OKC Twitterers

Wrote up a short article for NewsOK.com today about Twitter.

To Twitter or not to Twitter seems to be the question of the day for anyone who spends time on the web and is considering dipping their toes in the social media waters.
So what's all the hubbub about this site that limits users to 140 characters for each update about "what they are doing"?
I posed the question to the Twitter community on Tuesday afternoon asking folks who follow me (@mkokc) to tell me why they use the site.
Here are some of the responses, smart and smart-alecky alike.
* chrismartintv: "I use it to communicate with potential clients, users in connected fields of work, report interesting news and Tweet random tidbits."
* badcox: "Original reason: to learn the technology; now, to connect with friends, co-workers and brag about my son."
* youngblood: "To pick up chicks."
* akurys: "To find out what peers in my career field are up to, keep up with trends/news, solicit suggestions for books/movies/places to eat!"
* puckchk: "I use it mainly to get updates from various sports teams,scores,etc that i can't get anywhere else. News updates."
* bscarter: "I like to connect with folks, and it's more personal than a simple blog, more expansive than Facebook."
* vshanekempton: "To tap into the rudimentary telepathic output of my chosen community. Voice=currency,both social and economic,in the information age."
* rfast: "As a new bird, I'm learning tons on the social media front/the art of concise but meaningful convo. & its impact personally & professionally."
* mattgalloway: "What kind of guru would I'd be if I didn't."
* m_wible: "I use it b/c it's a great tool for networking & job searching, but also b/c it keeps me up to date with news & I've met cool ppl!"
* billhandy: "I use it to be a better professor."
* smartgoat: "Because it's the simplest of all the social networks: Say whatever you want, follow people you find interesting."
* WhitneyFleming: "I love the "viral" aspect to this awesome marketing tool and how quickly tweets spread."
* LoriRasmussen: "Story ideas, social networking with other journalists and PR pros."
* programwitch: "Why I use Twitter? To connect and inform. Use it to make friends, pass along ideas, ask questions and promote my blogs & podcast."
* jonfisher: "Twitter allows me to tap into the flood of real-time-web information. It's also allowed me to rapidly grow my professional network."
* JLanie: "I use Twitter to quickly/effectively communicate with friends, family & keep up w/ my favorite people and organizations."
* patrickallmond: "It allows me to ask a question and get it answered fast. It also allows me to share my content far and wide - fast."
* johnjac: "I hope the be interview by NewsOK one day, that is why I use twitter ;-)"
* BradHP: "Main use for Twitter is to connect with other comic creators, promote my work, and hopefully jumpstart my writing career."
* kristen_okla: "I use Twitter to listen to and learn f/ new ppl and smart conversations, network w/ new ppl. I've met some amazing ppl here."
* normanregional: "Norman Regional twitters to keep our community informed. We hope to reach all generations & provide local, useful health information."
* andreamyers: "It's an easy, fun way to express myself, meet cool people I might not meet otherwise and stay in the know about all kinds of things."
* LeaTerry: "I use Twitter to find story ideas, and to find credible people to interview for my articles."
* L0rdHelmet: "To be part of the conversation in real time. To get the news from those that are actually there, and because it's fun!"
* danielle_walker: "To share and glean new ideas and perspectives, and to connect with people."
* MyJRNY: "I use Twitter to turn acquaintances into friends, increase my awareness of real-time OKC happenings, and laugh. (people are funny)"
* tamarin2087: "I Twitter because it is faster and easier than blogging. I rarely have a paragraph to share. Just want to point out a link."
* B2design: "I use Twitter to keep up on what's happening in real time. It's an incredible communication tool (and highly addictive!)"
* FreshPeel: "I use Twitter to stay on top of news & trends and to connect with people."
* garyhail: "1.To see what others in our industry are doing. 2. As a news update source. 3. To promote our products. 4. Personal Growth."
* ginamstudio: "Because it's a great way for groups (etsy) to quickly network, it's easy to follow cool people who are fun to talk to, it's entertaining."

Who goes there: Your online brand and identity

All this deep social media thinking has me wondering about the best way to manage, wrangle, control and cajole my online life.

While many folks have connected to me through Twitter*, I've been trying hard to create some brand consistency across the web. That's why I started this blog and gotten a separate new gmail address - themkokc@gmail.com

But, of course, at last count, I think I have five different gmail address, plus a yahoo mail account, plus a work account. All of those e-mail addresses have their own address books.** My pal Sam Sims wondered aloud this past week if contact forms online will soon have spots for social media usernames. I'm hoping for a big hairy Google solution.***

And, as I try to build up my following on Twitter, I realize I've let my LinkedIn profile go dry for weeks. I also need to get a better account for YouTube, Yelp, Vimeo, UStream and the list goes on.

The key, and something I have tried to preach during the recent SM Speech World Tour, is that honesty is the best policy when it comes to online identity. I hold with that, but there is also the problem.

So many possible portals puts pressure on a user to keep things fresh because each site offers a possible interaction.**** And any possible interaction is a possible life-affecting***** interaction.

What I would advise is sitting down one day (I'll probably do it this weekend) and get all of your social ducks in a row. Make sure you are signed up for everything. Have a consistent username across all platforms and make sure your web is good and tight, everything linking to everything overall.

Why do this?

* First, it shows that you are on top of the tech. You should be able to sign up for new sites as they come and integrate them into your personal social media branding plan, instead of catching up with sites that people mention over a cocktail at Rococo.

* Check out wikipedia or some of the big social media news sites to get good lists of these sites.

* Figure out what the strengths of each is for you and that will help you figure out the best way for you to use it professionally.

* Use sites the applications out there which enable you to post across multiple sites (last.fm, etc.) and it will save you time.

* Include Google reader and your rss solution in this mix.

* Even if you don't do anything on a site, at least you have squatted on your online ID.

FOOTNOTES
* - @mkokc, ranked No. 16 in Oklahoma City. Take that @bbjsports!
** - Somewhere David Allen's head just exploded.
*** - What else is new?
**** - Hey, didn't I meet you on www.fansofbillnyethescienceguy.com?
***** - I looked it up a couple times and still don't know if that shouldn't be effecting.

Heading to Stillwater

The mkokc World Tour kicks off today with a talk at Oklahoma State and @billhandy's social media class.
Should be fun. Have a decent Powerpoint ready.
Thinking more and more about the web as Mayberry USA.
Report back soon.

Welcome to mkokc.com

Thursday was some kind of day in the world in which we live.
Congressmen were bounced on one hand and praised on the other for tweeting during Obama's non-SOTU. The Oklahoman was basking in the warm glow of its greatest APSE haul in history.
And then there was the Rocky Mountain News.
Why choose today to launch a bigger, better blog. A day when one of the better metro newspaper bites the dust, leaving so many good people as well as some friends in its wake?
Maybe its because I got a lonely email today asking if Prayingforpapers.com had died. Maybe it's because I want to have a more of a say in the world of Web 2.0, since I am down in the mud every day trying to mash the square peg of newspaper journalism into the round hole of the web. There are so many "social media" experts on Twitter and Facebook who 30 days ago were "no-money-down real estate" experts.
There have been so many positives that I've experienced from actual social networking in the few months since I've changed jobs.
So this is another mashup for me - the blog equivalent of tweeting, live streaming and live chatting during the #ice storm of the media landscape.
They say that someone starts a blog every five minutes somewhere in the world.
Here's to social media, multimedia and ubermedia.
Here's to my five minutes.