#FollowFriday – My Twitter Philosophy

I often find myself trying to explain why I tweet, how it helps me, and why not Facebook… to list just a few questions.  Tweeting isn’t for everyone.  And, to each their own.

So here are my personal reasons for Tweeting (note: this does not translate to my philosophy on my professional/business uses of Twitter):

• I learn A LOT. 140 characters gives a quick summary about a story, and helps me decide if I want to read more – whether it’s new media stories from @Mashable or current events from @WSJ.
• Making connections.  I communicate with reporters such as @grobbins in my professional capacity or find the best local eats from @dbgoudie.  I even get virtual high-five’s from @charliefogg.  It’s like going to a networking event or meet-up… but not.
• Be the first to know.  News travels like rapid-fire on Twitter – way before it can be picked up by online newspapers.  Imagine had Twitter existed on September 11, 2001.  How many more lives may have been saved, I wonder?
• It’s not about getting 17,000 followers.  I’m on Twitter because it’s a great way to discover new things.  I enjoy the random conversations that I could never have otherwise with @ChasL, an interactive designer in Austin, or ReadWriteWeb blogger @eng1ne.  That said, I am flattered that 500+ people find what I say to be interesting enough to follow me.
• Brands and celebrities are uninteresting.  I hate being marketed to and I don’t gain anything from knowing where Britney is getting her car washed. But I do enjoy @Zappos or @JetBlue because they aren’t just about selling, but about offering human connections.
• No need to reciprocate.  In Facebook, you are mutually “friends”.  In Twitter, there’s no obligation to follow anyone… even those who are my real friends.  In fact, I only follow those who regularly post unique and intriguing tweets.  I can’t imagine trying to follow 1,000 tweeples as an individual.
• There are no rules.  BAH to those who say to limit tweets to 5x per day or avoid tweeting personal details.  I’m human and if I want sympathy for my migraine, I’ll seek it.  Tweet as little or as much as you want, about whatever.
• Camaraderie. Put another way, snobbery.  It’s yet another elitist clique where you have unique friendships – a sort of post-college sorority/fraternity.

Join the club and follow me @sherrymain I’d love to hear about your personal philosophy on tweeting too.  What do you get out of it?  Leave me a comment and let me know.

Facebook Evolves from Friends to Family

This Mother’s Day weekend, Facebook is rolling out a new profile feature that allows you to show your immediate family members in you bio.  There are plans to expand this to extended family members in the near futue as well.

Facebook has come a long way from a college network.  It’s really built itself as a community for classmates, professional networks and family members alike.  In the past six months alone, I’ve seen friends and family that I never thought would join Facebook take on to social networking.

If you missed this a couple months back, Facebook also let’s you create private family groups now.  I think this is a great way to cut down on email invites and links.  Click here to start your family page.

Web Trends Map

I don’t know why I’ve recently had such fascinations with subway maps.  It’d be cool to be known for illustrating one…

information Architects has released their fourth Web Trend map, modeled after the Tokyo Metro Subway System

The Web Trend Map is a yearly publication by iA Inc.  It maps the 333 most influential Web domains and the 111 most influential Internet people onto the Tokyo Metro map.

Domains are carefully selected by the iA research team through dialogue with map enthusiasts.  Each domain is evaluated based on traffic, revenue, age and the company that owns it.  The iA design team assigns these selected domains to individual stations on the Tokyo Metro map in ways that complement the characters of each.  For example, Twitter is located in Shibuya this year, as Shibuya is the spot with the biggest buzz.

Why Tokyo Metro?  Because the complex metro lines are the best analogy to the Internet we have found for a trend map.  To serve our purposes, however, the Tokyo Metro map has been modified slightly from its original version.

iA is soliciting final feedback on this Final Beta version before sending it to the printer.

I’ve referenced their last two maps extensively in new media/digital strategy maps.  Here are links to those:

Think Before You Post

Saw this Public Service Announcements on TV this weekend. An important message – for all ages. I’m surprised this hasn’t been done before.

But then again, I’m not in the targeted age-group, nor do I watch much TV. And with TiVo, even less commercials…

New Zealand Internet #Blackout

Some protests are taken to the streets, others through petition or boycotts.  Today, an issue a half a world away is gaining momentum online through social networks and new media platforms.

The New Zealand Internet Blackout – which I first read about on Read Write Web (@rww) – is an online social media movement that asks Kiwi’s and non-Kiwi’s alike to protest against the Guilt Upon Accusation law ‘Section 92A‘ :

…that calls for internet disconnection based on accusations of copyright infringement without a trial and without any evidence held up to court scrutiny. This is due to come into effect on February 28th unless immediate action is taken by the National Party.

Find out how exactly to update your Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, and Web site profiles at the Creative Freedom Blackout page.

Here are some images you can use for your profiles. Just right-click to save to your desktop and upload to your profile pictures:

I’ve blacked out Twitter, Facebook and this blog.