The great thing about Chris is that he asks questions.  He is one of the leaders, exploring his way across the universe of the interweb, and finding ways to make the web work.  He listens to his community, and finds ways to put their ideas into action.  He is a playful spirit, always looking for the bright side, and bringing out the best in everyone around him.  He writes in an informal first person style, and is very consistent.  If you are not reading Chris Brogans blog, Miss Apps suggests you might find a friend or two over there, especially if you are a student of New Media and social Networking.

Kelley Bell and Lewis Howes at the OGS tweet-up

Kelley Bell, Chris Brogan and Cara Keithley

Tonight Miss Apps had the pleasure of zooming beyond the walls of the digital world to actually meet some cyber-friends in real life. We gathered at the Ohio Growth Summit in Columbus, for a Tweet-Up reception.

Those in attendance included the nets very own favorite son; Mr. Chris Brogan, the charming Linked-In guru Lewis Howes, our speaker for the evening Mike Figliuolo of Thought Leaders LLC, and our event facilitator; SBA regional director Michael Bowers.

Miss Apps must also mention the company of the charming @merrycricket (a Columbus Podcamp enthusiast), and one of her favorite Facebook friends Cara Keithley.

The internet is a wonderful thing, but in the end, it’s really just a tool to bring people together, and thats whats its all about, don’t you think?

My family lives hundreds of miles away, and I can’t afford to visit nearly as often as I would like. Are there ways to use the internet to bring us closer?

Signed,

Out Of Touch

Dear Out Of Touch,

Oh my, yes! The internet is a wonderful tool for bringing family and friends closer together and there are many ways to do it.

The first and most commonly used resource is e-mail. Writing e-mails are just like sending letters, but it happens instantly, and you have no need to pay for a stamp. Just write your letter, attach a digital photo or two if you like, and hit the send button. Within minutes your message will be at its destination.

For the more advanced computer user, sites like Skype offer video calling services. Many of thee newer computers come with a tiny camera and microphone built right in. If you have one of these, just sign up with Skype, and you can make video phone calls to everyone you know who is using the service. Grandpa and Grandma will not only be able to talk to you, but see you as well! It’s delightfully fun, especially around the holidays. If your computer does not have a camera, the skilled and helpful technology experts at your local computer store can help you find the products you need to get set up. Installation usually only involves plugging in the device and activating it, although some technical glitches have been known to hamper users running older systems. Calls made from one Skype user to another are free of charge, and the cost for a camera set up is usually well under fifty dollars.

Miss Apps also enjoys the use of blogs for keeping in touch with family far away. A blog is a public on-line diary of sorts, where the author can write their thoughts, post pictures, and provide links to other sites of interest. You can set you blog as private, only allowing those with a password to view the contents, or let it be public, so any friends can find it.

Similar applications gaining in Social Networking popularity are sites like MySpace and Facebook. On these sharing spaces, the user sets up a profile, then connects to friends, joins groups, and posts updates for all to see. So even if Grandma lives a world away, she can still be in the loop on the kids’ daily activities, just by checking her facebook friend updates. This is delightful, and leads to much more interesting conversations at the holidays.

With warm holiday regards,

Miss Applesassy

I just got laid off from my job and have heard the internet is a good place to hunt for work. What sites should I go to, and does it really work?

Signed,

Pink Slip

Dear Pink Slip,

Miss Applesassy offers her sincere condolences on the loss of your job, but reminds all those in your position, that new and better opportunities often arise from upheaval and change. With that in mind, she does indeed recommend using the interweb as a job hunting tool.

The first step in this process is to put your resume on a site called Linked-In, and to join some of the many user groups there. Linked-In is the on-line resume posting tool used by professionals around the globe. There are several good books available with information about how to use Linked-In and maximize your chances of finding employment through this venue. Do be aware though, simply posting your resume and doing nothing else is unlikely to yield any measurable results. Linked-In is not a substitute for business networking, but rather a tool to improve and expand your existing networks.

It is most helpful to set aside some time to write a few short articles about your area of expertise and post them on the appropriate Linked-In user groups. This allows potential employers to get to know you and learn more about what skills you have to offer.

Other Interweb resources include job sites like Monster.com. You can post your resume there as well, and set up an account allowing you to search through thousands of listed job opportunities. Most job board sites allow you to filter your search by location, job type, or other preferences.

It is also wise to at all times manage your public image across the web, as any damaging information you in cyberspace will linger forever. So while you are in between jobs, Miss Apps advises refraining from any on-line activities that you would not want your grandmother to read about on the front page of the local church bulletin.

Do that and you will be in the pink in no time,

Miss Applesassy

Dear Miss Applesassy,

All my friends have cell phones and keep talking about something called Twitter. When we met for lunch last week I tried to ask them about it, but they all just burried their heads in their phones and started typing in response. What should I do?

Sign me,

Cold Shouldered and Clueless

Dear Cold,

Miss Apps is sympathetic to your plight. It is indeed rude to turn ones attention to electronic communications in preferace to real world interaction, (unless of course you are Paris Hilton, who uses this very technique to avoid paparazzi and the cronically uncool).

Your friends suffer from the new and viral condidtion of faceaphobia. The social security and instant gratification of texting short messages has impeded their desire to actually speak. Unfortunatly there is currently no cure, but unusually high cell phone bills or remote camping trips often curb such cravings temporarily.

If these relationships are of importance to you, the best course of action is to “do as the Romans do.” Get yourself a cell phone with a good text messaging package, go on-line, and sign up for Twitter. It’s free, it’s fun, and will allow you to broadcast short messages of 140 characters or less to hundreds, (or if you are popular), even thousands of people in less than a nano second. Those who are involved in your netwrok can sign up to recive your tweets, and you in turn can follow the twitterings of people who interest you.

The key, of course, is to make sure your messages are not boring or socially damaging. When tweeting on Twittter, one must use care to avoid looking like a twit. Miss Apps does not want to know what you ate for lunch, what time you are going to bed, or who you are doing those things with, as she is neither a compulsive eater nor a peeping Tom. She would however be most interested in any announcments you have that might be of use to others. If for instance, you just discovered a discount outlet for some new form of zero calorie chocolate, you my dear, would posess the social capital for a very sweet tweet.

Sometimes people use Twitter to gather a group of friends together after a football game, or to hook up at a business conferrence. Just type “Meet-up at The Acme Grill 6PM” and send it to all your collegues. The technique has been known to successfully launch some rather large impromtu parties, which might be just the type of twitterific social stimulation your phobic friends need. Twitter can also be used to announce a new product, inform people about breaking news, or let others know of local concerns. For instance, if you happen to live in Manhattan and know of a major traffic tie up that might cause Miss Apps to be late for her lunch, a quick tweet of warning could be most useful to all.

With warm regards,

Miss Applesassy

FedEx Corp. President Brian Philips says the Dallas-based subsidiary of Memphis-based FedEx, formerly known as FedEx Kinko’s, wants to help people struggling in a failing economy.

More than 1,600 locations nationwide will print up to 25 back and white copies of each customer’s resume free of charge. The orders must be placed and picked up in-store.

As a professional involved in the study of new media and Social Networking, I find this offer an interesting case study.  Google “FedEx Free Resume Printing” and just look at how many listings have a link to this story.  Right now the count is over 74,000 and growing.

Businesses are learning to use the internet to spread goodwill, and build trust with their customers.  The FedEx offer is a perfect example of how this works.  They see a need in the community, and create a promotion that not only helps in a time of need, but that also has the effect of creating customer loyalty.  How many of these job seekers will eventually land a job that requires printing services?  Do you think they will come back to FedEx/Kinko’s?

Miss Applesassy wagers they just might.

In related news, earlier today Miss Apps was perusing the discussion boards of Linked-In and came across an interesting thread on MLM marketing practices.  Some commenter lumped all MLM’s into “schemes.”  Others defended the ethics of various businessess  using MLM as one aspect of an over all marketing plan.  One commenter even mentioned Bill Clinton and Zig Zigler as promoters of MLM marketing models.

What it comes down to is ethics.  A kitchen knife is a useful tool that can also be used to commit a crime.  I see MLM and all forms of internet marketing in the same way.  It is a tool that can be either used or abused.

The question comes down to the sellers intent.

• Do you care about your clients and your community?
• Do you offer them something that is of real use and real value?
  
• Are you working to balance profit making with community service?
• Does your long term reputation matter?

FedEx is doing it right.  How about you?

“What if someone created an edu-peida site, allowing teachers to upload video of their greatest lectures?  People could vote on the ones they like best.  Teachers could go to the site and see how other educators are approaching subjects, and find new ways to inspire and engage their students.  It would reduce teacher burn out, and make classrooms all over the world more effective.  Eventually, we would have a database of daily lessons from pre-school through graduate school offering the finest instruction in the history of the world!”

Miss Apps is not sure if such an idea already exists, but she intends to Google for it forthwith. (Another example of the wonder of the web.)