Following on from Tuesday’s post about purging my connections on Twitter (My account was never suspended and I haven’t lost any more followers, thanks for asking.) and the quality vs quantity debate:
Just as with traditional business networking, it is generally accepted in social media geek circles that what truly matters is who is listening to you and what influence they carry. Quantity becomes relevant when you carry influence, or what I usually talk about in terms of, “social capital,” and not before.
There are a number of tools that attempt to measure your Twitter influence. Taking a broader approach, Fast Company Magazine’s Influence Project seeks to answer the question, “Who are the most influential people online right now?” Fast Company’s underlying philosophy:
Influence is not only about having the most friends or followers. Real influence is about being able to affect the behavior of those you interact with, to get others in your social network to act on a suggestion or recommendation. When you post a link or recommend a site, how many people actually bother to check it out? And what’s the likelihood of those people then forwarding it on? How far does your influence spread?
Replace, “post a link,” with, “recommend a power partner,” or, “suggest a process change,” and you can see how far we haven’t come. We’re right back at the chamber of commerce mixer or the corporate holiday party.
Shaquille O’Neal, when he’s not lip syncing with puppets to Rick Springfield (Shaq, I’m a Louisiana boy, I love ya, but don’t quit any of your day jobs.) is using the Influence Project to measure up against other online powerhouses like undisputed Twitter champion Ashton Kutcher and Lady Gaga, who recently beat President Obama in the race to 10,000 fans on Facebook.
Fast Company's Influence Project is not for the humble.
So, in order to learn about all this and, undoubtedly, to be humbled, I signed up for the Influence Project. Yes, you and everyone else can register, free. You give your name and a brief bio or use Facebook Connect to sign up. Takes seconds.
Then you get a confirmation email. It says:
Mike,
Thank you for participating in Fast Company’s The Influence Project. You’re about to find out how influential you really are.
Your unique, personalized ‘influencer’ URL is: http://fcinf.com/v/cmxc/welcome
Click on the above link, and start influencing!
Remember:
1) You can use any means to spread your unique link to your online network. We shortened it for you so you can share on Twitter and Facebook.
2) Your goal is to influence as many people to click on it as possible.
3) You want those people to sign up as well, since they will be spreading your influence along with their own.
4) You can track how your influence has grown, where it’s led, and where you stand at any time on the site.
5) Your picture is going to be in the November issue of Fast Company magazine, where we’ll reveal the most influential person online!
Thank you, The Fast Company team
So, given number five, for the time being anyway, I changed my Facebook profile picture to the one I use for professional branding. Heretofore and, I assume, after, I’ve used a much more personal and less professional picture on my Facebook profile. It’s the “flag I fly,” to let people know that if you engage me in this space, you will see pictures of my kids and witness smack talk among myself and Red Sox fans. Stuff I do sparingly on Twitter and never on LinkedIn.
Anyway, this ought to be good for a chuckle. If I get close, I will dress up as Obama and do a video where I lip sync to Poker Face. So vote for me. Huzzah.
Then perhaps it might be worth taking a more inclusive stance toward my Internet social network connections.
Enjoy the weekend, y’all.
Hanbery Marketing's Swift Kick
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Swift Recommendations
- SGB Media Group's "Social Views": Online Social Networking Sites, Facebook, Twitter, Ning, Business Networking Sites, Blogging, Social Media, Web Marketing (Stephen G. Barr, Group Publisher)
- STRATEGY: Direct-To-Fan Strategy Is The Answer (ryanwines)
- Business Guide To Email Marketing (Resource Nation Blog)
- Social Media 101 for Your Business Marketing (BrandonTague)
- Is Your Company Using Facebook to Recruit Talent? (Resource Nation Blog)
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