Web/Tech

How To Type More Accurately and Much Faster With Asutype
I'm surprised by how much of my typing is now done outside of
traditional e-mail or business software (like Microsoft Word). Instead,
my typing is done in web-based applications like my blog, Facebook, or
Twitter. That's where a program like Asutype really shines.

I have been using a very effective spell-checking and text expansion program for several years now. It works so well that I forget it's there, even though it automatically fixes most of my typing errors and makes it easy for me to enter repetitive phrases or pieces of information. The bottom-line is that it helps me type more accurately and much faster.

There are three basic ways to use the software.
1. Correct Mistakes Interactively. The first is an interactive spell checker that works as you type (hence the name "Asutype"). When you type something that isn't in its dictionaries, it pops up a correction box with several of the most likely replacement candidates. This provides a quick and easy way to fix your spelling without having to retype anything.
2. Correct Repetitive Mistakes Automatically. The software also keeps track of the mistakes you make as well as the corrections that you apply and allows you to create a list of automatic entries. From time-to-time I'll review the list of corrections and choose to add them to my permanent list. When I do that, then next time I mistype that word or phrase, the software automatically fixes it (without even asking). This means I type much quicker because most of my typing mistakes are repetitive and that means I make them consistently). I'm actually surprised by how many different ways I could misspell certain words. It's not so much that I don't know how to spell them, it's that my fingers don't do the right thing when I'm trying to type quickly or get distracted.
3. Automate Repetitive Typing. The software also has some very powerful text expansion capabilities. I think of them almost as abbreviations or shortcuts. There are certain words or phrases that I type often (examples include: Capitalogix, our web address, or phrase like "please contact me if you have questions or comments".). Another example might be to use the abbreviation "VTY", which could expand to "very truly yours" … and then your signature block.
You never have a second chance to make a first impression, so I'm glad that Asutype helps me seem like a good speller. Here are the links for you to find out more information or to download a trial copy yourself. I don't have anything to do with the company other than I'm a happy user. I've had my license for years, and I can vouch for their service, support, and the good experience that I've had with their tool. I hope you like it too.
March 29, 2009
How To Type More Accurately and Much Faster With Asutype
I'm surprised by how much of my typing is now done outside of
traditional e-mail or business software (like Microsoft Word). Instead,
my typing is done in web-based applications like my blog, Facebook, or
Twitter. That's where a program like Asutype really shines.

I have been using a very effective spell-checking and text expansion program for several years now. It works so well that I forget it's there, even though it automatically fixes most of my typing errors and makes it easy for me to enter repetitive phrases or pieces of information. The bottom-line is that it helps me type more accurately and much faster.

There are three basic ways to use the software.
1. Correct Mistakes Interactively. The first is an interactive spell checker that works as you type (hence the name "Asutype"). When you type something that isn't in its dictionaries, it pops up a correction box with several of the most likely replacement candidates. This provides a quick and easy way to fix your spelling without having to retype anything.
2. Correct Repetitive Mistakes Automatically. The software also keeps track of the mistakes you make as well as the corrections that you apply and allows you to create a list of automatic entries. From time-to-time I'll review the list of corrections and choose to add them to my permanent list. When I do that, then next time I mistype that word or phrase, the software automatically fixes it (without even asking). This means I type much quicker because most of my typing mistakes are repetitive and that means I make them consistently). I'm actually surprised by how many different ways I could misspell certain words. It's not so much that I don't know how to spell them, it's that my fingers don't do the right thing when I'm trying to type quickly or get distracted.
3. Automate Repetitive Typing. The software also has some very powerful text expansion capabilities. I think of them almost as abbreviations or shortcuts. There are certain words or phrases that I type often (examples include: Capitalogix, our web address, or phrase like "please contact me if you have questions or comments".). Another example might be to use the abbreviation "VTY", which could expand to "very truly yours" … and then your signature block.
You never have a second chance to make a first impression, so I'm glad that Asutype helps me seem like a good speller. Here are the links for you to find out more information or to download a trial copy yourself. I don't have anything to do with the company other than I'm a happy user. I've had my license for years, and I can vouch for their service, support, and the good experience that I've had with their tool. I hope you like it too.
March 29, 2009
Capitalogix Commentary 03/27/09
All Revved-up and No Place to Go.

We just saw a 24% rally unfold in a little over two weeks. But a rally like that doesn't make too many people happy. For most, this is where fear and greed collide.

Prudence dictates that position size and risk should stay small while in a serious long-term downtrend, especially with a stock like Citibank recently trading under a dollar. Yet a rally that big and steep often makes people feel like they should have been in the market, and wish they would've traded "this, that, or the other" stock or sector that they noticed a week or two ago.

Don't Worry, This Little Bit of Mind Control Won't Hurt A Bit …

This week I saw several news reports using the phrase "The Great Recession". This might be part of an interesting strategy on the part of the International Monetary Fund, which used that phrase a few weeks ago. Naming something gives you control over it (or at least the appearance of control over it). And "Recession" sounds so much less severe than "Depression". If you can just get people to adopt that phrase, it might give them enough hope that you actually avoid a depression? But just as it's hard to call a recession until you're well into it, I think it's pretty hard to tell whether you come out of it than till you're actually out of it. Still, it is a nice try.

Likewise, I have been impressed by how the administration has played the financial crisis lately. There seem to be some sound ideas, talked about in ways that make sense to the public, which get announced at strategic times. Moreover, it seems to be working; and the market looks like it's responding.

However, the key word there might be "looks". I'm certainly not convinced that the worst is over yet.

Where Are We in the Cycle?

A few weeks ago I noted the spread between smart money confidence and retail investor pessimism was at levels that often indicated short or intermediate-term bottoms. In hindsight it worked again, and there was a pretty sizable rally. However, retail traders are becoming confident again, too quickly for my taste. And the spread is no longer significant. So I don't see an edge there at this point.

I don't believe this is the end of the bottom. Instead, I hope this is the beginning of the bottoming process. My sense is that there are many businesses hanging on by a fingernail, or sheer will. Some of them are getting tired, others are running out of money, while still others are finding it hard to sell something in this environment. The point is that I suspect we're due for another round of culling the herd. That's not necessarily a bad thing, either.

What I'll be looking for, this time, is that I think we'll see a number of deals get done as prices get lower again. The companies that are going to survive, the companies that are going to thrive, the companies that are going to become new leaders in this next phase of our economy are going to start moving forward again.

Business Posts Moving the Markets that I Found Interesting This Week:
- Bears Are Wary as Bull Returns – Dow Up 21% in 13 Days. (WSJ)
- Is it safe to go back in the water? Best to figure out what went wrong first. (Andy Kessler)
- US economy falls 6.3% in fourth quarter; fastest rate since 1982. (Financial Times)
- Explanation of the Fed's $1.1 Trillion Public-Private Investment Program. (The Big Picture)
- More Posts Moving the Markets (My List)
Lighter Ideas and Fun Links that I Found Interesting This Week
- Friedman: What Distinguishes the Best Leaders, is that they learn from crashes. (NYTimes)
- Mind Control Goes Mainstream – Gadget offer working digital telekinesis. (Forbes)
- Growing-up Online Shapes Work Expectations of the Facebook Generation. (Gary Hamel)
- Nice Introduction to Twitter Use and Best Practices. (Twitips)
- More Posts with Lighter Ideas and Fun Links (My List)
March 29, 2009
Capitalogix Commentary 03/27/09
All Revved-up and No Place to Go.

We just saw a 24% rally unfold in a little over two weeks. But a rally like that doesn't make too many people happy. For most, this is where fear and greed collide.

Prudence dictates that position size and risk should stay small while in a serious long-term downtrend, especially with a stock like Citibank recently trading under a dollar. Yet a rally that big and steep often makes people feel like they should have been in the market, and wish they would've traded "this, that, or the other" stock or sector that they noticed a week or two ago.

Don't Worry, This Little Bit of Mind Control Won't Hurt A Bit …

This week I saw several news reports using the phrase "The Great Recession". This might be part of an interesting strategy on the part of the International Monetary Fund, which used that phrase a few weeks ago. Naming something gives you control over it (or at least the appearance of control over it). And "Recession" sounds so much less severe than "Depression". If you can just get people to adopt that phrase, it might give them enough hope that you actually avoid a depression? But just as it's hard to call a recession until you're well into it, I think it's pretty hard to tell whether you come out of it than till you're actually out of it. Still, it is a nice try.

Likewise, I have been impressed by how the administration has played the financial crisis lately. There seem to be some sound ideas, talked about in ways that make sense to the public, which get announced at strategic times. Moreover, it seems to be working; and the market looks like it's responding.

However, the key word there might be "looks". I'm certainly not convinced that the worst is over yet.

Where Are We in the Cycle?

A few weeks ago I noted the spread between smart money confidence and retail investor pessimism was at levels that often indicated short or intermediate-term bottoms. In hindsight it worked again, and there was a pretty sizable rally. However, retail traders are becoming confident again, too quickly for my taste. And the spread is no longer significant. So I don't see an edge there at this point.

I don't believe this is the end of the bottom. Instead, I hope this is the beginning of the bottoming process. My sense is that there are many businesses hanging on by a fingernail, or sheer will. Some of them are getting tired, others are running out of money, while still others are finding it hard to sell something in this environment. The point is that I suspect we're due for another round of culling the herd. That's not necessarily a bad thing, either.

What I'll be looking for, this time, is that I think we'll see a number of deals get done as prices get lower again. The companies that are going to survive, the companies that are going to thrive, the companies that are going to become new leaders in this next phase of our economy are going to start moving forward again.

Business Posts Moving the Markets that I Found Interesting This Week:
- Bears Are Wary as Bull Returns – Dow Up 21% in 13 Days. (WSJ)
- Is it safe to go back in the water? Best to figure out what went wrong first. (Andy Kessler)
- US economy falls 6.3% in fourth quarter; fastest rate since 1982. (Financial Times)
- Explanation of the Fed's $1.1 Trillion Public-Private Investment Program. (The Big Picture)
- More Posts Moving the Markets (My List)
Lighter Ideas and Fun Links that I Found Interesting This Week
- Friedman: What Distinguishes the Best Leaders, is that they learn from crashes. (NYTimes)
- Mind Control Goes Mainstream – Gadget offer working digital telekinesis. (Forbes)
- Growing-up Online Shapes Work Expectations of the Facebook Generation. (Gary Hamel)
- Nice Introduction to Twitter Use and Best Practices. (Twitips)
- More Posts with Lighter Ideas and Fun Links (My List)
March 29, 2009
What I Love Best About the Kindle, Amazon Took From Vegas.

Disruptive Technology:

I
remember the first time I used TiVo. I instantly knew it was a
disruptive technology that would change how people watch TV. It's even
better than I thought I was. That doesn't mean it was a great
investment in the stock market; but it was a terrific investment in the
household.

And the ripples of this technology are still being felt
whether you're using TiVo or some other digital video recorder.

The Kindle is a Disruptive Technology Well-Placed In the Consumer Adoption Cycle:

Using
a Kindle reminds me of the first time I used TiVo. Only this might be
different, because we're several generations of technology further
along. And the world is ready for it.

The
Kindle 2 is ergonomic and reasonably fast. It is a great way to read.
It also has a built-in Internet connection, which means you have access
to content virtually anywhere. And it just so happens that the content
you want is the content Amazon sells.

Chances are you already go to Amazon's website. Because of
economies of scale, not only do they have a bigger inventory, they have
a bigger community of users who rate the books and write reviews of the
books.

A few years ago, Barnes & Noble and Borders tried to compete
with Amazon online. As a user, I went to the competitors' site once or twice … but the
first time Amazon had the book I was looking for and the other site didn't … or
the first time that Amazon had reviews of a product and the other site didn't –
well, that was all it took to stop going to those sites.

And
Amazon
continues to extend that edge with bigger inventories, more product
lines, and a truly mature delivery pipe. Their storefront and
shopping cart has been used tens of millions of times is an important
part of the value proposition.

Psychologically Smart, Part 1: Amazon Banks on Funny Money:

Once you have a profile on
Amazon, it doesn't feel like you're spending money. Casinos know the
token is treated differently than cash.

On the Kindle, Amazon makes it easy for you to
buy with "one click" over their "Whispernet" always-on data network.
So you don't hear or feel your money as it leaves your account. This is
brilliant.

Psychologically Smart, Part 2: Amazon Banks on Your Addiction to Instant Gratification:

Even better, though, is how they handle samples. It is already changing how I use Amazon. With the Kindle, I
have instant gratification.

I can find a book and download a sample in
seconds. In many cases, the Kindle version is dramatically cheaper than
the old paper version. So, I suspect that I'll be downloading samples
of many books. And when I like the author's writing style or find a few
ideas that I can use, I'm one click away from being able to read the
rest of it (even if I'm in a meeting or stuck at the airport).

Over
time, I might find that I prefer certain books in paper format. On
the other hand, I've been surprised by how likely I am to read a little
of this and a little of that.

And being able to have a whole bookshelf
is a pretty cool competitive advantage too.

March 22, 2009
Capitalogix Commentary 03/20/09
As the recession deepens, the Federal Reserve announced a plan to revive the struggling economy. It will pump more than an
extra $1 trillion into the mortgage market and longer-term Treasury
securities. Short-term, equity markets did push higher.

The problem with desperate measures, though … they can end up stoking fear, not confidence. In this case, the plan to buy-up bonds caused the decade's steepest one-day fall in the Dollar against the Euro as investors worried that the Fed's decision to print new money would lead to inflation.

One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure:

In business, I'm constantly facing a build or buy decision. Namely, is it cheaper to develop something that does what I want, or can I simply buy something that does it already?

Well, that equation may soon produce a different result for many companies. A key indicator is flashing. Companies are starting to notice. What is it?

For the 4th quarter of 2008, Argus Research notes the "Q" ratio declined its lowest level since the 4th quarter of 1991. This implies that it is cheaper to buy a company than to build a replacement. To me this is an early indicator that merger and acquisition activity is about to increase. So, expect to see more deals like IBM's proposed acquisition of Sun.

Sector Rotation: Will Financials Take the Lead?

Sector rotation theory posits that Financials are a leading indicator of the economy. Historically they start to perform well six to twelve months before the general market. Perhaps one of the reasons is that they tend to generate big fees from M&A activity. And M&A activity starts to get interesting while certain assets are still cheap. Consequently, I'm watching the Financials and the level of deal activity.

Last week I posted a chart highlighting the performance of the banking sector, noting that it hadn't been able to sustain a rally longer than a week for quite a while. Well, it looks like decision time. Just a few weeks ago, Citi's stock price was under $1. Saturday Night Live made a joke that it was the first major bank to make it onto McDonald's value menu. Well, it has tripled since then. And the rally has taken prices in this sector to interesting levels. The chart below shows that the rally has a series of heavy technical burdens to overcome.

However, making it past this price area would go a long way towards convincing me that an intermediate term rally was starting.

One other potential negative, indicating a reversal back to the down-side (at least in the short-term), is that the Equity Put-to-Call ratio just hit its ten month low … and that is often a reliable sell-signal.

Business Posts Moving the Markets that I Found Interesting This Week:
- Fed to Buy $1 Trillion in Securities to Aid Economy. (NYTimes)
- Geithner's New Plan to Revive U.S. Banks. (Bloomberg)
- The Fed's Downside to Desperate Measures. (WSJ)
- Looking to Learn From Prior Bear Markets. (Economist)
- More Posts Moving the Markets. (My List)
Lighter Ideas and Fun Links that I Found Interesting This Week
- Bush Book Deal Worth $7 Million. (TDB)
- Which of 14 Types of Twitter Personality are You? (Media Caffeine)
- Why money messes with your mind – New Scientist. (NewScientist)
- Old age begins at 27 – scientists claim after new research. (DailyMail UK)
- More Posts with Lighter Ideas and Fun Links. (My List)
March 22, 2009
Capitalogix Commentary 03/20/09
As the recession deepens, the Federal Reserve announced a plan to revive the struggling economy. It will pump more than an
extra $1 trillion into the mortgage market and longer-term Treasury
securities. Short-term, equity markets did push higher.

The problem with desperate measures, though … they can end up stoking fear, not confidence. In this case, the plan to buy-up bonds caused the decade's steepest one-day fall in the Dollar against the Euro as investors worried that the Fed's decision to print new money would lead to inflation.

One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure:

In business, I'm constantly facing a build or buy decision. Namely, is it cheaper to develop something that does what I want, or can I simply buy something that does it already?

Well, that equation may soon produce a different result for many companies. A key indicator is flashing. Companies are starting to notice. What is it?

For the 4th quarter of 2008, Argus Research notes the "Q" ratio declined its lowest level since the 4th quarter of 1991. This implies that it is cheaper to buy a company than to build a replacement. To me this is an early indicator that merger and acquisition activity is about to increase. So, expect to see more deals like IBM's proposed acquisition of Sun.

Sector Rotation: Will Financials Take the Lead?

Sector rotation theory posits that Financials are a leading indicator of the economy. Historically they start to perform well six to twelve months before the general market. Perhaps one of the reasons is that they tend to generate big fees from M&A activity. And M&A activity starts to get interesting while certain assets are still cheap. Consequently, I'm watching the Financials and the level of deal activity.

Last week I posted a chart highlighting the performance of the banking sector, noting that it hadn't been able to sustain a rally longer than a week for quite a while. Well, it looks like decision time. Just a few weeks ago, Citi's stock price was under $1. Saturday Night Live made a joke that it was the first major bank to make it onto McDonald's value menu. Well, it has tripled since then. And the rally has taken prices in this sector to interesting levels. The chart below shows that the rally has a series of heavy technical burdens to overcome.

However, making it past this price area would go a long way towards convincing me that an intermediate term rally was starting.

One other potential negative, indicating a reversal back to the down-side (at least in the short-term), is that the Equity Put-to-Call ratio just hit its ten month low … and that is often a reliable sell-signal.

Business Posts Moving the Markets that I Found Interesting This Week:
- Fed to Buy $1 Trillion in Securities to Aid Economy. (NYTimes)
- Geithner's New Plan to Revive U.S. Banks. (Bloomberg)
- The Fed's Downside to Desperate Measures. (WSJ)
- Looking to Learn From Prior Bear Markets. (Economist)
- More Posts Moving the Markets. (My List)
Lighter Ideas and Fun Links that I Found Interesting This Week
- Bush Book Deal Worth $7 Million. (TDB)
- Which of 14 Types of Twitter Personality are You? (Media Caffeine)
- Why money messes with your mind – New Scientist. (NewScientist)
- Old age begins at 27 – scientists claim after new research. (DailyMail UK)
- More Posts with Lighter Ideas and Fun Links. (My List)
March 22, 2009
The Twitter Tools I Use All The Time
Last week's article predicted that Twitter is likely to be in your future. In this article I'm going to share some guidelines and the best tools I've found to make your Twitter use easier and more productive.

The number of third-party tools available for Twitter is one of the best indications that the service is destined to continue growing in functionality and popularity. I tried many things and settled on a few that work well. Hopefully that list will save you some time. It is at the bottom of this article.

Twitter 101: The Basics.

Twitter can be anything you want it to be. If you only want to follow a few friends and keep things very social, that's okay. On the other hand, if you want thousands of followers and the ability to drive traffic to your website, it's still okay.

I've come up with some basic guidelines that work well for me. I'll share some of them with you here.

First, you never have a second chance to make a first impression. So make a good first impression. That means choosing the right user-name and picture to support the image you want. It also means that you should fill-in your one-line bio in a way that makes people want to find-out more about you. Try to use the key words that will help people find you
using search (or choose to follow you when they look at your profile).

Second, Twitter is not e-mail, and you're never going to read all of it. This was hard for me because I'm used to starting at the beginning and ending at the end. I like that kind of structure. However as the number of people you follow grows … the stream of information becomes overwhelming. It helped me to think of it as a stream. That meant I didn't have to drink all of it, but it was there for me to dip my cup into anytime I wanted.

Third, Twitter doesn't limit your ability to follow people for the first 2,000 people. For most people that means that Twitter doesn't put any practical limit on them. However, after the first 2,000 followers, Twitter restricts your ability to follow additional users using a simple guideline … you are limited to a 10% extension of your followers. So if you have 3,000 followers, then Twitter will allow you to follow up to 3,300 people. With very few exceptions, that means that I un-follow someone if they don't follow me back. A lot of people follow that rule. This brings me to the fourth rule.

Fourth, you'll end up with a lot more followers if you follow people back. Tony
Robbins and Bill Gates can get by following a dozen people and still
have 100,000 people follow them. I suspect that you and I won't be able to do
the same thing. At first, I spent a lot of time deciding whether I was
going to follow a certain person. Over time, however, I started to set
the bar much lower. It simply took too much time to filter. So now, I
follow back almost everyone, but I'm very quick to un-follow someone
whose messages are too frequent or too distracting. This was simply a
more efficient way of dealing with the practical realities of using
Twitter.

Fifth, this is social media … be social. For every two or three posts, have at least one with a link to an interesting article not by you. Also, study a few of the stars, thought leaders, and examples of your target customer. Note that they have different behaviors. Then match and mirror relevant behavior (follower/followee ratio, number of posts with external links, etc.).

Hope that helps.

Here are the tools I use to make working with Twitter easier and more productive.

Browsers:
- TweetDeck: Very nice, full-featured Twitter browser application. I keep coming back to this.
- Twittelator Pro: Complete iPhone Twitter client. I tried them all, this was the best for me.
- Power Twitter: If you use Firefox, then try this add-on. It works very well.
Search:
- Twitter Search: See what's happening – right now.
- Twithority: Comprehensive and pretty Twitter search by rank, time, etc.
- Twilert: Receive e-mail updates of tweets containing your brand, name, or any keyword.
Stats:
- TwitterCounter: Great graph showing your Follower growth, top 100 lists, etc.
- TwInfluence: Measures the combined influence of a user and their followers.
- Twitalyzer: reports on relative influence, signal-to-noise ratio, generosity, velocity, & clout
- Twitter Friends: Lots of statistics about your Twitter behavior and contacts.
Looking for Trends:
- ReTweetist: Find the most popular items and people on Twitter.
- ReTweet Radar: Another trend-spotting service with Twitter word cloud.
Find and Manage Followers:
- Mr.Tweet: Very nice service that recommends followers and helps you connect with them.
- SocialToo: Reporting service shows who followed or un-followed you; lets you auto-follow back.
- Twitter Karma: Who do you follow but doesn't follow you back … and who aren't you following?
- Twollow: Auto-follow people on Twitter based on keyword matching in their posts.
Utilities:
- TwitterFeed: Easy way to send your blog's RSS feed to Twitter and other services.
- TweetBurner: Shorten & track URLs used in you posts (works with TweetDeck & Twitterfeed).
- TwitBacks: Custom Twitter background for your profile.
Finally, Here are some good posts to expand your Twitter horizons:
- Twitter in Plain English – a brief video answering the question Why? (Vimeo)
- Twitter Basics … and More! (James Dickey)
- Personal Branding with Twitter. Nice list of things to consider. (Sebastien Page)
- Finding the right Brand Voice on Twitter. Nice list to consider. (Mashable)
- Twitter Graphics for your "Follow-Me" Badge. (Sebastien Page)
- Twitter Background Images for your Profile Page. (Sebastien Page)
- Nice Twitter-related blog. (Twit Tips)
March 15, 2009
The Twitter Tools I Use All The Time
Last week's article predicted that Twitter is likely to be in your future. In this article I'm going to share some guidelines and the best tools I've found to make your Twitter use easier and more productive.

The number of third-party tools available for Twitter is one of the best indications that the service is destined to continue growing in functionality and popularity. I tried many things and settled on a few that work well. Hopefully that list will save you some time. It is at the bottom of this article.

Twitter 101: The Basics.

Twitter can be anything you want it to be. If you only want to follow a few friends and keep things very social, that's okay. On the other hand, if you want thousands of followers and the ability to drive traffic to your website, it's still okay.

I've come up with some basic guidelines that work well for me. I'll share some of them with you here.

First, you never have a second chance to make a first impression. So make a good first impression. That means choosing the right user-name and picture to support the image you want. It also means that you should fill-in your one-line bio in a way that makes people want to find-out more about you. Try to use the key words that will help people find you
using search (or choose to follow you when they look at your profile).

Second, Twitter is not e-mail, and you're never going to read all of it. This was hard for me because I'm used to starting at the beginning and ending at the end. I like that kind of structure. However as the number of people you follow grows … the stream of information becomes overwhelming. It helped me to think of it as a stream. That meant I didn't have to drink all of it, but it was there for me to dip my cup into anytime I wanted.

Third, Twitter doesn't limit your ability to follow people for the first 2,000 people. For most people that means that Twitter doesn't put any practical limit on them. However, after the first 2,000 followers, Twitter restricts your ability to follow additional users using a simple guideline … you are limited to a 10% extension of your followers. So if you have 3,000 followers, then Twitter will allow you to follow up to 3,300 people. With very few exceptions, that means that I un-follow someone if they don't follow me back. A lot of people follow that rule. This brings me to the fourth rule.

Fourth, you'll end up with a lot more followers if you follow people back. Tony
Robbins and Bill Gates can get by following a dozen people and still
have 100,000 people follow them. I suspect that you and I won't be able to do
the same thing. At first, I spent a lot of time deciding whether I was
going to follow a certain person. Over time, however, I started to set
the bar much lower. It simply took too much time to filter. So now, I
follow back almost everyone, but I'm very quick to un-follow someone
whose messages are too frequent or too distracting. This was simply a
more efficient way of dealing with the practical realities of using
Twitter.

Fifth, this is social media … be social. For every two or three posts, have at least one with a link to an interesting article not by you. Also, study a few of the stars, thought leaders, and examples of your target customer. Note that they have different behaviors. Then match and mirror relevant behavior (follower/followee ratio, number of posts with external links, etc.).

Hope that helps.

Here are the tools I use to make working with Twitter easier and more productive.

Browsers:
- TweetDeck: Very nice, full-featured Twitter browser application. I keep coming back to this.
- Twittelator Pro: Complete iPhone Twitter client. I tried them all, this was the best for me.
- Power Twitter: If you use Firefox, then try this add-on. It works very well.
Search:
- Twitter Search: See what's happening – right now.
- Twithority: Comprehensive and pretty Twitter search by rank, time, etc.
- Twilert: Receive e-mail updates of tweets containing your brand, name, or any keyword.
Stats:
- TwitterCounter: Great graph showing your Follower growth, top 100 lists, etc.
- TwInfluence: Measures the combined influence of a user and their followers.
- Twitalyzer: reports on relative influence, signal-to-noise ratio, generosity, velocity, & clout
- Twitter Friends: Lots of statistics about your Twitter behavior and contacts.
Looking for Trends:
- ReTweetist: Find the most popular items and people on Twitter.
- ReTweet Radar: Another trend-spotting service with Twitter word cloud.
Find and Manage Followers:
- Mr.Tweet: Very nice service that recommends followers and helps you connect with them.
- SocialToo: Reporting service shows who followed or un-followed you; lets you auto-follow back.
- Twitter Karma: Who do you follow but doesn't follow you back … and who aren't you following?
- Twollow: Auto-follow people on Twitter based on keyword matching in their posts.
Utilities:
- TwitterFeed: Easy way to send your blog's RSS feed to Twitter and other services.
- TweetBurner: Shorten & track URLs used in you posts (works with TweetDeck & Twitterfeed).
- TwitBacks: Custom Twitter background for your profile.
Finally, Here are some good posts to expand your Twitter horizons:
- Twitter in Plain English – a brief video answering the question Why? (Vimeo)
- Twitter Basics … and More! (James Dickey)
- Personal Branding with Twitter. Nice list of things to consider. (Sebastien Page)
- Finding the right Brand Voice on Twitter. Nice list to consider. (Mashable)
- Twitter Graphics for your "Follow-Me" Badge. (Sebastien Page)
- Twitter Background Images for your Profile Page. (Sebastien Page)
- Nice Twitter-related blog. (Twit Tips)
March 15, 2009
Social Media 101 – The Name Land-grab
Real Estate is about location, location, location. That's true on the web as well. Years ago, I watched people rush to register Internet domains. Well it's happening again; only this time it is on a wide-range of social media sites.

Before I go further, or before you decide to skip to the next article, here's a piece of advice worth paying attention taking; Register your name, your company name, and any other product or keyword you want to protect on Twitter.

I'll take that even further; register those names on other social media services as well. I'm talking about companies like Facebook, LinkedIn, FriendFeed, StumbleUpon, and Digg. Even if you don't believe you'll use the service, you may not want someone else talking to the public using a name that they may associate with you. Here is a link to a service that helps you reserve your name.

I watched my kids use instant messages, texting from their phones, and
then Facebook. Slowly I've adopted these technologies. Still, it's hard
for me to believe that I'm using Twitter. If you're not using them
yet, you probably will soon.

The Big Three:

LinkedIn is the most corporate of the services. It's an enhanced resume with a clever algorithm to figure out how you can connect to someone else. So, if I wanted to contact Mark Cuban, it would tell me which of my director second level contacts have contacts with him.

Facebook used to be for college students, but has quickly become the most popular social media application. I'm amazed at how many business people use this as their primary form of keeping in touch with people socially. The Facebook platform is evolving quickly and is very easy to customize by telling it that you want to see you more of this and less of that.

Twitter is getting popular quickly; and it has a lot of business momentum. It drives traffic and is quickly becoming useful as form of search engine that shows trends and what's happening right now. I see more third party development and support for Twitter than the other platforms combined. I didn't "get" Twitter at first; but it is growing on me.

Here is a cartoon comparing the three services.
- On LinkedIn it seems like connections are made based on worthiness.
- On
  Facebook connections are based on how you know the other person
  (and
  it's common to have more Facebook friends been LinkedIn connections).
- On Twitter your follower list is more elastic; people will come and people will go
  (and it's common to have more Twitter followers than Facebook friends).
So go register some names, and next time I'll share some of the tools I use to make using social media easier and more productive.
March 9, 2009