Compassion in Politics: Christian Social Justice, Non-Profits, and Life Theology

First, Leverage Linked in Groups for Industry and School Networking.  Find groups that you like at the Linked In Groups Directory and join up for the groups you like.

Second, if you find a niche social group or association that isn’t covered on Linked In and start a new group.  It will help you, those like you, and the Linked In community.

Third, if you’re having problems on Google or even if you aren’t you can leverage the wisdom of the crowds and fantastic consulting experitise by using Linked in Answers.

Do you have a Linked In Tip, Tool, or Resource? Or do you have a great Linked in blog or social networking tips suggestion?

Scott Abel a content manager himself announced this on Linked In:

The Content Wrangler Community is the new social network dedicated to people who value content as a business asset, worthy of being effectively managed. This is the place where technical communicators, medical and science writers, marketing pros, online community managers, document engineers, information architects, localization and translation pros, taxonomists, bloggers, documentation and training managers, and content creators of all types hang out. It’s much more than a blog. It’s a place to join your peers, to share, to collaborate, to contribute, to find the information you need.

Thoughts?

Wikihow has your answer to blocking Facebook Beacon.  If you have other educational or lifehack type information, you might share it at Wikihow and make the world a better place.  Drop a little knowledge out there….

While I was doing research for my recent post on the hyperlocal, I checked out Dave Barger’s blog which points to a dramatic city by city breakdown of use and the dramatic increase in use of Facebook in 7 regional cities over a 7 day period, including his hometown of Memphis, TN:Wow! From 7.3% in Las Vegas to 19.0% of the population in Raleign Durham on Facebook. Thoughts? (I wonder what level the use in San Fransisco, DC, and Nashville is at)UPDATE:There are 83, 845 Facebook users in NashvilleThe population of Nashville is 607, 413 (consolidated) and 552,120 (balanced) So based on those numbers 13.8% of Nashvillians (consolidates) and 15.2% of Nashvillians (balanced) are using Facebook.  And I’m sure those numbers are growing at a rate similar to the cities in the above chart.(image credit: Terry Chay)

Check out this link from Nick of Allfacebook. If you want to know about using Facebook for organizing, check out Nicks video here. This event was sponsored by the folks at the New Organizing Insitute.

Two key points arose in relation to cultivating a community on social networking sites like Facebook:

• Using badges for Facebook posted on your main website.

• How do our constituents, users, and connect? (essentially what need do I fulfill their needs and wants with my Facebook group?)

Very simple, but seemingly very effective.

Two great options for creating online communities that offer flexibility beyond the Facebook or MySpace platforms are Ning and Collective X. Friends of mine have built platforms on both platform with a relative monicrum of success. If you want to check what a community powered by those platforms looks like you can check out the DC Technology Network on Ning or Real Estate Beta Community in New Orleans with uses crowdsourcing to form nurturing real world communities. Its a great way to dive into the new media environment and build community. Its relatively simple process thats about short 4-7 minute process thats as easy as making a MySpace or Facebook profile or registering for email. Online community building offers a way for your organization to stay connected, informed, and unified in pursuit of your organizational purpose.

These can be used to supplement the use of Google collaboration tools, Backpack, Campfire, Zoho, or a Wiki. More on that later.

The technogeek blogosphere is abuzz with the

Scobleizer v. Dana Boyd throwdown over Facebook.  Facebook is preparing to open its profiles to Google search.  Maven and interactive web theorist Dana Boyd outlines some fundamental concerns with Facebook and it being the golden chalice of social networking.

Dana is correct to be worried about privacy concerns.  However, I believe consumers should have the control over their privacy rather than a closed garden model which keeps people in informational and community silos.  A failure to take those walls down lives short of the vision of a flat earth and instead installs artificial walls on communication, conversation, and community.

Boyd is correct about one thing–there are too many hoops, rules, and regulations. Dana mentioned the Baratunde’s recent struggles with Facebook and I think they are both probably 100% correct. Additionally, the inability to have over 1000 people in a group is disasterous for non-profits and organizations who want to maintain a decent email list in Facebook. For me, this is a metaphor for the walled garden effect that Dana seems to be indicting, yet wanting for privacy reasons. 

Facebook is (potentially) useful for 1) integrating my social networking lifestream (although plaxo seems like it has the distinct edge for the near future).  2) Real time social networking probably via chat.  (I can’t stress this enough, because otherwise the communication is rather static) 3) Hopefully will serve as a search portal too or at least will have easy integration with google.  It needs more community friendly features.  4) So 99% of apps are rather useless and whimsical.  Bookshelf, music, and movie apps are moderately helpful.  I imagine the friend ranking (which seems ikky for some reason) will eventually prove to help in developing more three dimensional social networking.  However, I don’t need 14 different ways to post on someone’s wall. 5) Facebook even has additional advantages for non-profits, as Beth Kanter point out.

Overall, Boyd’s indictment seems to lean far too much toward techno-pessimism and ignores the promise of what Facebook will be 3 months and 3 years down the road.  If there is to be a walled garden in any respect, the consumer (or rather pro-sumer) should be in charge of its shape and size, instead of Web 2.0 execs or developers.  Keep in mind, I mean no ill will to Ms. Boyd. I like her work a great deal and respect her, I just kindly disagree. I think she and Scobel did a great job of getting the conversation going on this issue so important to identity 2.0 and online communities. Surprisingly probably agree far more about online communities and social networking than the above might imply. If you would like to see my other indicts of the Facebook platform and musings about the future of social media/networking, you can dive in here (and scroll down).

Thanks to Susan Kitchens at 2020hindsight and Jill Davis Doughtie at Eyelevel Pasadena for the top photo.

So do I. And in a way I can’t even explain. Its easy to become awash in too many social networks.  I think I stopped counting after I hit 5 or 6 with Twitter.  At the moment, I’m pretty sure I’m wellllll over a dozen if you include Flickr and YouTube.  Its a problem I understand.  Here are 20 ways to aggregate your social networking needs. At the moment I’m looking for the best way so if anyone has any advice, please pass it my way.  Oh, if you’d like to friend me…..my list of networks is near the middle of the bar on the right hand side of my page. Oh…because I know you’re interested…I add and got on 9 Rules.  So far the 9 rules network seems pretty cool.  I’ll see if its worth my time… 

Any suggestions?

And here’s the announcement for 11 candidate dialogues from the kind self-promoting folks at Fox (my least favorite news outlet). You can see my take on this MySpace/MTV collaboration here and add your thoughts. Fox’s PR:

Lecterns are so 2004. In the latest chapter of new Web-empowered debates and interaction with presidential candidates, social networking site MySpace and MTV will bring together 2008 hopefuls and young voters for real-time online conversations. The announced front-running candidates of both parties will participate, each holding individual dialogues with voters. Voters can instant-message, e-mail or text their questions in real-time during the events, which will be webcast live on MTV.com and MySpaceTV.com.

To be held September through December, the 11 dialogues will each last about one hour and include real-time polling that rates the online audience’s response to the candidates’ answers. During their chats, candidates will typically be located on college campuses.

“This is not a debate,” said MTV spokesman Ian Rowe. “Each one of these dialogues is an opportunity for young people both on a college campus — as well as millions watching via a live stream on MySpace and MTV.com —to have a one-on-one, direct, unfiltered conversation with each candidate.” 

Comments? Gut reactions? Concerns?   Favorite VJ to host?  Favorite musicians to make an appearance?  Campaign theme songs for the discussions/dialogues/non-debates for Hillary, Obama, Edward, Ron Paul, or another candidate? How about Fred Thompson’s song (who has yet to tip his Tennessee cowboy hat in the ring as of yet)??

Trendspotting Online: Web 2.0 and Social Networking (Digital Natives: the MySpace and Facebook Generation)
A shift is occurring beneath our feet as more people are actively leaving the ranks of mass media consumers and followers to new media pro-sumers who actively voice their opinions in the newer, more interactive web environment.  

This weekend at BarCamp Nashville new media guru Mitch Joel of Six Pixels of Separation pointed out that consumers are spending 48% of their free time online.  This, alongside the millions that are hopping on the Facebook bandwagon and that are daily joining of the diverse ranks of the bloggosphere.  

Mitch also pointed to the incredible diversity in users and methods of communication.  With mega-events like Blogher and the sprouting up of unconferences like Barcamp this trend will only continue.  Events like these and virtual collaboration and communication is increasingly flattening the earth, such that you don’t have to be a tech geek in San Francisco to have social networking access to the stars of the digital world.  And far from being withdrawn wizards behind the curtain that may characterize other industries, these folks generally seem to be women and men of the people. The monumental and viral Free Hugs video is really a metaphor for the diversity and community, that are embraced  by this change is far more human than the top-down culture and one-way communication of the era that came before it.

The Mass Media and Commercial Shift:

One more sign that the old guard might be crumbling is “You Tube Killer the Video Star” with some Steven Colbert love.  Corporations are seizing this opportunity too.  Tracking the Influence of Conversations: A Roundtable Discussion on Social Media Metrics and Measurement is a manifesto and testament to this shift.  I highly recommend it for anyone looking at the cultural or commerce ramifications of this fundamental shift in the way we communicate and do life.

“The advent of social media–blogs in particular–thus brings with it at least the potential for removing the barrier between a sellar and buyers who are likely remote–geographically, economically, culturally, and otherwise.  The social media platform truly leverages the Web’s massive scale to carry information–fact or opinion–globally and instantly.” 

Jeremiah Owyang of Podtech.net and Matt Troll of Down Jones 

The Personal Shift or What this Means for You, Me, and the Human Community:
I guess the balls in our court now.  We are no longer sitting on the bench, we are potentially active participants in the game.  In our hands, we have the power to forge or disrupt conversation and community. 
What will you do?

Oddly enough Mitch Joel has a great post about linking up via social networking communities.  Thats a great start.  Whats next??

Ps.  If all Canadians are as nice as Mitch Joel, it might not be half-bad place to live.  Like Nashville, but with French accents and pronounce “about” like “a boot.”  Diversity is lovely indeed.

Online presentation sharing is becoming a new venue for social networking and information sharing.  I like SlideShare, personally, but haven’t gotten the chance to explore all 30+.  Even if you don’t have a blog or need to self-promote, these online spots are interesting ways to explore and learn.  And they certainly are more colorful than the Wikis tend to be… What is your favorite? What else are you going to do with all those PowerPoints sitting lifelessly on your hard drive.