyond just using Twitter @rloughery

Give helpful, honest and friendly replies. Many just post their own updates, toot their own horn, and don’t form relationships. @PluginPR

Be authentic: Do not self-censor and do not Be Safe. Numbers are meaningless. @Twensored

Answer questions and offer help because you TRULY want to serve — with no expectation of reciprocation. @baylan

reply to tweets that responate with you – take the next step beyond reading and act, respond, connect @dahawe

only follow the people who mean something to you, mix it up, RTs, Replies, Daily Garbage, Promotion of stuff you care about @ChrisSaad

Direct message about a shared personal interest or helpful info specific to that person’s twitter activity/profile. @katiewinchell
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Related Posts on PR 2.0:

- Twitter Bowl 2009: And the Winners are…
- The Battle for Your Social Status
- How Dell Deals with Twitter
- Need a Dictionary for Twitter?
- Introducing MicroPR, A Resource for Journalists, Analysts, & Bloggers on Twitter
- Twitter Tools for Communication and Community Professionals
- Is Twitter a Viable Conversation Platform
- Is FriendFeed the Next Conversation Platform
- State of the Twittersphere

Connect with Brian Solis on:
Twitter, FriendFeed, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Plaxo, Plurk, Identi.ca, BackType, Posterous, or Facebook
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Have you bought the book or the poster yet? (click below to purchase):

Recently, we discussed the evolution of Twitter and also FriendFeed as they mature into fully interactive conversation ecosystems.

In social media, you’ll most often hear references to the proverbial “conversation” that fuels the dynamic, two-way Web and earns those individuals and brands that invest in it wisely, increased social capital and authority.

Facebook issued a significant announcement that may solidify its platform as the primary dashboard for sharing, responding, and listening to those who comprise your social graph, regardless of network.

“We’re launching several new APIs for Facebook Platform today. These new interfaces open up access to the content and methods for sharing through several Facebook Applications — including Facebook Status, Notes, Links (what we used to call Posted Items), and Video. Specifically, your applications can now directly access all of a user’s status, links, and notes via new methods and FQL calls. Your application will have access to any status, notes, or links from the active user or their friends that are currently visible to the active user. In addition, we’re opening new APIs for you to post links, create notes, or upload videos for the current user, and we’ve made setting a user’s status easier. “

The status update is paramount to social networks. It is the purest and simplest gesture that invites related dialog and in turn, spreads the conversation from the individual social graph to the respective graphs of those who follow each respondent.

By opening up the API for Facebook Status, developers will create a statusphere (new term) not unlike the vibrant Twitterverse that has propelled Twitter not only into the spotlight, but also changed how millions of people, brands, and media properties communicate with others. When combined with Facebook Connect, other communities that foster and feature conversations based on the activity and shared updates of its community may need to think how Facebook’s new and “open” interaction model affects their culture and opportunity.

For those who aren’t yet familiar with Facebook Connect, it is a technical bridge that grants access to partner communities using your Facebook profile/identity. Not only can you log in using one ID, it also sends the associated activity from each respective network back to your activity feed within Facebook for review and commentary from those within your social graph and the corresponding network of your contacts.

Many speculate that Twitter.com as a destination, not Twitter itself, might suffer as a result of Facebook’s progression. Others believe that this spells doom and gloom.

Currently, most discussions on Twitter are fragmented, and while true to its original intent and design, users, and their respective habits and ensuing behavior, are thirsting for something more… After all, the most common complaint from those who truly engage in conversations on Twitter have begged Evan Williams and co. to facilitate threaded dialog directly within Twitter itself – not through a third party app. Facebook and FriendFeed believe this is future of micro communication and already offer threaded discussions.

Alas, Twitter’s greatest asset is also the very fuel for Facebook’s “open” News Feed – its passionate user base. However, Twitter’s unique and untainted culture will thrive and prosper – although its growth factor may be humbled a bit. Twitter’s not going anywhere any time soon though. It will continue to grow and transform interpersonal dialog, attracting hordes of new tweeters in the process. It’s not just a network, it’s becoming a way of life.

It’s not just about where you communicate it’s also about where your friends, associates as well as those whom inspire you interact.

But for Facebook, the release of an API for Status will also grow and incite activity within its already burgeoning network. And, it may represent more of a threat to FriendFeed – in essence, a rich community and associated ecosystem that represented what Facebook should have been all along.

Keep an eye out for interesting applications that initially mimic many applications currently available for Twitter. Facebook will certainly spark a more extensive and remarkable ecosystem with your “status” at the center of the experience.

Other notable dialog on the subject:

Fred Wilson
Nick O’Neill
Eric Eldon
Don Dodge
Marc Canter
Mike Butcher

Related Posts on PR 2.0:

- How Dell Deals with Twitter
- Need a Dictionary for Twitter?
- Introducing MicroPR, A Resource for Journalists, Analysts, & Bloggers on Twitter
- Twitter Tools for Communication and Community Professionals
- Is Twitter a Viable Conversation Platform
- Is FriendFeed the Next Conversation Platform
- State of the Twittersphere
- Facebook is the Hub for Your Personal Brand

Jeremiah Owyang, Chris Heuer, Louis Gray, Guy Kawasaki, and Jesse Stay (founder of SocialToo) and I hosted the second annual Twitter Bowl 2009 during the big game – additional history here.

Jesse Stay worked tirelessly to help us create a scalable and efficient system on SocialToo to track and share votes on Twitter. Thank you Jesse.

Now let’s take a look at the play-by-play and the final score in this year’s Twitter Bowl 2009.

As Michael Pilla stated on Twitter, this could be one of the largest focus groups to hit Twitter yet. Indeed the volume of referring traffic from Twitter to our survey was enough to max out the server to handle the tidal wave of simultaneous visitors.

Here are the top Super Bowl commercials you voted for on SocialToo…

2009 Twitter Bowl Top 10

1 – Transformers
2 – Hulu
3 – Career Builder
4 – Pepsi Max, “I’m Good”
5 – Doritos, “Free Doritos”
6 – Budweiser Clydesdale, “Fetch”
7 – Bridgestone, “Mr. Potatohead”
8 – Budweiser, “Conan O’Brien”
9 – NBC LMAO
10 – Pepsi MacGruber

Let’s compare our Twitter Bowl results to outher traditional polls sourced by Neilsen, USA Today, and TIVO…

Neilsen IAG Ad Ratings

1 – Budweiser, “Fetch”
2 – Doritos, “Crunch”
3 – Doritos, “Crystal Ball”
4 – Pedigree
5 – Careerbuilder.com
6 – Budweiser, “Generations”
7 – Budweiser, “Circus”
8 – Bridgestone, “Astronauts”
9 – NFL, “Usama Young”
10 – Pepsi, “Forever Young”

USA Today

1 – Doritos, “Crystal Ball”
2 – Budweiser, “Circus”
3 – Budweiser, “Fetch”
4 – Bridgestone, “Mr. Potatohead”
5 – Doritos, “Crunch”
6 – Cars.com
7 – Pedigree
8 – Pepsi, Will.I.am, Bob Dylan
9 – Castrol, “Grease Monkeys”
10 – Bud Light, “Meeting”

TIVO

1 – GoDaddy.com: “Enhanced?”
2 – Bud Light: “Summer to Winter”
3 – Careerbuilder.com: “It May Be Time”
4 – Doritos: “Crystal Ball”
5 – Transformers: “Revenge of the Fallen”
6 – Monster.com: “Moose Head”
7 – Bud Light: “Man Thrown out the Window”
8 – Pepsi: “MacGruber/Pepsuber”
9 – Dennys: “Thugs”
10 – Coke Zero: “Mr Polamalu”

As I’ve stated in much of my work on digital anthropology in social networks and micro communities, the associated cultures are unique to each locale. For example, Twitter is still driven by those individuals who reside on the left side of the adoption bell curve.

When you compare the Twitter Bowl results to Neilsen and USA Today (participants who most likely reside in the middle to the right of the bellcurve), the commonalities are obviously divergent. When compared to the TIVO poll, resemblances are clear, perhaps representative of the demographic and psychographic similarities between the user bases.

Analytics

Hosted conversations were tracked and channeled using the hashtag #superbowlads. Between Friday and Monday, we tracked over 1,500 relevant tweets containing “#superbowlads” as they related to the specific discussion we were measuring. This number assumes that the Twitter API was also running normally (which isn’t always the case.)

We also created a special short URL using Poprl (http://poprl.com/FmN) to measure referring traffic from Twitter to the SocialToo survey. We quickly realized that individuals in the first wave of RTs would share our Poprl link intact, but those not exposed to the shortened URL who in turn tweeted or wrote about #superbowlads as well their first wave of retweeters would either select their favorite URL shortener (TinyURL, Bit.ly, etc.) or share the original URL (http://socialtoo.com/survey/view/1221) with their social graph.

According to Poprl:

Over half of the referring traffic to the survey was sourced from Twitter.com with roughly another 25% stemming from Twitturls.com. Facebook News Feeds and the PR 2.0 post were also significant contributors to the survey.

Were the 2009 Super Bowl Ads Disappointing?

As a universal observation, the general public sentiment concurred that ad creativity and engagement overall was much lower this year. Perhaps creative budgets were restricted this year (although creativity isn’t necessarily expensive, sometimes constraint inspires genius and creativity). Maybe it was also a representation of the shared feeling of humbleness and economic sobriety. According to a “lite” follow-up Twitter survey, the numbers support this observation, with most either voting in the middle or towards the lower end of the scale.

Google Analytics sourced from the SocialToo survey indicate that for every one tweet about #superbowlads, three people voted. Engagement also hovered around a whopping 3.5 minutes, most likely due to the fact that that we also captured a dedicated stream of tweets related to the hashtag. It was interesting to read the dialog in a channeled flow.

Also there was a reduction in the gross discussion of the ads this year compared to last year. Many factors contributed to this trend as new, competing threads were pervasive on Twitter related to Super Bowl ads. Also, more people appeared to be more captivated by the game – as the majority of tweets were tied to game activity (as noted by the NY Times examples below).

Thanks to everyone for participating, and we look forward to hosting next year’s Twitter Bowl or perhaps we might have to augment the experience with a Facebook Bowl and FriendFeed Bowl as well.

As a bonus, make sure to visit this expeptional video created by the New York Times that documents keywords placed on a US map during the big game!

Twitter Chatter During the Super Bowl – NY Times

Watch the 2009 Super Bowl commercials online here:

NBC
Hulu
Spike
Superbowl-Ads
Spotbowl
NFL

Related Posts on PR 2.0:

- Anheuser-Busch Debuts AB-Extras.com; Fuses PR & Social Media to Humanize Ads
- How Dell Deals with Twitter
- Need a Dictionary for Twitter?
- Introducing MicroPR, A Resource for Journalists, Analysts, & Bloggers on Twitter
- Twitter Tools for Communication and Community Professionals
- Is Twitter a Viable Conversation Platform
- Is FriendFeed the Next Conversation Platform
- State of the Twittersphere