It's a New Game | Shawenon Communications Newsletter

SHAWENON COMMUNICATIONS

Effective Messaging

No. 53
August, 2010

Greetings!

To tell the truth, I haven't been a good citizen of the Twitterverse lately. Like all communal activities, if you don't show up, you're out of the game. But I have excuses.

First, it's summer. I live in a resort where every day there are more delicious things to do than any tourist could manage. And I'm trying to work.

Then there's the new phone. I can't imagine that a newborn would be more demanding. And this is supposed to be a time saver? Not yet anyway. It's a whole new game.

So, back to Twitter. I've been searching for my "voice" in the medium. At one point, I cried out for help to Jeanne Yocum, a ghostwriter and public relations consultant in Granby, MA. I believe she's found a very effective Twitter voice for herself.

One thing led to another, and for the first time in its four-year history, Web Words has a guest author. I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn the other article this month is about my new cell phone. Quick summary--for me it's the most intimidating technology learning curve since the personal computer.

This is the last month I'll make the coffee offer. I have booked several talks for the fall, but there is still room on the 2010-11 calendar. Help me find more speaking venues, and I'll buy you coffee.

I'm on Twitter. Follow me.

In This Issue

New Phone

Twitter Voice

Web Tips

Free Coffee

New Phone

To this day I remember the first time I used a personal computer. It was an Apple II and belonged to the husband of a friend of mine. He'd gone to sleep, and she and I were trying to figure out how to use it. When we couldn't turn it off, we pulled the plug from the wall. Today, of course, I cringe at the thought.

That was in the early 1980's. I'm just as befuddled by my new smart phone as I was by the computer back then. For openers, I haven't looked at a keyboard in over 50 years. I touch type. Because my brain is connected directly to my finger tips, I have no idea where any of the keys are. So I can stare at the bright little keyboard for minutes on end just looking for the "b."

Phone Wars

For as long as I can remember, there have been warring tribes in technology. Apple vs. PC; Lotus 1-2-3 vs. Microsoft Excel. Sometimes there's a winner--as in the second case. Sometimes the war just goes on, as in the first. So now it's AT&T vs. Verizon and the iPhone vs. Android.

Also, for as long as I can remember, there have been watershed times in technology. When things are in major flux, you wait to buy until the technology has stabilized. This is especially true when there's a major jump forward. Like now with 4G. But I couldn't wait. My old phone got stepped on--or maybe run over by a car. Initially it was OK. But then ominous jagged, dark clouds began to move over the screen. It had to go.

The Winner

If I were a betting gal, I'd say that Verizon will eventually win the phone wars. But I had to stay with AT&T. My husband and I are grandfathered into a family plan. Verizon would have cost twice as much per month for the same service. Then came the coup de grace--AT&T lowered its data plan to $15 per month for 200 megabytes. I can't get cell service where I live and work, so it doesn't make sense to pay $30 or $40 a month for something I rarely use.

So what did I get?

An HTC Aria! That's right. An Android from AT&T. Why? AT&T's big gun in the phone wars is the iPhone. Am I nuts? Well, maybe. But maybe not. It's still early, but sources are saying that the Android is gaining market share. And much as I like Apple--and I really do--I also believe in an open system.

In the meantime, I'm still getting to know my smart phone. I find new uses for it every day. It lives in my pocket and whenever I need something, I check the phone to see if it will comply. Timer, yes; dictation machine, yes; Internet, yes; email everywhere (via WiFi)--yes. But oh, my brain is tired.

Guest Column

Finding My Twitter Voice
by Jeanne Yocum

When I first joined Twitter (the microblogging site where comments are limited to 140 characters), I found it both fascinating and intimidating. I was eager to explore the potential of this new medium for my clients and for me. But I had no clue how to gather followers (people who read my tweets), who I should follow (people whose tweets I read) or what to tweet about.

Follow, Follow

The answer to the first two questions was simple. I chose to follow people who cared about the same things I do, like--growing business in Western MA. By attending local Tweet-ups (where tweeters get together for in-person networking), I have greatly expanded my network of business contacts.

I grew my list of followers by checking out the followers of tweeters I was already following. I identified interesting people to follow and they followed me back. Generally if you follow someone, they follow you. This strategy got me to 400 followers within a few months. Since then I have mostly let my follower list grow organically with people finding me on their own. Right now I'm approaching 900 followers and should have a 1,000 by year's end.

Content is King

As to what to tweet about, that took me a while to figure out. Along the way, two books helped: Twitterville by Shel Israel and Inbound Marketing by Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah. I would recommend both these books to Twitter newbies.

To make Twitter work for me, I realized that I needed a blog so I would have original content to share in my tweets. I started Small Business Success: 20 Years & Counting, in which I share business lessons learned from clients, colleagues and friends over two decades of self-employment. I now tweet about my blog posts and include links to those posts in my tweets. This has caused my follower list to grow, and I'm having good interactions with people across the country. For example, a few weeks ago, the author of a professional publication in Pennsylvania liked an article I had posted about knowing when to fire clients. He interviewed me for a piece in his newsletter. Neat!.
_______
Jeanne Yocum is a ghostwriter and public relations consultant in Granby, MA. In addition to the blog mentioned above, she also writes a business blog for MassLive.com. Her Twitter handle is @JeanneYocum.

Web Tips

Right now I'm involved in one way or another in the early stages of developing five Web sites. I need all the help I can get. Enter Color Cop.

This handy free tool lets you pick colors from a palate or by hovering an eyedropper over your screen. So if you see a color you like, you can get its color designation--hex and RGB--instantly.

I've known about this tool for a long time. I hesitated to use it because it required a download. I remember the days when downloading a program was difficult and, well, I avoid it. In this case I shouldn't have. Great tool. Easy to install.

And Finally . . .

Shawenon Communications collaborates with small businesses, solopreneurs, professionals and not-for-profits to get their messages across in the written word.

We specialize in electronic communications, including e-zines and other forms of email marketing, Web sites and social media. We also ghostwrite articles and other business communications. As a solution provider, we resell Constant Contact's email marketing service.

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