The Evolution Will Be Digitized

I meet people all the time who are overwhelmed by the online choices, don’t think they can find the time or see the results of more online activity, while the so-called experts claim everyone is doing this stuff. That is simply not the case.

People usually fall into several categories, those who...

• Don’t get it
• Think everyone gets it
• Are overwhelmed by choices
• Want instant results
• View what they are currently doing is enough
• Don’t think they should invest time or money

Social media are the mediums in which we socialize. This includes face-to-face meetings, email, relationships in and out of your organization, mobile, web and any other time two or more humans are connecting.

But I thought it was time to review some numbers on the world’s largest aggregate social networking sites and perhaps this can educated you, inform you and excite you.

Twitter

There are over 190 million users worldwide who have sent more than 4 billion tweets since 2006. It is the 12th largest website in the world and over 600 million searches occur daily. The heaviest demographic using Twitter is 35-49, 62% access the site at work and 35% from home. The gender split is close to even with 54% female 46% male.

Facebook

Almost one third of all humans on earth with an Internet connection also have a Facebook profile, group or page. There are over 600 million users with an average of 130 friends. Over a third of all users accesses the site via their mobile device and are twice as active on the site than non mobile users. Close to half of all users log on to the site every day and over 10,000 new websites integrate with the environment daily.

LinkedIn

There are over 80 million users in over 200 countries and a new member joins the site every second. Over half users have attended post-secondary educational institutions and executives from all Fortune 500 companies are represented on the site.

YouTube

It remains the world’s second largest search engine next to its owner, Google. It is also the 5th most popular website in the world. Every age is represented in users of the site but the heaviest users fall in the wide demographic 18-55 and the gender breakdown is almost even. More than half of all YouTube users visit the site at least one per week.

Choices

We also could review the over 300 million blogs, the percentage of companies now embracing the use of wiki pages and the increased interest in podcasting and webinars for the purpose of training and education as well. Social media are not limited to these four websites, they are channels you can create with your customers and clients, colleagues and coworkers to educate, inform and advance business.

And it all reminds me of the quote from the first Cluetrain Manifesto published twelve years ago. "We are not seats or eyeballs or end users or consumers. We are human beings - and our reach exceeds your grasp. Deal with it."

How are you embracing digital now more than ever?

knealemann | email

image credit: istock

Reboot and Recharge

This Will Be Here When You Return

It's summer in the West. For some, the pace may be slower and vacation time is upon us. We covered business in summer last week. But as I sift through the OMO archives I stopped at this short post about taking time off from the online world.

This post was from last November.

Digital Days Off

I took two days off from social media and it was fantastic.

I kept up with news and sports and info but didn’t participate in the online conversation and something strange happened...

The sun still came up this morning.

Time off gives us perspective, it reboots our hard drives and makes us realize that all too often we need to walk away, go outside and enjoy life.

Have you tried an online vacation?

knealemann
Helping you integrate all you do with all you do.

image credit: thedailygreen

What Does That Button Do?

Follow Us!

Have you seen that around a lot more lately? It’s all the rage, everyone’s doing it. It's so cool, where have you been?

Companies, agencies, not-for-profits, consultants, lawyers, teachers and people from all walks of life are joining Twitter.



What's the URL?

Some think Twitter a website – it is not. Some think it’s a way to simply bark out deals and sell some stuff – wrong again. While others have discovered it is a place where other human beings are actually sharing usable information that can help each other’s bottom line and knowledge base while expanding their personal community to a worldwide scope.

As with all things, the late majority arrives some time after the early adopters have populated the idea, taken it for a few test runs, poked holes in it and given feedback to its creators. More than three years later and the process continues.

Will It Go Bankrupt?

I have lost count the number of people who seem to be concerned about Twitter’s business plan and revenue model. These are people who are afraid that if they engage in this channel and it goes out of business, all their hard work will be gone. Wrong yet again.

Microblogging has nothing to do with a particular website. Twitter is the biggest right now but five years ago, MySpace was on top of the social networking world and now the horizon is looking mighty crowded.

Adopters and Naysayers.

The loudest crowd seems to be congregating on soap boxes outside of the space. They are lobbing ill advised and uneducated views of its effectiveness. It’s a little difficult to assess something without trying it.

There also seems to be a growing crowd near the “I don’t get it” booth in the parking lot. It's okay, I don't get how rocket ships get to a space station but I accept it.

There have been over 2 billion tweets since Twitter’s inception, there are over 50 million users, 62% of Twitter use happens in the workplace, almost one quarter of tweets are generated by computer bots and roughly 75% of all human tweets are generated by 5% of the users.

Numbers vs. Reality.

Now before you wave the “I told you it was a waste of time” finger, let’s compare to real life. About 5-10% of the people (depending on the industry) control 75-80% of the wealth and about a quarter (or more) of the workforce is mailing it in most days.

Twitter is not about mass, it is about quality. It's not about splashing everything with the same bucket of paint, it is about finding influencers. It's not about barking and yelling, it is about listening and building. And that takes time. If you don't have time or want quick results, buy a direct mail campaign and hope for the best.

Buttons and Widgets.

It’s interesting to watch as companies are trying to get in on the new thing (again, which is as old as humans have been alive) with “Follow Us” buttons on their websites. There is a recognition that microblogging has value to their organization. The problem begins when you click on the button and see very little activity.

I won’t name names and only as an example, a prominent Canadian entity with national scope is following less than 20 people, has less than 100 followers and is using this robust dynamic two-way tool as a one-way broadcast channel. What a shame.

What are your thoughts?

@knealemann
strategy. marketing. social media.

photo credit: handycons

Time Off

I took two days off from social media and it was awesome.

I kept up with news and sports and info but didn’t participate in the online conversation and something strange happened...

The sun still came up this morning.


Time off gives us perspective, it reboots our hard drives and makes us realize that all too often we need to walk away, go outside and enjoy life.

When was your last online vacation?

@knealemann
marketing and social media strategy

image credit: microsoft.com

People Are People

I got an email yesterday from someone who had sifted through previous posts here and found one I did last May about taking the social media experience to the human level. It was inspired by CC Chapman who suggested that once you establish a new relationship perhaps you should just grab coffee and get to know someone better. That is the essence of all this online chatter.

Tools vs. Humans

We have websites and profiles, friendfeeds and tweets, followers and connections, microblogs and status updates; but those are simply the ways in which we reach each other.

Mitch Joel suggests that Twitter may become the next Google. Jeff Pulver thinks that it will be sold to Microsoft or Google in the next 18 months for $2-4 Billion. All could be true, all could be irrelevant. Those are tools and without the human element, we’re right back to the dot com bust.

We Are The Change

The point is we are the ones creating change; we are the ones connecting with each other across different industries from far off locations. Mitch and I had lost touch for 15 years and frankly he’s the one who pushed me in the deep end in the first place. Then he walked away to let me figure it out. Glad he did.

The Web of Social Connections

From geek dinners to podcamps, blog comments to phone calls, tweetups to webinars, the world really is a lot friendlier and a lot smaller than you think.

We all have the opportunity to gain new connections, contacts, colleagues, friends and perspective. There may be a dimension missing from some business plans and that is a better understanding of human behavior. And most of all it means we are just people trying to figure it all out and if we share more often we can help each other do just that.

Whether you meet someone in a coffee shop or through contacts in a social networking site, it’s up to you how much you want to pitch in. If you do, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how much we will appreciate it. #followfriday

@knealemann