February 21, 2010 194 Comments

When This All Gets Cool

Toy Story Ride

Social media are a bunch of tools. They let us see things a bit differently. They empowered new ways of working together. But they’re just the tools. When this all gets cool is when we start really turning this stuff on our own passion projects, on our bigger goals, on what COULD happen.

What projects would I work on, if I were over how cool social media is?

  • Start a public list of Twitter accounts from local businesses. Point everyone in your community to it.
  • Start small mastermind groups on Google Wave (I have an incredible group going. Very small. Very useful.)
  • Donate four hours a week to a charity, giving them more promotion and exposure for their causes, equipping them with more ways to find what they need.
  • Connect to 10 people every day. Make it a blend of 5 people you’ve been in touch with, and 5 people you need to stay fresh with. Ask for nothing. Offer everything. ( Tim Sanders does this well.)
  • Give your local school teachers or library a free class on how to use the tools for their projects.
  • Turn your lens on your family. Tell family stories for future generations.

To me, the cool stuff has very much yet to happen. We can do SO much more.

You?

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    • Rick Ladd

      Chris – I'm so glad our mutual friend, Luis Suarez, pointing me here. I have just been offered a “gold-leafed” handshake by the company I've been with for over two decades. In the last few years I have been championing the use of social media and the design concepts of Enterprise 2.0 to deal with the challenges we were facing as the Space Shuttle program ended and NASA changed direction. It was very exciting, but now I'll have some free time to do exactly what you suggest. This is the very beginning of some great things . . . for all of us! Thanks. I'll be reading you more frequently now that I've found you.

      Rick
      http://rickladd.com
      @rickladd

    • http://toddrjordan.com/thebroadbrush tojosan

      The tools aren't the destination, they're just tools.
      I should pin that up above my computers. It's a fact that gets lost all too quickly.
      I've been preaching that a bit about using the tools instead of just being a person who logs in.

      The St. Louis community is really making strides in this area with local businesses not focusing on becoming master users of the tools but instead getting in there and using them to promote themselves.

      Heck, one local eatery is giving the Foursquare Mayor a 25% discount.

      We are just beginning to see the shift though Chris. Lots of folks are still trying to become 'experts' at social media instead of becoming an expert on using it for their personal and professional benefit, or to promote others.

      I've been doing this:
      Start a public list of Twitter accounts from local businesses. Point everyone in your community to it.

      The list of local St. Louis businesses continues to grow. Pointing folks to it works well to share. Another list I've created is St. Louis Attractions. The current focus of that list is things like the zoo, art museum, the Arch, etc. Both lists are growing well.

      Along with Sheila Scarborough, Becky McCray and two others, we've formed a mastermind group that meets once a month. We started it after SOBCon08 and have been going since then. Monthly calls are done via Skype. Cool thing. The calls aren't about Skype, Twitter or Facebook. Those are just tools.

      Thanks for the reminder.
      Cheers,
      Todd 'tojosan' Jordan

    • luissandovaljr

      Your post reminded me that at one of my sessions I had someone stand up and say that social media tools were corrupt and people had no right to just say what they wanted to say and do what they wanted to do.

      I was admittedly shocked by the comment, but immediately gathered my thoughts and explained to them (perhaps more graphic than I expected) that if I wanted to build a house I would use a hammer. If I wanted to hit someone over the head with someone, I could just as easily use a hammer too. So what's in the wrong, the hammer or the person using the hammer.

      I saw crystal clarity light up the eyes of the attendees. It started to make sense, they started to “get it.” It seems like a simple concept, but I think it's human nature to put stock in what you hear and tend to believe.

      Tools is all they are. I like your bulleted list too, while I may not be able to commit to everything in a given week, it's making me think that perhaps I should put a few of these in my monthly schedule and start from there.

      Thanks!

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      That's a very good piece of writing about the social media. The social media in today's world is the guiding phenomena of the thinking of the people. In this situation this media acts as the controlling factor of the thoughts of the people so a lot more could be accomplished that what has been as of now.

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      Well, it's gald to read your post, but I wouldn't understand your meaning well. Thanks all the same.

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      i agree .To me, the cool stuff has very much yet to happen. We can do SO much more.

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      That's a very good piece of writing about the social media. The social media in today's world is the guiding phenomena of the thinking of the people. In this situation this media acts as the controlling factor of the thoughts of the people so a lot more could be accomplished that what has been as of now

    • http://www.ozgurdunyam.com Seslisohbet

      Chris. Thank you for this post and the many others I have learned from. I work with authors on how to use social media to develop their brand and tribe. Your writing helps me do my job. I really appreciate your efforts! God Bless

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      Well, it's gald to read your post, but I wouldn't understand your meaning well. Thanks all the same..

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    • http://reputationmanagers.com/blog/corporate-reputation-management-in-a-google-dominated-world/ Corporate Reputation Mgmt

      People keep saying “3.0″ is going to be about creating smaller groups/filters from the noise. Once the tools are ubiquitous we'll be able to focus on using them to deepen the connections we care about/are benefiting from the most.

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      I know social media is supposed to do that but I think sometimes we get caught up in using the tool that we don't actually take advantage of it. Sometimes we fail to connect because we spend so much time trying to make a connection and get noticed.

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    • http://www.lead411.com/Al_Acunto_1389848.html Al Acunto

      The local newspaper doesn’t cover their community well. The community is devoted to Christian values and protective of their children when it comes to the internet.

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      Working for free in places that’ve lost budgets for this kind of thing and can use people who really want to do it makes their situation better than what they had when they were paying people. For unemployed this has been the thing for about a year.

    • http://www.lead411.com/Harry_Acosta_2977065.html Harry Acosta

      It was very exciting, but now I’ll have some free time to do exactly what you suggest. This is the very beginning of some great things.

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      A “duh” moment (making a list of local business twitter accounts and pointing to it)…totally cool.

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      It started to make sense, they started to “get it.” It seems like a simple concept, but I think it’s human nature to put stock in what you hear and tend to believe.

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      It started to make sense, they started to “get it.” It seems like a simple concept, but I think it’s human nature to put stock in what you hear and tend to believe.

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      The social media in today’s world is the guiding phenomena of the thinking of the people. In this situation this media acts as the controlling factor of the thoughts of the people so a lot more could be accomplished that what has been as of now.

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      For unemployed this has been the thing for about a year. Next is for unemployed to totally forget the cash-for-services era, accept that this what seems to work really well, remember it’s better than the jobs they lost and aren’t getting, and then figure out how to line up the shelter, power, and internet connection.

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      thanx for this a very great idea . Once the tools are ubiquitous we’ll be able to focus on using them to deepen the connections we care about/are benefiting from the most.The social media in today’s world is the guiding phenomena of the thinking of the people. In this situation this media acts as the controlling factor of the thoughts of the people so a lot more could be accomplished that what has been as of now

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      thanx for this a very great idea . Once the tools are ubiquitous we’ll be able to focus on using them to deepen the connections we care about/are benefiting from the most.The social media in today’s world is the guiding phenomena of the thinking of the people. In this situation this media acts as the controlling factor of the thoughts of the people so a lot more could be accomplished that what has been as of now

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      …We are just beginning to see the shift though Chris. Lots of folks are still trying to become ‘experts’ at social media instead of becoming an expert on using it for their personal and professional benefit, or to promote others.

    • http://www.flickr.com/photos/mykalaikontilai/ Mykalai Kontilai

      Social media are a bunch of tools. They let us see things a bit differently. They empowered new ways of working together. But they’re just the tools.

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      Easy to talk trash behind a computer, huh? How about you say that to your girlfriend or wife and see what kind of response you get.

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      Love the idea of coming full circle. Thinking about where we’re going with all of these tools in the future is an outstanding idea!

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      Thats really great Idea…The social media in today’s world is the guiding phenomena of the thinking of the people…Thanks

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