Social Media tools, What are the tools?

OK, now begins my very long journey to review over 350 different social media tools.  I have the list categorized here (https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AvCqRsSCaCQXdFNHY0RZSW1GNWVGVm9VTktURFZRMUE&hl=en).

Please remember, I may not review all the sites listed.  I found a catagory for "Shopping Sites" for example that do not apply to my focus.  I will keep that sheet updated as I make changes, delete sites I'm not planning to review, etc.  I'll try to have a link to the site on each blog post I write related to this subject.

What is my focus you ask?  My focus is on either furthering my own job search or offering information that can help you in your job search.  Once you land that dream job, try resources like Teri Aulph (http://www.teriaulph.com/) or Steve Laswell (http://www.nextlevelexecutivecoaching.com/), both of these resources are really good people.  I know them both.

on to the list...

First I have decided to review tools that support your adventure in Social Media.  I'm currently looking at 19 different tabs that each represent a different tool.  None of these are Google tools.  Tools and services from Google are a different blog altogether.  I'm planning to write that one later, probably with a title like "Why I'm in love with Google" or something like that.

http://2tag.nl/ - 2 Tag

This site will let you convert any web URL to a QR code.  What's a QR code you ask?  Have you seen those funny looking black/white squares that look a little like bar codes?  That's a QR code.  I'm not sure of the purpose for QR codes but I know that Android developers love to use them as quick links to install apps to phones.  I'm sure there are 100 other uses, for example, to show you exactly what a QR code looks like I added one below.  This code will lead you to my Google Profile.  You can't click it but you can snap a pic of it with your phone.  A nice idea might be to make a webpage about yourself and then create a QR code.  You could keep a copy of the code on your phone and share it with people or even print business cards with the code on it.

http://qrf.in/ - QRF.in

This is another site that will let you create QR codes.  Can't say if one is better than the other.

bit.ly - Bit.ly

This site will let you shorten URLs.  Why would you want to shorten URLs?  Well if you Tweet, you have a limit of 140 characters or less, I've seen URLs longer than that.  The most common use is to shorten a link to a page you want to share on Twitter.  I prefer "goo.gl" but that's a blog for another time.  You can find other sites to shorten URLs below.

http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=shorten+URL

www.addthis.com - Add This

Add This is pretty awesome stuff.  You can add a "button" or "buttons" to your site, anywhere, that lets the viewer share your site with a plethora of other outlets.  They can email, Twit, Blog, Facebook or over 300 other options.  Add This is where derived my list to write this blog.  If you have a page somewhere, you might want to consider using an Add This button.  I added it to my blog already (look to the left near the top).

http://www.aviary.com/ - Aviary

Web based tool suite.  Image editor, music creator, screen capture, audio editor, vector editor, image markup, effects editor & color editor.  I'm sure the screen capture could be helpful in some situations.

http://box.net/ - Box.net

This is a file sharing or cloud storage service.  You can store files (word docs, excel files, pictures, if its a file, you can store it) here and do one of two things.  1) You can simply use this as an online "Hard Drive" that offers you access to these files from anywhere.  If you do some work on your desktop PC at home then grab the laptop and head to Starbucks, this will let you access the same file w/out having to transfer or copy it over.  Nice feature.   2) You can use this as a central, web-based repository to share files.  Perhaps your collaborating with someone on some project?  All files can be stored here instead of a central server somewhere.  My thought is is might be a great place to drop your resume.  

As a note, the guys at LifeHacker  really love DropBox.  They are always raving about its awesome features etc etc.  I trust these guys so without doing the research myself, I would vote for DropBox as the best option for this.  Of course your personal preference will always come into play.  Look at the options (Lifehacker did a nice review here: LifeHacker Review) and choose what suits you best.

https://www.curate.us/ - Curate.Us (Clp.Ly)

An interesting find here.  For those of you into establishing a serious webpage this tool could be very useful.  It appears that you can clip a section out of a webpage and then use this site to share that clip.  I guess it's something like posting a link only better and more visually appealing.  You can install the tool to you IE, Firefox, Safari or Chrome browser so all the major bases are covered.

Well, I'm working to keeping this to a short read so that's all the tools for now.  Will post more tools later.  Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments below and share my writings with anyone you think I could help.

(Remember to ignore this, it's just all my tags.  No need to read this, its just SEO. Employeer, internet, Job, Jobseeker, Lifehacker, Online Reputation Management, ORM, Recruiter, Social media, Wikipedia, chester, chester paul, chester paul lohman, paul, paul lohman, lohman, trainer, manager, Landing page, internet, internet tools, blog, blogging, bookmark, bookmarking,  email, IM, shopping, social network, social networking, social news)

always remember to 'close the loop'

http://goo.gl/mE8fc "The Biggest Mistake People Make After Receiving a Favor"

The article above hit me so hard, I not only shared it the first time I read it, but reading it a second time I have to add my own thoughts...
First, let me say I agree 100% with every word Jodi Glickman wrote.  No matter what profession you are in or even if your still following the school route, you should ALWAYS follow up with any source that has offered you a connection.
Remembering my focus is helping myself and others in their job search, I feel compelled to add a few words on the subject of following up...
When we are On The Hunt, we are focused.  Pressures come at us from everywhere, our children, spouses, friends, extended family.  Everyone means well but at times their questions and/or supporting words only increase our "Get A Job NOW!" internal pressure.  This causes us to always look forward, always look for the next connection, job to apply for, meeting to attend, phone call to make or whatever.
In our constant thrust to move forward, driven by the need to 'Get That Job!', we may forget where we came from or how we got where we are at...
Ask yourself before stepping into a networking meeting or arriving at an interview that someone helped you land (or any other destination that you did not reach by yourself).  "How did I get here?"  No one reaches any destination alone.  Even those who have been fortunate enough to land an interview or meeting 'on their own' have still received help, God is always there opening a door or creating an opportunity.
So, ask that question "How did I get here?" ask "Who helped me get here?".  Remember the answer to that question, make a mental note to not only follow up with that person but to tell them "Thank you" (yes, remember to tell the Big Guy "Thanks!" too!!!).
It's a big world out there and every day it seems to me that it gets a little bigger and a little smaller all the time.  We all need to remember that communication is the key to keeping everything running smoothly.  Someone helped you because they are interested in you.  Keep them in the loop on your progress good or bad.  If it's good they will be very happy to hear it.  If the progress isn't what you hoped, maybe they can help you again.

I'd love to hear your comments about how someone has helped you, you have helped someone or about giving/receiving follow up on that help.





(Remember to ignore this, it's just all my tags.  No need to read this, its just SEO. Employeer, internet, Job, Jobseeker, Lifehacker, Online Reputation Management, ORM, Recruiter, Social media, Wikipedia, chester, chester paul, chester paul lohman, paul, paul lohman, lohman, trainer, manager, Landing page, internet, internet tools, blog, blogging, bookmark, bookmarking,  email, IM, shopping, social network, social networking, social news)

Notes on Social Dashboards #3

My list is Hellotxt (web-based), Netvibes (web-based), Yoono(web-based or add-in), Brizzly  (web-based), RockMelt(webbrowser), Seesmic(web-based, PC-based), Digsby(PC-based), TweetDeck (web-based, PC-based) & HootSuite (web-based).
There are also phone tools for iPhone, Android, Blackberry, Palm and in some cases, others.  I will not be reviewing the phone tools.
In my final article on this subject, I will cover Seesmic(web-based, PC-based) & TweetDeck (web-based, PC-based).  Please remember this is a general overview plus my opinions.  Don't consider this a "full review".  I just don't have the time to go into that much detail.  I will give you a general idea how the dashboard functions and highlight points I find important.


Seesmic (seesmic.com)
Seesmic has a few options, you can go web-based or install it to your PC.  I have already tried the web-based version (not reviewed in my blog) and found it to be too limited.  For example, you cannot connect your LI profile in the web version.
So, on with the PC install version.
It's not bad.  I have Google Reader, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google Buzz.  I could add Facebook, Foursquare, Ping or a second of the accounts I already have.  For example, I could have two different Twitter accounts and monitor both through Seesmic.
The interface is fairly simple.  I can keep it minimized and it will popup new messages coming in which is a nice feature, this lets me go on about my day without having to worry about checking my sites for updates.  Everything is in it's own column along with an "all" column at the far left.  There is a quick switch button that allows toggling between looking at all columns and just the "all" column.  Tweets show a Klout score, when you click on the Klout icon you see quite a bot of information about the person sending the tweet.  This is a nice feature if your interested in Klout (my score is currently 28, I'm working on it).  The Google reader column allows for adding a star to an item, you can also "Like", "Share" or add tags.  Impressive integration with other services.  LinkedIn appears to only allow Status updates but you can also add columns for for Applications (I. E. John Smith voted on a poll...), connections (see who is connecting with who) and Jobs.  I would say that Jobs is a very nice feature if you are On The Hunt.  I tried using this but didn't see any jobs, odd.  I know I have at least one search saved in LinkedIn, I know the search has results (I checked).  you can send status updates from any connected service, you could also choose an individual service or any combination.  I could send an update through Twitter, LinkedIn & Buzz all at the same time, or I could just update my Buzz status.  I update Buzz on different criteria so this is a really nice feature.
All in all, if I were serious about using one of these services, I would put Seesmic in a 'Second Wave' list.  It's long list of features would easily survive the first cut.  Would it survive the second?  Maybe, maybe not.


Tweetdeck (tweetdeck.com)
OK, so maybe I found one I will keep.  This is really nice and appeals to my geek nature.  Lots of buttons and stuff to play with.  Tweetdeck works in column format, so your information displays in columns, just like the others.
I have Twitter, LinkedIn & Google Buzz running through TweetDeck.  I could also add Facebook, Foursquare, Myspace or additional Twitter accounts.  I miss having Google Reader but it's not a "Gotta Have".  Nice feature if you are a Chrome user, you can add TweetDeck as an add-in for your browser.  If your browser is 'synced', which mine is, then any chrome browser gives you quick access to your TweetDeck account when you are away from your home PC.  It has a nice little pop-up that alerts me to new information, again I can go on with work and not worry about staying up to date on things.  You can customize where the pop-up happens, any of the four major corners of your screen, I like top-left, it  gets my attention.  Status updates can be sent from any combination of accounts you have controlled by TweetDeck.  Love this because I can update LI & Twitter but not Buzz.  Quick buttons at the top left for "Compose an update", "Add a new column", or "Quick Profile".  I tried Quick Profile; its a search feature for Twitter.  "Eric Schmidt" = nothing.  "Bill Gates" = nothing. "@Bill Gates" = opened a new column with Bill Gates' profile information, profile header, picture, number of followers, etc.  Button at the bottom to follow/unfollow.  Really nice when you need instant profile information for someone.
Top right buttons are "Refresh" (refreshes all columns), "Single Column View" (Quick switch to only one column, minimizes the window to the size of just one column, NICE!), "Settings" (easy access to Settings panel), "?" (quick access to TweetDeck help), "Log Out" (nice for security conscious people).
Standard columns are Twitter 'All Friends' (all activity), Twitter 'mentions', Twitter 'Direct Messages', LinkedIn 'Network Updates' (Home page on your LinkedIn) but this is just for me.  I'm sure it opened a Buzz column but right now I'm not interested in that.  Bottom of each column also has buttons (I LOVE BUTTONS) 'Move Left', 'Move Right', 'Cloud' (icon, whats popular in this column), 'Filter', 'Mark all as read', 'Clear read updates', & 'Clear All'.  Click on a profile name in a Tweet or LinkedInLinkedIn offers 'Comment' or 'Direct LinkedIn Message'.


I hope my reviews have been helpful.  Social media is a crazy, crazy world.  Things happen in seconds and it's really easy to get lost, get behind or just get overwhelmed.  My wife doesn't understand why I'm always checking Twitter, it's because if I turn my back on that monster I end up with 100+ missed Tweets!  I'm only following 103 Tweeps!  What are all these people saying????  (See what I mean? lost, behind & overwhelmed).  Many of these services archive the status messages for later retrieval.  You can miss a day or so and come back, scan through the archive to catch the important stuff.

Please share your experience with any of these services, or others in the comments.  The best review comes from someone who has used a product.




(Remember to ignore this, it's just all my tags.  No need to read this, its just SEO. Employeer, internet, Job, Jobseeker, Lifehacker, Online Reputation Management, ORM, Recruiter, Social media, Wikipedia, chester, chester paul, chester paul lohman, paul, paul lohman, lohman, trainer, manager, Landing page, internet, internet tools, blog, blogging, bookmark, bookmarking,  email, IM, shopping, social network, social networking, social news)