Tag Archives: human interaction

Facebook, An Introduction

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Today we begin our exploration of some of the key social media platforms that can help you communicate with others and grow your online visibility. First up, Facebook. Today, we’ll cover some basics without discussing whether you should or shouldn’t use Facebook for your business. Let’s just get a feel for Facebook first before we rush to the decision-making.

What is Facebook?

Facebook is a social networking site where the emphasis is on building community through social interactions. Facebook connects friends, families, classmates, colleagues, and people who share similar interests. Users communicate with their contacts, called friends, via short posts, called updates. These updates are typed into a box that asks, “what’s on your mind?” and can be found on a user’s home page or their timeline (profile page). Users can upload photos and videos, and share links to articles and other interesting stuff around the web. They can also play social games, take polls and quizzes, and interact in other ways, too. These interactions are fed into the news feed—a collection of events and updates from a user’s friends—and are visible on a user’s home page.

Facebook currently has over 900 million users worldwide. That represents about 1 in 12 people on the planet. If it were a country, it would be the third largest after China and India. Out of those, 500 million people use Facebook every day. This makes Facebook the largest of the social networks by far.

Among the reasons for Facebook’s enormous popularity is how easy it is to use. The ability to check Facebook from mobile devices while on the go makes sharing updates, links, and photos that much more immediate and engaging. Another reason for its popularity is its addictive quality. According to this article on Mashable, the average American Facebook user spends about 15 minutes a day on the site.

It’s hard to avoid the fact that Facebook has become a major way people communicate. Of course, size alone isn’t reason to jump on the Facebook bandwagon. It’s just as important to know who is using Facebook, and how.

Who Uses Facebook?

Facebook was started in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg in a Harvard dorm room. It was originally a closed network connecting Harvard students, but soon it allowed students at other universities to join. Facebook eventually opened up to anyone with an email address. Key to this bit of history is the fact that from its inception, Facebook has been about social interactions.

Considering Facebook’s start in a college dorm room, you might be tempted to believe that Facebook is only popular among young people. That would be a big mistake. The averageage of Facebook users is about 38 and seems to be rising, not dropping. People 45 and older make up 46% of Facebook users.  More women (57%) use Facebook than men.

How Do People Use Facebook?

All communities develop a culture, and Facebook is no different. On Facebook, the emphasis is on the personal. We use Facebook to reconnect with people we’ve lost touch with, to interact with friends, or to keep up with family members who live far away. It’s all about our relationships.

Facebook comes down to people sharing and responding to the events and stories of their lives. Just like posts in a blog add up to a story over time, so do updates and “likes” on Facebook. Our timelines become a record of who we are, who we know, what we like, what we think is entertaining, and what we believe in and support. Like digital scrapbooks, timelines create a portrait of our lives for the world to see.

Scary? Absolutely. In fact, Facebook privacy issues are a real concern. Before you join Facebook, learn how to control your privacy settings.  Personally, I prefer to assume that anything I post online is potentially visible to the entire world. That way, I minimize the risk of posting anything that I’m not comfortable with strangers seeing.

But despite the privacy risks, this ability to interact with others and share our stories is also exciting. It’s what makes Facebook so appealing and compelling.

Now, just so there’s no mistake about it, Facebook itself is a commercial enterprise. They make money by placing advertising on their site, which is essentially driven by user-generated content. That’s the content WE generate. In other words, our stories, our lives.

Is Facebook using us? Um…yes!

But we’re also using Facebook. Let’s not forget that. And if we’re going to continue using Facebook, we can at least try to be smart about how we go about it.

What Facebook Means For You and Your Business

Facebook gives businesses the opportunity to tell their stories via Facebook business pages. We’ll get into business pages in more detail next week. For now, it’s important to  understand that even on business pages, the emphasis is on genuine sharing.

People gather on Facebook in much the same way they’d gather in a town square, at a garden party, or around a relaxing game of golf. They want to interact, not be sold to. But we all know a lot of business gets done on a golf course precisely because of a magical mix between social, personal, and business interactions.

To get the balance right, keep the focus on your audience rather than on yourself. Share useful information, such as content you create on your blog or articles that you come across. Engage your fans in conversation and respond to their comments. Be helpful, and be yourself. In short, follow the same basic guidelines for interacting and sharing you follow on your blog. 

Then, if you occasionally toot your own horn about an award you won, your 500th Facebook follower, or being invited to speak at a prestigious event, no one will hold it against you. In fact, they’ll cheer you on! Why? Because they’ve come to trust you and think of you as a person or business who cares. Yes, you can let your page fans know about your services or special offers you may be running. Just make sure the balance is right.

Facebook Summary & Further Resources

Here’s a quick summary of the key points in today’s post:

And some more Facebook resources below:

Next week, we’ll take a more in-depth look at Facebook business pages. How do you feel about Facebook so far? Are you intrigued? Or turned off? Let us know!

Taking Those First Steps Into Social Media

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Now that you’ve launched your blog and are posting regularly, it’s time to take the next step: getting your content out there.

It’s time to delve into social media.

If you’re thinking, “uh oh!” you’re not alone.

Overcoming The Initial Discomfort of Social Media

Even after all the time I’ve been participating in social media, the idea of actively sharing online still makes me nervous. I still worry about saying the wrong thing or what someone else might think. Thankfully, the reactions from our readers are much more positive than negative, and that gives me the motivation to continue. Knowing that something I’ve written has connected with readers gives me a sense of validation and positive energy and helps dissipate the fears that come along with sticking my neck out there and taking public risks.

I find the more I blog, the more I see comparisons to other aspects of my life. As a sales and marketing rep, meeting someone for the first time is always a source of discomfort. What if I forget an important point or fail to capture their interest? Did I introduce myself and my team properly? Did I make everyone in the room feel welcome? But just like blogging, if I dwell too much on my worries, I’ll never take the necessary risk of the first uncomfortable step. Without that risk, there can be no gain. I won’t make a connection, I won’t win over a customer, I won’t develop repeat business. So, like the athlete I am, I suck it up and I “Just Do It.” (Thank you, Nike, for providing my life’s motto!)

We aren’t going to lie and tell you social media isn’t a little scary. It is. But we’re going to approach the process slowly and thoroughly, just like we did the process of blogging. By helping you understand WHY and WHEN to use each of the key platforms and HOW they might fit into your strategy, social media will become a lot less intimidating than it looks right now.

What Is Social Media?

This is the question we’ll be exploring in this new series of posts on Two Point Uh Oh. The answer is both extremely simple and extremely complex, as you shall see.

The simple part to understand is this: social media is a modern form of communication. In the past, people gathered in town squares, at community events and back-yard fences, and around the water cooler. There, they exchanged information, opinions, insights, and all manner of things relevant to the fabric of their lives and their communities. While we still chit-chat with our neighbors and colleagues, today we also chit-chat online. What’s so powerful about social media is that it reaches well beyond our immediate circle of acquaintances. What we share online can spread further than anything we might share one-to-one in person. Yet the essence of social media is still authentic, human communication that arises naturally from the interaction happening here and now.

The process of social media.

How Can Social Media Benefit You and Your Business?

Again, this is both a simple question and an extremely complex one. The simple answer is that it can help you build authentic connections and relationships with customers, potential customers, partners, and fans. Just how you can do that, however, takes a much longer explanation and a lot of trial and error. This is where it begins to get scary for most of us. While there are many best practices, there really is no concrete how-to. Each person must find his or her own way.

This is just one of the many aspects we’ll be exploring in this next series of posts.

We’ll look at the key platforms, such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, Google+, and Pinterest, and identify their unique characteristics. We’ll also look at who uses each platform, why they use them, and how they might be useful to your overall strategy for building your online presence.

Finding the right fit.

The truth is, not every platform will be a good fit for you, your personality, and your business. Some platforms you might take to like a fish to water. Others won’t speak to you at all. That’s fine. We’re here to help you figure out what’s right for you.

What we won’t be covering are the basics of the technical aspects, such as how to create your accounts or navigate the platforms. But don’t worry, we’ll point you to places where you can get the guidance you need. And of course, we’re always available to answer your questions.

Ready to begin? Great! Join us next week as we tackle Facebook!

Six Key Ways We Communicate With and Without Web 2.0

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Photo by Sure2Talk

Evolving technology has always shaped the way we communicate.

Imagine a love letter being penned by a young suitor in the 19th century. His fingers grip the quill, his mind searches for the perfect words to express the power of his emotions. Imagine the moment three weeks later when his beloved tears open that very same letter with breathless anticipation. Romantic, isn’t it? I can almost feel myself swooning.

Fast forward about a hundred years. Imagine two young lovers before the advent of email or cell phones. They call each other on their landlines at the same time every day. Sometimes they do their homework or listen to the radio, but often they simply enjoy being silent together. That’s romantic, too, isn’t it?

Now imagine those same teenaged lovebirds today, texting one another sweet nothings via their mobile phones in the middle of class. This modern-day version of note-passing, like its pen-and-paper predecessor, drives teachers up a wall. But teens? They think it’s romantic.

As the times and technology change, so does the way we communicate. But as the examples above show, communication itself is not about technology—it’s about the human interaction.

Below, I’ve listed six key ways we communicate in our business lives. I’ve also listed offline and online methods of delivering that communication.

1.   Publishing and Distributing Information

Businesses publish information to update existing customers and to let prospective customers know who they are, what they do, and where to find them. Offline methods of delivering this information include printed brochures, articles in trade or professional journals, books, and printed newsletters, postcards, invitations, or special offers sent through the postal mail. Today’s online counterparts are websites, downloadable media kits and e-brochures, blog posts, online articles, ebooks, slideshare presentations, videos, as well as emailed newsletters, postcards, and invitations.

2. Networking and Building Community

Whether in a formal business setting or in a more relaxed, social environment, meeting new people and staying in contact is an integral part of communicating. Offline occasions for networking and building community include industry events, conferences, the office Christmas party, or the weekly golf game. They can also include church groups, charity events, or your child’s music recital. Online counterparts include the social networks, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. They also include blogs, groups, and forums created around a cause, a charity, or a shared interest. Just as in real life, some online platforms are focused on business, others are more social, and either can lead to unexpected connections and opportunities.

3. Establishing Expertise

How do you stand out amongst your competitors? By showing the world that you’re the go-to expert in your field. Offline occasions include writing books and articles, teaching and mentoring, delivering talks and presentations, speaking at graduations, and sitting on juries. Online counterparts include writing ebooks, articles, and blogs, posting video or slides from your live presentations, creating a podcast, teaching a webinar, or answering and asking questions in industry-appropriate forums and groups.

4. Collaborating With Others

If you have a large project you’re working on, a group or  association you want to create, or a cause you want to promote, you need to communicate with your collaborators. Offline occasions are limited to face-to-face meetings, telephone exchanges, faxes, or postal mail. Online opportunities are much broader and include online meetings, wikis, shared documents, chat and instant messaging, groups, forums, and email. Another advantage of online collaboration is that you’re less restricted by geography. Collaborators can be in other cities or even in other countries.

5. Keeping Up With Your Industry and Sharing Information

No matter what business you’re in, you need to keep up with the latest happenings. Offline resources include chatting with colleagues, attending conferences, talks, presentations, and events, or reading trade publications. Online counterparts include writing or reading blogs, exchanges on the social networks and in online groups, and using content curation and aggregation tools. Web 2.0 allows you to track the latest news as it’s happening and to share it quickly and easily with others.

6. Listening and Responding to Customers

Web 2.0 has revolutionized the relationship between businesses and customers. In the not so distant past, a customer with a complaint would be forced to follow the protocol established by the business. Their options were limited: call the customer service line or go stand in line somewhere. Today, they have many more options—and they use them. They can contact a business publicly via their Twitter feed or Facebook page. They can read reviews on blogs or forums before purchasing, or write their own reviews. If they are happy with the way their complaint is handled, they will often express their gratitude. People don’t expect businesses to be perfect, but they do expect responsiveness and a willingness to help them when there’s a problem. Businesses who get this make it easy for their customers to reach them offline and online, and they set up monitoring tools to alert them of what customers are saying.

By putting the emphasis on communication rather than on technology, you can begin to see the parallels between offline and online communication tools. Just like today’s texting teen has a lot in common with our 19th century letter-writer, a printed brochure has a lot in common with a video on the home page of your website. Hopefully this makes it easier to begin to understand what might be right for your business. As of next week, we’ll begin looking at some of the technologies themselves. In the meantime, feel free to continue the list. Did I miss anything?

As United found out in the video below, frustrating your customers by not responding to them in a timely and satisfactory manner can result in a song being written about you. Uh oh!