wisequeen.com

It’s not about the tools it’s still about content

There are now legions of social media evangelists marching all over the globe preaching the message and sending out link after link on Twitter daily. Some of these links are valuable and through them I have found services and things I needed without having to dig. But, and it’s a big but, with all this chatter on twitter, facebook, and the myriad other ways being invented every other day of communicating quickly on line, are we really communicating?

If I go on twitter and say “Hey ho I’m depressed today I lost a contract” for example, that’s a thought and  I’ve put it out there into the twittisphere.

Who is likely to respond to this? The people I want to care? or someone on-line in amongst my followers who feels they must offer some kind of abbreviated response in 140 characters like: “chin up chum and get slaughtered”. Now I could get this  type of vegetative comment from any number of barmen or pizza flippers on any street, in any town.

So what do I want when I go on twitter, like minded souls who might tell me of a contract that I could pitch for? Maybe, but unlikely. I’m more likely to get some rabid political zealots who once again hammer home who I should vote for in the election. Or someone telling me in strings of jargon what applications I simply must use, or an incoherent group of blog links most of which have nothing to do with me, my work, or my lifetime ambitions.

Social media is a great way to get your message out to a wide audience quickly. A new blogpost, an amazing find,  a thought for the day, an event, but it should never replace the deep human need to to communicate with others in a way that satisfies that deep human need to listen and be listened to. So don’t sprout tech jargon, that’s what computers specialise in.

It is only a tool, just as your cell phone and laptop are and can never replace face to face and the contact of a handshake. It is but a prelude to this, or an information source and virtual network.

My last thought? Put something edifying into the twittersphere.

The Somesso conference begins 31st October, follow it to see what industry insiders are saying.

Donna Jackson

Social Communications Specialist

www.wisequeen.com

Wi Fi flying low

I always feel very smug when I go to a conference or event to blog on it. Well, at least I do when I’m in Switzerland,  where many of the media conferences are being held at the moment, for example: Somesso.

Why? Because I have my own portable Swisscom wi fi on a pen that can make my laptop into my moving office.

While others are running to find a wifi spot I’m home and dry.

But outside of the Helvetian paradise I have to wonder why companies promoting conferences and gatherings on Tech., Web 2.0 and media aren’t more geared.

I read a recent post by David Terrar about the recent  Berlin conference here

and I have to agree.

If wi fi is so normal now and part of the landscape, why must we scramble for it so in the Euro Union?

Donna Jackson

Social Communications Specialist

Wisequeen

Are bloggers like joggers?

It seems research has been carried out on the habits of blog readers in Urvine California. Liz Fuller put together a survey on who reads blogs and Wisequeen would like you to take it. Copy and paste into the comments spot and then answer next to each question.

Thanks, we will use the conclusions we come to based on the answers, to better your reading pleasure.

Survey:

How often do you read blogs?

How many do you read on a regular basis?

What qualities keep you coming back to a blog on a regular basis?

How often do you comment on blogs?

What prompts you to comment on a post?

Do you feel a personal connection with the bloggers you read on a regular basis?

When you are looking at a new business website, do you consciously look for a blog so as to learn more about the owner?

All things being equal, do you think you are more or less likely to do business with a site that has a blog?

Are there bloggers who opinions you trust for advice?

And, if you could, include the following info:

*
o age: 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s
o gender
o do you blog?

You’ll find my answers here.

And here’s Liz Fuller’s blog-warming message for wisequeen.com. Liz is listed in the top 100 influential people on the web, so we are honoured and amused as the Queen would say.

Liz Fuller
Jul 31, 2008 at 6:01 am

Hi Wisequeen!

Thanks for responding!

Good Luck on your new blog - it looks like it will be an interesting assortment of topics - something to keep everyone interested.

It will be fun watching it grow!

Liz