I seriously have the worst luck ever.
I read an article yesterday from The Telegraph on how celebrities on Twitter have little influence. It made me question what the real indicator of influence on Twitter is. That article clearly proves that the correlation between followers and influence is overstated or just non-existent. The article goes on to say that ‘experts’ in their field are the most influential.
So for example, @Scobleizer I would safely bet has a high level of influence with regards to business, startups and social media. @Mashable probably has the social media news industry on lock on Twitter.
But beyond the major players in their industry, how do you find influencers?
The answer to this question is a lot more difficult to answer than it would seem. Let’s look at tangibles… follower count, tweets, retweets, lists, mentions and engagement.
Follower Count – It’s a number. It’s an indication of how many people are open to your message. But the study proves that numbers don’t indicate influence.
Tweets – Again, a number. But more tweets or less tweets might not indicate influence.
Retweets – Retweets in general seem to be less used, and the majority of them seem to be comedic in nature. So does a Retweet indicate influence? From my perspective, it just indicates a great tweet.
Lists – Lists are rather strange. They are used to split people up, but how often are they used? Personally, I use lists to reward people for engaging with me, but I rarely use them to view timelines. Maybe that’s just me, but I don’t think the value of a list is very high, especially in determining influence.
Mentions – People interact with you. It indicates a social appreciation. Social currency. But if someone mentions you, does that say you’re influential? Well, again, we take the celebrity situation – they get 1000s of mentions daily but they have little influence. So maybe it doesn’t.
Engagement – You interact with people, likely with people who interact with you. Establishing a relationship with them. It’s a back and forth. They get to learn about you, while you learn about them. A trust is built. And from trust comes influence. Above anything else, Engagement is the clear front runner to influence.
To prove my point, let’s propose a hypothetical..
1. You have 100 followers who you engage with daily. You might have met them in person, but you certainly engage them in other ways – perhaps you’re friends on Twitter or you talk often on Skype. The fact is, these 100 people all trust you.
2. You have 15,000 followers who you try to engage with. Some more than others. You have a well established trust/friendship with 30 people and look forward to their tweets. And the majority of your followers have engaged with you atleast once, but the trust isn’t established.
3. You have 100,000 followers but you don’t engage. You put out lots of content, but have established no relationships with anyone in any consistent manner. You are retweeted from time to time, but besides that, people don’t really engage you either.
Who’s the most influential?
Most likely, #1 is the most influential. Trust is a necessity to influence. If people don’t trust you, why would they listen to what you have to say or have to offer? They won’t.
The lesson… influence is about trust. Trust is established through a relationship. A relationship is established from engagement and interaction.
Thoughts? Please comment below (plus you’ll get entered into the Marc Jacobs draw!)
So I’ve been probably the worst blogger ever the last week. Getting myself set up and comfortable in a contract position (9-5) has been a change for my usual late nights, late morning approach to self employment.
And then when I sat down to blog, I had nothing to blog about because the only things I was doing was going to and from work… cooking dinner, working on some other clients stuff and then bed. Nothing blog worthy.
I suck.
Oh well. What I did manage to do was watch a few random movies… so here you go!
The Expendables was a great movie! Pure action. Not pretending to be anything else. There is nothing to dislike about this movie other than maybe wanting MORE action. Terry Crews and his automatic shotgun makes for one of the most exciting and testosterone packed parts of the movie. Tape your knuckles before seeing it, because you’re going to spontaneously going to want to break out into fights after the movie is done.
Confucius is a Chinese made blockbuster detailing the life of Confucius. While there are some interesting action scenes and some clever tactics, this subtitled movie left me disappointed. I would have preferred if they just made some stuff up or put Iron Man in the movie or something. It was decent if you’re into culture and education, but don’t expect to be blown away.
The Experiment is a 2010 telling of the 1976 Stanford Prison Experiment. Taking regular people and putting them into a pretend prison while giving one group the job of being the guards and the other the inmates. It’s raw and hard pounding and gives an accurate display to how people might react when put into similar situations. I found myself getting so wound up in it that I wanted to beat the hell out of Forrest Whitakers character. Incredibly well performed. See it!
Robin Hood, Russell Crowe playing the lead… perhaps a perfect role for him seeing as he loves fighting. It’s a good movie with a good pace and fair amount of action and adventure. I hope they extend the franchise and tell the next part of the story too. The only thing I’ll suggest is watching the unrated/extended version. They cut a bunch of clips from the movie that actually helped tell the story. I saw it in theaters, and felt that some sections were trimmed, now I understand.
Jackie Chan… here I thought this was going to be a movie much like Jean Claude Van Dammes JCVD, but instead it turned out to be about some idiot kid who wants to work with Jackie Chan. About 50 minutes into the movie, you realize it’s not even a movie, but rather a propaganda film promoting to Chinese students to study hard and be good students. I’d watch it just for that reason alone! Jackie Chan is in about 10 minutes of the movie, but doesn’t disappoint. Respect your elders. Do well in school. Then you too can be Jackie Chan! He’ll even text you!
So there you have it… the most random stupid blog post ever haha. Comment on how terrible it is below and you’ll be entered to win a bottle of Marc Jacobs cologne!!
So I’ve been probably the worst blogger ever the last week. Getting myself set up and comfortable in a contract position (9-5) has been a change for my usual late nights, late morning approach to self employment.
And then when I sat down to blog, I had nothing to blog about because the only things I was doing was going to and from work… cooking dinner, working on some other clients stuff and then bed. Nothing blog worthy.
I suck.
Oh well. What I did manage to do was watch a few random movies… so here you go!
The Expendables was a great movie! Pure action. Not pretending to be anything else. There is nothing to dislike about this movie other than maybe wanting MORE action. Terry Crews and his automatic shotgun makes for one of the most exciting and testosterone packed parts of the movie. Tape your knuckles before seeing it, because you’re going to spontaneously going to want to break out into fights after the movie is done.
Confucius is a Chinese made blockbuster detailing the life of Confucius. While there are some interesting action scenes and some clever tactics, this subtitled movie left me disappointed. I would have preferred if they just made some stuff up or put Iron Man in the movie or something. It was decent if you’re into culture and education, but don’t expect to be blown away.
The Experiment is a 2010 telling of the 1976 Stanford Prison Experiment. Taking regular people and putting them into a pretend prison while giving one group the job of being the guards and the other the inmates. It’s raw and hard pounding and gives an accurate display to how people might react when put into similar situations. I found myself getting so wound up in it that I wanted to beat the hell out of Forrest Whitakers character. Incredibly well performed. See it!
Robin Hood, Russell Crowe playing the lead… perhaps a perfect role for him seeing as he loves fighting. It’s a good movie with a good pace and fair amount of action and adventure. I hope they extend the franchise and tell the next part of the story too. The only thing I’ll suggest is watching the unrated/extended version. They cut a bunch of clips from the movie that actually helped tell the story. I saw it in theaters, and felt that some sections were trimmed, now I understand.
Jackie Chan… here I thought this was going to be a movie much like Jean Claude Van Dammes JCVD, but instead it turned out to be about some idiot kid who wants to work with Jackie Chan. About 50 minutes into the movie, you realize it’s not even a movie, but rather a propaganda film promoting to Chinese students to study hard and be good students. I’d watch it just for that reason alone! Jackie Chan is in about 10 minutes of the movie, but doesn’t disappoint. Respect your elders. Do well in school. Then you too can be Jackie Chan! He’ll even text you!
So there you have it… the most random stupid blog post ever haha. Comment on how terrible it is below and you’ll be entered to win a bottle of Marc Jacobs cologne!!
Ahh, what a great weekend! Hopefully they posted those pictures… let’s check.
*Taps on the keyboard, a few mouse clicks*
Hahaha, they did! Oh man that’s hilarious!
Damn, did we really drink that much beer?
Whoa who the hell is that I’m making out with… jeez I don’t even remember that..
Oh shit, they burnt it! That’s why I can’t find my work shirt.
A video!
*We’re burning this fucking shirt… because… hahaha… because… shhh shh, I’m talking!! Haha, because that fucking company… those fucks made me work late on Friday… so FUCK them! BURN IT!*
*Someone off camera throws in the old line “Burn baby burn, flames are gettin’ higher!” as the shirt is lit on fire.*
Haha, that’s too funny. I gotta comment on this… “Haha, you assholes, I need that shirt! I don’t know what I’m going to tell my boss. I’ll make something up.”
*Ring Ring*
Hello?
Yeah, I’m just running a little late. What? Why am I fired?
No I was just drunk! I didn’t actually mean it.
No, sir, I swear I don’t normally talk that way about the company…*Click*
——————–
It’s a situation that may not exactly play out this way, but if you’re involved in the social media arena, it’s something you’ll increasingly need to be concerned with.
I call this Social Media Backdraft.
If you haven’t seen the movie or know what Backdraft means, when a fire is deprived of oxygen fire can’t grow, but smoke and combustible gases accumulate, so if oxygen is reintroduced, (such as opening a door) the gases suddenly have the requirements to flame up and the result is a fireball that goes off like a bomb.
Social Media Backdraft is where your activities online are largely ignored by your employer, perhaps out of your employers ignorance, or perhaps because it’s your ‘personal life’ and not their concern. Suddenly, an employer clues in after reading a horror story and decides to check on you (and statistics say more and more employers and hiring managers are doing that.)
They check your tweets, your Facebook status’ or pictures and your blog, see content that hurts the company image – especially in sales, where the people you sell to may look you up before buying from you – realize it’s an issue and confront you, or fire you because of it.
Social Media Backdraft. Oxygen hits and the place explodes.
Personally, I’m not afraid to be controversial on Twitter. I go on rants from time to time. I don’t censor myself. I call a spade a spade. I’m honest about my life – in all aspects. Sometimes situations of TMI (too much information) occur.
And it’s lead to one “backdraft” where I lost a job opportunity almost a year ago because I was “Too honest and open,” and they “feared I would twitpic confidential data.” I laughed, and told them I’m not a corporate terrorist. I do have corporate filters I can put on. It’s not hard to be more private. Good social media people can adapt to what their client (or employer) want, while providing guidance and suggestions.
I start a new job tomorrow at @TrendHunter, as Social Media Editor, which means they have read my blog, likely read some of my tweets and have generally ‘Googled’ me. So they *should* know what to expect in terms of my social media passion and honesty – and considering they have hired me, like who I am.
Some tips though if your job is not in social media…
1. Google yourself. Find out what an employer can find out about you with just a search.
2. Be more private. Put your Facebook or Twitter accounts on private if you think they might hurt you or just don’t want random people to access information about you.
3. Clean up your profiles. Go through and untag unflattering images on Facebook. Delete certain tweets.
4. Think before you speak. A lot of people say things, and then regret it later. If you type it, don’t click ‘Enter’ until you’re sure it’s something you want indexed on the web forever.
5. Be proactive. If there’s photos of you doing something illegal on the net, have something to say about it. Don’t just assume people won’t notice. Address it directly if confronted about it. Simply saying “I was young and stupid” is no longer a valid excuse. Get ahead or fall behind.
If you have your own Social Media Backdraft story, please post it in the comments! (If you’re Canadian, you’ll automatically qualify for the Marc Jacobs BANG cologne contest!)
Funny the things a flu bug will do to you. I meant to finish this and post it on Monday, but was too exhausted to formulate readable sentences… so we’ll give it a try now!
This weekend I spent in Quebec in the suburbs of Montreal (Beaconsfield) for a family reunion/celebration of a 50th anniversary.
First thoughts, 50 years is a long time to be married to the same person and I bet, it becomes a very rare occurrence among anyone born after 1980.
This is where we stayed. The cab driver who picked me up from the train station in Dorval informed me that this is actually where he often drove both musicians after a concert in Montreal and husbands to cheat on their wives. Cool.
It’s two rows of chalets, all have different features from what I saw. The one I stayed in had a bedroom, a ‘closet’ sized kitchen and a living room, another had two double beds and a kitchen, another had two separate rooms and no kitchen.
Very nice place and reasonably priced. Chalet Beaconsfield. Check it out if you’re in the area!
My brother wouldn’t get out of bed, so we just closed up the cot he was sleeping in. You should see how we handle people who sleep in on Christmas morning!!
So here’s the two that were celebrating their 50th Wedding Anniversary. Many people in this picture were at the party, including the flower girl!
This is the old (but very much upgraded) farm house that’s been converted into a party spot. It’s beautifully landscaped, and right on the water! It’s honestly one of the nicest places I’ve ever been to… here’s some pictures.
The inside was great too… and one thing our family ALWAYS does amazingly… is food and drink.
And while the day was cool, and it rained off and on… we got this to make a great day even more special.
One of the most vibrant, colourful and BIG double rainbows I’ve ever seen.
What a great weekend.
Got a comment? If you do, you’ll be entered into my Marc Jacobs Comment Contest!
Marc Jacobs has come out with a brand new cologne for men. It’s his first for men in over 10 years!
BANG! And the bottle is pretty cool too! (It’s supposed to look like it got hit by a bullet.) It smells pretty good too (I got a rushed bottle of it pre-release!) Definitely very manly and powerful… Pretty sure wearing it makes you smell like sex, power and money. In my expert advice, spray it on an hour or so before you go out… let it drop some of the intensity first before taking the world (and women?) by storm.
Now because Marc Jacobs thinks I’m pretty cool, I’ve got a full sized bottle of BANG that I’m going to give away on October 1st!
The way to be entered is to comment on any blog post of mine from now until September 31st! I will then select one at random to send it too! Canada only, sorry US folks!
Good luck!
Here he is… James Jay Lee. 34 years old and possible from British Columbia, BC.
In 2008, he was charged with littering for throwing what police said were thousands of dollars worth of bills at a crowd that grew after Lee began paying people to participate.
Here’s video of that;
He’s also written a very vile, long manifesto that was posted on his website. Here’s a PDF of the Manifesto.
You can also find his Myspace page here.
From his Myspace;
Here’s an Email Exchange between someone with some sense… and James Jay Lee.
To: savetheplanetprotest@hotmail.com
Subject: Are you kidding?
Are off your rocker? Is this just a big joke? The planets problems are the Discovery Channels fault? How about NBC, or CBS, or anyone else? They don’t broadcast stuff that is good for the environment. Why not shut down every TV and radio station that doesn’t provide 100% of their airtime to “solutions”? Can you tell me a national TV station that you wouldn’t protest? I agree that we need to do more things to help the environment, but let’s try to use our resources a little more productively, shall we?
Lee, you are one crazy dude. I think it’s time to get off your soap box now.
And his reply;
Jan 31, 2008 1:02 PM
subjectRE: Are you kidding?
mailed-byhotmail.comI am 100% serious. And yes, the other networks are also to blame. But these guys are the worst because they act like they are environmentalist when in truth, they are arms dealers.
We’ll get them one at a time.
It’s EVERYONE’s responsibility to save the planet, ESPECIALLY a hypocritical network like the Discovery Channel!
———–
You can find more of his ranting and insanity here. Though, trolls are starting to post there -http://savetheplanetprotest.yuku.com/