Narcissistic Social Media Disorder

I am coining the phrase "Narcissistic Social Media Disorder". Is that narcissistic of me? When I read a recent Twitter post by Steve Rubel- I am writing a blog post that will bring down my site, I know it, I almost spit my coffee out. It was bad enough he wrote-"I am writing a blog post that will bring down my site, but when he added " I know it", he is worthy of ridicule. I have nothing personally against him, but his ego crossed over to pompous fool territory. Sharing thoughts and ideas on social media sites can be successful without ruining it with arrogance.

Steve Rubel is not the only one guilty of this type of behavior. There are plenty of Twitter users that give a self-important impression of themselves. This is just one man's observation... Did I mention that Joe Caruso wrote this? :-)

New Media In The News 9-22-07

NPR: Blogosphere Plays Role in 'Jena Six' Story, Others

The Associated Press: Blogs Open Communication in Cambodia

I love seeing the old media reporting on how important the "New Media" is to society. Not that it needs validation from dinosaurs. :-)

Putting The Word "Sex" In A So-Called Study

One In Five Americans Choose Quality Time With The Internet Over Sex | September 22, 2007 | AHN Annotated

• This "Study" was conducted by an advertising agency. Do you think they have any clients who advertise on the internet? Need I say more? Throw in the word 'Sex" into any study and automatically it becomes interesting.
  
  I don't know who they interviewed, but it certainly wasn't me. As much as I love being online, there are still things in life that the virtual world cannot replace. 1 in 5 reported having less time for sex. WTF? Then at the very end of this article, the writer mentions that nearly half in this study attributed a declining interest in 'old media'. That's the real issue in this so-called study. People are getting more of their information and entertainment online, I know I do - post by carusoimaging

Gadget Ads Are The Future...

Google Intros Gadget Ads Format  Annotated

• I'm very excited about Google Gadget Ads. Rich Media is where it's at. Widgets are as popular as ever. While it will be a challenge for small companies to implement them, they are going to give TV commercials a run for their money. We live in exciting times.... - post by carusoimaging

Interacting With Society

Talk The Talk

I love communicating with people, this is what excites me about social media. While blogs are great interactive communication tools, they're not as immediate as micro-blogs or social networks like Twitter or Jaiku to name a few. Just like blogs, you have the people who just talk about their personal life. (hey, it's better than most TV) Then there's the self-absorbed, self-serving narcissist. This can get annoying real fast. I don't mind people selling themselves a little, but when they become too self-absorbed, I move on. It reminds me of the lamestream media. Everyone that's on a show has something to sell. Who's in a movie, who has a book. That' not communication. Talk shows have become nothing more than QVC with a better set and with celebrities. Don't get me started with celebrities, I'll leave that for another time. Last, but certainly not least, you have the real communicators. These are people that will make you laugh one minute and think the next.

To Block Or Not To Block?

I find it enjoyable to have different opinions streaming in on a regular basis. It makes for a fun day. I've always been outspoken. Some people are threatened by that. I come from a family that speaks their mind. All topics are game. No matter how heated they get, when it's over, it's over.

I didn't have the option of blocking someone if I didn't like that person's opinion. Unless you count covering your ears. That's one thing I don't like on Twitter. What's the sense of having a block button on a "Social Media" site? I think if there is a real issue between two parties, let the administrator of the Network handle it.I hope these networks will facilitate better conflict resolution between people, but if it's so easy to press a button and block someone, how does that make communication better?

Friend Of A Friend

I believe in quality over quantity, in my off-line life and my on-line life. I don't need 5,000 so-called friends on Twitter, just good ones. So far, I'm following and being followed by interesting people. I like people with strong viewpoints. Call it birds-of-a-feather, but that's what I like and look for in friends. Loyalty is also a big factor in friendships. A friend is someone you can always rely on. Good times & bad, friends stick together. I might not interact as often as others on Twitter, but I'm always reading what's going on. If something piques my interest, I'll definitely jump in. That's another great aspect of Social Media. You can jump into a conversation without interrupting the flow of the conversation. You might get a response, you might not, but you can at least voice your opinion. This gets people thinking. Even if they don't respond, it will activate deeper thought. There isn't any room for pretentious people who brag about $400 bottles of wine, or how much they earn, or how big their house is. You will get slammed faster than OJ in prison. ( I couldn't help that one) I'll leave with these two questions to think about:

1. Will society be any better off with these social networking sites?
2. How will you benefit from these sites?
   

Geraldo Rivera- Not So Sociable..

Typepad support & $200 Savings=iPhone A Must Have

SmartPhoneToday: News: Six Apart Brings iPhone Blogging to Movable Type, TypePad  Annotated

• It's almost impossible for me to resist the iPhone any longer. This week's news of a price cut on the iPhone and now Typepad support, it might be the time for me to get one. I'm just not sold on AT& T. Am I wrong for feeling this way? - post by carusoimaging

Mark Simon Hates Twitter & it's Users

Advertising Age - CMO Strategy - Ditch the Lunatic Web Content Crazes

TWITTER AND ITS MICROBLOGGING ILK.

What could be more annoying and less useful than a site where thousands of people are given 140 characters to shout out about what they're doing at every moment of the day? The amazing thing is that enough people out there think this mindless stream of ephemera ("I'm eating a tangerine," "I'm waiting for a plane," "I want a Big Mac") is interesting enough to serve as the basis for a viable advertising platform.-Mark Simon

Another marketing genius doesn't get the obvious. Mark Simon's article is proof that traditional marketers are scared of losing control. What could be more annoying than a closed-minded marketer who hates the very same people he and his company market to? This guy just insulted millions of users of these platforms. But this is coming from a search engine marketer, so naturally he hates what's happening. I like the idea of "Human-Powered" search engines. Change is good, except when you're Mark Simon...

Social Media and Nonsense Research

Social networking sites do not deepen friendships | Science | Guardian Unlimited  

Do we need researchers to tell us how to make a close friendship? Instead of putting out nonsense studies, why not use some brain power for real important issues? Did this reporter think he was putting out an important story? First of all, they only polled 200 people. Everyone knows just because you might have dozens, hundreds or thousands of followers on a networking site has nothing to do with close friendships. That is everyone except the Guardian reporter and researchers of this so-called study... - post by carusoimaging

Brain Implants To Think Faster? Listen Up Paris & Britney...

The Associated Press: Techies Ponder Computers Smarter Than Us Annotated

This type of talk is a bit chilling. While technology is great and enhances our lives, it shouldn't be used to alter humans. Who would want a brain implant to think faster? (Besides Paris Hilton or Britney Spears)These people are wacky in my opinion... - post by carusoimaging

Spies Should Just Say No To Social Networking

The Associated Press: Newest Spy Gadget: Social Networking

Security is a big concern with social networking. Just imagine if this type of site gets hacked. Info from all different agencies will be in one location. Scary to say the least. As it is, hacking is taking place, so this is not a good idea. - post by carusoimaging

Can Posing Nude Be Accidental?

Children's star apologises for nude photo - Entertainment - theage.com.au  Annotated

Children Stars posing nude: An apology is not enough, she should be fired. You say your sorry if you show up late for work or spill something on a carpet. There is nothing accidental in posing nude. This is why it's so important for parents to be involved with their children. Parents shouldn't just plop their kids in front of a TV without knowing the content. As great as Disney is, parents should pick age appropriate material for their children. Unfortunately, I see people trusting the "Disney" name and not watching the actual content. If a particular show has characters 10-12 years in age, how is this age-appropriate for 3-4 year olds? - post by carusoimaging

Societal Age Segregation: Social Networking Embraces Age Discrimination

Social networking sites take notice of seniors - International Herald Tribune-

By Joe Caruso

Digital Divide: I'm friendly with people of all ages and have great conversations with them. Age is never a factor nor should it be. I learn from people older than me and younger than me. When I was younger I had a few friends that were a good deal older than me, but we still had something in common (music) and that's what was important. Online socializing removes generation gaps, at least it used to. Unfortunately, there seems to be a trend for age segregation in online communities. Sites like Eon and Boomertown are sprouting up that are helping to divide the online community into neat little segments.

In our day-to-day lives, it's harder to associate with mixed age groups. This is why I like the social network Twitter. It doesn't matter what age you are; you can be friends with anybody. I look at social networking like digital neighborhoods. In the real world, a neighborhood consists of all different people. Young, old and everything in between.

The only reason some of these social networks are age-centric is because of marketing. When a magazine caters to a specific demographic it makes it easier to market products and services. But a social network is not like a magazine, or at least it shouldn't be. I like to live in a diverse neighborhood with a mixed demographic both on and off-line.


Age discrimination exists on all sides. There are plenty of young people who have something against older people. And there are some older people who do not want to mingle with young people. I think it comes down to fear and stupidity. Some young people are scared of getting older.


Older people that have problems with young people are perhaps bitter that they are no longer young and can't do some of the things they used to do. Even the creator of FaceBook Mark Zuckerberg came out and said " Younger People Are Smarter" , he's not proving it with a comment like that. Again, social platforms like Twitter do not place emphasis on age. It's pure expression. Sometime intelligent, sometimes funny and always somewhat interesting. Is it socially acceptable to discriminate over age? What would happen if social networks are created for race? I hope this doesn't happen. Technology should makes us come together, not divide us. With all the great progress this country has made with integrating people of all races and religions, to have it all turned around by a few knuckleheads in technology with nothing more than greed on their mind would be a travesty. Since younger people are creating these networks, the responsibility is on them.

One of the main reasons I became interested in new media and alternative news sources was because of the "Divide & Conquer" mindset of the mainstream media. Politics is the greatest example of this. Most Americans want the same things in life, yet the media and politicians have created a societal chasm that is destroying America. I don't want the same thing happen to our online environment.

post by carusoimaging

Blogging Brings The World A Little Closer...

AFP: Blogs sweep Vietnam as young push state-run media aside  Annotated

• I love reading about how blogging and new media is helping to bring the world a little closer. This inspires me. Check it out! - post by carusoimaging

New Media Magazine Launching In South Africa

allAfrica.com: South Africa: New Media Empire Launches (Page 1 of 1)  Annotated

• New Media magazine launching in South Africa. - post by carusoimaging

Top Reasons For A Business Blog

With almost 100 million blogs online, it's safe to say blogging is here to stay. While many businesses have embraced blogging, some are still reluctant to have one. Here is a short list of reasons to explain the benefits of business blogging.

• Marketing/PR Tool- As you may already be aware of, PR and marketing can get quite expensive. Having a corporate blog will reduce costs-big time.

• Search Engine Optimization- Since search engines sees a blog entry as a web page, the more you post, the higher you will rank in particular keyword searches. If you want to expose your business to as many potential customers as possible, then your company should be blogging.

• Conversion Rates - Exposure is great, but if your selling products you need to convert traffic into sales. Blogs make it possible to have a relationship with your customers. Blogging is part of the equation in community building.
  

So what's holding you back? The biggest thing with blogging is commitment. Once a blog is started, it needs to be nurtured and grown with care. This is why many businesses are reluctant to start one. But if you're committed to your business to succeed, then you should commit to blogging. Hiring someone to run your blog and new media is key to success. Blogging is a full-time job. It shouldn't be passed on to an employee who's plate is already full. It needs to be handled by someone with passion for blogging and an evangelist for your product or services.

Quechup Is Making A Lot Of People Angry

Social network launches worldwide spam campaign | Internet Marketing News and Blog | E-consultancy.com  Annotated

• What are the people at Quechup thinking? Spamming in this day and age is the kiss of death for a business.
  
  I hope there is an investigation into this matter. - post by carusoimaging

Social Media Has Some Serious Privacy Concerns

The sinister side of social networking - CNN.com Annotated

I'm going to agree with Om Malik's statement that Facebook is becoming the quasi-White Pages of the Web. I also don't like the fact companies are collecting information from email addresses. What's the difference from someone snooping in your mail box at home and looking at your private mail?

"Facebook representatives told CNN: "We are making public search listings available to give people who are not currently registered on Facebook the opportunity to discover their friends on the site. A public search listing only shows the name and profile picture."

RapLeaf claims they're protecting your reputation, yet they're giving it away to marketers. While your information may already be out on the web, companies like these are making it way too easy to collect information of online users. Something needs to be done. Identity protection companies are going to get real popular...- post by carusoimaging

Traditional Journalists Want In On Social Media

Global Politician

• Traditional journalists are now getting in on social media. There will always be a need for traditional-investigative reporting, but for breaking news and news/analysis, my money is on citizen journalism. - post by carusoimaging

RSS River Of Streams

Lifestreaming is a new term which I happen to like and use. What is it? It's basically for people/businesses that have multiple RSS feeds and provides a tidy home for each and every one. I like the fact that I can have all of my different feeds streamed into one. I find it very exciting and I'm looking forward to exploring it even further.

Since Blogging and "New Media" is increasing in popularity, multi-streaming is going to be huge. Think of your "Lifestreaming Blog" as your TV. All of your other media feeds are channels that are beamed into your Lifestreaming Blog. People can easily subscribe to all of your content in one easy place - It's a beautiful thing.

Cisco Contest

If you have a great idea on making the "Connected Life" a better experience, sign up for Cisco's contest. Opportunity to win $10,000.

Sounds like fun, but if I'm going to come up with a great idea, I'm putting it at a higher value than $10,0000... (Sorry Cisco)

Brand Advocates

According to an article in DM News, brand advocates may not social network. Their information comes from a report from JupiterResearch. According to this report:

• Almost a quarter of online adults are considered influential advocates
• Most of these advocates spend more time researching and purchasing than spreading the word.

Question: How can these people be called advocates when they're spending hardly any time spreading the word?

“Brand advocates are very active at consuming content, and tend to be early adopters and savvy with social media, though they aren’t necessarily advocating in these places,” said Emily Riley, analyst at JupiterResearch. “They really need to be asked by their friends to advocate for a brand.”

If people aren't advocating for a brand, then they're not an advocate. A true advocate or brand evangelist will talk about the products or services they love no matter where they are.

I'm a bit of a skeptic when it comes to these studies. Sure, they can get very scientific and analytical. But in the end, I find them to be weather reports for people. Just like the weather, people are not always predictable. (except for voters)

I love this quote: "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." – Benjamin Disraeli

The article was a real let down when politics were brought into this subject: “But if you tap into the issues that people care about, then you can get them to spread the message about the product,” Riley added. “Creating a campaign that associates your brand with an environmental issue can get people to feel passionate about your
product.”

Unfortunately, some people have made caring about the environment political. People are going to start feeling green with all of this non-sense. Consumers are going to buy products or services because of needs and wants, not because of the environment. If I buy a product and it winds up sucking, do you think I give a rat's behind if the company is "Green"?

I think this "Green" movement is a sham, and I find it disgusting. With all of the atrocities going on in the world, all of a sudden companies now have a heart for emissions? The first thing companies should be doing is making great products. Why are companies jumping on the green bandwagon? Is it so they get preferential treatment from some politicians?

I get nauseous when companies try to out-do each other when it comes to being "Green". I want businesses outdoing each other in business, not in environmental issues. Conservationists should be advocating for the environment. I need to buy a new truck. Do you think I'm going to research the truck and competition or research how eco-friendly each company is? People don't have the time for all of that. It's just not realistic. It's too bad they've tarnished the word green, it used to be one of my favorite colors.

Commenting Without An Identity

Anonymous comments on a blog are so lame. If you have something to say, then you should have accountability for your actions. As an anonymous commenter, there is no credibility in your words- no matter how good they may be. I just finished reading an article by Allan Hoffman from The Star Ledger on commentators. It's titled: " Commenters steal the bloggers' show."

He starts off by writing: " If you want to find lively and intelligent conversations online, you've got to head to a Weblog, or blog." Why is he talking down to his readers like they've never heard of blogging.

To top it off, on a post about commenting on blogs, you can't comment on his. Wake up NJ.com. Commentators on blogs don't steal the show they add to it. It's quite obvious they would steal the show if NJ.com allows comments. I guess that's why they don't.

Another gem is when he writes: "Bloggers also try to hypercharge their blogs by encouraging comments." Hypercharge? So what he's saying is that a blogs content is mediocre unless you have a brilliant commentator. Hey Allan, it's about exchanging thoughts and ideas. I know it's a new concept for you "Old Media" types, but guess what? It's the present and the future of media. The old stream media doesn't like to share their powers, but Pandora's Box has been opened. By reading this article, you would swear it was coming from a developing nation that wasn't too up on technology. Here's a tip for his next article: Typing Steals The Written Word

Bloggers Are Winning

By Joe Caruso


Running Scared

Bloggers continue to Kick-The-A** of the old-stream media. In a recent article by Michael Skube, it becomes clear that this man hates bloggers. I chuckled when I read his musings. "No man but a blockhead," the stubbornly sensible Samuel Johnson said, "ever wrote but for money." Well I can throw in a Thomas Jefferson quote- "The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers." – Thomas Jefferson

He then goes on to say "the blogoshpere is the loudest corner of the internet, noisy with disputation, manifesto-like postings and an unbecoming hatred of enemies real and imagined. What's this guy smoking? The "Old Media" is filled with hatred, noisy disputation, and "manifesto-like rants.

Speaking of hatred, he shows contempt for Southerners by recalling a story by Claude Sitton. "He recounted the time in Philadelphia, Miss., when "a few rednecks -- drunk, shotguns in the back of their truck -- showed up at the Holiday Inn where Fleming and I were staying." The locals invited the big-city reporters -- Sitton from the Times, Fleming from Newsweek -- to come out and see the farm. "I told 'em, 'Look, you shoot us and there'll be a dozen more just like us in the morning. You going to shoot them too?' "

Divided We Fall

"Old Media" guys like Michael Skube are familiar with the concept of "Divide and Conquer". Instead of embracing "New Media", people like him are threatened by it.
Blogging and New Media are still in it's infancy. It's revolutionary that consumers of media can not only offer feedback, but actually create it. I say don't change journalism, just change the definition and include blogging and new media. "Old Media" is filled with Book Critics, Food Critics, Music Critics and of course the bias that goes into many stories in newspapers, magazines and TV. Smart bloggers are not only going head-to-toe with established writers, but sometime out-delivering them. Bloggers are giving their honest (generally) feelings and are not being paid, wine & dined by any publishers or restaurants. etc;

Skube laments- "But what lodges in the memory, and sometimes knifes us in the heart, is the fidelity with which a writer observes and tells. The word has lost its luster, but we once called that reporting."

Fidelity= adherence to fact or detail.

So this guy thinks that only a paid writer working for the 'old stream media 'can stick to facts? What a pompous fool. And he's blaming blogging for the "fall of the word". If anything, blogging has increased the power of the word more than anything since Gutenberg.

The really good journalist out there get it- they're not threatened by bloggers. Embrace the "New Media" or get left in the dust. It's that simple...