Comments on: Shortening The Distance Between Us

By: Write Better Blog Headlines: Tonight at 6

Write Better Blog Headlines: Tonight at 6 — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:55:09 +0000

[...] Shortening The Distance Between Us [...]

By: Niti Dhani

Niti Dhani — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 09:12:11 +0000

I agree with a lot of people here, when they raise the point that a lot of us may not be as open online about ourselves, and hence, it maybe a little difficult to guage a person's interests/thought processes using the social media. However, on the same note, for people who do freely use the web, following them online and tracking what they do and think can provide excellent leads about potential customers. Thats what social media is all about-getting to know people better. I found a series of webinars taking up similar topics by Dave Evans-and the next one is this Thursday. Registrations can be done at-https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/971324730

By: Adesh Sidhu

Adesh Sidhu — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:37:13 +0000

True, social media initiates conversations and build relationships. Thanks for sharing your personal story.

By: The Writer Mama

The Writer Mama — Sat, 09 May 2009 04:59:59 +0000

This is what I was just saying in a comment to a later post. The thing is you are saying you take in a lot of information on people you meet on Twitter BEFORE you meet them. I might take in a bit of info about them before I meet them, I mean, as much as I can at a glance. But I can hold so much more information about a person in my memory once I've met them in person. I get content overload really easily, so for me, I'll pay more attention to what you are doing online AFTER I meet you in person, assuming what you are sharing interests me.

This probably sounds old fashioned and fickle. But I can't be the only one who still feels that face-to-face makes the deepest and most lasting impression. And with the numbers of people I'm meeting and greeting at any one time, I tend to default to what my mind can process easiest. Lately, I'm just trying to keep up with my to-do list and get my assistant up to speed so I can have a little more time to…make connections. :)

By: Beth Rosen

Beth Rosen — Thu, 07 May 2009 05:40:41 +0000

For all of us who believe that social media is not just the next phase but a must phase, that’s why were here reading Chris Brogan. At Sobcon “Chris Brogan, the guru of social media, took time to talk with me. Why? I may never know, but maybe it’s because he is really good at what he does, and that’s connecting with people in a personal way while being genuinely interested in what were doing/looking for online. But—and this may even be more important—he saw me as “Everyman.” (Or should I say “EveryMOM?”) As a blogging, tweeting mother-of-four teens—a buyer, a recommender, a shopper, and critic—Chris knew I embodied the all the angles of an audience that social media seeks to address. I am the real deal of the linked-up world. And the best part is it makes sense! The power of this new force is that it’s all about people, wherever and however they want to connect. That’s why Chris is Chris Brogan “he gets us we get him and together we get the future”

By: aliallsorts

aliallsorts — Wed, 06 May 2009 23:47:54 +0000

I love this post Chris as it shows how honest and trustworthy people can be. I do understand people's reservations because some people aren't so honest and have bad intentions, but I personally don't think being sociable online poses any greater risk than being sociable offline.
But I also appreciate that everyone is entitled to their own opinions and concerns. Thanks for the post anyway.

By: James Young

James Young — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:11:06 +0000

Spending time getting to know someone online is definitely worth it. I would go so far as to say that it is imperative. In a lot of cases, it is really the only option I have for most of the year. I work with nonprofits, and I tell them to do the same with their constituents. Their reality is that they may never be able to meet some of their constituents face to face, so an online relationship is all that they can develop. Spending the time to approximate real conversations pays off in a ll sorts of ways for the organization: engagement, loyalty, support, advocacy…

By: skweeds

skweeds — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:17:50 +0000

I think it depends on what type of relationship you're looking for. There are some people I know IRL who are complete doofuses on the web, and vice versa.
I think it's very disappointing when you've talked to someone online a lot and you're great friends but you go to hang out IRL and they're just socially inept.
The other way around isn't so terrible, in my opinion. Having internet finesse isn't necessarily a requirement in my book. But actual social savoir-faire I think is a must-have.

By: Christine Fife

Christine Fife — Mon, 04 May 2009 17:56:19 +0000

Absolutely! As a conversation marketing practice we show our clients how to "follow" the Influencers in their market conversation to really get to know them and understand them. It has long been a PR practice to really understand what reporters write about, how they like to receive news release information, and what their article deadlines are. Social media allows us to take this much, much further and apply it to more than just press.

At Idiom Strategies we look at the Market Conversation Universe:
The People
* Influencers: individuals and entities (organizations, conferences, groups, etc.) that most often raise new conversation topics and have their own audiences who listen and respond.
* Participants: individuals who are responding to the topics raised by the Influencers.
* Listeners: The vast majority of the population falls into this category—they are the individuals who look to Influencers and Participants to help them make purchase decisions and formulate their own opinions.

Conversation Locations:
* Physical and online places where people are interacting. These can include Social Media Networks, Blogs and other Social Media Outlets, Forums, Chat rooms, Conferences and Tradeshows, On and Offline Publications, User Groups, Trade Organizations, Webinars, Sponsored Events, Research Reports, etc.

Conversation Tools
Influencers, as well as different types of Participants and Listeners, utilize tools to receive market conversation content. Tools can include: Social media technology such as blogs, wikis, networking sites and many others; News aggregators, RSS Feeds, alerts and other tracking systems; Podcast, webcast and webinar technologies; Live speeches and presentations; Calendaring technologies; Email, and yes, even snail mail; and Web communities.

The more you understand The People, The Conversation Locations where they converse and The Tools they use, the more you will understand your prospects and customers and the easier it will be to get to know all of these people and for them to know you.

By: Amber Porter Cox

Amber Porter Cox — Mon, 04 May 2009 14:40:31 +0000

Agreed. Meeting you at the SOBcon event was great – but it might have been more 'connected' had been following you and reading your blog regularly. (not that I'm shy and there was a problem) I also find the reverse to be true –> I met a lot of very talented people, and will now make a point to understand and learn from them via Blog, Twitter (social media) communication even more – my personal experience with them allowed me to get a feel to who they are, and reading their blogs will now become more memorable and relevant. Thanks for the reminder: share and connect to build warm relationships on and offline!! @amberportercox