Davina @3hats

"Huh, opens right up for me. Anyway, thanks for reading. :)" - Davina @3hats

"Here's something I wrote on this (was gonna share sooner, had to update graphic??) .. enjoy! http://bit.ly/16kkGYC" - Davina @3hats

"Written many a post on Twitter, these are pretty much on the money Jeff. One quibble on #4 - automation and it's flaws. I consider following back engagement; it's not something I do automatically, don't recommend others follow anyone and everyone that follows them (leads to spam, noise, etc.). Also, I schedule content when appropriate - when read, written w/ some contribution, attribution; but not blind, ala 'set and forget' automatically. Biggest thing I can add, part of #5 and not neglecting Twitter - Thou Shalt Talk to Others! It's why you're there, not just to schedule and share links, but to use it per interests, per chats and conversations, to contribute, to listen, discuss, talk to people. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"It's funny Geoff - how this game is being played, sold ala so-called 'best' practices. The only rule I have is: do it right .. but remember that 'right' will always vary, and so true, that depends on motivations. "Why" matters. I schedule, but don't auto post blindly. I don't have a FB page; was just commenting elsewhere how even w/ some biz friends, that it's my 'personal' space. I don't LinkedIn w/ anyone, everyone. Now I do follow, read other pundits from time to time. Not for fear of clouding my judgement, but to expand it and to see what 'rules' and advice others are trying to put forth - so that I can perhaps counter, improve w/ some of my own. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Had just discussed elsewhere, my concerns w/ conduit metaphor of communications 'channels' (#6) - and the dangers of assuming it's as easy as 'sending' ads or tweets or news releases 'thru' a pipeline. That said, these are platforms and yes PR - the comprehensive, internal and external, stakeholder-driven communication initiative - should remain platform, tool, tactic agnostic. It's the strategy, the fundamentals that will matter most. The PR of the future will need a holistic approach, to incorporate news, the human factor, to use the data and the creativity to earn and manage strong reputation, achieve organization's overall goals. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Love the last one.. red tape I'm sure has killed many a great idea. I'm one of those who like to look at stats and demos - then roll my eyes b/c how often do I blow the curve. @Daria Steigman and @KarenSwim are so right - all this data and we pick and choose based on our own assumptions, goals, ambitions. Data won't replace people, nor will it magically 'solve' any business ills; that will always require us creative, flawed humans. :) FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"To add to your list - it's polarizing, it's pointless. From a corporate branding perspective, as you say it's nothing but counterproductive. You're opening a can of worms that will mutate into fire-breathing, kitten eating, world destroying dragons that no one will support. Makes little sense to do so as an individual, professional. You're gonna exhaust yourself attracting the wrong people, but worse - spend valuable time alienating the right ones. You're going to develop reputation as a rabble rouser, be hard to shake that or be taken differently. I think many of us try to tell it like it is Mark, you certainly head that list. It's just we often forget that 'like it is' frankly - it's opinion, it's mileage that will always vary. How it is for me may not be for you or anyone else. That's the difference in some of these manufactured 'controversies' we get in to - some blogger stirs the pot, then some raise their eyebrows, then others make stinky noise faces right back, a few ride the..." - Davina @3hats

"Yes! I've blogged this topic - b/c YES we do learn from what we write, what others contribute, our ideas and thoughts evolve. We'll get going over at one place, decide to carry the discussion on over at our own place. Happens a good bit - I'll have ideas kicking in my head or will read something, fire off a mini-post then decide to keep on writing; so I'll copy a little of what I said, link back for the rest. There are times I've thought of doing summary posts, some of the best comments I get over a year; and/or sharing some of mine from other places - both w/ the idea of highlighting other blogs/bloggers. Makes me miss the "Comments Elsewhere" plugin that worked w/ the old BackType. It was a great service that tracked and saved your comments, and the plugin would pull them into a widget in your sidebar so that readers could see where else you were commenting. I know Disqus tracks some of our comments, would that there was some way to track/aggregate them all. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Be brave enough to be judged - that's it. Write the WIIFM for the audience, and know they may not always get it, get you - and won't be shy in telling you. I show my personality thru my humor, trying to make business fun, and reading about it as entertaining as it is educational. May not always work but it's the closest thing I have to being me. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Totally enjoyed this. Life isn't some cheeky quiptoid - it's life, it's work and play, friends and family, and it's pain and struggle and everything else. So many of these are my faves to hate: -the 'lovey, dreamy' ones b/c - exactly, most of us would love to be w/ F&F, globe trot, rearrange their furniture, hell anything but work. -the work hard, do great job, la vie en rose ones. The game playing that often doesn't matter, the butt kissing, the idea snaking and finger pointing, the networking that doesn't pay off; ugh.. even no matter how SMART you work, it's not enough to get you ahead, not when someone's aunt's daughter's neighbor (w/ less experience, maybe a fancier degree) knows someone w/ the IN. As for answering bad advice, don't stop at why - ask HOW. Really, what are the networking secrets that we can't find? How do I find those fab jobs? How do I be me - slacker, no suit wearing, occasionally creative, don't do mornings or meetings me - and get ahead? How do l live my 'get..." - Davina @3hats

"Sigh.. this is the 2nd 'right back at you, Forbes' post I've read, still hadn't had a chance to check out their list. (Ok, that's done. Lots of recognizable names but .. no I'll get to that in a minute.) As I commented on the other, lists are what they are and have their purpose - but they'll never be 'end all be all.' Milage will always vary per methodologies, analytics, zodiac signs, BMI, perspectives. Yours is a good one - I know these name, respect your choices. It's just as we toss around terms like 'social' and 'influence' and Twitter scores and stuff.. I know a few of these peeps may move content as you like to say, but barely 'use' Twitter, FB, social to do more than syndicate feeds and reply once in a while. I get the point Mark. Yours or theirs, it's just one person's list so don't take it too seriously and more importantly, look closer at the methods and motivations behind the madness. Critical thinking FTW! My big thing - as others have dropped names, some I know, others I..." - Davina @3hats

"It's happened to me as well, can think of a few people w/ whom I interacted fairly regularly via social - now they're just gone. It's hard and you do worry, but then you do the only thing you can - keep an eye out and move on. Funny you mentioned LOST; as an avid TV watcher, I was 'social' about a number of my shows 'before' the big social networks. Most of those connections were easy and anonymous but still quite real; others evolved to sharing true names, connecting outside the common interest. I'm totally in the camp that online = genuine connections, relationships. Same time though, I realize that we tend to filter online (esp. when we using real names); and as work/life/tides/moons/tastes change, so too will our interests. Makes sustaining these connections a challenge, but FWIW, same is true offline." - Davina @3hats

"ITA Social isn't about the hard sell; once SMBs get that, they'll rethink their social efforts and see better returns for it. As part of the tracking, businesses should look at the time they save via social, as they work more collaboratively but more importantly, overall shifts to the business. IME - as they learn to repurpose content - small businesses realize that being social sparks significant in other communications efforts; their newsletters (now blogs), web content, presentations, etc. all work together on an integrated strategy, building a stronger brand. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Agreeing w/ others it's not the tools, it's how people use them. I too am a proponent of Collaboration and Cloud, but there are times when 'long form' and 'old school' are needed. IMs and texts aren't as trackable, savable or private as others; fine for a '5 minutes' as others have said, but not exactly collab gems or time savers. As you say it's more a case of fit - the right technology in the hands of the right people doing the right project; there will be times plain old email will still be the smarter solution. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"It's a tough call, how to handle something like this. The challenge for me, the issue I'm already seeing is the lack of judgment, of perspective, of true reflection. I didn't want to turn a tragedy into content, content w/ the primary purpose of promoting my biz, myself. But sadly I started seeing that almost immediately - posts and lists, linkbait w/ barely any connection to this terrible event - floating around the Internet. You did this very well Laura. You've got a personal connection as a runner and yet you didn't make this about you. You wrote this for others, w/ genuine intent to help people. When the news first broke, I almost mixed it up w/ a few on turning off autobot feeds, updates for a few hours. Instead I held my mud, just tweeted that once and let it go. IMO Adam is right - there are times when silence is the best, most measured option - then ease back into running business as usual. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Not so much hidden Brian, sometimes I think some these are just overlooked. Ex. you know you're going to have employees and all the expenses that go w/ - but if you ignore things like turnover, the costs of recruiting and retraining can add up in a hurry. As to office set-up and workflows, small businesses need to look at how they work in order to see the best way. Ex. are paper reports and files really necessary? Or would investing in Cloud services actually pay off both in terms of long-term equipment and supply savings, as well as increased returns via more productive employees? Something to consider. Much of these others certainly creep up on a small biz manager - and nothing more than time. It's often a case, much like technology, the 'savings' of going cheap or DIY won't add up in the long run vs. outsourcing, delegating those tasks so that everyone gets the most from their valuable time. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Was commenting over at Gini's the other day, on the differences between writing (storytelling, narrative) well and blogging (SEO, links) well. Like @TheJackB:disqus I'm a little tired of the blogging mechanics and would rather just write. But as a business owner, it's not that simple - the tech hoodoo of blogging is part of it, something I have to make work within my style of writing. What I like from a good read - you got it - it captivates. Long or short, there's a story there w/ beginning, middle and an end that I want to get to. Best for you as your blog evolves into more of what you want; I know it's something aiming for myself. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"You answered your own question Mark. It's numbers gaming; it's ego stroking; it's vanity scoring b.s., plain and simple. It's not coincidence some of these w/ the 2.275% follow ratios are often following, mostly RTing each other. It irks - you follow, comment on blogs, tweet, discuss, connect at conferences - then get the follow drive-by. After catching a few doing the following/unfollowing a 2nd time after a lengthy TweetChat or meeting at a conference, they're on my "I'm onto your b.s." list. I may find value in some of their tweets and shares, but I'm not gonna play that game. It's another reason why I don't have tons of followers or follow tons; like I told Shonali I'm interested in different things, using Twitter different ways but game playing is nowhere on the list. You know many of rules Mark like: -Too much about X. Politics, sex, religion.. even bacon and kitties, there needs to be a balance. -Too much about U. I don't want to follow the "ME ME jerkwad" channel. -Too much..." - Davina @3hats

"You used "WIIFM" and I want to give this like 10 ^ votes. :) Very similar philosophy and think it does start and end w/ our expectations. Do we want or expect engagement? Where do we find value? How do we get what we want from Twitter (social in general)? Probably a million different answers, therefore different follow/unfollow philosophies." - Davina @3hats

"Thanks. Have to fight the fight, there's no one else. End of the day, it's me, myself and I." - Davina @3hats

"Mark, you know this is SO in my wheelhouse. All those pithy quips - they're either meaningless drivel without context and I'm like "oh go WORK for a living, tool." Or rah rah 'go get 'em' platitudes without one whiff of HOW to frickin' get there, actually DO the It you're wanting to Just Do. For that secret, you subscribe to the emails, pay $29.95 for the book and $49.98 for each seminar and after many years, convince yourself it's helping. Ahem. The Onion last week did a spoof on giving up nights and weekends the rest of your life, because your crackpot dreams deserve a half-assed effort. Needless to say, HA! It's all by way of saying I'm sick of 'what do you do, what's the job title?' being the defining question. Tired of the 'run, fly, dream' crowd preaching success when for some of us - the hardworking, only kind of luck is bad kind - it's hard to when you're using all your effort not to drown, sink in quicksand. And now that my little rant is over, I'll quip something about the..." - Davina @3hats

"You're not off base. Format, layout matter. I use subs - bold, along w/ color (use a color that coordinates w/ text links), images, indents, the occasional numbered or billeted list. The visual breaks help plus they build the story, bring the reader's eye down. People scan, have little time to read; only helps to make a post easy to skim quickly. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Think this is something I've always tried to balance - being a doer, being a roll up my sleeves type b/c just talking about it, just planning won't get it done. And as someone who also consultants as a strategist, it gets tricky. You're right - the walls are shifting, roles are morphing - and it's important to recognize the strengths, the incredible worth and value of those implementing the vision. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Well to finish, I have to do more than put it on my list. :-) No, finding a good theme (can't afford custom), some basic WP help is my next move... let you know." - Davina @3hats

"Good steps for the DIY manager, nice walk through. And if this is for a DIY or small business then Step One needs to be: the PLAN. Take for example Step 5, Basic Info. What's the plan, will it be the same boring boilerplate you have everywhere else or will you think social, be social as you create that content? Plan for the business, communications. The plan starts with finding if your customers are on FB, maybe finding where else you could be, deciding what content will go there, how to make it work for the business. Planning overall goals then deciding how PR and social can achieve them. Again this is an excellent step-by-step for creating the page Andrea .. it's just that creating the page is the only the beginning. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Adding to my to-do list - along w/ my Extreme Web Makeover, making the blog a much bigger part of it!" - Davina @3hats

"Like Like @ErinFeldman:disqus I'm a perfectionist. Or at least, I don't know how to scale down from those expectations. I mean, I know when to take the easy B rather than kill myself for the impossible to get A+ but don't settle for a C. We can enjoy a 'bad' game, even if we lose; or if we're smart, make the most of getting lost as we walk around, find something we'd have never known was there. We've got this thing w/ excellence, w/ perfection when really, it's the doing that counts. FWIW. I'm a perfectionist. Or at least, I don't know how to scale down from those expectations. I mean, I know when to take the easy B rather than kill myself for the impossible to get A+ but don't settle for a C. We can enjoy a 'bad' game, even if we lose; or if we're smart, make the most of getting lost as we walk around, find something we'd have never known was there. We've got this thing w/ excellence, w/ perfection when really, it's the doing that counts. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Think #1 is interesting in many ways. Much like the need to include DVR and app viewership in overall ratings, think both real-time and shifted viewership will need to be tracked. The other side past viewership is general chatter, hanging w/ friends; are people talking about the show w/ out actually watching? What's the sentiment? See also, political tweets not being reliable polling data. I miss so many good chats, be nice to see if there's a platform that does a good job of curating, aggregating those discussions. Gonna have to check out Nestivity, see how it organizes discussions, conversations. Like others, I'm less wild about #3 - more gaming and ads taking away from the experience; cost of doing business. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Wrote much the same last week. http://bit.ly/10HYaTw Odds are most companies have recruited talent that's 'autonomous' and 'self-starter' right? So this need to micromanage them from the office, I'll never understand.  It's not either/or as you say; give to get. If someone were to misplace your trust and not get the job done, you have options: bring them into the office, reset the virtual work rules or let them go if you need to. As you say, you've not only never had anyone leave - you've done really well, keeping the productive talent you value. Win Win. FWIW." - Davina @3hats

"Have to know your audience - and target accordingly, the audience you have AND the audience you want. I preach, preach the strategy and planning (not the same) to clients, but will admit I'm slack when it comes to my own blog - need to rethink the ed cal for sure. As I do video and other media since you're absotively right, content isn't just text. Love Evernote, just wish there was an app that could export and extract all the ideas that pop in then sadly, pop out of my brain just as fast. ;-) My biggest tip for new content: Get out of your own backyard. Read, comment, engage elsewhere - new sites, different thinkers. Nothing sparks my mind as when I learn something new, find a different take or approach. FWIW." - Davina @3hats