The Ebook is concise (always appreciated by those of us who can’t seem to fit our to do list into our day) and really informative. After reading through ‘Fishing Where the Fish Are: Mapping Social Media to the Buying Cycle’, I have a few more ideas for my clients, a list of new blogs to check out and some of the Social Media Measurement tools I was looking for.

Grab Chris Brogan’s  Approaches to Social media Free Ebook let me know what you think and be sure to send him some kudos for offering you some free social media knowledge.

This is a great resource …. Special thanks to Common Craft for sharing this on their blog.

She mentions, “Really - some people just don’t get it.” Although I may be using her comment out of the context she refers to ( you will have to ask her). I agree that many Tweeters don’t get it.

If you choose to follow someone on twitter you will receive tweets of interest to that person. You can not and should not expect to control what or when someone tweets. You can however easily choose to not receive their tweets by simply unfollowing. This leads me to another of Wendy’s annoying trends;

“People who Get Pissy When You do ANY Self-Promotion at All”

For some people Twitter really is just a tool to keep in touch with family and friends. They want to keep up to date with their friends and learn about their day. Other’s are looking for industry specific knowledge. A good example of this is that I choose to follow the Canadian Political leaders to stay up to date on their happenings, conversations, and views during the federal election. I also may choose to follow gurus in a specific field (such as Wendy) to learn about their industry. In the case of Wendy I am looking for her blog posts, ideas, and knowledge. Why not JUST follow her blog ? Twitter allows me to correspond real time in a quick and efficient manner.  Its a two way stream.

So if you just want to hear the endless ramblings of someone’s day “I am at the airport “  “I baked a casserole”  then you shouldn’t follow those who use Twitter as a networking and business tool.  If you use twitter as a networking tool and are actively seeking out well though posts offering you new knowledge. Then don’t follow people who simply want to mini blog their daily personal life.

If you use your twitter account for all of the above reasons then GREAT. That is the beauty of twitter. But DON”T COMPLAIN or accuse others of spamming you.  I have heard endless discussion about one person’s complaints of twitter spam. Personally there have been days when their endless posts of daily life ( I personally don’t need to know whet they ate for lunch) are what I might consider Spam. They feel the use of a service such as Ping FM (which I feel is a great administrative tool to help us stay organized) is spamming.

This is a difference of opinion. I am not right. They are not right. We use Twitter differently. I bet we even say the word About differently.  I use Twiiter differently then the leader of a political Party. I use Twiiter differently then my teenage babysitter. I also use twitter differently then my friend who is a stay at home homeschooling mom.

Spam is “unsolicited”. I seek out and follow other twitter users. The delivered messages or ‘tweets’ I send out regardless of how they reach those who follow me are not “unsolicited”.  My followers have elected to receive them when they hit the follow button. To Twitter and those who scream Twitter Spam, you have the power to UNFOLLOW. That is the beauty of twitter.

The rest of Wendy’s suggested annoying Twitter Treads hit home to me as I do see them on a daily basis. People asking me to follow them on Utterz. People tweeting the same messages on their Corporate twitter accounts and then again on their personal accounts.  I believe this is about Networking etiquette. Online networking or in the real world. The point of networking is not just sending out your “advertisement” it’s a relationship. You must give back as much as you promote.

Networking equals 50% (or more) helping those in your network as a gesture of good will and 50% (or less) promoting your business and services. That theory is based on my personal experience.

So how are you going to help those who follow you on twitter ? Take the time to reply to their tweets, visit suggested links when they may be of interest to you, retweet if you feel they may be of interest to your followers. Off ideas and suggestions, correspond with each other. Build relationships with your followers.

If you have any suggestions for fellow Tweeters please be sure to leave a comment. YOu can learn more about Wendy’s annoying tools visit Wendy’s Blog Spark Plug CEO.

Karrine

The study shared by business weekly points out that while both men and women use Social media. The women far outpace the men.

“As a result, with the next wave of innovation likely to target women more than men, this gender gap on social networks (and increasingly in all of social media) will only widen. Naturally, male adoption of social media will grow as well. It just won’t keep pace with the expanding engagement among female users.”

Read the article  The Social Media Gender Gap

Rap Leaf Study Statistics on Google’s OpenSocial platform end users and Facebook users

Your marketing plan targeting women online needs to include social media.

We are working on our first four shows and if you are a female blogger we would love to have you join us ! Just stop by and complete our introduction form.

So how do these parasites work ? You can watch an example HERE.

Pop ups (adware) and toolbars are the two most common affiliate commission predators.

If you haven’t already you should subscribe to Benjamin Edelman’s  feed to learn what providers and companies you should be keeping an eye on.

As a Merchant, establishing your company as a reputable affiliate merchant to your potential affiliates is critical. The risk you take by using a network that is not parasite free may easily result in the failure of your affiliate program and the tarnishing of yoru company;s reputation. If you plan to generate a reliable consistent revenue stream based on affiliate partner sales you need to know the concerns your affiliate’s have with affiliate parasites and take the steps needed to protect their commissions.

Share a Sale is a parasite free Affiliate Network and if you are considering an affiliate program, its the first network you shoudl be checking out.

Additional Information on affialite parasites:

AMWSO

Affilaite Marketing Forums

I can’t wait to check out the Colorful tabs and Facebook tool bar.

Of course a few of them look as though they would only be adding to my already endless to do list. So be sure to only download those you feel you would really benefit from.

List Plan It provides access to over 300 ready-made, ready-to-fill-in-lists, with more being added each month. ListPlanIt.com was created was to be a one-stop resource for lists and planning pages. If you are like most other listmakers, then you probably value continuity. You probably want your lists to look uniform and neat. You very likely wanted lists that you could type into to keep them uncluttered. Purchasing lists from ListPlanIt.com means you don’t have to reinvent the wheel! All you have to do is fill in your own information.

Watch for updates !

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I am mobile and if you want me to stay on your site don’t exploit my bandwidth ( no unlimited plans in my location) you need to offer a mobile friendly version of your website.

Mobile friendly WordPress Blogs are simple with a Word Press Plug in. (Yet another reason why you should be considering the switch to a Hosted Word Press Blog.)

Other Blog users may want to use Google Reader. You can find some instructions on creating a mobile friendly version of your blog with Google Reader at Digital Inspiration.

Looking for some more information about Mobile web users and how it may affect your blog or business website, check out this months Website Magazine.

The subject at hand is how to scan Tweets to as a business tool. If you don’t mind receiving text messages of your tweets or you use one of the few IM programs offered by twitter you can simply log onto your twitter account and go to the devices tab.

These options don’t work for me, however I discovered Tweet Scan simply register and insert your search terms. Tweet scan will perform a daily search and email the posts to you.

This is a great way to know who’s talking about your business industry, competitors and your business online.