It's a Shame you missed Twitter. You got here just in time for the Death Rattle.

Some days I feel a lot like Lester Bangs.

Lester Bangs is the legendary music writer/critic featured in the film Almost Famous (and played by Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and in the film he says the following

"It's just a shame you missed Rock and Roll. You got here just in time for the Death Rattle...the last gasp...the last grope"

I love this quote because it is a perfect example of being too close to something to really be objective about it. You see there are days when I think forms of Social Media are done and we should all start looking for the next shiny thing but then something as simple as having a really thoughtful conversation with someone outside the "bubble" makes you all of a sudden realize that just because you have been playing in the social media playground for over 3 years doesn't mean everyone has and the actual fact is that this is still really early days for non-early adopters.

This realization also got me thinking that part of the reason I may feel like Lester some days is that I am living too much in the bubble. I'm not going to alienate any of my friends because you are all awesome but I am planning on picking the brains of more and more random strangers because in my opinion Social Media is no longer about the kool kids (or as Lester would say, The Rock Stars) and early adopters...it is now all about Lester Bang's other favorite type of people...The Uncool and if we are going to really be great marketers we may need to make some new uncool friends.

What makes you so special on Social Media besides being "early"?

Way back in October I put my "money where my mouth is" and challenged someone to come up with a new idea in Social Media because if there ever was something that needs re-invention, this is it because I am getting told by more and more "leaders" in this space that they are burning out or not being recognized for their thought leadership because of the ease of labeling yourself an expert.

Well I am sad to report that I still have my money...but that isn't what this post is about but it does speak to some of the same thoughts. You see this post is inspired by a question that my friend Rob Blatt asked me yesterday that I have not been able to get out of my head.

The question was this:

What makes you so special on Social Media besides being there early?

Now before you get all angry at Rob, he wasn't asking me in a negative way it was more of a statement about people on twitter in general and could someone who is considered in the "kool kids category" start today and really have any impact against the noise or be original without being compared to whoever the early person was.

I wonder how many people can actually answer the question honestly?

For me it is simple...I don't think I am special and from that comes an authentic genuineous that allows me to appreciate every person who interacts with me in a daily, weekly, or monthly basis...and also once I year I, very late at night while everyone is sleeping, post a picture of myself in just a pair of underwear (TRUE and there are 3 now...go find them)

How would you answer this question?

15 months later....Are people ready for my thoughts on Twtter yet?

This post first appeared about 15 months ago on the great website Download Squad. I am re-posting it here after all this time because like most observations I make/write about it was way ahead of its time and the sheer funturosity of it sent waves of fear into the hearts of the people who read the post...I know this because the comments were so harsh that shares in AOL fell off the table and fingers were pointed at me for all of the companies problems...but time has a funny way of proving me to be smarter than I look so I now share with you my early observation on the dangers of Twitter...and if you are still unsure if this is a joke at the end I will let you know now that I was just kidding....maybe.

If I keep using Twitter I will go blind!

I am very lucky because I have great parents who tried very hard to raise me with proper manners and values. I wasn't always the best kid and had to hear the following two warnings from my parents far more than I should have...."unlock the door or you will go blind" and "put the keyboard down...you are ruining any chance you might have for beautiful penmanship". Penmanship was a big deal in my house because even though my Dad is 6’4” and looks like a retired NBA All Star he has the kinda handwriting that Mavis Beacon could only dream of.

My parents meant well but were only half right...I never went blind but yes...I have horrible handwriting.

Thinking about the past got me thinking about the future and I wondered what I would be warning my kids about and I think the obvious answer is going to be Twitter!

Think about it...what is the real effect Twitter is having on society?

Give up?

Kids and grownups alike will start to not only talk but think thoughts 140 characters at a time.

I know I know, you are probably sitting reading this and thinking I am crazy but I swear I am already doing it. You can't imagine how many times I have stood naked in the shower (that is sorta a trick statement because I am always naked in the shower but I encourage you to imagine it anyway) dreaming up clever and witty things to post on Twitter.

Witty things like....

I have put away my dream of writing the great American “Sabra” novel and replaced it with writing the greatest 140 character observations or retelling of my experiences in the world...something so clever that even Robert Scoble would re-tweet it.

This is serious folks. I keep hearing how people are worried about how twitter will make money...that is kids stuff compared to the real issue people should worry about. The future of communications as we know it.

I think we can all agree that children are our are future and if we teach them well we can let them lead the way but we are going to have to show them all the beauty they possess inside and I am not sure this can be accomplished at 140 characters at a time...but this is where we are going unless we put a stop to this right now. That is right...you heard me right...I am saying let’s take a stand now before we live in a world where job descriptions and personal ads will all fit into a neat box that says “What are you doing?”

It is too late to correct the handwriting epidemic in North America but it is never too late to take a stand on elongated communications.

So stand with me folks and stand proud the best way I know how...by becoming the most popular person on Twitter so I can make real change from the inside....so please follow my plight from at @saulcolt

I wish you could see Twitter the way I see Twitter.

Twitter is a listening tool. Twitter is a sales channel. Twitter is a customer service platform. Twitter is a PR channel. Twitter is cocktail party. Twitter is Twitter. Twitter is a great place to meet chicks.

Get people started talking about Twitter and you will hear all these things because they are all right...and all wrong.

Twitter in reality is a lump of Play Doh.

I spent some time yesterday with Liz Strauss (pictured) and our conversation (and her insights) sparked this idea because she reminded me that no two people share the exact same twitter experience.

What Twitter is to you is dictated by who you follow and what content you are exposed to. If you only follow family members or people in the Ben Affleck fan club then your view of Twitter will be as if it is the most niche conversation site in the world.

Now if you go the other way and follow thousands of folks with no specific common link or are just following people because they follow you or because they are shiny you are going to find yourself in a situation where you are sitting in a room with people talking at you from every direction.

These are two very different extreme scenarios but it gives you an idea on why like Play Doh, you get to dictate what Twitter looks like to you and if anyone jumps into your stream who "ain't your cup of tea" you just can just block them and go back to shaping your experience to what makes you happiest.

...and speaking of Twitter. I just passed 10,000 tweets and to commemorate the historical moment I made a little video.

10,000th Tweet message. from saulcolt on Vimeo.

The definitive "How To" guide to use Twitter on the iPhone.

Chris Brogan recently wrote a blog post called "How I manage Facebook" and it immediately gave me the idea to write the post that you're reading now but I admit I hesitated for a few weeks because I kinda see this as a "trade secret" as to how I am able to manage and react to conversations on twitter in an almost real time fashion even when I am away from a computer...but I noticed something interesting today while I was speaking at a conference for people reasonably new to twitter that changed my mind. You see as I was explaining how to use twitter I could see a few of the prettier females in the room were really impressed.

So in an effort to impress pretty people everywhere I now present you The DEFINITIVE "how to" guide to use Twitter on the iPhone.

*disclaimer* there are many ways to do what I am about to explain so in all honestly I am using the word "definitive" the same way coffee shops say "world's best coffee" but this is a great system and it works for me plenty well.

Next to this is a screen shot of my phone and you will notice that I have three separate iPhone Twitter Clients.

The the three are Summizer, Twitterific and Echofon (formerly Twitterfon). I use all three as they all offer me a quick way to accomplish different tasks quickly and easily.

My main twitter app is Echofon/Twitterfon.

This app pretty much works like they all do and the only reason I use it over others is because I find it easy to use. As you can see from the screen shot, it shows me 200 updates at a time from my friends list and also separates all my DM's and @replies (mentions) so I can find this stuff quickly and with a single touch. It also lets me add/remove and even block people with just a few clicks and this is the app I use when I am just reading twitter and seeing what is going on in my main stream.

The second App in my tool box is Summizer.

Summizer isn't a feed type app in the way Echofon is because Summizer is search tool with the ability to save searches. With Summizer I have set up close to 50 keywords and people I care most about and I use this as my catch up tool as well as my focused "quick glance" tool. Basically when I am on the subway or using one of those rooms with the stick figure gender character on the door I will fire up summizer and find out what is going on with my closest friends or see if people are talking about the company I work for or other companies I respect and monitor unofficially and without permission...and I also rely on it to keep me informed at a moments notice if I need to respond to anything falling in my set up searches.

Now it should be said that I could easily set up all sorts of searched in Echofon and basically accomplish the same results and purpose that I use Summizer for but I find it simpler to keep them separate so I can be more focused and responsive this way.

The last app I use to complete my DEFINITIVE (please see disclaimer above) how to is Twitterific. I used to use this app as my exclusive Twitter client and was happy with it but switched to Echofon one day because I just tried it and liked it (and I understand Tweetie is pretty amazing as well) but I still come back to Twitterific when I get an inspiration to tweet something quickly. You see as much as I love Echofon I find it can take half a minute to a minute to load up and Twitterific loads up crazy quick and lets me share with the world very fast the pearls of wisdom I share because I know people rely on me for my witty quips, observations and self promotion.

So just to review...this by no means replaces the ease and reliability of a desktop application like Tweetdeck or Seesmic Desktop but this does give you a head start in creating a mobile command center in the palm of your hand and while I claim this to be the best way to manage your twitter accounts on the go I will also say that this is just my opinion and I haven't gone looking for a more polished way because this one works crazy well for me but if you have a different opinion I would love to hear all about it in the comments section of the blog or just go talk about it on twitter, because chances are I will hear about it from one if not all of my installed apps!

Please take a moment and Vote for my SXSW panels!

It's that time of the year again.

The time of year when people start counting the days till they have to put away their white pants and those with kids start getting ready for back to school.

It is also the time of year that thousands and thousands of the smartest, most fun and best looking technology enthusiasts and teachers learn whether or not their speaking applications will be voted in to being a full fledged panel at the SXSW Interactive Festival in March. (South By SouthWest)

I have been very fortunate to have spoken at the last two years festivals and would like to keep my streak going since this year I feel I have submitted two very interesting and timely speaking topics.

Part of the reason I am telling you all this is because to be selected as a speaker you need the support of the festival organizers as well as the community attending (and not attending). So I am asking you to please look at my panel topics and please give me your vote. Even if you have no intention of attending the festival you can still feel the "rush" of democracy as you click on the Thumbs up button to propel my topics into a higher voting category.

I appreciate all of my readers and I hope you guys will consider helping me with this.

Below are my speaking topics and I could love to not only have your votes but also your comments so please let me know what you think of my ideas!

(click on the panel titles to vote.)

Community Management: Future Skills you need to know

Community Management is a key role in any startups but with any new role in a company they need to evolve over time to survive and prosper. Come listen to what the future of community management will look like because the future role is more than just drinking with customers!

and

Tweet Your Way to Your Next Job

Obviously, we all know that Twitter is more than having a sandwich. Learn from two savvy marketers who used Twitter to further their careers. Saul Colt and Warren Sukernek have each used Twitter effectively to find new positions.

Thanks for your support and remember you need to vote now and vote often to really appreciate the freedom we share and not take advantage of it. <-----ok that was maybe a little too much :)

Because @bethggwaz asked...10 things about Twitter (good and bad)

Yep, a little known fact about me is that I am available just about any time to answer questions on Twitter or by Email and if you ask a really good one I may just highlight you on this here blog...and answer the question of course.

I have a lot of opinions....and some of them are about Twitter.

Mostly I love Twitter and don't know what I would do without it...that being typed there are a few things that irritate me.

But first the great stuff! (and I am not sure I am going to do 10 of each but here we go)

1- Twitter lets me stay in touch with people I care about better than anything else...especially when I am really busy.
2- Twitter is my news feed and keeps me up to date on things as well as celebrity deaths.
3- Twitter is an amazing resource of opinions and idea...as well as a great place to get instant feedback on things.
4- I love Twitter because people think I am funny. (doesn't happen anywhere else)
5- Twitter gives me access to important and otherwise unobtainable folks so I can discuss things with them.
6- I love when people I have never met engage me in a conversation...it is fun!

I could go on and on but I think you get the point...so here are a few quick thoughts on the other side of the coin.

1- People put too much value in their following/follower stats. I follow people based on if they are interesting or pretty. Also personally, I have never asked a single person to follow me because the number of followers you have should mean nothing in the overall picture of how you use twitter.
2- I RT a bit and love when people RT my stuff but at the same time I wish people would create more original content and not just RT 90% of the time. I want to hear your ideas and thoughts so I can get to know you. RT'ing is an important part of Twitter but you have to still let yourself shine through.
3- I wish it was a little more playful and silly sometimes and not just a place to promote your stuff (something I am guilty of sometimes).
4- Auto DM's......nuff said!
5-When porn accounts follow me the pictures they use are so small I cant even enjoy it for a second before I block them :)

So Beth...not sure if this is the list you were expecting but I hope this might start a conversation and the list can grow from there.

Twitter is sooooo New Media....acording to Dennis Kneale at CNBC

Last week I was on CNBC being interviewed by Dennis Kneale about Twitter and a few interesting things happened.

1-I learned that I can hold my own on live TV and look handsome doing it.

and

2-Dennis Kneale (the interviewee) really is caught up in the idea of New Media and Traditional Media.

Before I get to far into this I should say that I don't think Mr. Neale is a bad guy but rather just misinformed because some media folks would rather see new ways of doing things as a threat instead of embracing them and figuring out how to harness these new opportunities and really become the one that leads and owns everything new and cool that comes out.

Now these are all generalizations and I am not poking my finger directly at Mr. Kneale but one thing that did surpise me was his comment that Twitter is taking away people's passion to read and making people lazy. This was kinda funny to me since I wrote a "tounge in cheek" article for download squad about that exact topic and made the joke/observation that people will start communicating in 140 spurts and how it will be the downfall of communications. It am amazed that people actually think this way but it could have more to do with (and this is getting back to the first paragraph) the idea of New Media and Old/Traditional Media.

The people that really excel in the media space or social media or whatever are the ones that realize that there is NO (notice the capitalization) such thing as New Media or Old Media.

Just Media

...and media is one way you get messages out to the masses (or targeted groups) and when you are trying to communicate a message you should send it out in as many ways as possible.

In many ways I am OK with people not jumping into Social Media with both feet because as long as there is some mystery to it all I can sound like a know it all at parties and get invited onto CNBC (this was my second appearance) because that really impresses my parents but at the same time as more and more people catch up with the early adopters hopefully there will be opportunities for more interesting conversations on the matter instead of the type of mild attacks that happened in this interview....and I call this a mild attack because while I believe Mr. Kneale doesn't understand Twitter or its value I also think he was just trying to make interesting television content.

Finally, I considered disecting the intereview and offering up a color commentary of sorts of what I thought of it but think my co-worker Kelvin Kang did a pretty awesome wrap up of it all so instead I am just going to link to his post.

Oh ya....and here is the interview in case you missed it!

Memories of SXSWi 2009 Part One - Twitter Personalities and why my opinion differs from C.C. Chapman

The following series of posts are going to be thoughts and opinions that came from conversations I had or overheard while at SXSWi. I thought this would be a lot more interesting than sharing my adventures because at least with these posts you will learn more that the fact (notice I say fact) that I am a handsome guy and a sharp dresser :)

I had so many amazing highlights (some for public consumption and some not) from this years festival and the largest one (that I can talk about) was participating on a panel with C.C. Chapman, Dave Delaney, Loic Le Meur, and Chris Brogan. The panel was about building online brands but was nicknamed the "Cake Panel" since I brought a huge cake to share with as many folks who showed up as possible.

(If you missed the panel you can read about 40 pages of Twitter comments and a transcript here)

During the panel a question was asked about if Companies should only twitter as a company or is it OK to let people know who the person behind the company Twitter account really is.

Seeing as I am one of the main people who respond to the FreshBooks (@rlangdon being the other with a few guest appearances from @sunir) I jumped all over this question and said I think companies should ABSOLUTELY insist that not only should their twitter streams have personality but it should also have personalities. I always appreciate when I know who I am talking to and that they are a real person and not just a brand...in fact I think this makes for stronger voices and brands.

My panel mate, C.C. Chapman (who I have a world of respect for and even though we disagree on this I am not saying his opinion is wrong...well I did in the title) took the opposing position and said (paraphrasing here) "That is all OK as long as the personality never leaves the company" and used the example of Scott Monty and his current role at Ford and what it would mean to that brand should he leave.

C.C. is correct that anytime a personality leaves it will have an effect or a ripple through their community but I don't think it needs to be a negative one. Staying with the Scott Monty example (and as far as I know Scott is not going anywhere so this is purely hypothetical and an attempt to get some google juice off his name) should Scott decide in a few month to accept a position as the Social Media Czar at Victoria's Secret the immediate reaction from the people that follow Scott would be:

1- to congratulate him and wish him well (causing a fair amount of attention for both Ford and Victoria's Secret, Not to mention Scott himself)


2- pay closer attention to Victoria's Secret to see what Scott does in his first few months.

3- continue to pay attention to Ford to see how they move forward.

So in my estimation allowing the folks who guard your Twitter brand become personalities themselves works the same way fame (however little) works in other worlds. It is all about connection and if you happen to lose one of your personalities you shouldn't look at it as defeat but rather an interesting opportunity because in the short term you will have increased eye balls wondering who will be the next velvety voiced Scott Monty.

Use the opportunity to continue to be interesting and helpful, since that is all people ask from an online personality anyway.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this!

The thing Twitter is really good for is....

People debate and analyze vigorously what exactly Twitter is good for.

Sure people love it and it serves a purpose...heck 8 million people can't be wrong but what is it really best at?

I have witnessed people

Find a job

Find Love

or just

Make some cool friends but if I had to boil down the one thing it does better than anything else I can think of it would wave to be......wait for it.....a second longer....one more second....

Twitter creates those "It's a Small World" moments.

Last week I was having dinner with a woman from the UK who I met through our blogs etc and while I had never met her in person before she told me at dinner "You know we have a mutual friend, right?" She then went on to tell me how she saw on my twitter stream that I had been in LA the week previously and went out for dinner with someone she knew and how she was connected to my friend.

This got me thinking of all the other "Small World" moments I have had on twitter and could fill pages of them from the time I made asked a cab driver in NYC to change his direction because I got a DM from a friend from Toronto through twitter to come have dinner with him to the time I got 25 restaurant recommendations to a Chicago restaurant in the matter of minutes.

This same thing applies to Twitter for business because never before has a company or its customers had so much access to the people inside and behind the brands they love (should the company choose to engage that is) and if you want to know how to win a customer for life the answer is simple...give them an "It's a small world" moment.

Guest Blogging on Download Squad.

Hey All!

'member I memtioned that I was doing some guest blogging?

Well my first post for the Download Squad is up and I urge you to go give it a lookie.

The title is "If I keep using Twitter, I'll go blind"



Let me know what you think!

How do you use Twitter - staring Saul Colt

I talk a whole bunch about my love for Twitter and I truly do love them (I even have a blog post cooking about how to transform the way people think of twitter without changing a single thing) so I was pretty jazzed when I found out that I made it into their promo video.

Check it out!


How Do You Use Twitter? from biz stone on Vimeo.

Some eye candy for July the 4th!

Here is the full video of me being interviewd in DC a week or so ago. In here I discuss my love for Twitter, Gary Vaynerchuk, The USA, The 1950's and some guy named Saul!

...and for those following the last few posts, I have one final entry for Lindy Dreyer week and that should come over the weekend.

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday.

Twitter is a religion....but without all the creepy singing.

Blogs all around the interweb are screaming at Twitter for their performance issues over the last week or so. Like others I admit I have been inconvenienced by their being down since I LOVE TWITTER and rely on it a great deal to keep connected to my friends and people I love (but have not told them my feelings yet) but I can't bring myself to get worked up like some others because even though Twitter is sometimes frustrating I still think it is worth every cent and more then I pay for it!

Yes Folks, Twitter is a free service.

If I were paying for Twitter (and I would if it came to that) I would have a different opinion but while it is still free I think we need to step back and give them a break.

I believe the reason people get so worked up over Twitter is because for a large number of people Twitter has become like a religion.

Don't believe me?

Here are the basic characteristics of a religion and see if you see yourself and Twitter in there:

structured - Everyone is gathering in one place to tell others what they are doing.
dependency - If people didn't care, no one would mind when they go down.
intimate - Many people post naked or on the toilet.
hierarchy/authoritative - Certain people assume leadership rolls.
effects behavior - Too many examples to mention here.
anything a person finds sacred and feels connected to - Pretty obvious.
devotion to an idea or a figure - Face it....We all idolize the Whale.

Now if you are still with me here I would like to point out that this is just an observation and not a rant. While some people will read "Religion" and think it is a bad thing, I am actually making the point that preying to a Whale is miles ahead of preying to an alien and now that you understand why you get so mad at Twitter maybe you can find it in your heart to cut them some slack.

Because religion is all about forgiveness.

Twittering for good and not just to report bathroom visits...

If you read this blog or my twitter entries you probably know I have been sick the last few days.....well I am feeling much better now and figured it as time to get back to my blog. Holed up in bed I read a lot of blog entries and followed my twitter subscriptions. One of the twitters that caught my eye was from C.C. Chapman recounting that someone asked him to name a company that is using Twitter in a great way and he came up blank. I was determined to find someone so I could post about it and look like a smartie pants but alas I came up with nothing as well.......But I did come across a website that is using Twitter in the smartest way I have seen so far!

Bargainista is a great site that discovers and announces "sales" from retail stores in the Toronto area. The site is jammed packed with entries and each "sale" also gets its own Twitter posting so if you are not signed up for the RSS feed you can still get a reminder (in a line or two) about the newest discoveries.

I see a lot of people use Twitter to announce a running account of their every move.....and that is cool if you are into that sort of thing but the more people figure innovative ways to use this powerful tool the more important it will become!

-saul

Disclosure : The lady who runs the site is a friend of mine and very attractive but neither influenced my decision to write this post :)