Theemotionalface ofTwitter

byLukeGrangeandCeliaProsser

Theemotional faceofTwitter

byLukeGrangeandCeliaProsser

 FirstpublishedDecember2009 KnowledgeSolutions2009 Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformor byanymeans(electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recordingorotherwise)withouttheprior permissionofthepublishers,KnowledgeSolutions.Requestsandinquiriesconcerning reproductionandrightsshouldbeaddressedtoKnowledgeSolutions: www.knowledgesolutions.com.au mailto:luke@knowledgesolutions.com.au|mailto:celia@knowledgesolutions.com.au Topurchasecopiesofthisebook,pleasegotowww.knowledgesolutions.com.au Disclaimer Thispublicationdoesnotpurporttobelegaladviceandisprovidedasageneralguideonly. Someinformationmaybecomesupersededthroughchangestothelawandasaresultof evolvingtechnologyandindustrypractices.Usersshouldseekprofessionaladviceinrelationto theirownonlineactivities. EditedbyJoTaylerwww.jot.net.au Typesetin11/16ptCalibribyJoTaylerwww.jot.net.au Coverimage:Photosani/Shutterstock
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Images:SteveBrandon(Flickr)p.27;RichardAudet(Flickr)p.30; Shutterstockpp.10,12,17,23,33,37,46.

Contents
Abouttheauthors........................................................................................................................6 0Introduction...................................................................................................................................7 1Whatisonlinesocialmedia?.........................................................................................................9 Whatismicroblogging?..............................................................................................................10 Thereachofonlinesocialmedia................................................................................................12 WhatisTwitter?.........................................................................................................................11 TheemotionalfaceofTwitter....................................................................................................11 Microbloggingasasegwayengine...........................................................................................11 Thereachofsocialmedia...........................................................................................................10 2AnintroductiontothetermsandconceptsofTwitter...............................................................13 Yourprofile.................................................................................................................................13 Following....................................................................................................................................14 Followers....................................................................................................................................14 Unfollow.....................................................................................................................................14 Both............................................................................................................................................15 Blocking......................................................................................................................................15 Retweeting.................................................................................................................................15 Thelivetweetstream.................................................................................................................16 Lookingatanindividualstweets...............................................................................................16 Searchingontopics....................................................................................................................16 Hashtags....................................................................................................................................16 3Managingyouronlinecommunities............................................................................................19 Collaborativebusinessnetworks................................................................................................19 CBNtips..................................................................................................................................19 Friendlysocialnetwork..............................................................................................................20 FSNtips...................................................................................................................................21 LinkingCBNsandFSNs ...............................................................................................................21 .
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Thereachofonlinesocialmedia................................................................................................21 4Theplaceforonlinesocialmediainbusiness.............................................................................22 Isyourbusinessusingonlinesocialmediaeffectively?.............................................................23 ConferenceTwitterusage..........................................................................................................23

 5Emotionalintelligenceandonlinesocialmedia..........................................................................24 Whatisemotionalintelligence?.................................................................................................24 WheredidEIcomefrom? ..........................................................................................................24 . Onlinesocialmediaassocialscience.........................................................................................25 Makingsenseofemotionalintelligence ....................................................................................25 . 6Personalfiltering.........................................................................................................................27 FilteringandEI............................................................................................................................28 Inattentionblindness..................................................................................................................28 Samewords,differentmeaning.................................................................................................29 7Usingemotionalintelligenceinonlinesocialmedia...................................................................30 It'sanewschoolplaygroundandittakestimetoestablishyourself....................................30 Thinslicing..................................................................................................................................31 Buildingtrustonlinetobuildrapport.........................................................................................31 Beingclear..................................................................................................................................31 Youresellingemotion................................................................................................................32 Isyoursocialmediacommunicationstyleworking?..................................................................32 Keepingyouraudienceinmind..................................................................................................32 8Learningemotionalintelligence..................................................................................................34 Stagesoflearning.......................................................................................................................34 Feelthelove...............................................................................................................................35 Emotionsinfluenceourperformance........................................................................................36 HowcanIimprovethewayIcommunicatethroughsocialmediachannels?...........................36 Howsyourreputation?..............................................................................................................36 9Emotionalintelligenceandonlinecommunities.........................................................................37 Belonging....................................................................................................................................37 Whatisavalue?.........................................................................................................................38 10Applyingemotionalintelligencetoonlinesocialmedia ...........................................................39 . ReflectionexerciseforEI............................................................................................................39 11Twitterit'sallaboutconnection.............................................................................................42
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ConnectingpeopleonTwitter....................................................................................................42 Rulesforconnecting...................................................................................................................43 Thelittlefox...............................................................................................................................44

12Twitteryourbusiness................................................................................................................45 HowcanTwitteringearnmybusinessmoney? .........................................................................45 . Buildingcustomerloyalty...........................................................................................................45 Customersresearchdifferentlythesedays................................................................................45 Measuringgrowth......................................................................................................................46 Customerrelationshipmanagement..........................................................................................47 00Conclusion.................................................................................................................................48

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THEEMOTIONALFACEOFTWITTER

Abouttheauthors
LukeGrange Lukeisopenminded,constantlyrevisitingcommunicationconcepts toimprovetheirtiming,applicationandrelevance.Histhree passportsaretestamenttoanadventurousglobalcareer.Leading KnowledgeSolutions,togetherwiththeteam,hehelpsclientstake partinnewinnovationandimprovingindividualslivesby introducingonlinesocialmediaandopeninnovation.Client engagementisthemeasureofonlinesocialmediacurrencyandLuke hasbeendevelopingandpromotingonlinecommunitiestohelp companiesdeveloptheirwealthofsocialmediacapitaloverthelast 10years.Itshispassion! CeliaProsser WhileworkinginthefieldofinjurymanagementinAustraliaandNew Zealandfortenyears,Celiadiscoveredthatmanyoftheinjurieswere ofapsychologicalnature,causedfrominterpersonalconflictor bullying.Mostoftheseinjuriesstemmedfromabreakdownin communication,poorleadershipcapabilitiesandlackoftrust.Soshe builtonherexistingskillsinhealthsciencetoincludeaccreditationin EmotionalIntelligenceandWorkplaceCoaching.Celiaswiderangeof skillsandexperienceenableindividualsandorganizationstoimprove theirworkplaceculturetobetterachieveeffectiveemployeesocial networking. TheEmotionalIntelligenceinstrumentCeliausesistheonly assessmentsupportedbynumerouspeerreviewedresearchfindings andpublicationsaswellastangiblebusinesscasestudies.

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ABOUTTHEAUTHORS

Introduction
Theconceptofonlinesocialmediaisntreallynew.Whileithasonlyrecentlybecomepartof mainstreamcultureandthebusinessworld,peoplehavebeenusingdigitalmediafor networking,socialisingandinformationgatheringforover30years.Sowhetheryou'reanewbie orhavebeenusingitforawhilethisebookisforyou.It'sisdesignedtogiveyoupractical adviceonhowtouseonlinesocialmediaandenhanceimproveandstrengthenyourexperiences ofsocialmedia. Onlinesocialmediadidntstartwithcomputersitwasbornon'line'...onthephone.However, theinventionofthetelephoneisnotwhatweregoingtoexplorehere.Letsfastforwardto 1997,toasocialnetworkingsitebythenameofSixDegrees.Thisinnovativewebsitesoughtto bringpeopletogetheronline.Butonlythreeyearslateritcloseddown.Thereasonsforits closureweremainlyduetousersfeelinguncomfortableputtinginformationonlineand interactingwithstrangersespeciallywhentheinternethadntcaughtonquiteyet.Basicallyit wastooearlyforitstime.Atthispointmostpeopledidntreallygetitorunderstandwhatit wasfororhowtheycoulduseitinthewaywedotoday. DespitetheearlydemiseofSixDegrees,thissitehelpedestablishthecentralcharacteristicsof onlinesocialmediathatwouldlaterbefinetunedandelaboratedon. Themovetoemergingwebbasedtechnologyallowedustoshrinktheworldmetaphorically speaking,ofcourse.Itallowedustohavequickandeasyconversationsonline.That'swhatthe worldwidewebisreallyallabout...conversation.Initiallywethoughtofitasabiglibrary.Then wethoughtitwouldbeaplacetopublishfrom.Butitsreallyalwaysbeenaboutconversation andwillcontinuetobeaboutconversationaswekeepmovingforward.Thefactthatit connectedpeoplethroughemailgaveusabuzzbackinthe90s,butthatquicklyworeoffasour inboxesoverflowed.CCingandBCCingstillmeantwehadtoopenandreadallthoseemails(not tomentionspam).Basicallythesystemconnectingandallowingustocommunicatecalledemail isnolongereffectiveandefficientenough. Butwedon'twanttolingertoomuchinthepastsolet'szoomforwardtothecurrentday,when wehavereachedatippingpointforthetechnologyofmicroblogging.Ina2009reportcompleted byMarketingProfsResearchInsightsitwasdemonstratedthatnewmediaisontherise. Withcompanywebsitesandemailmarketingapproachingsaturationlevelsintermsofusage, attentionisnowshiftingtointeractiveonlinesocialmedia.

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THEEMOTIONALFACEOFTWITTER

Terminology
Youmayseethetermsmicrobloggingand twitteringusedinterchangeablyasyoumove throughthisebook. Twitteringismicroblogging.Microbloggingisa conceptandTwitterisoneofthetechnicaltools usedtoexecutethisconcept. (Wewouldprefertohavecalledmicroblogging 'microsharing',whichisatermwefirstheard usedbyLauraFitton@Pistachiofollowher, shereallyreallygetsit.)

Twitterhasgrownoverathousandper centinAustraliasinceearly2009.Its annualgrowthsincelastAprilexceeds 3200%(ReadWriteWeb). Withthesestaggeringfiguresinmind, let'slookathowthisisaffectingour relationshipsbothonandofflineand whatthismeansforourabilityto communicatewitheachother. Let'sfaceit:Twitterispowerful!Its bringingmorepeopletogetherthan anyothertechnologyinthehistoryof communication. Microblogginggivesyou140 characterstogetyourmessageacross. Ifitisnotcommunicatedeffectively thenyouraudiencehasnooptionbut tomakeerroneousassumptionsabout themeaningofthattweet.

ThisiswhywefeelitsimportanttointroduceEmotionalIntelligence(EI)intothesocialmedia arena.Withmicrobloggingthereisevenmorescopeforbeingmisunderstoodandmoreneedfor peopletothinkabouthowandwhattheysayineachmessage.Becauseemotionsaffecttheway wethinktheyultimatelyaffectthedecisionswemake. Haveyoueveraskedyourbossforapayrisewhentheywereinabadmood?Ofcoursenot! Soletmeaskyouthishowdoyouknowtheyreinabadmood?Isitwhattheyresaying,or howtheyresayingit?Isitbasedontheirbodylanguageand/oracombinationofallofthese things? Nowimagineforamomentthatyouonlycommunicatewithyourbossonline...Howdoyou thinkthatwouldaffectyourmessaging?(Oryourabilitytogetapayrise!) ItdoesntmatterifyoureonFacebook,Twitter,Yammer,YouTubeorFlickr;youronline personalityisnotonlypartofyouroverallbrand,itbecomesaninteractiveexperienceforyou, personally,and,morespecifically,thecultureofyourbusiness. Wewrotethisebooktohelpyounavigateyourway aroundthisnewphenomenonandstrengthenyour experienceofonlinesocialmediainaproductiveway. Wealsoalignemotionalintelligenceandonlinesocial mediaforthepurposeofenhancingeffective communicationthroughthesechannelsforyour businessandinyourpersonallife.
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Whereveryouseeunderlinedtext inthisebook,itsalivelink. Simplyclickonthelinktoopenit inyourbrowser.

WHATISONLINESOCIALMEDIA?

Whatisonlinesocialmedia?
Onlinesocialmediaisanumbrellatermthatdefinesthevariousactivitiesthatintegrate technology,socialinteractionandtheconstructionofwords,pictures,videosandaudioonline. Thisinteraction,andthemannerinwhichinformationispresented,dependsonthevaried perspectivesand'building'ofsharedmeaningaspeoplesharetheirstoriesandunderstandings (Wikipedia). Allonlinesocialmediaplatformssharefourmaincharacteristics: publicorsemipublicprofilesforusers membersconnectwithoneanotherbecausetheyhavesomesortofsharedinterest memberscanviewandconnectwithotherindividuals(friendsorfriendsoffriends) onlinesocialmediaServicesallowforusergeneratedcontent. Onlinesocialmediaisonlinecontentcreatedbypeopleusinghighlyaccessibleandscalable publishingtechnologies.Atitsmostbasic,onlinesocialmediaisashiftinhowpeoplediscover, readandsharenews,informationandcontent.It'safusionofsociologyandtechnology, transformingmonologues(onetomany)intodialogues(manytomany)andittransforms peoplefromcontentreadersintopublishers. Onlinesocialmediahasbecomeextremelypopularbecauseitallowspeopletoconnectinthe onlineworldandformrelationshipsforpersonal,politicalandbusinessreasons. Thereareanumberoftechnicaltoolsthatfacilitatetheconnectingofindividualsonline(suchas Facebook,MySpace,LinkedIn,Twitter,Yammer,Flickrandthevariousbloggingsites).Eachone ofthesetoolscanbeusedforthereasonsstatedabovehoweversomearebettersuitedfor differentpurposes. Forexample,LinkedInisbetterforestablishingbusinessrelationshipswhileFacebookhas traditionallybeenbettersuitedtopersonalrelationships(thoughthisischangingasthedrivefor thesoftwaretobeallthingstoallpeoplecreepsinandweseeaddedcomplexity.

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THEEMOTIONALFACEOFTWITTER

Whatismicroblogging?
Microbloggingisaformofonline socialmediathatallowsusersto sendbrieftextupdatesof140 charactersinlength,ormicromedia, suchasphotosoraudioclips,and publishthemeithertobeviewed byanyoneorjustbyarestricted groupchosenbytheuser.These messagescanbesubmittedviaan increasingnumberofplatforms, includingSMS,smartphoneorthe web. Ioftenhearpeoplesay'Idonteven blogwhywouldImicroblog?' Wellforastart,thereisavastdifferencebetweenbloggingandmicroblogging.Verysimplyput, thecontentofamicroblogdiffersfromatraditionalbloginthatitismuchsmallerinlengthand aggregatefilesize.Asinglemicroblogentrycanconsistofasinglesentenceorfragment,an imageorabriefvideo. Usersmicroblogaboutparticulartopics;thesecanrangefromwhatoneisdoingorthinkingata givenmomenttothethematic(suchassportscars),tobusinesstopics(suchasbrand awareness). Microblogsprovideshortcommentaryonapersontopersonlevel,sharenewsabouta company'sproductsandservices,providelogsoftheeventsofone'slifeandmore. Microblogginggivesustheabilitytocommunicateeasilytopeopleallovertheworldinan instant.Wecansharestories,eventsandmessageseasilyandquickly.Itallowsustocollaborate withpeopleallovertheglobe.Itallowsforbrainstorming,problemsolvingandcoordinationof activitiesinarelativeinstant. Microbloggingfosterscohesiveness,connections,accountability,leadershipandauthenticityif usedintherightway.

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Thereachofsocialmedia
Facebookaccountedfor14.5%ofallUKInternetpageviewsduringSeptember2009, equivalentto1inevery7(Hitwise). Twitterisnowthe26thrankedwebsitevisitedbyAustralianInternetusers(week ending5September2009)(Hitwise).

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WHATISONLINESOCIALMEDIA?

WhatisTwitter?
ThemicrobloggingtoolTwittergrewoutofabrainstormingsessionatapodcastingcompany calledOdeoin2006.TheideawasforindividualstouseanSMSservicetocommunicatewitha smallgroup.ThefirstTwitterprototypewasusedamongOdeoemployees.Itwaslaunched publiclyinJuly2006. TwitterbecameitsowncompanyinApril2007.Twitterreallytookoffatthe2007Southby SouthwestFestivalintheUSA,whereusageincreasedby300%.

TheemotionalfaceofTwitter
EveryoneofusonTwitterlooksdifferenteven though,initssimplicity,itonlyhasfour fundamentalfacets: following beingfollowed peopleyoufollowwhoalso followyou(both) blocking. LUKE: AsIwasgrowingup,my motheroftenusedtosay'It'samazing, isn'titwearebroughtintothis worldwithtwoeyes,anoseanda mouth,yetwealllooksodifferent'.

WealllookdifferentinTwitterbasedonthefourfacetsintheface. It'sthecombinationofthesefourfacetsthatdeterminesyourpersonalcommunitysurrounding youinthetwitterverse. Youcanevengoastepfurtherandarguethatwe'sense','listen'and 'communicate'throughtheface.Thereforeunderstandingwhatyouwantyourfacetolooklike onTwitterisessential.

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Microbloggingasa segwayengine
Storytellingissoimportantandtheinternet istheperfectplatformforustoshootthe breeze.Thisbreezemaybeaboutrocket science,somenewbiotechdiscoveryorthe latestHollywoodblockbuster. Yourknowledgedoesn'tallresideinyour head.Thereisaknowledgesupportnetwork thatishardatworktryingtopass knowledgetousandfromustoothers.The internetallowsustodoallthiswhilehaving aconversationwhichisthemostnatural waytopassonwhatwehaveinourheads. Alinkinatweettakesyoutomanyplaces. Oneoftheseisyourawarenessofthe proximityoralignmentyoufeelwiththose youhavechosentofollow.

Thereachofonlinesocialmedia
By2010GenYwilloutnumberbabyboomers.96%ofthemwillhavejoinedan onlinesocialnetwork. Onlinesocialmediahasovertakenpornasthenumberoneactivityonthe web. AustraliansarenowthethirdhighestpercapitagroupofTwitterusersonthe planet. Ittookradio38yearstoreach58millionusers.TVtook13years.Theinternet tookfouryears.iPodstookthreeyears.Facebookadded100millionusersin lessthanninemonths! 80%ofTwitterusersareonmobiledevices.Imaginewhatthatmeansforbad customerservice. 34%ofbloggerspostopinionsaboutproductsandbrands. ThesestatisticswerefeaturedintheYouTubevideoSocialMediaRevolution'it givesincrediblestatisticsonhowonlinesocialmediacontinuestogrowandisworth awatch.
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ANINTRODUCTIONTOTHETERMSANDCONCEPTSOFTWITTER

Anintroductiontotheterms andconceptsofTwitter
Yourprofile
Helpyourselfandhelpothersstartbymakingiteasy toseewhoyouare.SetupyourTwitterprofilewitha photoandabio.Inyourbio,youneedtoexplainwhat YoucannotNOT itisthatyouareallabout.InTwitteryouonlyhave160 haveapersonaonline. characterstodoso,whichisnotalot,soyoureally havetothinkbeforeyoustarttodescribeyourself.It's agoodideatoexplainyourreasonforbeingpartof Twitterandalsogivealittleinsightintoyourpersonality.Forexample,startwithsomething abouthowyouwanttochangetheworldandthensayhowmuchyoulikeeatingicecreamona sunnyday. Itsreallyimportanttosetyourprofileup(withphotoandbio)beforeyoustarttotryandfollow others.Ifyoufollowsomeonewithouthavingthesetwothingssetupdontexpectthemto followyou;youwillprobablybeblocked.Theinternetisnowatwowayconversationandweall wanttoknowalittlebitabouttheotherpeopleouttherebeforewegetintodeepdiscussion. Everyonehasasoftersideit'sagreaticebreakerjusttoshowalittleofthissideofyourselfin yourtweetsandyourbio. ThinkofasuitablenametouseinTwitteras yourusername.Thisisreallyimportantasit makesuppartofyouridentity.Ifyouhavea reallyuniquefirstnamewhichmostofus dontyoucouldusethat.Acombinationof yourfirstandsecondnamesmaybeagood onetouse.Thinkaboutthecontextofyour Twitteraccount

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LUKE: IoftenmeetupwithTwitterfolk offlineaswellasonline.Ifyournameis HarryCollins,butyoudecidetocallyourself SpanneronTwitter,expecttobecalled Spannerwhenyoumeetothersinthestreet whorecognizeyourprofilephoto!

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THEEMOTIONALFACEOFTWITTER

Following
Inthemicrobloggingworld,justasinreallife,wecanchoosewhowewanttoassociatewith. Youcanactivelyfollowpeopleandwedon'tmeanstalkingthemorfollowingthemhome.You simplydecidethatyouwouldliketoseetheirtweetsinyour'followingstream'.Iftheydecideto followyoubackthentheywillseeyourtweetsintheirfollowingstream. Andsocommunitiesgetbuiltandoverlapandrelationshipsform. Eachtimeyoureadatweetfromthepeopleyouarefollowingyoucanunfollowthepersonwith oneclickiftheirtweetsstopinterestingyouortheirlinksarenotrelevanttoyou.

Followers
Ifyouhaveapublicprofile,anyonecandecidetofollowyou.Ifyouhavesomeonefollowingyou thentheywillseeyourtweetsintheirfollowingtweetstream. Therearetoolstogatheralotoffollowersquickly,whichareeasytosignuptoonline,butwhat youquicklyrealizeisthatit'snotthenumberoffollowersyouhavebutthevalueofthe followersthatismostimportant. Weeachneedtotaketimeselectingwhowewanttofollowandblockingthosethatitdoesn't makesensetohavefollowingyouthosewhomostprobablylackauthenticityandwoulderode thetrustofothers.Itsnotagoodideatoautomaticallyfollowanyonethatfollowsyou.

Unfollow
LUKE:Peoplesellingtomewithout
havingdevelopedaworking relationshipgetthebootiftheysellto meina'buythisnow'kindofway. ThecommunityIhave,thepeople whoIfollow,wouldnotselltomein thisway. Theyletmeknowwhattheylikeand whytheylikeitandifIwantIcanask themwheretheyboughtitandthat's it.Itsdoneinaconversationbecause thatiswhattheinternetisbecoming: aconversationonline. Whenyouhitunfollowyouwon'tseethat personagain.Sowhatdrivesustodoit?Asitsso easytounfollowwethoughtweshouldprovide arundownonhowtomanageyourcommunity inTwitter. Ifwedon'tseesharingfromsomeonewe unfollowthem;that'slife.Wehavetosharethe luvorelsewewillbeunfollowed.Noteveryone hasworkedthisoutjustyetsodon'tbelievethe statsabouthowmanypeoplefolloweachother; itwillchange.Thingswillbegintosettledown andwewillbegintoseepeoplemanagingtheir followingandfollowersmoreeffectively.

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ANINTRODUCTIONTOTHETERMSANDCONCEPTSOFTWITTER

Both
Inordertobeabletosendadirect message(DM)toanotherTwitter useryouneedtobefollowingthem andtheyneedtobefollowingyou. ADMisreallyusefulonceyouhave establishedarelationshipwithyour follower.Itsnotsomethingtobe overused,butitisamoresecure waytosendcontactdetails,suchas aphonenumber,toanindividual withouthavingtobroadcast personaldetailsto thetwitterverse.

LUKE:TheotherthingIlookoutforfrommy
followersisthattheyshare. Irecentlyaskedmywifewhatitisthatkeepsus lovingeachother.Sherepliedthatwesharestuff. onlinesocialmediaisallaboutsharingthat's whatbindsthecommunitiesonline. CurrentlytheTwittertoolsdontmakeiteasyto gettogripswithallourfollowersinoneview. Butsomeoneoutthereisnodoubtdevelopingan applicationtodojustthat;bythetimeyouread thistheyhaveprobablyconvincedyoutouseit. Soonwewillhavetheabilitytofinetuneour communityandtweaktheuntappedvalue outthere.

Blocking
Thereisadarksidetothetweetspace.Somepeoplepuntpornographythroughtweets.These individualswillfollowyouontheoffchancethatyouwillclickonalinktheypost,whichwilllink toapornsite.Itsagoodideatoblocktheseindividualsassomeoftheirlinkscouldleadyouto gettingavirusonline(oroffline!) Whenyousendatweetitwillgointothemaintwitterstreamforanyonetosee.However, thoughmostTwitterusersonlylookattheindividualstheyfollow.Withthisinmind,its probablyagoodideatoblockthosewhoyoudontfeelneedtoseeyourtweetsintheir followingstream.

Retweeting
Retweeting(RTorVia)isawaytorelayatweetyoufounduseful,funnyorinterestingtoyour followers,therebygivingthemvalue.Byretweetingyoualsogivetheoriginatorkudosforthe valueyouseeinthemessage.Inaretweetyoucanaddacoupleofwordsofyourownto embellishtheargumentofaddyourslant. ItspolitetothanksomeonewhoRTsyourmessagesinashorttweetorDM. Ifthoseyoufollowtweetcontent(suchasURLs),andtheyareinlinewithyourobjectives,they wouldhavereadthecontenttheyarelinkingto.Eachtimetheyvetitonyourbehalfandyou begintotrusttheirjudgmentovertime.Ifyouretweetsuchtweets,it'simportanttodouble checkthatthelinkisworkingandthatthecontentthatittakesyoutoisrelevanttoyour followersbeforeyouRTitoutacrossthetwitterverse.

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THEEMOTIONALFACEOFTWITTER

Similarly,yourfollowersrelyonyoufeedingthemvaluablecontentfromthoseyoufollowand theywillrewardyoubyhandingoutcomplimentsandreturningthefavorwithrelevantvaluable linksandRTsintotheircommunity.

Thelivetweetstream
Thelivetweetstreammeansthatapersontakingpartintwittercanseetweetsastweeters aroundtheworldarepressingthesendbutton.ThistakestheshapeofastreamofTweetsthat justkeepcomingaspeopleconversewitheachother,alludetonewsreportsorsimplysaywhat theyarethinking.

Lookingatanindividualstweets
Ifyouwanttoseethelistoftweetsthatoneparticular personhassentovertimeyoucanclickontheirprofile andreadtheirtweetstream.Thisenablesyoutosee whotheyhavebeenmakingcontactwithandwhat informationtheyhavebeensharingwiththe Twitterverse.Itallowsyoutocometogripswithwhat intereststhemandwhattheirpassionsare,howthey expresssentimentsand,ultimately,theiremotions.

Youreunique...just likeeverybodyelse!

Searchingontopics
Anotherwaytoseeastreamofusefulinformationwouldbetosearchonaparticulartopicin Twitter.If,forexample,youareinterestedinrugbyyoucouldrunasearchforthewordrugby. Allthemostrecenttweetswiththewordrugbywouldbelistedasastream.Runningsearches isagreatwaytofindpeopleinTwitterwhomayhavesimilarinterests;youmightdecideto followsomeofthesepeoplewithsimilarinterests.

Hashtags
Searchingonlinebringsusanotherdimensionoftherealtimeinteractionthatmicroblogging bringsus. Ahashtagisthehash(#)symbolfollowedbyatermortopicthatdescribesacommoninterest anddevelopsafollowing. Forexample,theresarugbygameunderwayandtweetsareflyingoutaboutit.Ahashtagcould bebroughtintoplay(excusethepun)tocreateastreamaboutthatparticulargame. LetssayyoudecidetotweetaboutaWorldSeriesrugbygamebetweenAustraliaandNew Zealandthatistakingplaceandyouwanttohaveothersreplytoyourthoughts.Youcouldput
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ANINTRODUCTIONTOTHETERMSANDCONCEPTSOFTWITTER

#OzNZrugbyatthestartofyourtweet.Ifotherswanttojoinintheywouldalsoputthehash tag#OzNZrugbyintotheirtweetsandacommonsearchtagdevelopsmomentum.Youcanthen clickonthetagandbetakentoastreamofalltweetspeoplehavepostedaboutthetopic.Its likewatchingthegamewithagroupoffriends;yougettoshareyourthoughtsandfeelingsand seewhatotherswatchingthegamethinkofatryortackle. QuiteafewrealityTVprogramshavehadhashtagsassignedtothem;viewersaddtheiropinions aboutwhoshouldbegiventheprizeorwhoshouldwin.Onceagain,itslikehavingeveryone whosinterestedinthe sameprogramthat youarewatching takingpartinonehuge conversationasthe eventunfoldsinreal time. Thiscanhavesome interestingresultsand raiseissuesforTV programmers,ascan beseeninthestory aboutMasterChef below.

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Mainstreammediamustcometoterms withrealtimesocialmediaresults
Twitterbecameaspaceforthecrazedsupportofthemostpopularreality showinthehistoryofAustralianTV:MasterChef.(Thesamewasalsotrue inmanyothercountries.) Butsomethingfundamentalwasuncovered:airingthesamecompetitive showacrossacountrywithdifferenttimezonesdoesntwork. TheMasterCheffinalwenttoairontheeastcoastofAustraliaat7.30pm. Duetothetwohourtimezonedifference,itwastobeairedtwohourslater onthewestcoastofAustralia(whenitwouldbe7.30pmthere). MasterChef,duringtheseries,gainedamassivefollowingonTwitter.Doa searchfor#masterchefinTwitterandseeforyourself.Formanywhouse Twitter,theserieswasmadethatmuchmorespecialwhensharedwith newandoldfriendsalikeonline.Theadvertisementbreaksforonce becameusefulasTweetsleaptbetweentheloungeroomsofviewers.This isentertainmentandwewillseethisconceptgrowandgrow. Haveyouguessedtheproblem?Alltheviewersonthewestcoastwhouse Twitterhadtoendurethefinalresults,whichhadbeenguardedtillthelast moment,withouthavingseentheshowyet.Bigletdowntowatchthe suspensefullastepisodealreadyknowingtheresult!ThisisrealityTVif theresultsgetoutbeforehand,theshowsratingwillgodownandthe entertainmentappealwilldecrease.Twittercouldspelldoomformany veryclevershows,someofwhichwillnevergetachancetoairasthere maybenopointuntilTVcompaniesworkitout. Apossiblesolutionwouldbetomaketheshowsmorelocalisedand actuallyincorporateonlinesocialmediatoboostthenumberofviewers.

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MANAGINGYOURONLINECOMMUNITIES

Managingyouronline communities
Letssaythereare,forsimplicityssake,twotypesofcommunitynetworksoutthere.(Theword 'social'doesnotalwaysapplyinthecontextofonlinesocialmedia.)Therearethemoreformal collaborativebusinessnetwork(CBN)forumsandtherearethefriendlysocialnetworks(FSN). Theybothhaveseparatebenefitsandyoushouldtrytomanagethemasseparatelyasyoucan. Followingaresomerulesofthumbthatmighthelpestablishsanityinyouronlinesocialworld.

Collaborativebusinessnetworks
Thecollaborativebusinessnetwork(CBN)isanetworkofprofessionalswithwhomyouhave comeincontactoveryourworkinglife.Asyouchangejobsovertimeyoumaylosetouchwith thesepeople(someofwhomknewmoreaboutyouandfeltascloseasfamily,giventheamount oftimeyouspentorspendwiththem).Someofthesepeoplemaybeexbosseswhowillgive youareference,whichyoucanplaceinyourprofileofthisforum.CBNsrelatetoyour professionallife. Butbecareful,thesenetworkscanalsoworkagainstyou.Ifyouinviteeveryoneyouhaveever receivedabusinesscardfromorsimplypeoplewhoyounevermetwhoworkedforthesame companiesyouonceworkedfor,youbegintodilutethevalueofyourCBN.Thisisnotasensible approachandyoumaylosecredibilityasaresult. CBNtips
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Herearesomesuggestedrulestofollow: 1 Don'tdiluteyournetwork.Thinkbeforeyouinviteoracceptsomeoneelsesinvitationto linkwiththem. 2 Workitanditwillworkforyou.(Investthetime.) 3 Maintaincontactwiththepeopleonthenetworkfromtimetotimeevenifit'sjusta simplefriendlyhello.

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4 5

Beforepostinganymessagestakeamomenttoreflectuponwhatemotionalresponseyou arewantingtoelicitfromyouraudience. Youmaydisagreewiththisone(yourewelcometodoso!):keepyourCBNandFSN separate.Toomanypeopleallowfartoomanyoftheirbusinesscontactsintotheir Facebooknetworkandlivetoregretit!

SitessuchasLinkedInandPlaxocanbelikealiveCVorresumeofallyourcareerexperienceand professionalskills.Recruitmentagentsandcompaniesareusingthesemoreandmoretolookfor newrecruitsandcheckuponjobapplicants.

LUKE:YourFacebookprofilephotois
visibletotheworldsomakesureyoure wearingsomeclothesinit. Iknowsomeonewhowasn'tandthe wholeofficetookgreatdelightin emailingitaround.

Thesesitesalsoallowfellowcommunity memberstopostreferences.Thisreferencing haslackedauthenticityinthepast,butis startingtobeconsideredbonefideasacritical massdevelops. Yourowncredibilityhangsinthebalanceifyou giveareferenceforsomeoneanditendsup beinguntrueorinaccurate.Theseforums,asa result,begintoselfpolicethemselves.

Friendlysocialnetwork
Yourfriendlysocialnetwork(FSN)isacircleofpeoplewhoyouchoosetosharepersonalstuff with. Thisismoreofaleisureactivityand,dependingonyourpersonality,youmayspendhourseach dayoreveninguploadingstuffandcheckingwhatyourfriendshaveuploadedandwritten recently.

LUKE:Idon'thavetheenergytobreak
myFacebooksiteintomultiplesecurity groupsandcompartmentalizemyso called'friends'intowhocanseewhat videosorphotos.Iwanttokeepitas simpleaspossible.

Thisisanabsolutelywonderfulplacetostayin touchwithpeoplewhileyouaretravelling.Its alsoagreatwaytomaintaincontactwithfamily andclosefriendslivingindifferentstatesor countries.Itshouldntreplacethephone.Ifused inconjunctionwithothercommunicationtools, thistypeofcommunicationenhancesthebond youcandevelopwithothers. FSNsmustbeusedwithalevelofmaturity.Too oftenweseeanaveapproachtotheFSN concept.Thinkbeforeinvitingsomeonetobe yourfriend.Doyouwanttoshareeverything youaregoingtouploadontothesitewith them?Onceyouhavemadesomeone'afriend' tolater'discard'orblockthemcouldhave negativeemotionalconsequences.

CELIA:Ihaveseenrelationshipsbreak
upasaresultofFacebookpasswords beingshared.Ontheflipside,Ihave heardoflonglostfriendsgettingin touchandrekindlingrelationships... someevenfallinginlove!

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MANAGINGYOURONLINECOMMUNITIES

FSNtips Herearesomesuggestedrulestofollow: 1 AskdoIreallywantthemtoseethisstuff?beforeyouinviteoraccept. 2 Considertheemotionalconsequencesofapostoruploadand,ifindoubt,phoneand explainwhatyoureallymean. 3 It'sagreatwaytoshareexperienceandhavefun,butrememberthereisaseriousside.

LinkingCBNsandFSNs
FSNsandCBNscomingtogetherisbecomingmorethenorm.Whenyouareexplainingonline socialmediatosomeone,itsfareasiertoseparatethemfirstandthenexplainthattheyoften dooverlap.Facebook,forinstance,hasbecomeawellrecognizedandeffectivebusiness platform.

Thereachofonlinesocialmedia
YouTube 445 million users #2siteinglobalminutes overonebillionvideoviewseachday 17billionsearchesinAugust09 20hrs+videosuploadedeveryminute. Facebook 390 million users #1siteinglobalminutes over6billionminutesspenteachday over2billionpiecesofcontentsharedeveryweek over2billionphotos 6millionAustralianvisitorsinJune09 (theequivalentofthe4thlargestcountryonthe planet) Twitter
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55million users

Realtimemicrobroadcasting 5,000messages/secondsent availableviawebandmobile 800,000AustralianvisitorsinJune09

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THEEMOTIONALFACEOFTWITTER

Theplaceforonlinesocial mediainbusiness
Bringingonlinesocialnetworksintothemainstreamandembracingthemisarelativelynew conceptforbusinesses.TheMySpaceandFacebookgenerationhasgrownupwiththem.As theseindividualstakeupmanagementpositions,onlinesocialnetworkingissimplybecominga partofthefabricofbusinesswhetherinaformalorinformalway. Buteventhoughyoungergenerationslivetheirlives bathedinsocialmedia24/7,thisdoesnotmeanthat theyimmediatelyseetherelevanceofitinbusiness. Theorganizationsthatworkoutnowhowtointegrate onlinesocialmediaintotheiroperationswillbethe mostsuccessful. Thisseemslikeasimpleequationonthesurface,but inrealityit'sacomplextaskthatneedstobe addressedbyeffectiveemotionalintelligenceskillsat eachpointalongthecommunicationjourneyby everyoneinvolvedintheconversation.(Thisincludes thosewhoonlylistendon'tforgetthem!) Twitterisincrediblypowerful.Itsbringingmore peopletogetherthananytechnologyinthehistoryof communication.

Thebenefitsofusing onlinesocialmediafor businessareaboutreturn onengagement:Connect withpeople.Build opportunitiesthrough dialoguethatwouldnot haveotherwiseoccurred. Thenconnectthemwith yourbusiness.

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THEPLACEOFONLINESOCIALMEDIAFORBUSINESS

Isyourbusinessusingonlinesocialmedia effectively?
Asyoubecomemoreawareofhowyoucommunicateonlineyouwillengagemoreandmore effectively,whichstrengthensyourabilitytocommunicateoverallsocialmediachannels includingTwitter.Itsimportanttoestablishacommonstrategyforapplicationineachofyour socialmediachannelsinordertoremaineffectiveonline.Youcanrepurposecontentfrom differentchannels,butitsessentialthatyoudontsimplyrepeatthemessage,butreviseoredit accordingtotheenvironmentandaudience.

ConferenceTwitterusage
Twitterisreallytakingoffatconferencevenuesthis bringsawholeraftofvaluetotheexperienceofthe event.Asthespeakersaredescribinggroundbreaking findingsorconcepts,twitterersintheaudienceare tweetingtheessenceoftheinformationtotheir followers. Thishasanamazingeffectinthatitbringstheoutside worldintotheroomandfollowersstarttobuildonthe ideasastheyarebeingexpressed,soaggregating value. Typicallyacommonconferencehashtagisusedand followersstarttoclusteraroundthethreadsof information. Somepeoplefollowingtheinformationcoming outofasessionwillsimply takeitallinwhileotherswill starttoparticipateandadd theirownviewsandideas. Wehaveoftenseenpeople insidetheauditoriumthink thatthetweetsarecoming fromwithinnotso.People outsidesimplyneedtoget holdofthecontextandthey canbuildonthevaluebeing givenandpropagatethatto thetwitterverseforothers tocontributeto.

Imagineifyoucould hookupwithallthe peopleyouwould considerjustbrilliant... Wehopethissection generatessome conversations! Letusknowwhatyou think.

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THEEMOTIONALFACEOFTWITTER

Emotionalintelligenceand onlinesocialmedia
Whatisemotionalintelligence?
EmotionalIntelligence(EI)canbedefinedasasetofskillsthatdemonstratehowoftenwe perceive,understand,reasonwithandmanageourownandothers'feelings,emotionsand moodstates.Ifthat'stoomuchofamouthful,anotherdefinitionis:anawarenessofandability tomanageemotionsinahealthyandproductivemanner. Afterall,emotionsgiveusvitalinformationandweneedtolearntolistentothatinformation.

WheredidEIcomefrom?
Emotionalintelligencereferstotheabilitytoperceive,control,andevaluateemotions. Since1990,PeterSaloveyandJohnDMayerhavebeentheleadingresearchersonemotional intelligence.Theydefinedemotionalintelligenceas'thesubsetofsocialintelligencethat involvestheabilitytomonitorone'sownandothers'feelingsandemotions,todiscriminate amongthemandtousethisinformationtoguideone'sthinkingandactions'.1 SaloveyandMayerproposedamodelthatidentifiedfourdifferentfactorsofemotional intelligence: theperceptionofemotion theabilitytoreasonusingemotions theabilitytounderstandemotion theabilitytomanageemotions.

KNOWLEDGE SOLUTIONS2009

PSalvoney&JDMayer1993,TheIntelligenceofEmotionalIntelligenceinIntelligence, 17(4),pp.43342.
1

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EMOTIONALINTELLIGENCEANDONLINESOCIALMEDIA

In1995theconceptofemotionalintelligencewas popularizedafterthepublicationofpsychologistand NewYorkTimessciencewriterDanielGolemans bookEmotionalIntelligence:WhyItCanMatterMore ThanIQ.

Onlinesocialmediaas socialscience
Realistically,onlinesocialmediaisaboutsocialscience andnottechnology.Socialsciencecanbedefinedas thescientificstudyofhumansocietyandsocial relationships.Itcanbearguedthatthesedaysdigital communicationchannels: canactasyourreceptionistorfirstpointof contact areyourspokesperson arethemaincontactforyourtalkativecustomers.

Sodoyouplaceenough emphasisonhow effectivelyyouare communicatingonline? ...Seriously...Doyou? Wewouldlovetohave loadsofdiscussionon thispointsofeelfreeto builduponwhatwe havelaidopen.

Soitmakesperfectsensethatweshouldbeworkingouthowtouseemotionalintelligenceto makesureouronlinecommunications,especiallythoseinonlinesocialmedia,havethebest chanceofbeingclearandunambiguous,engagingandrepresentourbusinessaccurately.

Makingsenseofemotionalintelligence
Belowisatableshowingthesevenskillsthatdefinehoweffectivelyweperceive,understand, reasonwithandmanageourownandothersfeelings.Wehavesimplifieditsoitisnottoo overwhelming.Wehavedonethisbecauseemotionalintelligenceisanewconceptinthespace ofsocialmedia.WhetheryouarenewtoTwitterorhavebeentweetingforageswewanttohelp youenhance,improveandstrengthenyourexperienceofthetools. Dontgettoohunguponeachoftheskills.Thefirststepisawareness.Thereisareflection exerciseattheendofthissectiontohelpwiththat. Dontoveranalyzeyourself.Becausewetrytobeawareofhowoftenwedemonstrate emotionallyintelligentbehaviors,youmaythinkyouarelowincertainskills.But,infact,other peoplemayhaveadifferentviewofyou.
KNOWLEDGESOLUTIONS2009

Orviceversayoumaybelieveyoudemonstrate certainbehaviorsregularly,butotherpeoplemaynot seeitasbeingso. Itisbydevelopingawarenessthatthegapcanbe closed,creatinganopportunityforgrowthand learning.

Weadmitit...wealsowant toopenupsomedialogue, sohaveareadandletus knowwhatyouthink.

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THEEMOTIONALFACEOFTWITTER

SKILLOFEI
Emotionalself awareness

DEFINITION

EMOTIONALLYINTELLIGENT LEADERSUSETHISSKILLTO

Theskillofperceiving recognisehowfeelingsareimpacting andunderstandingones thoughts,decisions,behaviourand ownemotions performanceatwork Theskillofexpressing onesownemotions effectively generatetrustandperceptionsof genuinenesswithothers inspirecommitmentfromthosetheylead whenpresentingtheorganisationsvision betterunderstandothersandhowto engage,respond,motivateandconnectwith them Itisafundamentalelementofinterpersonal successandqualityofinterpersonal relationships

Emotionalexpression

Emotionalawareness ofothers

Theskillofperceiving andunderstanding othersemotions

Emotionalreasoning

Theskillofutilising influencemarketingstrategies(astheytake emotionalinformationin intoaccounthowcustomersmayfeel decisionmaking towardsaproductorservice). (Lowscoresmayindicateanindividualhasa morefactbaseddecisionmakingstyle.)

Emotionalself management

Theskillofeffectively managingonesown emotions

improvetheirabilitytocopewithwork demands practiceeffectiveselfleadership managestresslevels

Emotionalmanagement Theskillofinfluencing createpositiveworkenvironmentsforthose ofothers themoodsandemotions theylead ofothers generategreaterproductivityand performancefromothers Emotionalselfcontrol Theskillofeffectively controllingstrong emotionsexperienced improvetheiremotionalwellbeing thinkandleadothersclearlyinstressful situations
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Source:adaptedfromGenosEI(Researchpartner,TheBrain SciencesInstitute,SwinburneUniversity).

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PERSONALFILTERING

Personalfiltering
AccordingtopsychologistMihalyCsikszentmihalyi,wegatherinformationfromtheworld.2Out ofapproximatelytwomillionbitsofinformationsurroundingus,weareonlyconsciouslyaware ofaround134bitspersecond(BPS).Ateverywakingmomentweareliterallyinundatedata consciousandunconsciouslevelwithinformation. Imaginegoingtothesupermarket.Youwalkintothestoreandyouaresurroundedbyexternal stimuli(suchassigns,color,noisesandpricing)andyourbodyresponds.Perhapsyourheart beatsalittlebitfaster,thesoundofacryingchilddisturbsyou,youfeelwarmorcool,youhave selftalkremindingyoutobuymilkoryoumentallyaddupthecostofyourgroceriesasyoupush yourtrolleyaroundtheaisles. Ifwehadtobeconsciouslyawareofeverythingwesee,taste,touch,smellandfeelandpay attentiontoitwewouldbeoverwhelmed.Sowe haveafilterCsikszentmihalyicallsthereticular activatingsystem,whichfiltersmostofthe informationforus.Weareonlyawareofasmall pieceoftheactualrealityoccurringaroundus. Someofuspaymoreattentiontowhatwesee, sometowhatwehear.Someofusaremoreaware ofhowthingsfeelandsomeofuspaymore attentiontodata,factsandfigures. Whatthatmeansisthatnoneofusperceive realityasitreallyis.Weeachonlyperceivea differentsetof134bitsofrealitypersecond.We allhaveadifferentperceptionofreality.This explainswhytendifferentwitnessesatanaccident scenecanhavetendifferentexperiencesofwhat occurred,basedonwhattheyhaveseen,heard, feltandcalculated.
2

KNOWLEDGESOLUTIONS2009

Csikszentmihalyi,M1990,Flow:ThePsychologyofOptimalExperience,HarperandRow,NewYork.

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THEEMOTIONALFACEOFTWITTER

Inattentionblindness
DanielSimons(UniversityofIllinois)andChristopherChabris(HarvardUniversity) conductedastudytodemonstratehowmuchwecanactuallydeleteinformation. Intheirstudysubjectswereaskedtowatchvideofootageofpeoplethrowinga basketballbackandforth.Theywereaskedtofocusandcounthowmanytimesthe basketballwaspassed.Inthemiddleofthevideoclipapersoninagorillasuit passedthroughthemiddleofthegameforninesecondsandthenoutofsight. Whenasked,anaverageof50percentofthesubjectsdidntseethegorillapass throughthegame!Why?Somepeoplewerefocusingsomuchonthecountingand datathattheymissedoutonthevisualdetailofagorillainthemiddleoftheirview.

Aswegatherinformationfromtheworldtheminddeletes,distortsandgeneralizesinformation basedonthebeliefsweholdinternally.Ifsomeonebelievestheyarestupid,theymaydelete fromtheirexperienceanytimetheydosomethingclever.Theirmindwilldistortinformation,so ifsomeonesaystothemYouaresoclevertheymayhearasarcastictonewherethereisnone. Theirmindwillgeneralizetheirexperiencestosupportthebelieftheyarestupidsotheycreate experiences,suchasalwaysfailingexams,tosupportthattheory. Ofcoursethisisallunconscious.Noneofuswouldwanttodothisconsciously.Itshuman naturetowanttobehappyandsuccessful.Yetwehavesomuchfearthatwefabricatestories tokeepourselvessafe.Ourunconsciousmindsthencontrolandrunprogramsautomatically forussometimesevenprogramsthatgiveusaresultwedontwant,onethatwestruggle toturnoff. Thedeletionofinformationalsohasanimpactonhow wecommunicateonlinewithotherpeople.Whenever wejudgesomeoneorhavenegativeopinionsabout someoneorsomething,wetendtojustifyourown realityandmakethatpersonwrong.Weeffectively deleteanythinggoodaboutthemfromourreality. Becauseofthis,whenwecommunicatethroughonline socialmediachannelsourmindswillarrange informationinsuchawaythatmakessensetous.

Doweeverknowwith 100%certaintywhatis goingoninsomeone elsesmind?...Unlikely!

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FilteringandEI
Theexistenceofthesefiltersandtheneedtobecomeawareofouremotionalintelligenceisthe reasonwewrotethisebook.Wewanttogeteveryonethinkingaboutwhatlifeislikein

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PERSONALFILTERING

someoneelsesshoes.Someonemayputa messageonlinethatyouviewassarcasticor arroganthowdoyourespondtothat? Hopefullythisebookhelpsyoutoviewthingsa bitdifferently,thusenhancingyourexperience ofTwitterandothersocialmediachannelsand helpingyoubuildamorerobustcommunity, keepingconstantawarenessofothersinyour mindseye.

CELIA:Nothinghasmeaningbutthe
meaningwegiveit Haveyouevercomeacrossatweetor blogpostwherethetweeteruses languagethatssofamiliartothem,but theydontseemtorealisethatthesame languagecanhavedifferentmeanings topeopleinadifferentindustriesor cultures?Thiscanresultinabarrierto developingrelationshipsonline.Sohave alookyourself.Noticehowyou interpretdifferenttweetsandhowthey makeyoufeelareyoumaking assumptionsabouttheintended meaning?

Weneedtothinkaboutourlanguageusagein onlinesocialmediaandwhathappenswhenwe createastoryaboutwhatsomeoneelseis thinking.WhenweusetoolssuchasTwitterwe shouldrealizethatourcommunitiesarea collectionofpeoplewithfeelings,needsand aspirations.Weneedtoconsiderthemakeupof ouraudience.Askyourself:haveyoutakenthetimetogettoknowyouraudienceandareyou tryingtobuildarelationship?Doyougettoknowthembydippingintothetweetstreameach dayoreverycoupleofdays.

Wecanneverknowforcertainwhatisgoingoninsomeoneelse'smind.Wecan'tpossibly becausewedon'tknowwhatexperiencesthey'vehad,whatvaluestheyholdorandwhatbeliefs theyhavethatshapeandinfluencethewaytheycommunicate. Ifwesimplykeepthisinminditwillhelpuscommunicatemoreeffectively.

Samewords,differentmeaning
Thisoldexamplehelpsusunderstandhowmanymeaningscanbederivedfromthe samefewwords.Readaloudthefollowingsentences,emphasizingthehighlighted word: IneversaidIwoulddoit. IneversaidIwoulddoit. IneversaidIwoulddoit.
KNOWLEDGESOLUTIONS2009

IneversaidIwoulddoit. IneversaidIwoulddoit. IneversaidIwoulddoit. IneversaidIwoulddoit.

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THEEMOTIONALFACEOFTWITTER

Usingemotionalintelligencein onlinesocialmedia
Wemustrealizeandrememberthatthereisapersonontheendofallcommunicationstreams andthereforetheabilitytodemonstrateahighlevelofemotionalintelligenceinsuchforumsis essentialnotonlyforgettingthedesiredoutcome,butperhapsmoreimportantly,for nurturingongoinginternalandexternalrelationships.Weneedto'evolve'online.Justasittakes timetoevolveintothepersonwearetrulymeanttobe,italsotakestimetoestablish relationships,communitiesandnetworksonline. It'sanewschoolplaygroundandittakes timetoestablishyourself. Ifyoujoininthegameondayoneandwant toplayhopscotchwheneveryoneelseis playingbasketballyou'renotgoingtoconvert theplayerstoyourwayofthinkinginan instant.Theymayeventhrowyouoffthe court. Youmayneedtoplayagameortwoof basketball(whoknows,asyour understandingofthegameincreases,along withyourskills,youmayevengettolikeit) beforeyouintroduceyourselfasateam playerandthensuggestanewgame. Bythistimeyouhavethetrustoftheother playersandtheyaremorewillingtolistento yourideasandhaveagoatsomething different.Thesameisalsotrueforonline socialmedia.

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USINGEMOTIONALINTELLIGENCEINONLINESOCIALMEDIA

Thinslicing
MalcolmGladwellintroducedtheconceptof'thinslicing'inhisbookBlink.Hebelievesweareall capableofjudgingandevaluatingaperson'sauthenticityandproximitytoourvaluespractically inaninstant.Thisisaprocesswehavewithinustorelyonagutfeelingaboutpeople.Ifwe believeGladwell,wesimplyneedtogowithourinitialinstinctinordertoscreenindividuals onlinewhomayormaynotaddvalue,asourinstinctispracticallyalwaysright. OnTwitterwearethinslicingindividualsin140characterstodeterminewhethertheyareworth followingornotorwhetherweshouldblockthemaltogether.Thismaysoundcallousatfirst, butwhenthenumbersoffollowers/followingstarttogathermomentumyouneedtocopeand relyingonyourintuitioniscritical.

Buildingtrustonlinetobuildrapport
Abusinessthatpeopledonttrustisnotgoingtosurvivelong.Trustisessential.Onceeroded, itshardtowinback(evenifaclaimorrumorwasnteventrueinthefirstplace). Togrowyouronlinecommunityyouneedpeopletofeeltheycantrustyoutoliveuptotheir expectations.Oneofthethingsaboutbuildingtrustonlineisthatit'snotgoingtohappen overnight.Butitwillhappenifdonecorrectly. Buildingtrustisaboutbuildingrapport.Sohowdowebuildrapportonline? Whenwetalkaboutrapportwereallywanttolookatbecomingwhatcanbecalleda charismaticcommunicator.ThewordcommunicationcomesfromtheLatincommunicare meaningtoshare.Itsaboutsharinginformation,giveandtake.Communicationinvolvesthe abilitytobeawareofotherpeopleandtheirneeds.Thisawarenessenablesustocommunicate inawaythatisuplifting,inclusiveandgenerallyfavorsothers. Rapportisnotabouttryingtomakepeoplelikeyou.(Thatscalledmanipulation!)Creating rapportisabouthavingpeoplefeeltheyarelikeyouinsomeway.Thisdevelopstrustatamuch fasterrate.Rapportistheabilitytoentersomeoneelsesworld;tomakethemfeelthatyou understandthemandthatyouhaveacommonbond.Themoreyoudothis,themoreflexible youcanbeinsituationsandthegreateryourchancesofobtainingrelevantinformationtocreate awinwinsituation.

Beingclear
KNOWLEDGESOLUTIONS2009

Nothinghasmeaningbutthemeaningwegiveitsoifwearenotclearinourcommunication thenotherswillhallucinate(makeassumptions)aboutwhattheythinkwearethinkingand feeling.Theywillmaketheirownjudgmentcallandcomeupwithananswerthatmakessense tothem.Theresultingresponse,however,maybeinappropriateorinaccurate.

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THEEMOTIONALFACEOFTWITTER

Youresellingemotion
Theobvious,thoughoverlooked,aspectofcommunicationboilsdowntothefactthat:youre sellingemotion. Weareemotionalcreatures.Everythingwedoisforanemotionalresponse.Thinkaboutit... whenyougofastinyournewredsportscaroradmiretheresultsofyourrecentbotox treatment,whatareyouhopingtogetoutofit?Behonestnowyouwanttofeelfree, powerful,alive,energized,whatever.Thepointisyouwanttofeelsomething. Wefeelfirst,thenthinklaterthisisourbasicsurvivalinstinct.Youdonttendtoanalyzehow manyclawsthelionhas;youfeelfearandrunlikehell.(Penn) Weneedtoconsiderthathowwecommunicateisgoingtohaveahugeimpactonourabilityto formreallyvaluablenetworksandproductiverelationshipsandmaintainourreputationand credibilityinthemarketplace.Wecreateourownmarketplacenowbywhowefollowandwho wehavefollowingus.

Keepingyouraudienceinmind
Inorderforustomakeasmuchsenseaspossibletoouraudienceweneedtoask: Whatdowewantouraudiencetofeelasaresultofthistweet? Couldthemessagebeconstruedasambiguous,aggressiveordamagingin someway? Isyourmessagingresultinginyoubeinglikewhatyouraudienceexpectsyou tobelike? Ifnot,howcanyousayitdifferentlytobemoreyourselfandauthentic?

Isyoursocialmediacommunication styleworking?
Areyouattractingattention?(Intherightway,ofcourse.)Areyouconvincingyouraudienceyou havesomethingworthwhiletosay?Areyouconvertingleadstocustomers(havinglistenedto themandreplied)? Thisallstartswithyouhavingtodecidewhatendemotionyouwantsomeoneelsetofeeland workingyourwaybackfromthere.Thisiseasiersaidthandone;ittakesconsciouseffort. MarkTwainoncesentalettertoacolleaguewithanoteattached:Sorryaboutthelongletter, Ididnthavetimetowriteashortone.
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USINGEMOTIONALINTELLIGENCEINONLINESOCIALMEDIA

Thisreallyappliestomicroblogging aswell.Wemightthinkwritinga messagein140charactersis simple,butactuallyconveying everythingwewanttosayandget thetonerightinfewerwordsisnot thatsimpleatall. Theconstraintsof140charactersin aTwitterpostmeanswehaveto putquiteabitofthoughtintoitto getitright.Don'tforgetthatevery tweetconveysemotionandcanbe misinterpreted!Itisaskillthatwe getbetteratwithmoreexperience though. ChristopherSPenn,inItshowyoumakemefeelthatmatters,explainsthatcommunicationis aboutsellingemotion.Helistssomeexamplesofsomeofthewellknownfolksinonlinesocial mediaandasks: Examinethefeelingsandnoticewhatisgoingonforyou: HowdoesChrisBroganmakeyoufeel? HowdoesGaryVaynerchukmakeyoufeel? HowaboutAnnHandley,PeteCashmore,GuyKawasaki,SethGodin,PerezHiltonor JustineEzarik? Theanswerisnever'nothing'.Theyallcreateemotionsinyouthatbringyouclosertoknowing themandhelpbuildtrust.Eachoftheaboveexamplesallelicitacertainemotionalresponse fromtheaudienceandthishelpsbuildtrust.

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THEEMOTIONALFACEOFTWITTER

Learningemotionalintelligence
Onlinesocialmediaexposesus:Wehavelongbeensegmentingourworklifeandprivatelifeand thepassioninbothhasbeendilutedasaresult.Nothingissacredontheinternetandweare exposedbasedonwhatwepasteontoit,goodorbad.Communityshameisthelawbywhichwe arejudged.Ifwewanttodelveintothedepthsoftheinternetanddragupthedirtonsomeone whohasmultipleidentitiesitsonlyafewclicksaway.Don'tfeelyouhavetotryhardtofindout moreaboutsomeonesidentity.It'soutthereforyoutofind.Andlikewiseforotherpeople learningstuffaboutyou. Henceweshouldpracticeconstantawarenessthatwhatwearesayingonlinecouldbeforever. Makesurethatyoudon'tdoanythingthatcouldadverselyaffectyouronlinecommunityunless youarepreparedtohaveyournameandallexposed.Andintheblinkofaneyeyouwillbe unfollowed. Microblogginghasmadeitassimpleaspietoneverhaveanyoneyoudon'twanttraipsinground yourbackdoor.Microbloggingletsyoumouldatrueandauthenticcommunity,whichwillform overtimeandprovidevaluethroughoutyourlife. Weoftenhearpeoplecomplainthatitstoo hardtolearnhowtomoldtheircommunication sothatitsmoreeffectiveandreceivedwellby theircommunities.Butitsnotimpossiblewe canchangeandwecanlearn! Forexample,itsnosecretthatyoucansweat yourwaytomoresculptedabsandastronger heart.Butresearchhasfoundthatyoucanalso buildabetterbrain.
KNOWLEDGE SOLUTIONS2009

Stagesoflearning
Unconsciousincompetence

Consciousincompetence

Consciouscompetence

Unconsciouscompetence

NormanDoidge,authorofTheBrainthat ChangesItself,stated'Forabout400years, scientistsviewedthebrainasacomplex machine...andthatmeantitcouldn'tgrow newparts.'

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KNOWLEDGEEMOTIONALINTELLIGENCE

'Butrecentstudiesandimagingtechnologyshowthat it'smorelikeamuscleoragroupofmusclesworking togetherthatbulkupwhenexercised.'Muchlikea footballplayerwhocrosstrainstoimprovehis performance(sprinting,weightliftingandstretching), crosstrainingyourheadwithdifferenttasksboosts yourmentalfitnessbyincreasingyourbrain'sneural connections,bloodflowandeventheweightofthe brainitself.

Theysayyoucan'tteach anolddognewtricks... butyoudonthavetobe anolddogtobestuck inarut!

Soeventhoughpeoplemayhavethemisconception thatyoucantlearnhowtobemoreemotionally attunedtobothyourselfandyouraudienceitssimplynottrue.Likelearninganynewskill,ifyou practice,youmovethroughthedifferentstagesoflearninguntiltheskillbecomespartofwho weareourneurologylearnsanewbehavior. Takeyourselfbacktowhenyoulearnttodriveacar.Whenyoufirstgotbehindthewheelthere wassomuchtothinkabout.Youhadtocoordinateallthepartsofsteering,changinggear, depressingtheclutchandbrakes.Itallseemedsochallengingbackthen,butnowyouprobably dontgiveitasecondthought.

Feelthelove
Becauseemotionsaffectthewaywethinktheyultimatelyaffectthedecisionswemake.Thisis whereemotionalintelligencecomesin.Exercisingemotionalintelligencenotonlymakesahuge differenceintheworkplaceandlifeingeneral.Theseskillsareessentialforbuilding relationshipsonline.Forexample: Effectiveleaderscommunicatehowtheyfeeltoinspireandgenerateconfidencefrom others. Highperformingsalesteamsthinkmoreabouthowtheircustomersfeeltostrengthen theirsellingrelationships. Teamsthatworkmorecloselyaremoreawareofhowemotionshelpandhinderthe teamsperformance,increasingjobsatisfactionandretention. Askyourselfthefollowingquestions. Haveyoueverbeeninasituationwhereyoudidnothireoracceptsomeonebecause somethingjustdidntfeelright? Haveyoumissedoutonajobpromotionbecauseofpoorleadershiporcommunication skills? Haveyoueverhadanyinterpersonalconflictorbeenbullied? Wouldyouaskyourbossformoreresourcesortimeoffwhenyoucanseetheyarehaving abadday? Emotionsinfluencethebehaviorthatwedisplaytoothers.Thisgetsreflectedthroughourtone ofvoice,ourbodylanguageandourfacialexpressions.Sohowcanthisbetransferredinto effectivecommunicationonline?Itsthesameprinciplesasfacetofaceinteraction:listening, sharingandremainingastransparentaspossible.

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THEEMOTIONALFACEOFTWITTER

Emotionsinfluenceourperformance
Howdoyouperformatworkwhenyoufeelfrustrated,bored,distracted,irritatedorannoyed aboutsomethingorsomeone?Contrastthistohowyouperformwhenyouareupbeat,positive, satisfiedandoptimistic.Nowthinkaboutyourinteractiononline.Haveyoueverposted somethingandthenlaterregrettedit?The troubleis,nowitsupthereforeveryoneto see(orifyoudeleteit,youreprobablytoo lateandlotsofpeoplehaveseenit).

Howsyour reputation?

A2009socialnetworkingstudyby DeloitteLLPfoundthat74percentof employedAmericansbelieveitseasy todamageabrandsreputationvia sitessuchasFacebookandTwitter. Deloittealsoreportedthatnearly onethirdofthosesurveyedsaythey neverconsiderwhatmanagement,co workersortheirclientswouldthink beforepostingmaterialonline.

Thesedaysmanyorganizationshaveonline socialnetworks.Withinthesenetworksthe membersdemonstratedifferentlevelsof emotionalintelligenceaccordingtotheir individualexperiencesandfilters.Ingeneral, businessesarenotusedtocommunicating throughmultipleonlinechannels.Because onlinewedon'thavetonalityandbody languagetohelpusespeciallyover modalitiessuchasTwitter,whereyouonly have140characterstogetyourpointacross webegintomakejudgmentsor assumptionsaboutanotherpersons character.Itsonlyhuman.

HowcanIimprovethewayIcommunicate throughsocialmediachannels?
Greatquestion!We'resogladyouasked.Youcanstartbytryingtoimproveyourownemotional intelligenceandapplyittoourcommunicationonline.Readon!

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EMOTIONALINTELLIGENCEANDONLINECOMMUNITIES

Emotionalintelligenceandonline communities
Belonging
Itwouldbeniceifwecouldforceourcommunitiesandnetworkstoloveusandstickaround forever.Thetruthiswecant.Theyeitherexistortheydon't.Memberseitherswarmorthey leave.TheyareeitherinterestedandparticipativeortheyareNOT(andthisincludeslurkerswho simplylisten). Sowhatisitthatgluesthesecommunitiestogether?It'sasimilaressencethatmakesagroupof colleaguesgotothepubafterworktogether.Theyhavetheopportunitytogostraighthomebut theydon't.Theyfeeltheybelonginthisgroup(thisnetwork)andarebetterabletofendoffany attackinglionsbybeingina groupitsbasicsurvival. Thereisalsoacommon thread,whichappears throughthelanguagewe use.Itisinterestingtonote thatwordssuchas authenticity,transparency, honesty,trust,genuineness, safety,respect,security, integrityandcongruency, allseemtocomeupwhen speakingaboutonlinesocial media.Thesearevalues thatareimportanttomany peopleinourcommunities.

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Whatisavalue?
Verysimply,ifyouplaceimportanceonsomethingthenyouvalueit.Thereforevaluesare thewaywejudgegoodandbad,rightandwrong,appropriatenessandinappropriateness. Inourmindsweunconsciouslyarrangeourvaluesinhierarchies.Asweevaluateour actions,themoreimportantvaluesareusuallysearchedforfirst.Afterthemoreimportant valuesarefoundandsatisfied,thenthenextmostimportantonesbecomeimportant.We canlikenthistothoseRussianbabushkadolls.Allourvaluesareasubsetofouronebig valueandthemorelayersyoutakeoffthevaluesbecomemoresubtleandthedolls becomesmaller. Ifwefeelthatlifeismeaninglessorpointless;ifwe feelconflictoverissuesatworkorhome,inour relationshipswithourselvesandwithothers,itisoften aresultofconflictingvalues.Becausevaluesare emotionalstateswewanttoexperienceonadaily basisandtheyshapeourdecisionsandwhatourlives looklike. Therefore,ultimately,ourvalueswilldictatehowwe communicateonline.

Valuesarethe unconsciousrules weliveby.

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Applyingemotionalintelligence toonlinesocialmedia
Rereadtheemotionalintelligencetableonpage26. Nowletsbreakdowntheskillslistedtoexaminewhattheymeanifapplieddirectlytoonline socialmedia.Seethetableonbehavioralindicators,EIskillsandexamplesonthefollowingtwo pages. Notethat,asyet,thereisnoresearchavailabletoshowwhichoftheskillsisadirectpredictorof certainbehaviorsonline. Wehaveaprojectunderwaytouncoverthis.Thepredictedoutcomeofthisistomakeiteasier todirectlymeasureeachskillandassesshowitisaffectingpeoplesabilitytobuildeffective onlinerelationships.

ReflectionexerciseforEI
Keepadiaryforthenextsevendays.Takenoteofsituationsthatoccuronlineandhowthey makeyoufeel.Howdidyoureactorrespond?Comebacktosomeofthesituationsadayortwo laterandnotehowyoufeelthen. Attheendoftheweek,examineyourdiary.Reconsidereacheventandtheemotionsyoufelt, thestrengthoftheemotionsandyourreactionstothem.
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Considerwhetheryourreactionswereappropriatetothesituationandhowyouexpressedyour feelingsonline. Recallyourthoughts,yourbodylanguage,facialexpressionsandwhateverelseisrelevantfor youatthattime.Didthataffecthowyourespondedonline? Rerunthesituationthroughinyourmind.Couldyouhavedoneitdifferentlywithmore emotionalawarenessandexpression?Wouldthishavemadeadifference?

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BEHAVIOURALINDICATORS
Engagesincreativewaysofenhancingand disseminatingrelevantinformationthroughonline socialmedia. Resolvinggroupconflictwithappropriateetiquette (i.e.outsidetheviewofnonpartialonlineparties). IntegratingvariousOnlinecommunitymembers' perspectivesandfeedingthoseouttotheother onlinegroupsofinterest. Isproactiveinopenlydiscussingdifficultissues, concernsandpeopleproblemsintheappropriate onlinesocialmediachannelofcommunication(e.g. Facebook,Twitter,email,videoconferencecall). Canadvocateanissueorcausethatisoften sponsoredbybusiness.

SKILLSOFEI
Emotionalawarenessofothers Emotionalmanagementofothers Emotionalexpression Emotionalselfcontrol Emotionalselfmanagement

EXAMPLE
Agreatexampleof'whatnottodo'ispostedonPeter Shankmansblog,Howan'accomplishedcommunicator' communicates.Thesenderofanemailpubliclyshareda notsonicesideofhispersonalityinaverypublicsetting, whichcouldpotentiallybedisastrousforhiscareer.Hadhe beenmoreawareofhisemotionsperhapshewould probablyhavethoughttwicebeforepostingthemessage.

Emotionalexpression Emotionalselfawareness

Over$7,000wasraisedinashorttimethroughmicrofinance forwomeninpoverty.Thismostlyaccomplishedthrough Twitter.Hadtheoriginalmessagebeenincoherent,thismay nothavebeentheoutcome.Thiswasaveryeffectivesegue toatweetup(facetofacemeeting)tofurtherservethe causeallorganisedthroughTwitter,Facebook,ablogand Flickr. Thisisagreatexampleofhowcommunicationcanbe initiatedonlinethatalsoresultsinfacetofaceinteraction.

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BEHAVIOURALINDICATORS

SKILLSOFEI

EXAMPLE
TwitterwasusedtobroadcastupdatesregardingAustralian bushfiresinthestateofVictoriainearly2009.

Encouragesandsupportsteammembersintheir Emotionalawarenessofothers onlinesocialmediaactivitytocontributeactivelyand fullytoprojects.Thisalsoactsasadecisionsupport Emotionalmanagementofothers systemandcrisismanagement.Italsoallowsfor Emotionalreasoning assemblyofrelevantpeopleatshortnotice. Onlinesocialmediaallowsforcollaborative brainstormingandcontributestoprojectoutcomes regardlessofwhereallcontributingpartiesare located. Microbloggingisoftenusedasatooltoaggregate relevantmaterialandallowallpartiestococreate valuableknowledge. Emotionalreasoning Emotionalmanagementofothers

Whenlookingforinformationonhowcompetitorsare performing,amarketinggroupcouldcreateahashtagina tweettocategoriseatopicwithintheirdefinedproject group.(Forexample,'#prodcomp'.) Eachtimeamarketingdepartmentmemberfindsarelated articleontheinternettheycansendoutatweetwiththis tag.Thenthepersonwhoisdevelopingthecompetitor analysiscansearchonthishashtagandextractallrelevant articles.Thatpersoncanalsocheckatanypointtoseehow manyrelatedarticleshavebeenfoundbythegroupdoing theresearch,giveencouragementandmotivatethegroup membersalongtheway.

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11

Twitterit'sallaboutconnection
ConnectingpeopleonTwitter
Thehighestlevelofnetworkingisnotwhenyouconnectyourselfwithothers,butwhenyou connectotherswithotherswhoneedeachother.Whenthislevelofconnectivityisattainedthe degreesofseparationbecomesinextricableandthevaluegainedisenormous.Whenthese individualsstarttoshareinformationitisprofound,butwhenthisinformationissharedand otherswhomighthaveanontologicalbindtoitstarttotapthesourcesomethingamazing happens.Thestrengthofthemultipliereffectexperiencedinknowledgesharingissomething wehaveneverseentosuchanextentbefore. Microbloggingistheplatformthatwilldrivethisfreeflowofinnovationandknowledge aggregation.Twitterhasalreadyreachedatippingpointinthisregardanditispassing knowledgeatthespeedofconversation. Restrictionstoknowledgesharingfromthemicrobloggingplatform:Einsteintooktheconceptof timeveryseriouslyandforgoodreason.Youjustcantchangeit.Itssetinourthree dimensionalworld.ThereisanamazingbookcalledEinstein'sDreamsinwhichtheauthor exploreswhattheworldwouldbelikeifwehadadifferentperspectiveontime.Forexample onechapterdelvesintohowthelivesofpeoplelivinginavalleywheretimeisfasterthelower downintothevalleyyoulive.Youmoveslowerasyouwalkupthehillssurroundingthevalley. Microbloggingcantgetawayfromtheconceptthatitisbestlivedasithappens.Authenticityis aresultofusbeinginthemoment.Wecan'tdelayatweetuntilearlymorningandexpectitto havethesameresult.It'sjustnotreal! ThereareanumberofTwitterapplicationsthatwillallowyoutostoreuptweetsanddeliver theminastaggeredapproach.Thisisausefultoolforsome,thoughwefeelthetruevalueof Twitteristoknowthatthereissomeoneontheothersideofthetweetwhojustpressedthe sendkeysomeonesstuckinabusshelterhasjusttweetedthatacardrovethroughapuddle andsprayedwaterupontothem.Thistypeoftweetisrealtime. That'swhataconversationis:realpeople,livingrightnow,talkingaboutit.
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TWITTERITSALLABOUTCONNECTION

Rulesforconnecting
OKwecan'tleaveyouhanginglikethatwithoutsomekindofsolution,soheregoes: Itsgoingtotakeacombinationofsocialmediatoolstosuccessfullymanageournetworkof communities,butIguessyouknewthatalready. ItsgoingtotakeacombinationofLinkedIn,FacebookandTwitter(withafewothersinthepot togetthebalanceright). Itscomplex,timeconsuming,convolutedandeverchanging,butmassivelyrewardingifyou manageallyoursocialmediachannelseffectivelyandlistentothesignals.Thesesignalsare drawingonalltheskillsofemotionalintelligence! Repurposeyourcontenttospreadyourselfeffectivelyacrossthesechannels.Doso,however, withoutrepeatingyourselfwordforwordandremainauthenticandreal.

LUKE:Twitteringinthetimezones
IhaveanextensivenetworkinEuropeandtheUSA.IfIstarttomovemyfocustowards TwitterandhypotheticallystarttoignoreothersocialmediachannelsasTwittertakesup moreandmoreofmysocialmediatimeI'llstarttoignorethosewhoarenotinasimilar timezonetome. OMGwearegettingbacktohowisreallyisintherealworldandchattingtopeoplewho areawakewhenweare...howaboutthat!Seemsstrangetoevencontemplate. IhavethoughtaboutthislongandhardandunlessIstayupverylateorgetupveryearly therearefollowersandpeopleIfollowwhoIwon'tactuallygettoseeinmytweetstreams. Iwillhavetoactuallygoandlookattheirtweetstreams.I'mnottendingtodevelopa relationshipwiththemasIdon'tseetheirtweetsthatoftensoI'mgoingtostarttoforget aboutthemovertimeandmayevenunfollowthem(heavenforbid). What'sthepointoffollowingloadsofpeopleontheothersideoftheworldwhodon'tget involvedintheconversationsthatIamsopassionateabout? Itwouldseemthatanytimezonewhichismorethanafewhourseithersideofmewill starttobeforgotteninmonthstocome.(I'mgeneralisinghereasthereareafew dedicatedtweetersintheStatesandEuropewhodosomecrazyhoursandImnotreally consciousofwheretheyareandwhattimeitiswheretheyretweetingfrom,thoughthey arenotthenorm.)SoformeTwitterisalatitudinalrelationshipbuilderI'mstartingto adapttothiswayofthinking. LoadsofyoumaythinkthatI'monanotherplanetwiththisconceptbutinTwitterit'sthe authenticityofthemomentthatgivesmeathrill.Delayingtweetsisamarketinggame. Keepitrealpeopleanditwillworkforyou.IdontfeeltheLuvunlessIthinktheresa personbehindthetweet.Imnotaro(bot)sowhyshouldIreplytoanautomatedtweet sentbyabot?

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Itsimportanttoextracttheessenceofcommunityforustounderstandhowtoconnectonline. Thefollowinganecdotehighlightstheimportanceoflooseties.

TheLittlePrince
Itwasthenthatthefoxappeared. 'Goodmorning'saidthefox. 'Goodmorning'thelittleprincerespondedpolitely,althoughwhenheturned aroundhesawnothing. 'Iamrighthere,'thevoicesaid,'undertheappletree.' 'Whoareyou?'askedthelittleprince.Headded,'Youareveryprettytolook at.' 'Iamafox,'thefoxsaid. 'Comeandplaywithme,'proposedthelittleprince,'Iamsounhappy.' 'Icannotplaywithyou,'thefoxsaid,'Iamnottamed.' 'Ahpleaseexcuseme,'saidthelittleprince.Butaftersomethought,headded: 'Whatdoesthatmean:tame?' 'Youdonotlivehere,'saidthefox,'whatisityouarelookingfor?' 'Iamlookingformen,'saidthelittleprince.'Whatdoesthatmean:tame?' 'Men,'saidthefox,'theyhaveguns,andtheyhunt.Itisverydisturbing.They alsoraisechickens.Thesearetheironlyinterests.Areyoulookingfor chickens?' 'No,'saidthelittleprince.'Iamlookingforfriends.Whatdoesthatmean: tame?' 'Oh,itisanacttoooftenneglected,'saidthefox.'Itmeanstoestablishties.' 'Toestablishties?' 'Justthat,'saidthefox.'tome,youarestillnothingmorethanalittleboywho isjustlikeahundredthousandotherlittleboys.AndIhavenoneedofyou. Andyou,onyourpart,havenoneedofme.ToyouIamnothingmorethana foxlikeahundredthousandotherfoxes.Butifyoutameme,thenweshall needeachother.Tome,youwillbeuniqueinalltheworld.Toyou,Ishallbe uniqueinalltheworld...'

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TWITTERYOURBUSINESS

12

Twitteryourbusiness
HowcanTwitteringearnmybusinessmoney?
Thisquestiongetsraisedallthetimewhenwespeakaboutusingsocialmedia.Peoplewantto knowwherethemoneyorreturnoninvestment(ROI)is. Socialmediaisnotaquickwinittakestimebutyoucanseevaluebuildingalongtheway. What'stheROIofgettingdressedinthemorning?Itallowsyoutogooutside...it'snotabout instantgratification...onlinesocialmediaisaboutbuildingrelationships. Socialmediaisnotfreeittakespeople,ittakestechnologyandittakestime.Allofthesethings arelimitedresourcesandtheyallhaveaspecificcost,buttheyalsoyieldaspecificresult.That resultisinthebuildingofaworldwidecommunity,whichcanreaprewardsbydevelopingnew marketplaces.Eventuallyitwillresultinacostreductionincustomerservice,improvedmarket researchandescalatingbusinessintelligence.Andifyouuseonlinesocialmediawelltopromote yourbusiness,youwillseeROIinthelongrun.

Buildingcustomerloyalty
Twitteringhelpsbuildcustomerloyalty,itwillgetyoumorecustomersanditletsyouidentify whatyourcustomercommunityperceivesanddeterminesyourbrandtobe.Thinkaboutthat lastpointandrepeatitoutloud. Aslongasyoutwitterwithemotionalintelligence,youwillbeabletostrengthenyour relationshipsandmakesocialmediaworkforyou.Yourboughtadvertisingspendwillbepartly replacedbywordofmouthorearnedadvertising(kudos),whichisalotmoreeffectiveandless expensive.

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Customersresearchdifferentlythesedays
Welistentoourcommunityjustlikewedidintheveggiemarketonthehighstreet.Notalothas changed,exceptwespendmoreofourtimeanddevelopmoreofourcommunitiesonlinethese

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days.Monitoringmentionsofyourbusinessonlineisimportant.Measurethenegativesand managethem.Workonimprovingidentifiedweaknessesorfaultsrevealedbyyourcustomersin theonlinecommunity.

Measuringgrowth
Ifyouwanttothinkaboutdollars youneedtoestablishabaseline tomeasurefrom:growthfrom periodtoperiod,thebeforeand afterstatisticsofhowit's generatingyouincome. Youmaywanttokeepanactivity timelineandthenlookatyour ROI(ROI=(gainfrominvestment costofinvestment)/costof investment).Measurethebefore andafterof: salesrevenue transactionspermonth netofnewcustomers.

Don'tforgettoincludebranding.Havealookatnegativeversuspositivementionsoveryour socialmediastreams.Measurehitstoyourwebsiteandfoottrafficthroughyourbusiness outlets(ifrelevant).Youwillsoonseethatifusedcorrectlyandappropriatelysocialmediawill takeyourcustomerrelationshipsandyourbusinessprofiletonewheights. OlivierBlanchardsslidedeckonreturnoninvestmenthastaughtusalot.

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Customerrelationshipmanagement
Havealookat:searchcrm.com(theselfproclaimedworldsbestcustomer relationshipmanagementresource). Thetrendsarepointingtowardstheuptakeintherelationshipeconomyandthe futureofthenewwebwithitsinteractivetechnology. AttheGartnerCustomerRelationshipManagement(CRM)Summitexpert PaulGreenbergstatedthatcustomerexperienceisnowthekeydifferentiator inthebusinessecosystem.Web2.0technologieslikeblogs,wikisandsocial networkingsitesarechangingthewaycompaniesinteractwiththeir customersandputtingthecustomerexperiencecentrestage.Gartner recommendscompanieslookingtoimprovethecustomerexperienceget startedwithWeb2.0assoonaspossible. Gartner'sScottNelsonfeelstheCRMmarketischangingascompaniesbegin tounderstandwhatitreallymeanstobe'customercentered'andfocuson thecustomerexperience.AccordingtoNelson,Web2.0istakingacentral roleinforwardthinkingorganizationscustomerstrategies. FrankEliason,Comcast'sdirectorofdigitalcare,hasestablishedagroup withinComcasttomonitorblogsandsocialnetworksandrespondtothem. WhileEliason'sdivisionisprovidingcustomerservice,itoperatesseparately fromthecompany'scustomerservicedivision.However,Gartnerpredicts thatby2010morethan50percentofcompaniesthathaveestablishedan onlinecommunitywillfailtomanageitasanagentofchange. Don'tfocusonCRMfailure.AGartnersurveyofCEOsfoundthatbuilding closerrelationshipswithcustomerswillbethetopstrategyforgrowth between2007and2010.NelsonurgedcompaniestoinvestigateWeb2.0and socialnetworkingsites,whichhebelieveswillbeoneofthebiggestareas CRM h

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00

Conclusion
Thesedayswehavetheabilitytocommunicateeasilytopeopleallovertheworldinaninstant. Weneedtobeconsciousofcreatingouronlinesocialmediapersonalitiesinthesamewaythat businessesconsciouslycreatetheirbrandingguidelinesandkeymessagingguides. Businessesneedtobeawarethattheirbrandsarenowrepresentedbyindividualsinthe organizationandthatalackofemotionalintelligencecanresultinpotentiallydisastrous consequences. Itisimperativethatemployeesareequippedwiththeskillstocommunicateeffectivelyonline. Moreimportantlyifemployeesarefeelingdissatisfied,fedup,andundervaluedoffline,thiswill havearippleeffectonline.Thereforehavinganemotionallyintelligentorganizationisgoodfor business.

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CONCLUSION

Theemotionalface ofTwitter
byLukeGrangeandCeliaProsser

Letsallembraceaneweraofunderstanding! Takealookaroundattheevolvingsocialandbusinesslandscapes intodaysworld...extremelyrapidtechnologydrivenchangeis creatingunprecedentedcompetitivepressuresforsurvival. Buthowdoesthisaffectourabilitytogetalong?Whatarethe benefitsofcommunicatinginanemotionallyintelligentway? Wheredoesthehumanfactorfitintotheeverincreasinguseof onlinesocialmediasuchasTwitterinourbusinessandpersonal lives?LukeandCeliadecidedtoexploretheconceptsof communicatingeffectivelyonlineandtheconsequencesofnot doingso! Whetheryouvebeenusingonlinesocialmediasincedayoneorare fairlynewtoit,thisebookshouldgetyoulookingatthingsinanew way,helpyoutobemoreawareofyouronlinecommunicationsand showyouhowtonavigateyourwayaroundtheonlinesocialmedia spaces. Onlinesocialmediaforbusinessisaboutreturnonengagement. Connectwithpeople,buildopportunitiesthroughdialoguethat wouldnothaveotherwiseoccurred,thenconnectthemwithyour business.Itsnotirrelevanttoyouandcanbeveryverypowerful.
www.knowledgesolutions.com.au

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