My 15,000th Update!

I would consider myself - and many others would probably agree - a power user of Twitter. I update over there. A LOT. In fact, I recommend that those who start following me immediately turn off device notifications, unless they have an unlimited text plan.

Twitter by far is THE most useful tool in my social networking arsenal. I know for a fact that actual business has been conducted through my use of Twitter.

I started using it back in August 2006, so I have had ample time to grow and develop community. Imagine my surprise earlier when I saw something magical about to happen:

danieljohnsonjr Whoa. My next tweet will be my 15,000th. Send me an @ reply and I'll put you in it. You have 10-15 mins. Starting.... now. 17 minutes ago from web

I initially thought I'd be able to string everyone who'd replied into a 140 characters or less message. I mean, what's the likelihood that many people would be paying attention at that precise moment. I must have forgotten what my previous post said:

danieljohnsonjr Okay, now, where are all you followers coming from? 20 minutes ago from web

I checked and I have close to 2100 people following my updates. Some are dormant accounts or may have not updated in awhile, but still, that's a lot of potential people to see my 14,999th post.

So, since I couldn't fit everyone into a 140-character "tweet", I hope this suffices. Thank you so much for enriching my experience thus far. I sincerely hope I've been at least half as valuable to you as you have been to me. Here are the people who replied, in the order they came in:

1. radiodaniel: @danieljohnsonjr I want in:-)
2. doctoranonymous: Hi @danieljohnsonjr. Have a great weekend!
3. jaymartinez: @danieljohnsonjr tweeeeet
4. purpletrout: @danieljohnsonjr Congratulations Daniel!
5. mikeward: @danieljohnsonjr what if we dont wanna send you a tweet
   

   mikeward: @danieljohnsonjr d'oh
6. writer_mom_tn: @danieljohnsonjr heya! :)
7. melgallant: @danieljohnsonjr congrats on the tweet record!
8. chrbutler: @danieljohnsonjr Congrats on the 15,000th tweet!
9. TeriLussier: @danieljohnsonjr nice tweet up! ;-)
10. cossondra: @danieljohnsonjr put ME in there :-) we are such nerds arent we??
11. audiojunky: @danieljohnsonjr haha congrats on the 15,000...thats a lot im reaching my 1,000 soon
12. kate_the_great: @danieljohnsonjr OOH! Pick me! Pick me!!
13. zaldor: @danieljohnsonjr 15000 tweets?! That's insane! Congrats! And here i'm not even at 5k!
14. justinrains: @danieljohnsonjr Pick me!
15. kflake: @danieljohnsonjr congrats on the 15,000th tweet!

Because I'm a good sport and love you all, I'm including this direct message I received

editvdo me, too...me, too...me, too

and this message that came in while I was typing up this post:

akirk45239: @danieljohnsonjr I'm late. I'll go for the 15,001st. Congrats from Monfort Heights

Thank you and everyone else I know from Twitter for making it a fun journey thus far. Now, onto that 15,001st update.

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Check out my other blogs:
Daniel Johnson, Jr.
Get That Job!
Journey Inside My Mind Blog
Journey Inside My Mind Podcast
QuotesBlog
Twitter.com/danieljohnsonjr
Connect on LinkedIn
Interesting Things I've Read

Related tags: daniel+johnson+jr twitter social+networking

Is social networking bringing us closer together?

Jacob posted a great question on LinkedIn:

Social Networks, Bringing Us Together or Keeping Us Apart?

Here's what I offered:

Good question, Jacob!

I still believe that the telephone is one of the best social networking tools around, and, at least for me, there is a point when you want to take your online connections into the real world. Last year, I began creating opportunities to network away from the computer.

During the week, I meet with folks I've met through social media periodically for lunch. Last October I founded New Media Cincinnati, a meetup group for folks interested and passionate about new and social media to get together. We hold conversations in real life and online.

Social networks are the people; not the tools themselves. The tools exist just to facilitate the real-life connections.

What do you think? Are social networking tools bringing us together or keeping us apart?

[IMG] New Media Cincinnati - April Meetup by danieljohnsonjr.

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Check out my other blogs:
Daniel Johnson, Jr.
Get That Job!
Journey Inside My Mind Blog
Journey Inside My Mind Podcast
QuotesBlog
Twitter.com/danieljohnsonjr
Connect on LinkedIn
Interesting Things I've Read

Related tags: daniel+johnson+jr jacob+morgan social+networking linkedin

Let's meet for lunch in Dayton!

Get ready for another social networking opportunity!

We're meeting for lunch at the Subway located just off Miller Lane (I-75 Exit 59) next Tuesday, May 13, 2008, at 11:30 AM. Come meet other folks in the area. Nothing structured, just some good time meeting and chatting with one another. We may already know one another through social media; maybe we don't. In either case it will be great to meetup, learn more about one another, and more.

Can't make it this time around? Be sure to Follow me on Twitter to find out when the next one will be.

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Check out my other blogs:
Journey Inside My Mind Blog
Journey Inside My Mind Podcast
Get That Job!
QuotesBlog
Twitter.com/danieljohnsonjr
http://twitter.com/newmediacincy
Are we LinkedIn? http://linkedin.com/in/danieljohnsonjr

Related tags: daniel+johnson+jr dayton ohio meetup

Your use of social media may vary - and that's okay

Palindrome Mileage,
originally uploaded by Matthew Oliphant.

I was chatting with someone yesterday about how encouraged I am about being able to reconnect with family members (aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins, etc.) - near and far. Of course I would love to connect with them on every social network in which I participate. Yet I have to recognize that there are several that don't even have access to a computer. Or, as one uncle said, "I can't even remember my email address!"

That's true for a lot of people in general. The new media playground consists of numerous tools, websites, and the like. While some people are early adopters of social media tools and new media technologies, others prefer a slower approach. It may take many months or years before someone close to you decides to get on email or start writing a blog, let alone record a podcast or even join a social media network.

Another interesting dynamic in social media is the idea of being connected to many people or just a few. Some people want to be connected to a few people with whom they can build close relationships; others like to be connected to everyone; still others choose somewhere in between.

Connected,
originally uploaded by localstatic.

I used to be critical of one approach over the other, but I realize that each serves a purpose. I can appreciate that people like Chris Brogan, Christopher Penn, Robert Scoble, and Mitch Joel have decided to be super-connectors. I also can appreciate that Clarence has decided to connect with only a handful of people. I myself have opted for somewhere in-between.

Some folks like to be connected to others all around the globe, while others prefer to remain local. The same can be said among certain user groups, such as podcasters, bloggers, people looking for jobs, others in the same industry, and so forth. You find all kinds in social media.

As we play in the new media playground, I strongly believe it's important to let others play as they like and be ready to help others try out something new - if and when they ask.

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Check out my other blogs:
Journey Inside My Mind Blog
Journey Inside My Mind Podcast
Get That Job!
QuotesBlog
Twitter.com/danieljohnsonjr

Related tags: daniel+johnson+jr, chris+brogan, christopher+penn, robert+scoble, twitter, social+media+networks, new+media+playground, blogging, podcasting

One Voice Walk 2007

crossposted to Journey Inside My Mind Blog

One Voice Walk 2007
Originally uploaded by danieljohnsonjr

Have you've been wondering where I've been this past month? I've been doing some online publicity as a New Media Consultant for the 4th Annual One Voice Domestic Violence Community Awareness Walk, which was held in Cincinnati, Ohio this morning. I took lots of pictures and recorded lots of audio from the event.

Hearing personal stories really moved me. I honestly felt a flood of emotions ranging from sadness, outrage, hurt, compassion, and more. It was really a lot to take in. And rightfully so. Domestic violence is an anathema to our society and must be stopped.

I really enjoyed interviewing people from the various local organizations and finding out what they are doing to help raise awareness for and to prevent domestic violence.

During the walk, I talked with other participants. In nearly all the interviews, I asked folks why they came. Really great discussions.

Do a Google search (aka 'google') "onevoicewalk", and you'll find this content as it all becomes available. For now, I encourage you to check out these specific websites:

http://onevoicewalk.org - the official website, with information about how to donate
http://flickr.com/groups/onevoicewalk - pictures taken during the event, with more to come
http://twitter.com/onevoicewalk - microblog of updates from before, during, and after the event
http://myspace.com/onevoicewalk - MySpace page
http://jimmpodcast.com - Journey Inside My Mind Podcast, where audio content from the walk will be posted

Speaking of the Journey Inside My Mind Podcast, head over there for the recent episode, Music for the One Voice Walk.

Related tags: onevoicewalk, onevoicewalk2007, domestic+violence+awareness, cincinnati, one+voice+walk, sawyer+point, jimmpodcast, jimm, journeyinsidemymind, journey+inside+my+mind, daniel+johnson+jr

Thoughts on social media etiquette

Chris Brogan has many of us thinking about social media etiquette today, especially with respect to Twitter. I definitely recommend reading his post so that my comments here make sense:

As an early adopter of Twitter, I used to get uptight when I saw the proliferation of '@' messages. Now I get it.

My purpose in using Twitter has changed over the months since I started using it. I now use it to participate in conversation, let others know what's going on with me, point to content too large on Twitter, and make/keep in touch with friends.

I've especially enjoyed finding people in my own geographic area through TwitDir.com, and I hope that I can connect through other online means and even meet up with more friends locally in person.

I've decided to use Twitter and other social networks to for relationship-building and personal branding, so knowing how to "take the pulse" of the current climate of a social network is something of value.

Yet Another Social Media Network?

It looks like the buzz on Twitter this weekend is about Pownce.com. Chris Brogan put up a post a short while ago entitled, "Why Join Another Social Network?"

Here are comments to what he said:

In the early days of blogging, before Blogger had its own commenting system, there was a commenting system called YAACS. YAACS stood for Yet Another Commenting System. Probably still exists today - I wouldn’t know.

I keep waiting for someone to start YASMN - Yet Another Social Media Network. All of this talk of more places to put oneself online is frustrating. I can definitely understand how it would feel cliquish.

I haven’t yet decided what to do with my Pownce invite yet, nor how to develop my Facebook profile. I feel okay about holding off for a bit and using the current tools I’m using.

I think it's interesting that, in an attempt to reach more outward and gain a wider audience, it can also come across as being exclusive. What I mean by that is the same situation that many of us in the blogging, podcasting, twittering community find ourselves in - only associating with each other. The fishbowl. The echo chamber. We're only talking to ourselves.

So I guess I don't see social media networks as a bad thing in and of themselves if it widens one's circle of influence. For me, I have a rough time of continually fragmenting myself over and over. Something I'm still trying to manage.