The original intent of TwitWall is to provide a ‘space’ for Tweeps/Tweeples who understand tweeting, but do not (ie have a or want to) blog. Unlike blogging which are composed formal writings (essays), tweeting are random thoughts. Often however, random thoughts exceed 140 chars, or may not even be just text. If you are a blogger, occasionally you may have thoughts that may not generally fit the general theme of your blog content. To that, you may want to post those thoughts on your TwitWall as an alternative to your formal blog.

In addition to uploaded images, TwitWall supports embedded content like widgets, videos, audio mp3 podcasts. Also, images on TwitWall can be source images- you can attach images to your entries originating from existing http:// locations like Photobucket, or your favorite news website.

If personal branding is important to you, the user, TwitWall inherits the design preferences of your Twitter page (background image and color schemes). If you wish to show a video to your readers, why send your them to the YouTube site or someone else blog, if you can accomplish that while still keeping your readers within arms length of your Twitter page?

Twitwall is for those who need to share their podcasts, announce their book signing schedules, preview the screenshots of their latest project, show the video of their latest gig, or even gather comments on the latest song composed from their Twitter friends and followers. Alas, TwitWall was born.

  claim your wall @ http://www.twitwall.com

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You are invited to share your personal Top 10 favourites

TOP 20
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1. Increase your visibility.

   By adding connections, you increase the likelihood that people will see your profile first when they’re searching for someone to hire or do business with. In addition to appearing at the top of search results (which is a major plus if you’re one of the 52,000 product managers on LinkedIn), people would much rather work with people who their friends know and trust.

2. Improve your connectability.

   Most new users put only their current company in their profile. By doing so, they severely limit their ability to connect with people. You should fill out your profile like it’s an executive bio, so include past companies, education, affiliations, and activities.

   You can also include a link to your profile as part of an email signature. The added benefit is that the link enables people to see all your credentials, which would be awkward if not downright strange, as an attachment.

3. Improve your Google PageRank.

   LinkedIn allows you to make your profile information available for search engines to index. Since LinkedIn profiles receive a fairly high PageRank in Google, this is a good way to influence what people see when they search for you.

   To do this, create a public profile and select “Full View.” Also, instead of using the default URL, customize your public profile’s URL to be your actual name. To strengthen the visibility of this page in search engines, use this link in various places on the web> For example, when you comment in a blog, include a link to your profile in your signature.

4. Enhance your search engine results.

   In addition to your name, you can also promote your blog or website to search engines like Google and Yahoo! Your LinkedIn profile allows you to publicize websites. There are a few pre-selected categories like “My Website,” “My Company,” etc.

   If you select “Other” you can modify the name of the link. If you’re linking to your personal blog, include your name or descriptive terms in the link, and voila! instant search-engine optimization for your site. To make this work, be sure your public profile setting is set to “Full View.”

5. Perform blind, “reverse,” and company reference checks.

   LinkedIn’s reference check tool to input a company name and the years the person worked at the company to search for references. Your search will find the people who worked at the company during the same time period. Since references provided by a candidate will generally be glowing, this is a good way to get more balanced data.

   Companies will typically check your references before hiring you, but have you ever thought of checking your prospective manager’s references? Most interviewees don’t have the audacity to ask a potential boss for references, but with LinkedIn you have a way to scope her out.

   You can also check up on the company itself by finding the person who used to have the job that you’re interviewing for. Do this by searching for job title and company, but be sure to uncheck “Current titles only.” By contacting people who used to hold the position, you can get the inside scoop on the job, manager and growth potential.

   By the way, if using LinkedIn in these ways becomes a common practice, we’re apt to see more truthful resumes. There’s nothing more amusing than to find out that the candidate who claims to have caused some huge success was a total bozo who was just along for the ride.

6. Increase the relevancy of your job search.

   Use LinkedIn’s advanced search to find people with educational and work experience like yours to see where they work. For example, a programmer would use search keywords such as “Ruby on Rails,” “C++,” “Python,” “Java,” and “evangelist” to find out where other programmers with these skills work.

7. Make your interview go smoother.

   You can use LinkedIn to find the people that you’re meeting. Knowing that you went to the same school, plays hockey, or shares acquaintances is a lot better than an awkward silence after, “I’m doing fine, thank you.”

8. Gauge the health of a company.

   Perform an advanced search for company name and uncheck the “Current Companies Only” box. This will enable you to scrutinize the rate of turnover and whether key people are abandoning ship. Former employees usually give more candid opinions about a company’s prospects than someone who’s still on board.

9. Gauge the health of an industry.

   If you’re thinking of investing or working in a sector, use LinkedIn to find people who worked for competitors—or even better, companies who failed. For example, suppose you wanted to build a next generation online pet store, you’d probably learn a lot from speaking with former Pets.com or WebVan employees.

10. Track startups.

    You can see people in your network who are initiating new startups by doing an advanced search for a range of keywords such as “stealth” or “new startup.” Apply the “Sort By” filter to “Degrees away from you” in order to see the people closest to you first. [Republished from: Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn  via "How to Change the World" -- Guy Kawasaki's blog]

Guy is known for bringing the concept of technology evangelism to the masses through his pioneering work at Apple’s Macintosh group. In addition to blogging the above post earlier this year, he has also blogged on topics ranging from LinkedIn Profile Extreme Makeover to LinkedIn and the Art of avoiding an Asshole Boss. [Source: Guy Kawasaki's weblog -- How to Change the World]

“Wow. It’s not even 9 a.m. and I got all my required things done for the day. Maybe I’ll go back to bed.“ Rich Brooks, president of Flyte New Media, a Web design and Internet marketing firm in Portland, Maine, “tweeted” that note in mid August. One of his 300 or so “followers” on Twitter, a social networking service, messaged him back, asking what made him so productive. “My secret is Pleasant Morning Buzz coffee from Whole Foods. Damn, now I have to kill you,” Brooks wrote.

Later that day, Slaton Carter, a social media coordinator for Whole Foods Market, the natural foods retailer based in Austin, messaged Brooks. His unsolicited missive, chosen as “Tweet of the Day,” had earned him a $25 gift card.

“Who says Twittering doesn’t pay?” Brooks jokes.

Welcome to microblogging, a new form of Internet communication that has interesting business possibilities. Twitter started as a personal service, where members answered the question “What are you doing?” in 140 characters or less. While many tweets, as the messages are called, broadcast mundane inanities about snacking or napping, increasingly proponents are using Twitter to broadcast news, to promote their companies, and to establish closer relationships with clients and customers.

How Twitter works

Twitter, as well as other microblogging tools such as Jaiku and Plurk, use the simple message service (SMS) protocol to send updates of up to 140 characters to the public and private groups. Twitter has raised $20 million from venture capitalists and while it doesn’t make money, it has become somewhat of a Web 2.0 phenomenon that many are trying to figure out how to monetize. In July, there were more than 2.2 million registered accounts, about four times the number a year earlier.

Though Twitter was not developed as a business tool, its founders started seeing business cases emerging, says Biz Stone, founder. “We’re trying to take note of how businesses are using it, and see if there are more ways we can deliver more value.”

Companies like Whole Foods, Jet Blue, H&R Block, and Zappos are experimenting with Twitter. WholeFoods started tweeting in July, an outgrowth of Carter and two other online marketers’ own personal experience with the service. “We started seeing other brands popping up and thought, why don’t we try it for Whole Foods?” he says. Now, more than 3,000 people follow Whole Foods, which tweets about promotions, new items, and even product recalls. It also awards a Tweet of the Day four times a week, and weekly does an in-store gift card giveaway to the first five people to say the correct password at that week’s chosen store.

Business uses for Twitter

Twitter use is growing rapidly, and online marketers should experiment with it to see how they can better communicate using this new medium. New uses are still being discovered, but for now, experts advise using it to:

• Distill your message. Microblogging helps marketers to think by forcing them to distill their messages into haiku-like brevity. “Microblogging forces you to be interesting in 140 characters or less,” says Brooks, who is experimenting with Twitter for his business and to advise clients.
• Share information. Companies can post links to press releases, can advertise promotions, or even send out product recall information. Whole Foods used Twitter to broadcast information about a recent beef recall. While its tweets did not reach all Whole Foods customers by any stretch of the imagination — it only has about 3,000 followers — the practice showed that Whole Foods is connected and quick, at least to those who follow it.
• Listen to customers. Just as you could go to Summize or Search Twitter to find out the latest news about New Orleans levee breaches during hurricane Gustav, you can enter your company name in those search engines to see what the twitterverse is saying about your company. Whole Foods’ Carter searches daily to see what is being said and even interact with people. If someone is calling Whole Foods “whole paycheck,” for example (a common slam), Carter can engage in conversation with them and see what their concerns are. It’s also wise to see what people are saying about your competitors and industry.
• Talk back. Twitter is a two-way street. “The savvy Twitter user realizes that the effective communications aren’t just ‘pushing’ content to readers, but they will also dialogue and converse with others by replying to them,” says Jeremiah Owyang, Forrester analyst.
• Improve customer relations. You can receive and respond to customer queries, says Robin Bloor, a technology analyst in Austin. “Doing so provides a complete audit trail of questions and answers.”
• Track trends. Establish an affinity group and listen in, Bloor recommends. As you can follow anyone (except those who deliberately opt for select privacy), "it’s reasonably easy to set up any kind of group and follow it,” he says. While Bloor originally used Twitter to see what other analysts were saying, it could just as easily be used to follow a product or trend.
• Drive traffic. Twitter allows you to enter links, which are abbreviated into tinyurl entries if the link is longer than 30 characters. These links can direct traffic to your company blog or web site.
• Claim your identity. If your business has a brand, it should create an account on Twitter, plus Pownce and Jaiku, says Peter Lim, Forrester analyst.  Some squatters have already created accounts like twitter.com/ipod, but many brand handles are still available.

What not to do with Twitter

There are also rules of the road to help you avoid alienating your real and potential customers. Here’s what you need to watch out for:

• Don’t spam. Users who are following thousands but don’t have many followers are likely spammers, using Twitter like a direct mailing list. “That’s definitely the fastest way to turn me off,” Brooks says. They sign up to follow thousands, and rely on twitter etiquette of following those who follow you in order to quickly gain their own followers.
• Don’t be mundane. Owyang recommends adding value. “I rarely talk about waking up, eating lunch, or starting my car,” he says. Add something to the conversation.
• Don’t upset your followers. Sending out too many updates and filling up their stream can annoy followers. And even though Twitter is more personal, it’s possible to be too casual with followers, especially when you’re representing your brand. In late August, a Whole Foods Tweet of the day contained the word phrase, “oh my f’ing gawd” and caused a small backlash among some followers. “To your followers, you are the brand,” wrote one tweeter.  Brooks disagreed. “It shows that there are people behind that, rather than lawyers looking at every tweet,” he said.

The best online marketing establishes real connections with customers. “People are looking for transparency first and foremost,” Carter says, “and a way to directly connect with real people behind a brand. That’s certainly what we’re doing — engaging with people.”

Follow SoNet on Twitter @ http://twitter.com/sonet

By Jodi Mardesich

Create a community on MySpace and you can share photos, journals and interests with your growing network of mutual friends!

See who knows who, or how you are connected. Find out if you really are six people away from Kevin Bacon.

MySpace is for everyone:

• Friends who want to talk Online
• Single people who want to meet other Singles
• Matchmakers who want to connect their friends with other friends
• Families who want to keep in touch–map your Family Tree
• Business people and co-workers interested in networking
• Classmates and study partners
• Anyone looking for long lost friends!

Updates are displayed on the user’s profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. The sender can restrict delivery to those in his or her circle of friends (delivery to everyone being the default). Users can receive updates via the Twitter website, instant messaging, SMS, RSS, email or through an application such as Twitterrific or Facebook. For SMS, four gateway numbers are currently available: short codes for the United States, Canada, and India, as well as a United Kingdom number for international use. Several third parties offer posting and receiving updates via email.

Anyone can join Facebook

All that’s needed to join Facebook is a valid email address. To connect with coworkers or classmates, use your school or work email address to register. Once you register, join a regional network to connect with the people in your area.

Discover the people around you

Facebook is made up of many networks, each based around a company, region, or school. Join the networks that reflect your real-life communities to learn more about the people who work, live, or study around you.

Do more

Facebook’s Platform enables anyone, anywhere, to build complete applications that you can choose to use. The possibilities are endless. Define your experience on Facebook by choosing applications that are useful and relevant to your world.

Keep it private

At Facebook, we believe that people should have control over how they share their information and who can see it. People can only see the profiles of confirmed friends and the people in their networks. You can use our privacy settings at any time to control who can see what on Facebook.

Social networking is the grouping of individuals into specific groups, like small rural communities or a neighborhood subdivision… if you will. Although social networking is possible in person, especially in schools or in the workplace, it is most popular online. This is because unlike most high schools, colleges, or workplaces, the internet is filled with millions of individuals who are looking to meet other internet users and develop friendships and business relationships, too.

When it comes to online social networking, websites are commonly used. These websites are known as social sites. Social networking websites function like an online community of internet users. Depending on the website in question, many of these online community members share a common interest such as hobbies, religion, or politics. Once you are granted access to a social networking website you can begin to socialize. This socialization may include reading the profile pages of other members and possibly even contacting them.

The friends that you can make are just one of the many benefits to social networking online. Another one of those benefits includes diversity because the internet gives individuals, from all around the world, access to social networking sties. This means that although you are in the United States, you could develop an online friendship with someone in Oregon or Switzerland. Not only will you make a new friend, but you just might learn a thing or two about a new culture and new languages. And, learning is always a good thing.

As mentioned, social networking often involves grouping specific individuals or organizations together. While there are a number of social networking websites that focus on particular interests, there are others that do not. The websites without a main focus are often referred to as "traditional" social networking websites and usually have open memberships. This means that anyone can become a member, no matter what their hobbies, beliefs, or views are. However, once you are inside this online community, you can begin to create your own network of friends and eliminate members that do not share common interests or goals.

As I’m sure you’re aware, there are dangers associated with social networking. We hear special reports from famous TV personalities and many "special investigative reports," too. The dangers often involve online predators or individuals who claim to be someone that they are not. Although danger does exist with networking online, it also exists with networking out in the real world, too. Just like you’re advised when meeting strangers at a bar, school, or work — you are also advised to proceed with caution online. By being aware of your surroundings and who you are talking to, you should be able to safely enjoy social networking online. Just use common sense and listen to your inner voice; it will tell you when something doesn’t feel right.

Once you’ve convinced yourself that you are sufficiently informed, you can begin to search for networking communities to join. This can easily be done by performing a standard internet search. Your search will likely return a number of results, including MySpace, FriendWise, FriendFinder, Yahoo! 360, Facebook, Orkut, and Classmates.

Your professional relationships are key to your professional success. Our mission is to help you be more effective in your daily work and open doors to opportunities using the professional relationships you already have.

This isn’t networking—it’s what networking should be. Forget exchanging business cards with acquaintances that don’t know your work, or trying to renew professional ties when you need a favor.

LinkedIn is an online network of more than 24 million experienced professionals from around the world, representing 150 industries.

When you join, you create a profile that summarizes your professional accomplishments. Your profile helps you find and be found by former colleagues, clients, and partners. You can add more connections by inviting trusted contacts to join LinkedIn and connect to you.

Your network consists of your connections, your connections’ connections, and the people they know, linking you to thousands of qualified professionals.

Through your network you can:

• Find potential clients, service providers, subject experts, and partners who come recommended
• Be found for business opportunities
• Search for great jobs
• Discover inside connections that can help you land jobs and close deals
• Post and distribute job listings * Find high-quality passive candidates
• Get introduced to other professionals through the people you know

 LinkedIn is free to join. We also offer paid accounts that give you more tools for finding and reaching the right people, whether or not they are in your network.

LinkedIn participates in the EU Safe Harbor Privacy Framework and is certified to meet the strict privacy guidelines of the European Union. All relationships on LinkedIn are mutually confirmed, and no one appears in the LinkedIn Network without knowledge and explicit consent.

LinkedIn is located in Mountain View, California and is funded by world-class investors including Sequoia Capital, Greylock, the European Founders Fund, Bessemer Venture Partners, and Bain Capital Ventures.

Submit your favorites. Find an article, video, or podcast online and submit it to Digg.com. Your submission will immediately appear in “Upcoming Stories,” where other members can find it and, if they like it, Digg it.

Become popular. Once a submission has earned a critical mass of Diggs, it becomes “popular” and jumps to the homepage in its category. If it becomes one of the most popular, it qualifies as a “Top 10”. If a submission doesn’t receive enough Diggs within a certain time period, it eventually falls out of the “Upcoming” section.

Discover media on Digg. Visit the “Upcoming” section to discover recently added news, videos, and podcasts. Track submissions as they come in with Swarm, Stack, Big Spy or Arc, our real-time Flash visualization tools in Digg Labs. Or use Spy to watch the titles and descriptions as they roll down the page.

Of course, you can always check the topic homepages to see what’s newly popular. And you can subscribe to RSS feeds of particular topics, popular/upcoming sections, individual users, and the search terms of your choice.
Select

Digg. Participate in the collaborative editorial process by Digging the stuff that you like best. As you Digg, you contribute to the popularity of any given item. You also build a history of Digging that you or your friends can view.

Bury. If you find stories with bad links, off-topic content, or duplicate entries, click “Bury.” That’s how we get the spam out of the system and let the good stuff rise to the top.

The system only works when users actively participate on a large scale, so make sure to do your part and Digg and Bury content that matters to you!
Share

Build a network. Invite your friends or find them on Digg and add them to your friends list. Then your friends can track what you’re Digging and you can see what they Digg as well, enabling you to collectively find news together.

Email. Send your friends (Diggers or non-Diggers) the stories that you Digg.
Discuss

Comment. Share your opinions by commenting on stories, videos, and podcasts as well as Digging and Burying comments by other users. ]]> http://www.sonetuniversity.com/class/2008/07/18/how-digg-works/feed/