Thanks, Chris! I have been thinking about how folks without any web presence should get started building one, and you have given a bit of a roadmap.

In my mind, Twitter is a more advanced tool–simple but deceptively versatile. I would tend to put it in the “Bonus round” section.

Conversely, the power of photos is strong and so would put Flickr into the “Basics” section. But I suppose since Facebook is the top photosharing site, that might be seen as redundant. Still, I like the idea of posting to Flickr and reposting photos to Facebook.

What would be in the Final Jeopardy round?

Cheers!
Connie

I’d add an aggregator such as FriendFeed, which can serve as the one-stop shop (or perhaps the front end) for someone’s online presence. (Don’t forget that FriendFeed’s “blog” feature can be used to capture any RSS feed.)

Thanks for the great tips. Although not absolutely necessary, I think startpages like Netvibes or iGoogle are also pretty useful just to keep track of all your different accounts. I used startpages pretty heavily when I started out.

Who knows what the social network scene will be like in 18 months, 3 years, five years? Having made lots of false starts with this I now use a basic personal website with the sole aim of coming at the top of a google search and have links to my blog, facebook and other sites that I am active in at the moment. This makes my web presence future proof

Great post … this captures my originally approach to getting online…small baby steps, carefully evaluating services and opening up more and more (it’s not for everyone, but I am very happy I did it!). Still learning, growing and now sharing with others - the community aspect is my favorite reward for going online.

I also recommend a “Plaxo.com” account as this ties in nicely with one’s LinkedIn professional profile (online presence) and Plaxo synchs up contacts right in Outlook and keeps them updated as people move around, switch jobs, etc. - woo hoo!

Thanks!
Susan

oops forgot… FriendFeed app is a terrific online presence management tool to use as well! Especially, if the user tweaks FriendFeed to their liking with the assortment of custom “greasemonkey” scripts by internetducttape.com (ok, that might be a bit much for most users, but tech savvy users will hop on it).

the only thing missing is google reader and google share. reading and exploring new ideas is what its all about.
find bloggers who you trust(ex chris) and add their feeds.
explore their blogrolls to find other bloggers that add value to the conversations.
finally, google share is like having someone knowledgeable filter everything they think is important for you. read what the smart people read:)
reading makes you smarter!

and thanks chris, the exploration of this new world has really been amazing for me. the openness of the web can bring new life to an artist if you embrace it in the right way. ive got all these projects running right now to try and get other artists involved with the web in the similar ways. say hi to your friend in New Brunswick. ill be out there soon:)

So I put in the recommended adds because I agreed with your thinking, with appropriate links to your sites when you left them (Susan left an email address in the URL line, so I didn’t put THAT up there).

Interesting follow up to this would be which service is the center of your online presence or home base? Or is that needed?

Thanks for the “recommended adds” update… and thanks for not posting my email address! (Google toolbar pre-fill feature - I better watch that one a little more closely!) ;-)

I have dreams of getting my blog (2 actually!) moving forward…. was stuck in molasses trying to fit 2 concepts in 1 blog… then realized I really need 2 to split content out. (in draft - sort- now)

Chris…and then….you gotta post daily, comment and participate in conversations, and post again. And make sure when you post, you tag so you will be found.

1 more recommended add is * DIGSBY * Social Communication tool (aka killer IM client).

I can use Digsby to manage all these services in 1 application!
* IM client - multiple protocols/clients (Yahoo, AIM, MSN, Jabber, gChat/Gmail)
* Facebook feed / alerts
* twitter client & feed
* multiple email account feeds
* MySpace feed

@Jack- I’d say my blog for me, but that might change from person to person. That’s a neat question. Anyone else?

@Susan- good tool for multitasking, and I’ve never heard of it. Neato.

This is a great starter kit. I’ll be sure to pass it around to my friends who are looking to develop their presence.

I might also recommend for PC users looking to do quick and easy screen capture/sharing, Techsmith’s Jing http://www.jingproject.com/ as Skitch is only available for Mac.

Great list~!

Here’s mine: http://benjamingolub.com/2008/04/21/own-your-online-identity-for-10-per-year/

Although mine is more focused on generic ideas. Own your domain, use your domain for email, blog on your domain, and use your real name in any social networks you join.

Thank you for this Chris, it’s hugely helpful to have some basic solid starting points!

And thanks to everyone else for the additional suggestions.

I came across tumblr recently, but am not sure it’s relevant?

:o)

I’ve been thinking about sharing my path into social media since I’ve had many friends and colleagues asking where to start. I’ll definitely be sharing this post.

I think tumblr was critical for me, since I really needed some kind of “landing page” until I could get my blog up and running. You’ll here people on twitter say they won’t follow someone if they don’t have a web address listed. It’s as if you don’t exist (although I don’t necessarily agree with this logic).

Maybe this is what you refer to as a “scratch blog”?? If a blog on wordpress/blogger seems to daunting to someone, they should consider tumblr or something of the like. It’s easy, and gives you another dimension in online presence.

Well it is always good to go on Twitter and catch up with you. I have been racking my brains and checking post it notes and every where I could think of to find the name of the drawing program. I had it in my mind as svetch. I rifled through your blog trying to find it and even had a mad moment where I thought I would write to you. And now you mention it SKITCH.

Thank you.

The Basics list is a bit long. Of course, that is the minimum that should be covered in the first weeks, but a Google account should be set apart as first-day. Start finding and subscribing to blogs and other feeds that are interesting to you. Then later the first day, set-up a blog and post a little about yourself.

This gives you somewhere to point people as you start to comment, and as you set-up other accounts.

Blogger is not as pretty or cool as Wordpress, but is a good place to start because it is easier to focus on content. A lot of people get stuck trying to make their site pretty, and forget to tell everyone who they are and what they are interested in.

Also do not use a domain and title you like for your first blog. You will want to start over in a few months anyway. :)

I wholeheartedly agree with Michael fitzGerald, things will come and go but you can always find me thru my primary domains. Which I love because I can direct them to whatever happens to be of interest. So I would start people with an online identity, if you don’t own your name as a domain and it’s still available, get it now! Or create a memorable nickname and brand yourself, or both.

For the bonus round, I’ve had success connecting with local groups thru http://meetup.com (it’s networking not dating!) And specialty sites and forums are great depending on your hobbies, media - http://www.gurulib.com/, travel - http://www.virtualtourist.com/ There are tons in every category imaginable. I would say that I personally have had better luck participating in one forum a lot rather than several forums a little and really consider the people there true friends, though we have never met face-to-face.

Hmmm, I just thought of something, if it works I’ll BRB

sorry Chris for rambling, you just ask such great provocative questions!

:) @funDivaChristy

LinkedIn and Google Reader are excellent additions. I was asked in an interview yesterday if my colleagues (law librarians) should all have blogs. I said that blogs were a big commitment, not suitable for everyone, but law librarians should have some sort of web presence. My colleagues tend to gravitate to Facebook, but that is not open to the web for anyone searching for them. For those wanting to simply put up a professional bio page, LinkedIn is perfect as a basic first step.

Chris,

Good stuff. I got all of it covered. Thanks for outlining the process and providing a check list for SM. The one app that I feel is the most important to anyone getting into providing Social Media must consider is the need to be on LinkedIn. Until there is a better business networking site that harbors business professionals LinkedIn probably is a must. Humm, that gives me an idea. Thanks for triggering a thought of something IBGS can produce. See you in Chicago.

Flickr is also a good networking site for artists!

hola! Chris…

Thanks so much, this is good stuff!

I’d love to see your perspective on etiquette or best practices for meeting good people and sharing information with them as you are just getting started. For instance, if someone is just getting started on Twitter (and doesn’t know many people), whats the best approach for getting to know people and getting connected to the right people. Obviously, Twitter works best when people have actually met in person or on a more intimate level I think.

But, I think a really cool post for “beginners” might be kinda of like “Let’s get Digital”, a. start blog, b. become active on Facebook, c. become active in other blogs etc etc.

Cheers!

Thanks Chris! Very informative and concise.

Chris, as Susan suggested in her comment and in my experience one thing I find to be extremely helpful for people starting in social media is signing up for connecting through LinkedIN.

Reason: In LinkedIn, you find and connect with people you actually know and have had personal relationships via school, previous employers or clients.

There are a ton of studies and reports out that state most people watch videos because someone they knew sent it to them and they trust product recommendations from friends and family more than A-list bloggers.

In addition, the social web is far more interesting when you are following and communicating with people you already know.

Hey Chris,

This is a great topic! A lot of good ideas bouncing around here.

I don’t know if I missed it, but I’d include something like Feeddemon/Newsgator or another offline/online combo. Since I’m not online all the time (travel, in meetings, fiancee threatens to break off the engagement if I don’t get off the computer, etc) I can use it to catch up on the basics of the blogs I’m reading.

As for the center of my online presence, I agree that, at least for me, it’s my blog - since you can use it to update your YouTube updates and netcasts quickly, getting it out via a separate RSS.

A good place to go for your avatar pic is something like Meez.com for cute animated avatars, if you don’t want to start off with a picture.

Fot the bonus round, I’d include Yahoo groups, even though they are feeling a little dated.

Really great list you’ve put together here, Chris.

Another tool I’d add to the list is getting a Gravatar. A lot of the sites where I comment will display my picture if I have signed up for a Gravatar–which is essentially just a picture that’s associated with my email address in a comment. I think this avatar helps to both further my brand and allows me to stand out more in the comments sections. For the 60 seconds it takes, I’ve found it to be of great value!

Interesting piece of work. It would be nice if we can exchange links. Please let me know if it is ok. Do email me at arrica.lee@gmail.com

wow, hey, thanks for the list! :-D this helps a lot

The starting point depends a lot on how much you already are into internet and social media. I meet a lot of small business owners or self employed and they seem to get scared if you mention so many options.
For business (in Europe) I advice to start with 3 services, really start.
1. LinkedIn, 2. Xing and 3. Plaxo Pulse
Once they have goten used to these services and connected to more than 100 people in each service, then you are ready to move on.

[...] Chris Brogan - his recommended Starting Points for Online Presence [...]

Awesome list and great comments. One I’ll add — possibly bonus round but I think it’s okay as a basic too. Find an online social networking community just for you and people in your field or with your interests. Ning.com has a ton and it’s a great way to start networking and connecting with others who are like you or share common ground.

[...] como base un artículo escrito por Chris Brogan, cofundador de PodCamp, vamos a detallar unas cuantas ideas que resultan [...]

Great primer Chris, and very confirming for me as they are the same apps/services I’d suggest. Each time I was thinking, “Oh, but he forgot…” I’d find it in the update, etc ;)

One other suggestion:
Skype as the currently most popular VOIP, it’s a great way to reach out and touch a global community (though I do love Gizmo too).

Oh, and live/interactive video sites (which I’ve noticed you don’t seem to blog a lot about much) are going to become increasingly popular social media (livevideo.com, live.yahoo.com, ustream.tv, justin.tv)to be aware of. Eyejot.com (video mail) though not live, is also a very cool social media genre that I’m suspecting is going to boom in popularity as people become more comfortable with video presence.

Cheers,
Leif Hansen

[...] Starting Points for Online Presence [...]

This is a great article. I found you via your post on the Liz Stewart website. Good suggestions!

Great post! Loads of information!

Mark Salinas, MN

[...] I read Chris Brogan’s blog and awhile back he had a great post called “Starting Points for Online Presence” that has had me distracted and addicted to the web for weeks now.  I already have a blog [...]