Twitter is the first communication mechanism I’ve been a part of that actually helps me build new relationships without any preexisting knowledge (or trust) with the other party.   Much hoopla has been made about the micro-format of Twitter and how it enables new forms of communication, but the amazing power of Twitter comes from it’s ability to allow people to connect and develop new relationships seemingly out of nothing.

My Twitter relationships may lack the depth of trust that I have in the “Friend” model (in some cases of Facebook, LinkedIn, or email but they’re still relationships that I’ve come to value and that provide me with a sense of community.

How this happened surprised me.  I had sporadically used Twitter for about a year, but wasn’t finding it very useful until I started using the search feature of Twitter to discover people that I shared a common interest with.  I’ve talked about this in the past, but in a nutshell to get an action (or Twitter usage, in my case) requires the following… (more…)

No tags Hide

Trust influences nearly every interaction we have during any given day.  Every communication, every action, every conversation is shaped in some way by the trust and reputation that we infer on the interacting party.  It is the currency communities, both online and offline, trade in.  Without trust, lasting relationships can’t be built and authentic communities can’t be maintained.  As a Community Leader, part of our job is to build reputation and trust for our communities and the people associated with them.  This may sound easy, but it can be very hard since you rely on the actions of others for much of your community’s reputation and trust.  Think about it…  You may be the most trustworthy and reputable person in the world, but if your community is acting in the wrong way, your efforts may be for naught. (more…)

No tags Hide

I recently saw survey results from a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll that stated only 15 percent of Americans believe Twitter to be an important new tool for communication and I believe it.  Not because it’s true but because Twitter can be hard to understand and get the hang of at first.

I distinctly remember my first experience with Twitter when I noticed someone casually mentioning they were “putting lipstick on at a redlight”.  My first thought was “this is totally worthless”.  My how times have changed.  Not only has the growth of Twitter been off the charts (1382% to be exact), but I’ve actually started using Twitter on a regular basis and find it extremely helpful and useful in my job. (more…)

No tags Hide

Ever wonder why some collaboration projects take off and become successful but you can’t get your company’s users to use a simple wiki?  Do your discussion forums in Sharepoint go unused?  You did everything right… didn’t you?  Well, the honest truth is that there is no silver bullet to making something popular, but there are a few strategies you can use to deal with the biggest obstacle you face in collaboration which is User Discomfort.  That’s right, it’s not your processes or your technology, it’s not even your management.  The biggest impediment to getting your collaboration project off the ground and making it popular is User Discomfort.  Here’s why … (more…)

No tags Hide

I just read a few interesting posts by Tim Bray and Alex Payne about what to read and how to stay up to date (see below).  Much of what they say I agree with.  The simple problem is that there is just too much stuff out there that is interesting or important on some level.  Combine that with an ever expanding workload, a short attention span, and a fading memory and you have a combination that just can’t work long term.  What’s interesting is that I’ve asked several knowledge workers of one sort or another what their biggest problems are and most respond with something like …

• “too many interruptions”
• “wasting time on nonproductive tasks like email”
• “no ability to focus on key tasks”
• “excessive multitasking”

(more…)

No tags Hide