What’s Next Now

Get Firefox

Here’s something that might have gone without saying, and probably goes without saying too often at sites frequented by people who live immersed in all this tech stuff.  After having several conversations in recent days with people I see as being in my target audience, I now know it needs to be said:  Firefox is the equivalent of a gateway drug for Social Media.

If you’re still out there reading this post in Internet Explorer, then, please, click on the icon to the right, download a copy and start using Firefox.

Just do it. Now.

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I like Isaac Hayes a lot and I’m sorry to see him go too young.  Here’s a quasi-viral video in tribute.

I’ve noticed a trend in blog post titles.  It seems the world of Social Media Practitioners is in love with lists.  Heck, I’m in love with lists!  One of the tools I use to help me glean what’s next now is the gigantic, ever-changing popularity list at popurls.  As I write this, four of the top ten items on that site’s “popular today” list are… lists! The Internet has gone so crazy about lists, I’m thinking of starting a 12-step self-help program for those wishing to break the list habit! Of course, all documentation for the Listaholics Anonymous program will be provided in a handy and attractive list format.

“Hi, I’m Bob Finch.  I am a Listaholic.  I haven’t clicked on a list in 17 minutes…”

Is it too obvious I’m feeling goofy today?  It’s Friday and I’m feeling lazy and have too much to do aside from this blog; plus, because it’s my first Friday at What’s Next Now, I will silly this up a bit.

Drumroll please!

Here is my top ten list of lists for those interested in Web 2.0, Social Media and generally using the Internet to get ahead: (more…)

If somebody told me that I’d have to give up all but one of the numerous plug-ins that I use in various applications, I’d keep Xobni.  That’s “inbox” spelled backwards.  Xobni is so powerful that after using it for a couple of months, I abandoned my Outlook Business Contact Manager; while I’m sure that BCM is a fine tool for many, it provided a lot of features I didn’t ever use and very little useful information about the people I exchange email with.

Xobni helps me focus.  I have a lot going on, including disparate projects that often sit for days and weeks with no activity. With Xobni, when a dormant project suddenly requires me to re-engage in conversations that paused long ago, I can quickly get back up to speed.  Xobni has dramatically reduced the time it takes me to reply to messages when the original context of the conversation has been forgotten. (more…)

It wasn’t all that long ago, perhaps five months or so, that Twitter came into my life.  I had heard it mentioned a couple of times in passing conversation, but I hadn’t paid much attention.  It sounded like generation-Y stuff, not like something I might be interested in.  Then, in a Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce breakfast speech, Curtis Zimmerman of The Zimmerman Agency mentioned that he was using Twitter.

Whoa!  That got my attention!  I guy I respected in the business was talking about something I had dismissed out of hand.  What was I missing?

I’m an early-adopter who hates not being aware of all things new, so I decided to find out what was going on.  I joined Twitter.  And I posted. Mundane stuff.  At first I stuck to answering the question that Twitter suggests you ask yourself before posting: “What are you doing?”

Well, within a week or so, I was not only growing bored with sending out short, 140 character comments, but I was also getting a little peeved that nobody was following me (boo hoo).  Plus, my mind hadn’t made the proper connections to figure out how big this thing really is.  I also talked to several of my friends and learned none of them was using it… yet.

What was Zimmerman talking about?

“I’d better find out how people get followed, and figure out who I need to follow,” I thought.

And so I spent an hour or so Googling all things Twitter.  And gradually I saw the light.  This isn’t just kid stuff.  I’ve identified and follow several thought leaders I want to get to know, along with a small but growing cadre of Tallahassee Twitter Users.  Several of them are following me, too.

Having used it for a while, I know that for the uninitiated Twitter pretty much defies explanation. It just does. The only proof that I can offer is that I know the unique mode of communication that Twitter has tapped into is going to be something huge. Rather than try to explain why, here are three fictitious but already-have-happened business examples: (more…)