Magic Satchel, Inc. » current events

My Edict on Twitter Sins

Kim — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:28:46 +0000

So, I’ve been active on Twitter for an entire 50 days now. What’s that in Twitter years? And being the old Twitter salt I now am, I am entitled to list my top Twitter pet peeves. So here they are, not in any order of importance.

Excessively Retweeting Yourself: “In case you missed it.” I didn’t miss it, I ignored it the last seven times because it was boring.
Want To Know…?: Yes, I do before I open the link- you have a whopping 140 characters. Use them! I’m tired of being sent to real estate investment sites masked as something newsworthy.
Leetspeek grammar: Maybe it’s because I’m rapidly approaching 30, but my professional opinion of you drops significantly if you spell “you” as “u.”
Auto-anything: The usefulness and core premise of Twitter is greatly diminished by bots. If you don’t have the time to say it, I don’t have the time to read it. Automated anything is Twitter cheating!
Disembodied Chest Avatars: Your userpic is about 25% the size of a matchbook. Even if I wanted to check out your pecs (which I don’t) this is hardly the best medium. This is Twitter, not Hot or Not.
Secrets and Lies: I’ve seen many a tweet promising to unlock the secret of social media, Twitter, blogging, finding graphics and getting the perfect latte. Guess how many of these Tweets contained actual useful information? Zero. And besides, once you say it on Twitter it’s not a secret anymore, so quit it.
You’re Not Who You Quote: One or two inspirational quotes are fine. Culling all your content from Wikiquote? Not so much.
Dry Tweeting: In order for you not to put me to sleep in 140 characters or less, I want some dynamic content. Just as irritating as the constant updaters with little thought behind their tweets are the Twitter cold fish- it’s just as boring to only talk business on Twitter as it is in real life. Personality is important in this format- don’t be afraid to tweet something besides links to your blog or your site. Contribute!

This post would not be complete without including the “fail whale.”

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Welcome to the age of Gigonomics

Kim — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 08:14:43 +0000

Interesting piece on Web Worker Daily on how smart talent is adapting hard and fast to the changing economy and career trajectory they inevitably face. This post dubs the phenomenon “Giganomics.”

Most of the web workers I know tend to be college educated people with reasonably good incomes, and I suspect that most of the people described in the group above are web workers. Many web workers, and I include myself in this group, would never have become freelancers or otherwise left traditional jobs to telecommute from home without the rise of ubiquitous online technology. Fifteen years ago, many of the careers that web workers now enjoy didn’t even exist or would not have been possible given the technology available prior to the early to mid-1990s. While some early versions of the technologies we now take for granted existed back then, the adoption was still very low. Many companies weren’t online at all, and email was used by some people, but not everyone.

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Twitter for Newbies: Tweep It Out!

Kim — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 04:52:37 +0000

I will admit it- even as an early adopter, I was slow to “get” Twitter. My account sat dormant and silent for months, and when I came across Twitter-related news, I kind of glazed over. But fellow VAs (thankfully) kept banging on about it, and I started knocking around on the site- and it’s been an amazing tool for finding people and information.

Twitter is weird that way. You really have to participate to get a feeling for what it’s about. But the no-holds-barred, quick and dirty interface is amazing once you get it going. The article linked and quoted below is a very good introduction to getting your tweet on, and I especially liked this bit about how businesses large and small are using it to connect with and amplify their customer base:

On- and off-line businesses are posting tweets related to sales, promotions, products, customer service and more. Retailer Twitter Aggregator (www.noturnonred.com/twitter) displays recent tweets from big retailers. Communication is light, oftentimes promoting a sale, offering instant customer service and random banter between followers. Some recent entries?

TheHomeDepot replied to a customer post: “@marqueart saw your tweet about your backyard project. That’s awesome — doing all the work yourself? Share a tweetpic when ur done?”

7_Eleven to followers: “Good Morning Tweeps! With snow through most of the nation, it’s a good day for a hot chocolate!”

GemAffair.com (gemaffair) posts multiple tweets per day, CEO Michael Jansma said.

“We wanted to use Twitter to get to know our customers and to give them an opportunity for them to know us. GEMaffair.com is more than just an e-commerce retail store; it’s like a neighborhood jewelry store. We love to interact with people, and since we’re on the Internet, Twitter affords us that opportunity,” said Jansma.

Jansma said GemAffair.com posts about news stories, deals of the day, trivia, links to sales, replies to customer questions and even holds Twitter-exclusive contests.

“We ask that entrants retweet (RT) … our message … and send it out through their network,” he said. “Every entry gets written down, and at the contest’s end, we randomly select a winner. Winners have received everything from diamond pendants to ruby heart necklace and earring sets.”

Jansma and his crew like the community feel of Twitter. Boyle, Manassy and Porter would agree.

“We follow their blips, and after enough, we get to know that person,” Jansma said of Twitter-ers. “I think that’s why Twitter has exploded. It’s a platform that can be used in a huge variety of ways — for news, for retail, for friends, for students, for mothers, for teens, for everyone. And with each little 140-character message that passes through our home page, we learn more about who is in our community.”

via Tracking the Twitter trend | Cover Story.

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Telecommuting trumps temping

Kim — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 08:04:31 +0000

I’m still amazed corporations aren’t luring top talent like this in droves- staffing firms can serve a purpose, but focused virtual workers and virtual assistants are infinitely more economical for big and small companies in this economic flux period. And, as the writer below keenly observes, perhaps when the dust settles we’ll all be left with more efficient employment options.

If you haven’t sourced a good Virtual Assistant yet, now is a great time to find someone who truly can service the needs of your business.

It all makes me wonder: As the recession continues, might we see more telecommuters? These are talented, hard-working people flocking to temp agencies. It woudn’t be surprising to see many of them decide to go into business for themselves, and to set up their home offices. Many might turn themselves into freelancers, hiring themselves out for consultants for businesses that have already slashed their payrolls of full-time employees.

And when the recession ends, these workers might decide that they like the life of a work-at-home telecommuter. They might realize that going into a traditional office every weekday is a drag.

I certainly hope so. The more employers who understand the benefits of telecommuting and employees who work from home, the better.

via Chicago Telecommuting Examiner: Temp jobs on the rise. Will we see more telecommuters, too?.

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“…in bad times you have to move forward; you can’t save your way to success.”

Kim — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:58:20 +0000

Most of the article centers on pharmaceuticals, science and such, but the idea itself is interesting and a great outlook in this economy. For better or worse, forward thinking employers and employees seem to be thinking this is a real bend-or-break time for everyone.

It may seem counterintuitive that in the midst of this global economic crisis a substantial number of entrepreneurs, investors and venture capital financiers are interested in starting a company.

via Entrepreneurial Edge – As Some Businesses Dig In, the Venturesome Set Out – NYTimes.com.

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Virtual Valentine’s Day ‘09

Kim — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:30:35 +0000

Your Virtual Assistant is on moderated assisting duty whilst I spend a long weekend celebrating Virtual Valentine’s Day.

I don’t want you to get bored, so please:

Make a baby with anyone via VW;

Stay hype on the stimulus situation and just say no to coffer looting!

Become an expert on Artisinal Ice Cream.

Add some steampunk cred to your desktop with these cool icons!

And bring chapstick.

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Where to find the Inauguration

Kim — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 16:48:52 +0000

Via Lifehacker, catching the inauguration from anywhere you happen to be. Regardless of how you voted, this is one for the history books, so take note!

If you didn’t snag a ticket or the time off, there’s still a multitude of video streams, pictures, and other ways to experience Barack Obama’s inauguration Tuesday. Here’s our growing list of the offerings.

via Events: Lifehacker’s Guide to Catching the Inauguration from Anywhere.

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