Profile: How a clothing designer uses social media

 

Alloyius McIlwaine is turning his Cultures 

Clothing Company into a monster through 

social media

During a trip to Philadelphia over the weekend, I had a chance to hang out with Alloyius McIlwaine, a clothing designer who is no doubt going to be a household name one day. Perhaps one of the biggest reasons why Alloyius will achieve that success is his use of social media. While he could easily just use his accounts to promote his clothing line, he uses social media the way a business should: He makes strong connections by just being himself. Those connections then translate into hits to his Web site, www.culturesclothing.com, where his fans and friends can view and purchase items from his clothing line, see what he's up to and know what's coming from him in the future. If you want to see how a clothing designer uses social media the right way, check him out on Twitter @culturesclothes. Here's an interview I did with him:

JAY ADAMS: First of all, explain a little bit about what Cultures Clothing is, how the idea came about and what type of success you've had since you launched.

ALLOYIUS MCILWAINE: I founded Cultures Clothing in my college years. At first, I was just making T-shirts as a way to make some extra money, but then I really fell in love with creating. I'm an artist at heart, and this gave me an outlet to express myself and to get my work seen. Even in high school, the idea of having people wearing something that I created really appealed to me. I came up with the name because everyone is a product of many different cultures, whether you're talking about nationalities, or the culture of the society that you grew up in, so I wanted my line to reflect that. I wanted to show that all nationalities, cultures, or social groups have something interesting or beautiful about them. The line is representative of high fashion, urban wear and everything in-between for men, women and children. I've expanded from just doing T-shirts to doing dresses, polos, skirts and hoodies, as well. You'll see influences from everything from fine art and high fashion to hip-hop in the clothing.

On the price tags for the clothing, I include little known or interesting facts about different cultures, to inform people, and to help them to understand that we are all connected. Along with doing pieces of clothing for mass production, many of the pieces from Cultures Clothing are hand-painted and can be customized, so that the consumer can have a one of a kind piece of art to wear.

Just like anything, it takes a lot of time and hard work to really become successful. Statistics show that, on average, it takes business at least seven years to become successful, so it's been a long and hard process, but people seem to love the clothing! The hoodies are big sellers. People love that I use a lot of color in the clothing. One thing that I've noticed is that I get a lot of return buyers. People love the quality of the work and that I'm doing something a little different than the norm. I've gotten a ton of support over the years and I'm getting to the point where, every once in a while, I can see someone walking down the street wearing something that I've created, and let me tell you man, that is a bug-out! It's like, "Wow, I made that!" Sometimes I introduce myself and tell them, "I made this shirt that you're wearing, take a picture with me really quick" (he says with a laugh).

JA: How do you use social media for Cultures Clothing?

AM: Well, essentially, I use sites like Twitter, MySpace, Facebook and Model Mayhem to spread awareness about the clothing line, to let people know what's going on behind the scenes, and to let people know what is available from my brand. All of the different sites have something that is very useful. I use Model Mayhem as a way to connect with models, photographers and make-up artists. MySpace was my first social media outlet, so I have the most followers on there (about 3,000). I use MySpace to post bulletins and news flashes. Sidenote: MySpace is also great for promoting music. Facebook is a more personal way to connect with people, and Twitter is the best way to reach influential people who might help the brand, and to build a following.

JA: How have you been able to gain a following for your brand through social media?

AM: With Twitter, I just started out by just speaking about whatever subjects are trending at the time, and usually, if you have something funny, witty, or truthful to say about something, and people see you, they'll check you out and follow you. I also try to reply back to every message that I get, so when people get to see how friendly and personable I am, then tend to check out whatever else I'm doing and they support it. I talk about various subjects, including the clothing line, and I post artwork, and I just try to entertain people. People like to be entertained, and I like making people laugh, so I just try to be fun and easy to talk to, and the following grows daily. I also invite people to come out and meet me when I do events and stuff. It's funny, people are usually pleasantly surprised when I act the same way in person as I do in (social media).

JA: What has been the impact to your business? Has being active on social media brought you more visitors to your site?

AM: Yeah, it definetly has! I haven't done any magazine ads, or billboards or anything like that, so outside of doing events like fashion shows and people hearing about me that way, I'd say that social media is the source of the majority of the clothing line's sales.

JA: I notice that you don't publish tweets or Facebook updates just about fashion or your personal brand. You talk a lot about music and your other interests. How much do you think that helps potential customers identify with you as a person rather than just some random brand? Has that been your strategy all along?

AM: I guess you can say it was a strategy, but moreso I'm just being myself. I just feel like if you're too one-dimensional with your posts, it's not going to be as interesting for the reader. I mean, they might come to you when they specifically want to read something about your trade, but that's it. I just talk about whatever pops in my head, whether it be sports, fashion, music, politics, or social commentary. I think the key to gaining more followers is personality. If you're interesting, people WILL follow you.  

JA: You recently started up an online magazine. How did you get the idea to do it and why do you think it will help your brand? 

AM: Honestly man, one day, on a Tuesday I just said "I want to start a magazine" and I had it up two days later on Thursday. I just figured that I'm talking about all of these different subjects anyway, let me put them together in a format like a magazine and get my thoughts and (point-of-view) out there. I come across so much information that might be overlooked by mass-media, and I just felt like certain information needs to be out there.

For example, if you go on the Internet, it's incredibly easy to find out what Lil Wayne and Gucci Mane are doing this week in jail, but news about cognitive, thought-provoking hip-hop just gets swept under the rug and doesn't see the light of day. I think that's sad. Most people who are unfamiliar with what hip-hop really is would just look at what's in mass media and think that hip-hop's all a bunch of womanizing, talk of drug trafficking and money-worshiping with gratuitous violence. I use the magazine to push real hip-hop out there.

Just to give you a few more examples, I also think that there's a lot of propaganda going on in mass media. Like recently, there were reports that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, one of the Taliban leaders had been captured. Shortly after that news came in, Taliban videos pop up all over YouTube refuting that claim. So I'm like, "Which is it, is he captured or not?" Next thing you know, we have breaking news on like every station about Tiger Woods' apology. That was just amazing to me, and I mean amazing in a bad way, like shocking. I use the magazine to bring those types of things into light. I also have this section of the magazine called "Cultures Facts" that I use to give little known/interesting facts about different cultures. I think that if people could see how closely we are all related and gain a better understanding of different cultures then the world would be a better place.

As for how the magazine will help the brand, I've already gotten a lot more exposure from it. I recently did a radio interview with Shamara on Power99 about the magazine, and I actually got a ton of Facebook adds just from people who heard that interview on the radio. So it's given me more exposure, and with more exposure comes more sales. Since I started the magazine, I think my sales have at least doubled. I do an article every week called "What's New With Cultures Clothing," which gives me an avenue to let people know what's going on behind the scenes, and to let them know about what I have for sale and what I have coming out. So now that people are more up-to-date with what I have to offer, the business is having a lot more success.  

JA: What has been the response to the magazine so far? 

AM: Oh, the response to the magazine has been incredible! The first month and a half of the magazine has gotten 3,200 views, which is pretty good for an unknown online magazine that popped up out of nowhere. I have so many people that are just offering help and support, it's really humbling. Like my inbox is filled every day with friends, family and even fans of the magazine sending me interesting articles to talk about for the magazine. It looks like we're starting a bit of a movement here! 

JA: What are your future plans with it? 

AM: As far as future plans, I'd love to put it into print one day. That's definitely on the agenda. I'm currently looking for investors and writers. I'm just trying to make this thing grow and reach as many people as possible. Hopefully, one day, I'll have something on the scale of what Marc Ecko is doing with Complex magazine. That would be awesome. 

JA: You're very active on Twitter. How has Twitter helped you network with others in the fashion industry? 

AM: Twitter has helped me to get in touch with so many people in the fashion industry, in the music industry, and mass media in general. Since I've been on Twitter, I've gotten some clothing to hip-hop underground legends like COPYWRITE, the incredibly lovely Aubrey Aquino has worn my clothing on her TV show "On The Flipside," and has put me in touch with celebrities like Somaya Reece. I've even gotten the chance to talk to a lot of my hip-hop idols, such as Chino XL and Talib Kweli. It's amazing, I've also found numerous models off of Twitter, and made lots of great contacts in the fashion industry. You'll be seeing some collab projects coming up soon! 

JA: How difficult would that be if Twitter didn't exist? 

AM: Truth be told, it would be very hard. Twitter is maybe the best social media outlet for connecting with people. It would be much, much harder to get in touch with a lot of these people, even through Facebook and Myspace. I mean, a few years ago I got in touch with Natalie Mejia of Girlicious and Cori Yarckin, who's now a friend of mine, through MySpace, and I have pictures of them wearing my clothing, but with those, I felt like I got really, really lucky. Twitter's easier for contacting celebrities and marketing your brand.  

JA: What does the future hold for Cultures Clothing, and how does social media play into it? 

AM: Hopefully in the future, Cultures Clothing will be up there with the big brands like Ecko and Polo. The plan is just to keep expanding and to keep promoting. I have photo shoots, fashions shows, and all types of other events coming up. Social media will always play a big part in how I promote Cultures, because it's the easiest way to get your brand out there to the largest number of people. You'll see me on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Model Mayhem, Formspring, and every other social media outlet out there promoting Cultures Clothing for a long time! 


Alloyius McIlwaine's Cultures Clothing line can be found here:
www.culturesclothing.com
www.twitter.com/culturesclothes
www.myspace.com/pharoahe214
Facebook Fan page
Model Mayhem

And, as always, you can follow me on Twitter @JayAdams70

SU student finds 15 minutes of social media fame

 

Pat Manley with his Big Boeheim Head. Manley's on the left,

in case you were wondering.

If there's one thing that Web 2.0 has proven it's that the previously elusive 15 Minutes of Fame are easier to attain than ever. Just ask Pat Manley. He knows.

Manley, a graduate student at Syracuse University, has become a local celebrity because of an idea to make Syracuse basketball games just a little more interesting. Manley saw the idea during games at other schools, but he hadn't seen anything like it at Syracuse before. The idea, in case you missed it in the photo above, is the obscenely gigantic photo cutout of Syracuse basketball head coach Jim Boeheim's head.

While Manley has received a steady stream of media and interview requests since the Boeheim head made its first appearance a few weeks ago, perhaps nothing has helped spur on Manley's meteoric rise to viral Syracuse fame like social media. It all started hours before Syracuse's home game against Marquette on Jan. 23. Before walking out the door to head to the game with the cutout that took six hours to make, Manley had friend Stephen Wolek snap a photo of the creator with his 5-foot-tall monster. Manley posted the photo to Twitter and Facebook, thinking it would just be a way to show all his friends what he had created.

"Within five minutes it was on a popular Syracuse blog, nunesmagician.com, and by the end of the game I was contacted by the Post Standard about using the very photo I uploaded," Manley said. "Within an hour after the game, I was contacted on Facebook by a girl from CirtusTV to set up an interview time."

And with that, Manley and his big Boeheim head became social media stars. Within 24 hours of the big head's debut, a Facebook Fan page was set up and a Twitter account followed shortly. The Facebook Fan page, which Manley played no hand in setting up, gathered in followers at a blistering pace. Manley was amazed when the group had just a couple of hundred. As of Feb. 8, the group is more than 5,100 strong and growing by the day. The big head's Twitter page is behind that with only 128 followers, although a Twitter search for "Boeheim Head" yields some interesting results.

But Manley has found that the big head hasn't stolen all of the social media spotlight. Manley himself has seen his social media requests rise in the past few weeks.

"My Facebook and Twitter accounts have exploded," Manley said. "I more than doubled my Twitter followers in a week's time and added a significant number of friends on Facebook. I synced up both accounts with my BlackBerry and it is constantly receiving notifications from both."

That might have something to do with Manley's decision to start marketing himself through the success he has had with the big Boeheim head. On the backside of the head, Manley wrote his Twitter account in large black letters so fans behind him at games would be able to find him on the micro-blogging site. He has even parlayed his social media presence into more and more traditional media appearances.

"Once things took off, I used social media in a variety of ways," Manley said. "Brent Axe contacted me through Twitter to set up an appearance on his radio show, which is simulcast on ESPN Radio and Time Warner Cable Sports. I was able to contact (Syracuse basketball players) Scoop Jardine and Kris Joseph through Twitter to set up a meeting that allowed me to take their pictures for new heads.

"I used direct messaging on Twitter to communicate with the owner of nunesmagician.com and field questions that he had, as well as provide him with links about the big head; and I was able to set up meetings with local media outlets through Facebook messaging."

Weeks after first becoming an icon at Syracuse basketball games, Manley is still surprised at just how much attention his creation has received and continues to receive through social media. A few years ago, Manley's popularity might have taken much longer to achieve. But through his use of social media and social networking, Manley was able to reach a large number of people in a very short period of time.

"Social media is certainly the wave of the future. Information can be disseminated much faster, it's relatively easy to use and understand and can reach people throughout the world with the click of a button," Manley said. "It was the key ingredient in my 'rise to fame,' and allowed me to connect with Syracuse fans that I would've never interacted with otherwise."

As always, you can follow me on Twitter @JayAdams70

Ten reasons not to read that top 10 social media post

Confusing title, huh? Well, that confusion has brought you here, so that's good, right?

Maybe not. But I can't help but notice all the information out there regarding how to successfully run a blog, a Facebook page or a Twitter profile. This information usually comes in packages of 10, but it's not uncommon to see five packs, seven packs or eight packs. Personally, I think those people shot for 10 ideas but ran out way faster than they thought.

I've set out for 10 ideas in this post, but we'll see how it goes. I'm not promising anything. I'm no better than the people who write seven or eight reasons. In fact, I'm worse.

10. You don't have time for ten reasons

You're a busy person. We all are. Who has the time to read 10 reasons to do or not to do anything? Honestly, if I'm given one really good reason to do something or not to do something, that's usually good enough for me. I'm sold. Call me cheap. It's how I roll. I understand you put a lot of thought into reaching ten ideas on one subject, but I just don't have the attention span for that many ideas. In fact, I'm already bored with this post.

9. Because of Reason 10, you only read the first few reasons anyway

When you're a one-reason person living in a 10-reason world, it's tough to get all the way through a blog post. I read the 10 reasons posts just as much as the next guy, but you usually lose me after about Reason 3. If those three reasons are good enough, I'm not so sure I need to go any further. So I'll skim. Yeah, there was nothing decent after Reason 3 anyway.

8. Reasons are really opinions being sold as hard facts

You'll see the blog posts that guarantee success if you follow the 10 steps laid out. You'll follow the 10 steps and wind up unsuccessful. You'll then determine yourself to be a failure and threaten to kill your Twitter profile. Don't to it. I need someone to compete with. But while the 10 reasons may come from credible sources, they're really just a list of things the poster has done that ended up working. Those 10 things may not work for you. That's just the way it is. In social media, not much is fully proven to be successful every time, except spouting off opinions as if they're facts. That works extremely well.

7. People post 10 things just to get retweeted

Yeah, that's why I'm doing it. So? The word "ten" and the number "10" are two of the most commonly retweeted words, according to some source I likely found on a top ten list. Getting retweeted is good for all of us. I happen to suck at it. That's why I'm writing this post: strictly for the retweets. But I won't get any. You won't do it. (That's a challenge. I think you should).

6. Ten reasons lists are too simliar

I can't tell you how many times I've read multiple top 10 lists and found the same reasons over and over. I get it already. Don't tweet while drunk. Understood. I know most people who spend their lives drunk need to be reminded of a lot of things over and over, like where they live. But I read all top 10 lists completely sober. If I didn't, I wouldn't tweet about it anyway.

5. Ten reasons lists are too dissimilar

There is so much conflicting information out there in top 10 lists. Should I follow everyone and hope they follow me back? Should I hope people just find me and determine that I'm interesting enough to follow? I don't know, but I've got two top 10 lists telling me to do two different things. What should I do? Oh, yeah. Refer to Reason 8.

4. I've run out of reasons

See? Told you it would happen. So now I have to think up some desperate reasons to reach 10 and not get yelled at by you. So now the following items are going to be throw-away reasons. I should have just created a top six list.

3. Anyone can write a top 10 list

This reason is similar to Reason 8, you say? I told you these last few would be throw-aways. But it's important to note that anyone can come up with 10 reasons to do something or not do something when it comes to social media. That kills the credibility of top 10 lists. Anyone can blog, too. So I guess I'm taking down the whole Internet with this list.

2. Ten reasons make you feel comfortable

Reading a top 10 list is like wrapping a nice, warm blanket around yourself. It feels nice. It feels like home. We love the number 10. Ten commandments. Ten-day forecast. Ten-gallon hat. Ten just works because it's a nice round number that doesn't cause disorder, like seven does. I hate 7. It messes everything up. What's 7+6? I can never remember. I blame 7.

1. You don't need reassurance

Seriously, you don't. As long as you're not spamming people or letting your social media profiles sit idle for days at a time, you're doing social media right. Everyone has their own way of doing things, and whether you're using social media for fun or for business, each case is unique. Only you can determine the right things and the wrong things to do. Sure, researching tips and tricks is awesome, and educating yourself is always a great thing to do. But you don't need me (especially) or anyone else to reaffirm that you're doing something right or wrong. Success comes from trial and error, and it's never too late to try something new. Figure it out for yourself. Then, write a top 10 list.

As always, you can follow me on Twitter @JayAdams70.

Be wary of the social media expert

As I've incorporated myself into the world of social media marketing, I've done a whole lot of reading on the How To's, the What To's and the What Not To's of how to build a personal brand using social media. Through my learning of more and more about social media, I've found myself having to make a lot of changes to my existing social media profiles to better serve the strategy I have created for myself. One of the things I did today was rebrand myself on my Twitter profile. I changed my profile description to be a little more, well, descriptive of who I am and what I'm about. Here's what I changed it to:

"Graduate student focused on new media and social media marketing, hardcore Buffalo Bills fan and an all-around pretty sweet dude."

My previous description just included my interest in social media and social media marketing, but I'm so much more than that. So I included the fact that I have an undying, pitiful passion for one of the most lackluster franchises in the NFL, and I showed decided to show my sense of humor by including the pretty sweet dude part. But if you notice, nowhere did I include the words "expert" or "guru" or "rockstar" in my description. Why? Because I'm not any of those things when it comes to social media. Now, let me clarify. I'm no stranger to social media sites. In fact, I've got a good seven or eight years of experience using social media sites on a daily basis. I've pretty much been obsessed with them since I discovered Friendster and MySpace so many years ago. I'd be willing to bet that I've logged just as much time on social media sites as the experts out there.

But that doesn't make me an expert. I'm not sure what would, really. What does make for a social media expert? What are the qualifications? Do you have to use social media as a business tool before you can be considered an expert? Mashable's Pete Cashmore, one of the very few people I would consider to be a true social media expert if there was a way to truly measure such a thing, wrote a blog post almost three weeks ago saying that there are more than 15,000 people on Twitter who call themselves social media experts in some form or fashion. Then, I saw a tweet from one of my favorite tweeters, Douglas Idugboe (@douglasi), that completely captured my thoughts on this subject:

"douglasi: To call yourself a social media expert is like saying, "I don't know what da heck I'm talking about!" We are all students just now."

Couldn't agree more. Let me take that thought a bit further. I've found in my personal experience with experts in any field that they tend to be closed off to new ideas and new ways to do things because of the status they have achieved. I feel, whether it's a conscious decision or not, that the day you consider yourself an expert is the day you stop learning little by little. That's a dangerous prospect in social media when things are changing so rapidly; day-to-day in some cases. Now, is there anything wrong with being considered an expert by your peers? Absolutely not. In fact, I applaud anyone who has achieved that status through years and years of hard work and dedication, and to have other people consider you an expert is the ultimate form of flattery. I just wonder what the value is in referring to yourself as a social media expert when there is absolutely no way to measure such a thing. Cashmore wonders in his post about the 15,000-plus social media experts how us folks who make social media such a big part of our lives go about creating a reputation for ourselves when there's no certification process for what is still a new, growing industry. I wonder the same thing.

So what is the standard you have to reach to consider yourself a social media expert? Is it, as I mentioned before, achieving success by marketing a business or product through social media means? If that's the case, you're leaving out a lot of people who could seriously be considered social media experts. Off the top of my head, I can think of Justin Halpern, who found fame with his Twitter account @shitmydadsays. Justin started the Twitter account to keep a record of all the funny, sarcastic things his father says. He turned it into an Internet sensation and currently has more than a million followers. He has parlaying that success into a book deal and a CBS deal that could bring a character based on his father to TV. Now, is he a social media expert? Sure, in some roundabout way, the content he provides ends up being some form of marketing. It's just another case of good content ruling all. But he's not a social media marketer in the same way a lot of other people on Twitter are. But I'd consider him to be a really good source of information on how to turn an idea into a burgeoning brand, even though he basically stumbled into his current success. Do we leave him out of the conversation simply because he doesn't blog about SEO, ROI or The Top 10 Twitter Tips You've Already Likely Read in 50 Other Blogs? What about Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco — who is a great marketer largely because of his phenomenal personality? Do we leave him out, too, because he doesn't share the latest social media trends?

This is precisely why the term "social media expert" is so murky. What does it encompass? How can we tell who really is an expert and who's just trying to give themselves a boost? If we look at what social media's purpose is, we can have a better idea of how to separate the real experts from the impostors. Social media is about engaging in conversation — whether it be by sparking the conversation or joining in on it. It's about making digital connections that add value to the space as a whole. With that said, can we really consider someone an expert simply because of their follower count? Or because of the amount of links they tweet at a feverish pace?

I guess, in the end, it all comes down to who you trust, whose input you value and who makes your social media experience better. Until there is a way to gauge who is truly a social media expert, it's up to you to create your own criteria for such a title. The problem, then, becomes the criteria people set for themselves to place such a title in their own Twitter description. Oh, well. For now, trust your instincts and be skeptical of anyone claiming to be an expert until they meet YOUR criteria of such a title. Don't just take their word for it.

With that said, what would your criteria be to consider someone an expert in any field? What standards would you set for those kinds of people? And how long would it take you before determining that someone is not only trustworthy but deserving of the title of "expert?"

As always, you can follow me on Twitter @JayAdams70.

Lots of information on how to use Twitter

If you're like me, you probably do a lot of research on things you're passionate about. That's why I'm constantly searching for the latest news on the Buffalo Bills. After I'm through punishing myself with that, I do quite a bit of reading on social media. Unlike a lot of people on Twitter, I don't consider myself to be a social media expert. To me, once you consider yourself an expert, you stop learning. Since I plainly promote myself as a student of social media in graduate school, I don't ever want to stop learning.

So I spend a lot of time reading various tips on how to effectively use Twitter. One thing I've noticed is there is a lot of conflicting information out there. It's enough to make your head spin and second guess every single tweet you ever post. I've read countless articles and blog posts that will claim to make you successful on Twitter if you just follow a couple of simple rules. Some experts will tell you to follow a lot of people in order to build up your own following. Others will tell you that's a bad strategy to build a following. Some experts say to tweet as much as possible. Other say tweeting too much will annoy your followers.

See what I mean? For a Twitter user like me who has only been on the microblogging site since July, all this conflicting information gets really confusing to the point where I've found myself gunshy at times. Throughout all my reading, however, I've found some really good information that I think is valid regardless of what the opposition says. Again, I am no expert, and I will likely never claim to be, but here are five really good tips I've found to be very useful:

1. Above all, be yourself. It's a tip I've seen from multiple sources, and I think it's the most useful tip I've seen. If you're not an expert, don't claim to be one. If you're not into the topics that are currently trending, don't tweet about them. Just be yourself. Be who you are, and everything else will follow.

2. Content rules all. There is no substitute for good content. If you provide good content, people will find you. Not only that, but people you share common interests with will find you, which adds value to your list of followers.

3. The number of followers you have is not everything. Twitter is not a contest nor a race. If I had a choice of having 3,500 casual followers or 150 followers who really appreciate my content, I'd take the latter. If you want to collect friends and followers, try MySpace circa 2004.

4. Don't curse in your tweets. I used to be really guilty of this, especially on Facebook. I had a friend comment to me about two months ago that he had kept track of the amount of swears I used in my status updates. It was kind of embarrassing. Since then, I've completely gotten rid of cuss words in my social media usage. A good rule to remember is that people don't usually want to retweet something with a barrage of four-letter words. Understandable.

5. Twitter is not about you. I saw this bit of advice from @AskAaronLee, and I thought it was pretty poignant. If you want to be successful using Twitter, bring something to the table that your followers will find useful. Your schedule for the day doesn't do that. But engaging in a conversation, asking your followers for their opinions and posting useful links does. Being egotistical will get you nowhere quickly.

What about you? What tips and tricks have you found to be successful? Better yet, what do you see as things Twitter users shouldn't do?

Here's a list of really helpful links I've found in reading about how to properly use Twitter:
- Mashable's Twitter Guide is an excellent source of information. I highly recommend spending some time on this site if you want to learn a lot about Twitter.
- For those of you looking how to incorporate Twitter into your business strategy, I found this post from Neil Williams really helpful.
- Computer World's Twitter Etiquette post lays out some good rules.
- Guyism provides a humorous look at seven things you should never post on Twitter. But seriously, follow things guide.
- The Morning News has a great Twitter guide.
- SheGeeks clarifies some of the rules for Twitter.

Do you have any links that you've found particularly helpful concerning Twitter? Please share them here. I'd love to read them.

As always, you can follow me on Twitter @JayAdams70.

This is why I love Twitter

As I explained in a previous post, I had a very strong aversion to Twitter a few months ago, mainly because I thought there was a real lack of credibility in the information that was constantly being spewed in tweets. It took me a few weeks after signing up for an account to actually find some real value in Twitter, and since then, I've pretty much become addicted.

More and more, I see reasons why I should allow someone large and particularly cruel to kick me in the seat of my pants for not joining Twitter long before I did. Just a few moments ago, I saw this tweet from Sacramento Kings (and former Syracuse star. GO CUSE!) Donte Green:

 EARTHQUAKE!!!!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

I checked my Twitter feed back to see if anyone else had tweeted about an earthquake. Sure enough, the ever informative Jacob Morgan tweeted out this info:

So get this: train to airport delayed due to minor earthquake, flight also delayed 30 mins.

So, within minutes of this earthquake actually happening in San Francisco, people around the world are informed about it. I know this is nothing new about Twitter, and this is certainly a small scale example of the distribution power of microblogging, but it's amazing to me that information like this now has the ability to get out long before news outlets have a chance to grab a pad and a pen. As a former journalist, I can now see why I hated Twitter so much. And as a member of human race who likes to be informed, I can now see why I'm obsessed with it.

Has there been a time in your Twitter life when you were surprised by the type of information you received and the quickness of it? I'd love to hear about it.

Stay away from the social media killswitch!

Are you fed up with your social media life taking over your real one? Wish you could just commit social media suicide? Well, now you can. Moddr, a social media lab, has developed a program that allows users to simply input their social media login information and watch as the slow, agonizing process deletes the user's Web 2.0 footprint. The aptly named suicide machine handles Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace and — until a ban of the program — Facebook accounts.

A humorous video at the bottom of this post points out all the reasons one would want to commit social media suicide. The video cites reasons like losing real-life connections with friends and family members, as well as a general real-life social absence that could make a user feel alienated from the rest of the world.

All valid, I suppose, for anyone who is completely obsessed with social media to the point where real relationships begin to suffer. If you're one of those people, by all means, commit social media suicide.

If you're simply doubtful of social media's value and you're considering getting rid of your social media profiles, keep your finger off the killswitch. Step away now!

The social media suicide machine works by deleting your contacts on the various social media sites and changing your passwords so that you can never resurrect yourself in the likely case you have a change of heart. Much like real life, once you're dead, you're dead.

If you're still considering using the Dr. Kevorkian of Web programs, let me give you a few reasons to keep your social media accounts around:

Social media is a vastly growing technology

We've seen social media sites grow in popularity and number with incredible speed during the past few years. Truth be told, social media sites have been around since the mid-1990s. Remember Classmates.com? Perhaps you still use it. The site was one of the first that paved the way for sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and the like. If you ever used Classmates, you probably look back thinking that the site was way ahead of its time. It allowed users to reach old high school and college classmates that had fallen out of touch, or simply off the face of the earth. Back in the days of dial-up and AOL popularity, Classmates just seemed like it couldn't really get a proper footing. While the site is still very much around and used, the differences between Classmates and Web 2.0 social media sites are a clear indication of the types of advancements social media sites have made since the mid-90s. Imagine five years from now when we're talking about Facebook and Twitter the same way we think about Classmates. Social media technology will continue to advance and, most importantly, get better in serving the individual needs of the user. Jumping off the social media bandwagon right now would be like swearing off Taco Bell before the advent of the Chalupa. The delicious, delicious Chalupa. Don't be so callous.

The conversation needs you. Yes, YOU!

Privacy concerns in social media are very real for some people, and I completely understand them. For me, social media is a way to get myself and my brand out there, so I don't really have a lot of privacy concerns with the exception of horrible, deplorable spam. In fact, Forbes.com's Mike Schaffner recently wrote about the death of social media. The killer, he surmised: spam. I agree with Schaffner's take that spam is a huge annoyance on social media sites — especially MySpace, which really hasn't been able to get a handle on the problem — and it's enough to keep casual users from logging on and participating. For the most part, however, social media has become something that most people use on a regular basis, and I don't see how most of them would leave the sites for a little spam. Schaffner also argues that the commercialization of social media sites is also becoming more and more unappealing to most users. I see his point, but I don't agree. If anything, I believe the presence of more and more companies and businesses on social media sites makes for not only a better social media atmosphere, but better companies and businesses.

Look, the whole idea behind social media is to create a conversation. You're a Facebook user, right? Why do you update your status? Is it because you think your friends really care that you took grandma to knitting class this morning? No. It's because you're trying to start a conversation. People who think about their status updates tend to spark the most conversation. I had a friend recently post a status about Florida head coach Urban Meyer's recent health issues stemming from stress. My friend's post was somewhat controversial in nature — I believe it included the words "pompous ass" — and it created a buzz among his friends. So much so, that it reeled in 36 comments in a relatively short period of time. He seemed a little shocked that so many people responded — and mostly with bad things to say about the status — but I would argue that he did exactly what social media is intended to do: He started a conversation. Good or bad, it's still a conversation, and I'd be willing to be more of his friends are now apt to paying attention to what he writes in his status updates.

The same is true for businesses on social media sites. Now, I wouldn't recommend businesses try to start conversations about whether or not Urban Meyer is a pompous ass, but businesses that start social media conversations help themselves, which, in turn, helps the user or the consumer. Think about this: Let's say you follow your favorite video game company on Facebook. This company released a brand new game that's supposed to be the biggest thing since Pong. You, as a loyal customer, go out and buy this game and notice that it's not everything it's cracked up to be. What can you do about it? Besides complain to your friends, you can go back on to Facebook and post on the company's page about all the faults you found in the game. If social media works the way it should (and it will), others will join in the conversation about the flaws. If the company is paying attention to its social media strategy the way it should be (and it is), your input, as well as that of the folks who joined in the conversation, will go right to the people who make the decisions within the company. The great thing about social media sites for consumers like you and me is that, while companies can spark a conversation, they can't control it. Good companies wouldn't want to, anyway. Good and bad, the company would find out about what its consumers want. Isn't that what we, as consumers, want: a company that is going to pay attention to our needs and demands? Please, tell me a better way to get something like that across than social media.

Connections don't get frayed through social media

Take a look at your Facebook friends list or the list of people you follow on Twitter. How many of those people do you actually know? For Facebook, I'd wager that you've at least met nearly all of them. Twitter, it's probably much less, but you likely follow people who talk about things you're interested in. I can only talk about my own experiences, but I've found that the connections I've made through Facebook and Twitter have only served to strengthen the connections I have with those same people in real life. Through Facebook, I've found a bunch of friends I had fallen years out of touch with. I've even found a few family members I had lost track of or hadn't even met yet. Through Twitter, I've strengthened personal connections by learning about shared interests I have with other people I may never have otherwise found out about. Who knows where that could lead me in the future?

Social media is like anything. Building little ships inside bottles is a great hobby, but it can overtake your life and ruin your personal connections if you do too much of it. So can stamp collecting, an unhealthy obsession with Slip 'n Slides and sports (unless you have a cool wife that loves football, like me). But if used the right way, these things can add to a normal, healthy life (OK, maybe not the Slip 'n Slide obsession, but you get my point). What social media offers that these other things don't, however, is the ability to find more people who are into the same stuff you are. You may be a crazy Slip 'n Slide enthusiast, and without social media, you may think you're the only one. But through social media, look: there's 288 people just like you. Imagine the conversations you could have with them. And imagine what you'd be missing out on if you commit social media suicide.

As promised, here's the funny video from Vimeo about the suicide machine:


web 2.0 suicide machine promotion from moddr_ on Vimeo.

Tweet value is what Nick Lachey makes it

I have a bit of a confession to make. A year ago at this time, I was 100 percent anti-Twitter. Yeah, I admit it. Allow me to explain. At the time, Twitter was a burgeoning social media tool that hadn't really proven anything to me. The way I saw things, Twitter was simply a way for narcissistic people to keep others informed about what's going on in their day-to-day lives, as if anyone really cared. I had been using Facebook's status updates at the time, but I found there was some real value to those as opposed to Twitter. I thought Facebook had a better system for sharing links and information, and that Twitter was just a way to be extremely self-centered while providing absolutely no value at all. That was my personal opinion.

Professionally, I was extremely against it. I had heard Twitter being tossed around as a journalistic tool last year, and that got my blood boiling. As a former journalist — and a journalist at the time this was all occurring — I was furious that any journalist would use someone's tweets as a source in what would otherwise be considered a respectable news story. Even when Twitter was gaining a lot of credibility with the situation in Iran last year, I was very critical of journalists using Twitter as a way to keep the public informed about important, credible information.

During my first semester of grad school, however, we were required to set up a Twitter account. I did so with much protest and apprehension. We used Twitter for a couple of class assignments — no big deal. And since I had the account, I figured I might as well use it for a bit what all the fuss was about. Of course, as time went on, I began to find that Twitter had value. I was able to get breaking news a lot faster and in more digestible snippets than I did by simply becoming a fan of a journalist or news outlet on Facebook, and that hit me right where I itched. So it was around September when I really came around on Twitter and changed my previous opinions on the social media outlet.

In doing more research since then (and opening my mind quite a bit more to other social media sites without coming to any conclusion before actually trying them) to better prepare myself to get hired for a social media marketing position after graduation this spring, I found a lot of great tips on how to use Twitter and, more importantly, how to add value to what it is you're tweeting about. One of my favorite sources for these types of tips is Mashable's Twitter Guidebook. Through these tips, I found that I could add more value to my tweets by engaging in a conversation, starting a conversation or sharing links that my followers would find valuable. Because of that, I largely stopped posting inane tweets with absolutely no conversation value at all.

Fast forward to this past weekend. I took a couple of days off from the blog — and coherent, sober life — to go down to New Orleans for New Year's. While sitting in my hotel bar a block off Bourbon Street, I was staring out the window. On the other side of the street, I see a familiar face. Could it be? No. Can't be. It is! It's Nick Lachey! Now, I'm not the type to be starstruck, and seeing Nick Lachey didn't change that, but I decided to tweet about it anyway. Here's what I wrote:

JayAdams70: Just saw Nick Lachey outside my hotel. I wanted to tell him to stay out of it.

Now, if anyone watches "The Soup" on E! you'll catch the reference to a quote they use quite often from some overly-sensitive, unrealistic teen show I can't think of the name of: "Stay out of it, Nick Lachey." Anyways, the point is I was trying to be sarcastic with a tweet that had absolutely no value to anyone and then go on about my day. If I have no value to offer through a tweet, why not at least try to make it witty, right? I didn't give the tweet a second thought until the next day when my BlackBerry started buzzing. I picked it up and saw that I had received an e-mail with a subject of "Hi, Jay." I opened it:

"My name is (name withheld) and I am the (position withheld) of Us Magazine. I am urgently trying to find out some details of Nick and Vanessa's trip to New Orleans and I see that you spotted them at your hotel. I wondered if you could please tell me which hotel it was and also what you observed. All in complete confidence, of course. I would never use your name. Thanks so much."

Well, I'll be damned. I've spent much of the past few weeks tweeting and retweeting social media links, thinking I'm upping my Twitter value, and a sarcastic, worthless tweet about Nick Lachey gets me hunted down by a national gossip magazine? I had several e-mail exchanges with this staff member of Us Magazine to get down the gritty, juicy details of my 15-second experience of watching Nick Lachey walk down a street. For those interested in what actually went down, here's what I sent to Us Magazine:

"Happy to help. They weren't staying at our hotel, but I saw them when they were walking by ours. We were staying at the Holiday Inn Chateau LeMoyne on Dauphine Street one block from Bourbon Street. Nick was walking and holding hands with a woman I couldn't identify. I don't keep up with a lot of celebrity news, so I couldn't really tell who she was. He had a drink in his other hand. They were walking with a fairly large man about five feet in front of them that I could only speculate was a bodyguard. When I saw them, the street was pretty empty save for a few people. One of them yelled to Nick and he turned around and quickly acknowledged the fan with a wave and a smile before quickly walking away. That's what I saw. Hopefully that helps. Let me know if you have any follow up questions."

Thrilling stuff, no? I didn't think so at the time. Honestly, I still don't think so. As I mentioned in my e-mail to Us Magazine, I don't follow celebrity news. If I had expanded on that thought, I would have likely included the fact that I find it to be mostly trashy and self-indulgent. BUT, just because there's no value to me, and just because I have personal opinions on a subject like this, doesn't mean there's no value to someone else. And through this experience, that's the biggest thing I take. Did I care that Nick Lachey was taking a leisurely walk down a New Orleans city block with Vanessa Minnillo? Absolutely not. I cared enough to point it out to my fellow barmates and then sarcastically tweet about it, but I found no value in what I saw. But someone did find value in it. That someone in this instance happened to be a national magazine browsing around Twitter for celebrity news and sitings. That tells me that, regardless of the topic, most tweets have some sort of value. Now, is the situation I described to you typical? Probably not. There was probably some luck (is luck really the word I'm looking for here?) involved with timing and keyword selection on my part. But it's an example of just how powerful and valuable Twitter can be even in seemingly value-less situations.

That doesn't mean that suddenly what you packed for lunch today is a valuable tweet that someone out there in Twitterland will strike up a conversation with you about. (So, please, stop tweeting about your lunch). But it does mean that tweet value has to be thought about in a broad way. Ask yourself some questions: What will others get out of what I have to say? Is what I tweet relevant? How can I make what I tweet valuable to followers, or even non-followers? What keywords can I use in my tweet so that others looking for this type of information can easily search for it and find it on Twitter? Is what I tweet, regardless of my own opinions of the situation, going to get me a paragraph in this coming Wednesday's Us Magazine?

The answer to the last question is yes.

2009: The Year of JASON

An article in PC World caught my attention this week, and since my full name is Jason, I'd love to say that it printed an article about what a great year this was for me. Alas, that's not the case. The year 2009 became the year of the social network (or Just Another SOcial Network, as the disbelievers like to refer to social media). As PC World points out, social networks became more than just a way to keep your friends up to date on what store you shopped at or the crochet set you bought grandma for her birthday. Social networks, like Facebook and Twitter, became a popular and credible way to deliver news and market products. Think back over the year, if you will. How did you find out about Michael Jackson dying? Where did you hear about the plane crash in the Hudson River? How did you keep up with the election in Iran? Chances are, Facebook and Twitter are the answers to those questions and more when it came to the big events of 2009.

I know they are for me. I heard about the passing of Michael Jackson and the Miracle on the Hudson from Facebook. Twitter kept me updated on the broiling situation in Iran over the summer. Never before had I considered these sites to be sources of breaking news and ongoing situations. I'm sure a lot of us felt that way. But it seems fitting, doesn't it? It seems like people are finally figuring out the huge potential social networks hold for content distribution, serious discussion and keeping people informed. As the article in PC World points out:

Earlier this fall, for instance, Facebook logged its 350 millionth user. And this summer, Nielsen Co. reported that In April, Facebook users spent 13.9 billion minutes on the site, 700% more than the year-earlier total of 1.7 billion minutes.

And Twitter hasn't been a shrinking violet in the social networking scene in 2009. In March, for example, the number of U.S. visitors to the site increased by 131% just from February, according to online researcher comScore Inc. And Experian Hitwise, an Internet monitoring firm reported this fall that Twitter's September traffic increased by 1170% compared to year-earlier month.

Those number seem staggering? They should. Imagine, 350 million people. That's more than seven times the population of some countries. Eat that, Luxembourg. The increase in traffic is pretty shocking, as well. It should be no wonder, then, why companies are adopting social media as a new, effective way to reach people. Think about a mass message you're likely to see during a commercial break. How many people does it reach in this age of TiVo and DVR technology? I'll be so bold as to estimate that it does not have the potential to reach 350 million people. Social media sites, Facebook specifically, do have that potential. And while it's not likely that companies are going to reach all 350 million users by adopting a social media strategy, what's important here is that the potential for reaching as many of those people as possible exists, and it exists through more targeted means than mass commercial messages.

The adoption of social media sites by regular people as a way to share news has validated the very real opportunities that lie in social networking for businesses. After all, if people feel the need to share news, why not share products, too? While, as PC World points out, a small number of companies have implemented social media strategies, that number is starting to grow. We have the breakthrough year of 2009 to thank for that.

Welcome to my social world

I am very excited about launching this blog. It goes hand-in-hand with my portfolio site, which can be found by clicking here. A little about me: I'm a 28-year-old social media junkie. For years, I have participated in social media sites, but only recently did I fully discover the potential social media has in the business world. I hate to say something that seems so scripted, but social media possibilities excite me. I'm always going out of my way to learn the newest trends, work the latest gadgets and take in knowledge of people who are currently working in social media marketing. These people are a huge asset to anyone interested in learning more about how social media can work for businesses, and I highly recommend checking them out in my blogroll.

Currently, I am a graduate student at the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. I am focusing my efforts in new media and social media marketing, and I'm truly excited about job prospects when I graduate this spring. My background mainly lies in newspapers. I spent six years writing for several newspapers in Georgia before deciding to go back to school and get into the social media world. During my career as a sports reporter, I got to do a lot of things most people only dream of. I won a lot of awards along the way, too. But with the current state of newspapers and their obsession with their own inertia, I couldn't see making a lifetime career out of reporting. Social media, on the other hand, is all about new ways of doing things. It's cutting edge. It's what's right now, and I don't see it going anywhere any time soon.

Through this blog, I plan on keeping up to date with all the latest social media news and trends while offering a few opinions along the way. I welcome any and all suggestions and advice, especially from current social media experts in the field. I look forward to joining those ranks within the next six months.

In the meantime, if you'd like to see what I'm up to in the realm of social media, check out some of my pages: Facebook | LinkedIn | Twitter | Delicious