Shaine Mata Blog

This is my first post on Amplify! So, naturally I'm curious what this does and how it will help me with what I do online. #myfirstpost http://amplify.com/u/ba87

This is my first post on Amplify! So, naturally I'm curious what this does and how it will help me with what I do online. #myfirstpost http://amplify.com/u/ba87

Image by bhenak via Flickr Twitter is analogous to 2-way radio. Many of the same dynamics that apply to radio communications are also applicable to how Twitter allows its users to communicate. Radio communications gives everybody in the group the ability to listen in. The ambient radio chatter gives all members of the group situational awareness of what is happening throughout the organization. While radio carries voice communications, Twitter carries text and background awareness of what is happening in the network.

I've been to the conferences, unconferences, and workshops. There is a real public desire to learn how to use social media for business and other organizations; but, too much talk about social media puts the cart before the horse. I think if you learn to create content first, it will naturally lead to the use of social media to help you distribute your work. First, let's make you interesting; then we'll talk about friending and liking.

I could not find an illustration of a self-licking ice cream cone; but the general idea is that a self-licking ice cream cone exists to perpetuate itself. My friend Dan Mosqueda first mentioned this to me in relation to social media. You'll find that many people involved in social media spend a lot of time talking about social media. So, yes, we spend a great deal of time talking about the very thing that we use to get the word out about...social media. It's a vicious circle. So, I've been racking my brain trying to think about ways to break the cycle. Dan suggested that we should instead focus on creating content. After all, this is what people look for when they are browsing the web. So, I've been thinking about how to create content so that it relates to social media without getting the ice cream ready to lick itself. Obviously, now at least, I should probably teach by example. Meaning that instead of talking about social media all the time, I really ought to

Image via CrunchBase Just today, I downloaded the Springpad app on my Android phone. I have been aware of Springpad for some time; but could never really take advantage of it without the option of going mobile. Although I do spend a lot of time in front of a computer, I find that the information I gather while at the computer is most often useful when I'm out and about in the world. I rely heavily on Evernote because of its flexibility in storing information. I can send all manner of information to Evernote and access it on my mobile. The only downside to Evernote is that it is a blank slate, which also happens to be its strength. Springpad is handy because it has templates for storing many kinds of information. The available categories make organizing your information that much easier. Evernote, on the other hand, is completely free form, leaving it up to you to create structure, or not. While I love the universality of Evernote, sometimes I need some structure. It