Social Media Overwhelming? Image Credit Fuel Lines Social Media Blog

While most people are already using Social Networking sites, few are doing it in a time effective way that will generate results.

No matter what your goals – or even if you only use Social Media for fun – there are still benefits to understanding what works best.

Before I get into how to make the time you spend on Social Networking sites more efficient, I want to make a recommendation that will save you time and major headaches:

Focus on the ONE thing you are most passionate about and create ONE power site and matching Social Media persona.

In the past, those who made money online emphasized multiple sources of income and many had dozens or even hundreds of sites. Even those who taught that in the past are selling off their additional sites because actively updated blogs are already far more important.

Search engines now favor new content. I sincerely believe that you will do better to focus on growing one blog consistently than you will spreading yourself across many. When you add Social Media into the mix this becomes even more important.

If you already have multiple blogs this series of posts will be most useful to you and I hope you will add your own tips to what I share. I have been challenged to advise on, manage, write for and promote multiple blogs – each with multiple Social Media accounts – and it is a huge challenge that I have yet to master.

Instead of having separate blogs consider finding the connection between multiple subjects. Center your blog around the topic that you right about most frequently and create categories for related topics.

For example, many of us write about How to Use Social Media, provide Blogging Tips, show you How to Build Your Blog, write about How to Make Money with Affiliate Marketing, teach AdWords optimization or help others learn pay per click advertising.

All of those topics ARE related because to effectively implement Internet Marketing Strategies we use all of those and eventually so will our readers. Other connections are less obvious to many.

Less obvious is that the home improvement niche is related to real estate so bloggers in those niches should connect on Social Networks. People interested in buying Florida homes could be interested in home renovation products from Good Millwork and readers interested in home restoration could be in the market to buy a Florida foreclosure to fix up.

Even more obscure is that real estate is related to golf because people who love to play golf often buy homes built around golf courses like these Las Vegas golf homes or the River Hills Florida Golf Community.  Real estate bloggers should cultivate relationships with golf related blogs.

Regardless of whether you have one blog or many, it is essential to find ways to make the time you spend on social networking more effective. If you have more than one persona the first essential tool is a way to manage multiple Twitter accounts.

The first priority is to decide which of the available Twitter management tools to use. The options I know of are TweetDeck, HootSuite, Pluggio, Seesmic,  SplitTweet, Digsby, Matt, TwitIQ, Tweet3, Social Ooomph, and Media Funnel (formerly known as TweetFunnel)  and no doubt there are others.

If you have a passion for one I haven’t included please tell us why in the comments and leave their link. I’m sharing the results of my extensive research below. Use these comparisons to make your decision.

Based on what I’ve seen so far, HootSuite is the clear winner (based on current popularity among power users),  a slightly less complicated but serious alternative is CoTweet, and I am still very interested in trying out Pluggio (formerly Tweetminer) which has some interesting features the others lack.

Configuring, setting up and learning tools takes valuable time so my best advice is to decide which tool you’re going to use and forget about the others.

Focus on learning to use it effectively and only change if there is a compelling reason. You will accomplish more that way and save yourself a lot of stress. Once you have mastered your first selection you can always learn another and use two as some of the comparisons below suggest.

HOOTSUITE to COTWEET COMPARISON

• Michael D. Hart ~ Compare Hootsuite CoTweet
• Krisalidas ~ CoTweet HootSuite Comparison

HOOTSUITE to TWEETDECK COMPARISON

• NEW: TweetDeck: I’m Breaking Up with You – 10 Reasons Why You Should Use HootSuite
• Dragon Blogger ~ Comparing Hootsuite to Tweetdeck
• Silicone Beach Training ~ Hootsuite versus TweetDeck
• How-to-Blog ~ TweetDeck versus Hootsuite
• Sazbean ~ TweetDeck Hootsuite Comparison
• Mark Clement ~ HootSuite TweetDeck Comparison
• Marketing Shindig: Compares TweetDeck, Seesmic, HootSuite – This post says HootSuite does not display @Tweets from those you don’t follow. Is that true?
• Terrence Young’s Market Mensch: TweetDeck, Seesmic, HootSuite Comparison
• Tribal Boogie: Compares HootSuite, Seesmic, TweetDeck

HOOTSUITE to SEESMIC COMPARISON

• Skeptic Geek: HootSuite Versus Seesmic – No Contest
• Twittercism: Compares HootSuite, Brizzly, Seesmic
• Marketing Shindig: Compares TweetDeck, Seesmic, HootSuite
• Terrence Young’s Market Mensch: TweetDeck, Seesmic, HootSuite Comparison
• Tribal Boogie: Compares HootSuite, Seesmic, TweetDeck
• First Do No Harm: Seesmic Versus Hootsuite

HOOTSUITE to SOCIAL OOMPH COMPARISON

• Sazbean ~ Hootsuite versus Social Oomph
• ReconnectWithSimmons ~ Social Ooomp Versus HootSuite

COMPARE SEESMIC to TWEETDECK

• TweetWorks – TweetDeck SeesMic Comparison

USING HOOTSUITE

• Kikolani ~ Hootsuite for Bloggers
• Dragonblogger ~ Ultimate HootSuite Tutorial
• CreativeAce ~ HootSuite is her choice ~ How CJ Uses HootSuite to Promote Causes and Other Bloggers
• StayonSearch ~ Using HootSuite
• ReadyMadeWeb ~ Schedule, Measure and Automate Tweets with HootSuite
• Pure Visibility – Recommends Using HootSuite AND TweetDeck together
• HoostSuite Blog: Team Collaboration: HootSuite Releases Tools for Agencies and Groups

USING PLUGGIO

• CashTurnAround: Workflow Based Tweeting: Pluggio Review
• Virtual Assistant ~ Why Michelle Mangen prefers Pluggio
• Stacy Kinney ~ How to Use TweetMiner (Now Pluggio)
• jasonbstanding ~ Pluggio Review
• IntelChrisTwitterThoughts ~ Pluggio Review
• Using Tweetminer aka Pluggio for Content Discovery and quick Tweeting + rolling scheduling

COTWEET REVIEWS

• AppStorm ~ CoTweet Review and Pictorial How-to Use CoTweet
• Corporate Eye ~ Using Co-Tweet for Business
• Blue Band Media ~ Review of CoTweet
• Computer Savvy ~ CoTweet Review in the form of a Q&A by a non-user

REVIEWS of  TOOLS to MANAGE MULTIPLE TWITTER ACCOUNTS

• SEOptimize ~ 30 Twitter Search Alternatives and Tools
• TripWire – 18 Twitter Tools for Scheduling Tweets
• Inspiration Feed – 18 Twitter Tools for Scheduling Future Tweets (not the same as the post just above in spite of the title)
• Make Tech Easier ~ 8 Useful Tools to Manage Multiple Twitter Accounts
• Twitterati – Five Tools to Manage Multiple Twitter Accounts
• WhoDeanis ~ Tools to Manage Multiple Twitter Accounts
• Fast Company – How Do Companies Manage Multiple Users on Twitter and Other Social Media Accounts
• Make Use Of ~ The Six Best Tools to Schedule Twitter Updates
• SitePoint ~ 6 Twitter Clients You May Not Have Heard Of
• Debbie Turner ~ HootSuite Review
• Jimmie Gilmore ~ Browser Based Twitter Apps ~ Short bios on HootSuite, Seesmic, CoTweet, Brizzly, Flock

How To Tweet Quickly and Consistently

• KarriannGraf ~ Tools That Integrate Your Social Media Accounts
• Peter Lang ~ How to Tweet in 10 Minutes a Week

Social Implications is an exceptional new Social Media blog dedicated to all things Social Media.

Their writers have the rare combination of intelligence, wisdom and an entertaining writing style.

Social Implications is the latest launch from Hasan Saleem whose successful sites include Directory Journal (recognized for design and quality by Lee Odden’s Top Rank Blog as a Top SEO blog) and Templates Factory Professional Web Templates.

You may already be familiar with their Editor-in-Chief, Pro Business Writer and Freelance Advice Writer Jennifer Mattern’s edgy insights from Naked PR (really great posts there). Watch for her posts in the BizAmmo Small Business Blog and the Business Blogs connected with Directory Journal.

Their very first post, You’re Invited: Social Media Implications Premiere, exuded class and style and made me smile:

“…this event is BYOB — bring your own brain. You won’t find the sheep mentality here at Social Implications, with every tool and tactic pushed on you just because “everyone else is doing it.”

This party is for a slightly more refined crowd — those willing and able to think for themselves, using the social media information and discussions we offer to make their own decisions about what’s best for their business or their personal situation.

Does that sound like you?”

It sounds like me! If you’re serious about Social Media, since they are so new, why not start with that first post and read their entire blog?

If you don’t have time for that, jump right into whichever of these most appeals:

• Who Controls Your Image On the Web – This is my favorite excerpt:

“…I see so-called social media experts telling business owners and executives that they should just let it go — that their customers control their image online now. So. Not. True.

Here’s a dose of a reality for you (because who couldn’t use a wee bit of that?). YOU control your image online …”

• Why Spamming Social Media Won’t Get You Very Far
• Popularity Versus Influence in Blogging and Social Media
• How are Non-Profits Using Social Media?
• Deciphering Shady Social Media Stats

They have made this recommendation far easier because they share on their about page exactly what they have to offer:

We go beyond the tools of the trade and discuss the potential impact of “doing” social media right (or wrong).

We share tips and tactics for more effective social media marketing. We talk about how you can get the most out of social media tools when using them in your own business. We discuss networking strategies on the social Web. Whatever your interests in social media are, you’re sure to find something that catches your eye.

More importantly we blog about the implications of social media. For example:

• How might your social media work affect your next job search?
• Could it cost you your current job?
• How is your business being reflected in the social media space?
• Should you really interact with personal friends and colleagues in the same social networking environments?
• Can a tweet or a blog post cause real problems for your company?
• Can they help you address problems?

We’ll talk about all of that and more here at SocialImplications.com. Social media should be safe, fun, and effective. We strive to help you keep it that way.

Every site should put as much thought into how to write an about page because it allows us to instantly know whether what they have to offer is of interest to us.

Why not join my friends and collaborators who are Social Media mavens and early adopters in their own right who already read Social Implications:

• Ann Smarty (@SeoSmarty), Director of Media at Search & Social Media (parent company of Search Engine Journal), owner of SEOSmarty SEO Consulting Blog (named 10th most popular SEO blog by Wikio), and creator of a My Blog Guest – a guest posting collaboration I hope you’ll join.
• Kristi Hines (@Kikolani), best known for Blogging Tips and How to Use Social Media at Kikolani, she also writes about Link Building for  Search Engine Journal, How to Blog at  Famous Bloggers and most recently for Vertical Measures (@verticalmeasure)

Don’t miss Kristi’s recent guest post on Ari Herzog’s AriWriter Social Media Blog about Social Media Reciprocation and finding a balance between socializing, blogging, work and family.

After working for hours and hours straight through all of us deserve a short break. While researching tomorrow’s Follow Friday Friends post I came across this Twitter test created by Ann Smarty (@seosmarty) and Gerald Weber (@the_gman) .

I was not surprised to see that Kristi Hines (@Kikolani) and I tested the same. We do have much in common. I didn’t see an easy way to Tweet the results so I dropped them into this post.

What kind of Twitter User Are YOU?

The Fail Whale is back at Twitter and so is some strange behavior that will have a serious impact on Twitter users and especially Social Media Marketers. The largest concern is that some @ Tweets are NOT appearing in the timelines of Twitter users who do not follow you.

QUICK SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING TWITTER TIP: 
Search on your username to see ALL Tweets
Do NOT rely on Twitter to show them to you!!!

Here are some screen captures showing some tests I just did this morning. The first image shows my Tweets to Dennis. Notice that he is not yet following me.

Search results for GrowMap Tweets to DennisEdell

The second image (below) shows that the Tweet never appeared on the Twitter page that others can see. Note that it also did not appear where HE could see it.

He would have never known I sent it if I had not asked him.

Dennis was not following me yet; my Tweet to him never appeared.

When Dennis followed me my Tweets suddenly appeared (retroactively) in his timeline but never appeared on his page where I could see them.

The third image below shows that he is now following me and his reply to me but not my Tweets to him.

Dennis is now following me. He CAN now see my Tweets but I can't see them on his page.

Neither the Tweets from before he followed me nor after he followed me are appearing on his home page but he CAN see them himself.

Dennis then unfollowed me and the Tweets from me disappeared from his page.  He thought it might just be his account so I did some further testing.

My Tweet to Tamar was never visible on her home page at Twitter. Apparently, incoming Tweets can NOT be seen by others looking at our home page.

Tweet to Tamar from GrowMap

We only see others’ outgoing Tweets on their home pages.
We do NOT see the Tweets are sent from others TO them.

We can only HOPE they see our incoming Tweets or ask them if they received them using another method as we can not confirm they appear on their home page.

Tweet to @Tamar not visible

Tamar DID receive my test Tweet as confirmed by this reply from her:

Tamar did receive and reply to my Tweet (Click this image to visit her excellent Social Media Marketing blog)

I also did a test and unfollowed GoodMillwork to see if their Tweets to me disappeared. They did not.

GoodMillwork Tweets Still Visible - Click this image to visit their blog

I had a Tweet sent from @GoodMillwork while I was not following them to see what would happen and it appeared on my @GrowMap page:

Tweet from @GoodMillwork to @GrowMap is visible

Conclusion? We are left with these possibilities:

1. New Twitter accounts work differently than older Twitter accounts
2. Dennis Edell’s new account is not working correctly
3. How Twitter works is inconsistent either by design or by technical error (bugs)

No matter what the reason, one thing is imperative for Twitter users and especially for businesses using Twitter for Social Media Marketing: you need to ensure that you are viewing ALL of your Tweets. Do not trust Twitter to show them to you. This is easily done.

Set up and save a search for your UserName without the @ symbol using the built in Twitter search.

Have you noticed any missing Tweets in your account? That is a commonly reported issue that Twitter support is still working on and seems to frequently be challenged to fix. If you have any other unusual Twitter behavior, insights into Twitter, or any other tips you would like to share please leave them in the comments.

Today kicks off the first Social Media Marketing Monday post in my new weekly column specifically about Social Media Marketing.

These will usually be short posts with one easy to implement strategy per post or links to quality information related to Social Networking Marketing.

OK, I already failed the “short posts” part this time; I promise to work on that.
(My regular readers know I am known for pillar posts; not quick content.)

A great place to start is Tamar’s excellent free Social Networking Guide the Ultimate Social Media Etiquette Handbook. Even though she wrote this in 2008, the principles of how to behave in online relationships are timeless. Some specifics about the various sites may have changed but what is important are the concepts she shares on how to approach each network.

A real eye-opener is this really expansive view of what some consider Social Media Spam. Social Networking is so new that there is still much to figure out and even more viewpoints to consider and hopefully share with others why marketing is NOT evil – it is simply how we more easily find the products and services we most want.

Which Social Networks are best for you depends on your goals.
Below are those I recommend you consider first.

TWITTER

Twitter is essential for everyone. You can often use it reach people quickly who are so busy they can be difficult to contact in other ways. Being able to add you to their Twitter lists lets those who want to collaborate with you keep up with and share your blog posts and latest promotions.

For insights into how powerful Twitter can be read UnMarketing’s What If I Didn’t Use Twitter?

FRIENDFEED

Even though FriendFeed has been bought by Facebook (and ended up as Google Buzz?) and it isn’t what it once was, it is still important because you can feed your blog posts there automatically and subscribers there boost your blog subscriber counts at FeedBurner, FeedBlitz, etc. Excellent for discussing complex topics with those you contact at Twitter.

Get up to speed quickly on Twitter and FriendFeed with
my Twitter and FriendFeed Quick Start links.

LINKED IN

Use LinkedIn for networking with decision makers, other consultants and agencies. There is a widely recommended book on how best to use LinkedIn called I’m on LinkedIn – Now What. If you went to a prestige school or worked for a major company you can get strong results there quickly. There is a blog specifically for LinkedIn Tips.

STUMBLEUPON

It makes sense to be active at StumbleUpon because it drives more traffic than any other Social Media site (unless you hit the Buzz page somewhere) and sends residual traffic.

There have been times reviews there sent 25,000+ visitors or even 127,000+ StumbleUpon visitors to a single post. 70% of StumbleUpon traffic comes after the peak.

Be sure to read How Not to Get Banned at StumbleUpon BEFORE you get active there.

REDDIT

While I was at first put off at Reddit because some users are negative and voting submisssions down is common there, they are privately held and I believe it has huge potential.

I recommend 10e20’s Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Reddit and the official Reddiquette page before you get started there.  The key there will probably be to locate sub-reddits that are still active and already have followings (or to create your own).

LOCAL COMMUNITIES

If you have a business that operates primarily locally, getting active in communities like MerchantCircle can be excellent. Review businesses there you frequent and recommend and those in your niche and it is likely they will review you. Reviews will be ever more important as more people make decisions by reading what others believe.

FACEBOOK

How to effectively use Facebook is not obvious. Be sure you understand How to Create Facebook Fan Pages and understand the chances they recently made regarding becoming a Facebook fan versus Like a Business on Facebook.

If you are going to use Facebook I recommend you first get The Book I’m on Facebook – Now What; How to Get Busienss and Professional Value from Facebook by Jason Alba and Jesse Stay. Using Facebook for business is not easy and many have had to start over completely. Without the book you probably won’t be very effective. Here is a review of Jesse’s book How to Use Facebook book.

Jason Alba wrote a similar book for LinkedIn titled I’m on LinkedIn – Now What.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING BLOGS

• GrowMap (Twitter) – Social Networking Overview and Where to Connect with GrowMap on Social Networks
• Kikolani (Kristi) – Best of Social Media 2009 and 8 Ways Businesses Should Use Social Networking
• Tamar (Tamar) - Social Media Marketing Truths

RECOMMENDED SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING BOOKS

I highly recommend picking up a copy of Tamar Weinberg’s book The New Community Rules: Marketing on the Social Web. It is the best way to understand each Social Network, learn what not to do and how to use them.

Download Free Twitter Icons from Pink Moustache

In the comments of my post yesterday, Shyam Kapur, the developer of my favorite Twitter search engine FeelTip Top wrote:

“If there were even 10 more people like you, I would then be even more sure about mankind’s future.”

I replied that I know of many more like me and shared the first twelve that came to mind in my reply.  I decided this would make the perfect post to share for Follow Friday, so for my readers who don’t read the comments I turned that reply into this post.

Here, in no particular order, are the twelve people I immediately thought of who are extremely generous with their time and talents:

1. Louis Gray, whose futurist tech blog I linked to above. Louis excels at analyzing new solutions and trends and sharing his conclusions with his readers. I highly recommend him. Louis was very generous in linking to this blog when it was brand new and recommending my work to others.
2. Adam Singer is simply brilliant. When I visited his Social Media Marketing blog to find the link I used in this post, I realized how much I have missed reading his posts. He, too, is generous in shining a light on new and upcoming bloggers.
3. Barbara Swafford is extremely generous with her time and knowledge and a prominent member of the dofollow community. She created a blog registry section on her site to benefit other bloggers. I highly recommend hers as a great blogging community to join. The only reason she wasn’t already linked in this post is that she didn’t have a recent post about Twitter.
4. Kristi Hines aka Kikolani needs no introduction to most. Besides her blog she is also know for her article writing. Anyone interested in Social Media should check out her best Social Media posts.
5. Without the expertise and generous heart of Derek Semmler, our very own WordPress Ninja, this blog would not have come so far so fast. Our golf store and blog and personalized gifts blog with wedding store would not exist and we wouldn’t be adding two more about horses and healthy living without Derek’s expertise.
6. Although he is extremely busy, Marty Weintraub has shared his genius for expert blogging and especially expert SEO through one of the very best Search Engine Marketing blogs. If you want cutting edge or very advanced SEO information don’t miss it.
7. Although I only recently “met” JR I have already found several indispensible tools through her including a thriving community for submitting and finding guest posts and the Best Content Spinner ever. I am new to using article marketing so her experience really sped up the learning process.
8. Collaborating with Murray Newlands has allowed me to achieve goals faster. Anyone seeking Blog Consulting Services or wanting to learn more about Word of Mouth Marketing should look him up.
9. Connie Foggles has been a joy to work with as co-moderator of Murray’s Blog Club. She has a very active Product Review blog where she writes about products of interest to parents and families.
10. I have learned so much from working with Bill Sutton who owns Good Millwork, a Florida Millwork company manufacturing and architectural moldings and exterior shutters. Both that blog and the one that hosts his molding search tool are dofollow and feature CommentLuv and KeywordLuv.
11. I only recently started working with Eric Blackwell and know we will accomplish much together. He is involved in Louisville Real Estate, offers Search Engine Marketing Services and has a site about Autism and Asperger Syndrome. Eric is based in Kentuckiana (Indiana and Kentucky), is a Web Designer and has a new site and blog specifically for WordPress Web Design.
12. I met Adam Riemer aka Rollerblader through Murray and recommended him to my favorite personalized gifts store owner. Adam is the most passionate, ethical merchant affiliate manager I have ever met. I am thrilled we are now working together on their behalf.

My greatest fear is that I have left out someone who truly deserves to have been mentioned. If I did leave someone out I hope they will forgive me. It is likely I will add them later when I remember!  Use this TweepML icon to easily follow any of those I have mentioned here that you wish:

Twordle Free Twitter Icon

Although Twitter did finally add their own Twitter retweet function, many realize that it has several serious drawbacks. San Antonio Real Estate agent Matt Stigliano wrote about them in Why Twitter’s One-Click Retweet Function is Absolute Garbage.

So many have complained about it that Twitter co-founder Evan Williams wrote Why Twitter Retweet Works the Way it Does.

The major reason I never use Twitter’s retweet function is that you can not see what the Tweet will look like and it often truncates (cuts off) links, Twitter usernames and other important information.

A retweet with a broken link is not much good to anyone.

Virtual Assistant Michelle Mangen (Twitter) recently pointed out 4 Reasons she dislikes the new Twitter retweet function including this important drawback: the RT no longer shows up as a @ mention. Apply Valley Ohio Real Estate agent Sam Miller suggests using Google Alerts to Track Twitter Retweets. While that is an option, I prefer not to use the Twitter Retweet function because I use these much more effective methods:

BETTER TWITTER RETWEETS:

@MrTweet

I usually use the RT function in the MrTweet Firefox addon (MrTweet). Although I have temporarily disabled MrTweet  trying to diagnose the issue with using Twitter that causes FireFox to gray out or hang, I really like their other features.

The suggestions @MrTweet sends for Twitter users in your niche are excellent – often really on target (although it does include very popular and prolific Twitter users outside your niche too). I especially like their recommend function.

Do your fellow Twitter users and favorite bloggers a favor  — write a recommendation at MrTweet that includes why you follow them!

CoTweet Web-based Twitter Manager

CoTweet (CoTweet) is my favorite online way to effectively manage multiple Twitter accounts. It makes retweeting simple and is the easiest way to update Twitter accounts without signing into them. I use it to schedule Tweets for later, spreading them out so they don’t flood followers timelines. You can also send Tweets to multiple accounts.

It is a much faster way to manage Direct Messages (DMs). Many of us who have large followings at Twitter pretty much ignore DMs unless you send us an @ message first letting us know to expect something there. The DM spam is overwhelming.

There is no way I could do justice to CoTweet for all you can do with it – that would take a separate post just for them. Check out the CoTweet Blog for details on How Businesses Use Twitter or read these posts about Corporate Twitter and How MailChimp Uses CoTweet to get a better idea why CoTweet could be just what you need.

Social Too

I also recommend using Social Too (SocialToo) as a fast way to unfollow inactive accounts when you hit the Twitter follower limits and get that message that you can not follow any more people.

Unfortunately, Twitter recently pressured them into eliminating auto-unfollow, claiming their unfollow tool “perpetuates the idea that Twitter is about follower counts”.

Their Social Too unfollow function will be available only for those who already upgraded their account and only until February 1. My plan is to clean up all my accounts just before that date. This is the comment I have submitted in the Social Too blog:

I strongly disagree with Twitter on this. The SocialToo unfollow function is a relationship tool. It allows us to focus on Twitter users who desire to interact with us and eliminate those who do not. The ability to automatically unfollow is a huge time saver and I for one will sorely miss it.

We may have to break down and check out the other Twitter unfollow tools reviewed by ExtremeJohn (ExtremeJohn). I wish Twitter and our other favorite Social Networks like StumbleUpon would listen to input from people like us and read Kristi’s 2010 Social Media Wish List in her Kikolani Social Media blog.

TipTop Twitter Search

FeelTipTop (Twitter) is a Twitter Search Engine with a one-click retweet, retip and reply functions. TipTop made the list of the Top 100 search engines within months of launching and is rolling out new features so fast I can’t keep up. Use it to quickly and easily pull and read Amazon product reviews and do real time Gift Guide Searches. They even offer an SMS Twitter search function. I recently shared How to Use TipTop For Real Time Market Research.

TweepML

TweepML is the greatest time saving Twitter app (TweepML) to date. You can:

• Instantly follow any existing Twitter list
• Create a list of Twitter users found on any page
• Share lists that others can quickly follow
• Search for and find lists of Twitter users by subject

Simply uncheck any Twitter users you don’t want to follow on the list you are viewing and then click to follow the rest. You can try it now. See all the Twitter accounts mentioned in this post and follow those that interest you by clicking this icon:

Speaking of lists, have you realized the huge benefits of using the new Twitter lists – especially if you have hundreds or thousands of followers. See the Social Media Guide Mashable (Mashable) for a primer on How to Use Twitter Lists.

Check out my Dofollow Twitter List and my KeywordLuv Twitter list (for dofollow blogs only). I also have a list for blogs whose Top Commentator lists are do follow.

Twitter lists make it faster for me to zero in on and keep in touch with the Tweets of just those bloggers on each list. Those blogs get more of my time and attention and get shared across Social Media sites far more often.

Don’t know what dofollow is? See our post about dofollow blogs.

Anyone can follow my lists and do the same. If you have a dofollow blog and/or a dofollow blog with keywordluv enabled, or use a Top Commentator plugin that is dofollow, send me a Tweet to @GrowMap or leave a comment in this post to be added.

Did you know that an easy way to find anything that includes your Twitter username is to search for it without the @ symbol? I keep a saved search for growmap so I can quickly see who is talking to me.

You can also Find Twitter Lists by Exploring Tags.

IS TWITTER MAINSTREAM?:

• Louis Gray – (LouisGray) – Twitter Maturation Continues As They Embrace Developers – Excellent blog for early adopters
• The Future Buzz – (AdamSinger) – Articles About Marketing and Twitter are Almost Never Gold - Exceptional ideas found here
• Published on AimClear Search Engine Marketing Blog – Written by Lauren Litwinka (beebow) – Why Your 4,243,564 Twitter Followers Don’t Mean Jack
• Social Media Marketing – (Fruchter) – Michael Fruchter on the State of Social Media
• Social Media Rockstar - (Brett Borders) – Why Passive-Aggressive Twitter Following is SPAM
• MyST Blogsite – (Bill French) – Mainstream Adoption of Twitter: Observations and Predictions
• Web Strategy – (Jeremiah Owyang) – What Happens When Twitter Gets Mainstream Attention
• A2SM – (A2SM) – Further Proof that Twitter is Going Mainstream
• ZDNET – (ZDNET) – Twitter Four Years On – I Tweet Therefore I Am
• Product Review Writer Cindy aka Moomettes on Business Use of Twitter: How to Brand Your Twitter Profile and Monetize Your Tweets
• ABAJournal – (ABAJournal) – Twitter Becoming ‘Incredibly Mainstream’ for Blogging Lawyers
• RealtyTimes – Twitter: Ego Gratification or Communication Tool
• Tampa Florida Real Estate – (DannyinTampa) – How People Are Using Twitter in Everyday Life
• Florida Millwork – (GoodMillwork) – Architects Who Twitter

Related articles by Zemanta

• Getting A Handle On The Size Of The Realtime Web And The Twitter Ecosystem (techcrunch.com)
• Twitter not declining, says chief exec (telegraph.co.uk)
• Twitter Had Biggest Traffic Day Ever Yesterday, Expects Further Increase (appscout.com)

What are the Top 50 Most Popular 2009 Holiday Gifts? Click image to find out.

Businesses have access to a new TipTop Twitter search tool that allows them to do real time semantic research into holiday purchases.

While a little late for this year’s peak holiday shopping season, what the results reflect can be used for positioning offerings to match what consumers are most interested in. This allows ecommerce  stores and affiliate marketers to prioritize what they choose to promote and which pages of their sites to optimize first.

Imagine being able to find out what gifts are most popular before you decide which products to feature in your newsletter, on your blog, or to share across Social Networks? Now you can.

This concept may seem a little confusing at first so please keep reading as I explain the benefits through some specific examples of how to apply the information you can obtain using this tool.

This is a multi-step process that will become easier as you use it. Here are the steps:

1. Identify a trend or interest related to your products or services
2. Select products that matches that trend
3. Write a blog post related to that trend using the strongest keyword phrase and anchor text
4. Use the Zemanta browser plugin to suggest that post to other bloggers during the peak trend time
5. Reply to Tweets expressing an interest using su.pr to include a link to your new post
6. Share your post across Social Networks.

Here are some ideas for ecommerce stores, businesses, bloggers and affiliate marketers using a screen shot of TipTop’s Holiday Search Tool showing the Top 50 Gifts for the 2009 Holiday Season:

TipTop's Top 50 Holiday Gifts

This image shows results for an advanced search for words related to holiday shopping plus the word in the list. The top listing is for phone and we all know that phones are a popular gift item.

If you belonged to the gift affiliate program I manage for Executive Gift Shoppe’s personalized gifts you could use that information to generate sales by matching your posts and Tweets to what consumers are most interested in just as their interest is peaking.

Using our list above, we have completed Step 1: identifying a trend: cell phones.

Step 2 is to select products that match that trend. People who buy or receive cell phones will need accessories and carrying cases. Our affiliates could position posts in front of that impending demand offering cell phone related products like these:

• Executive Briefcases with cell phone compartments
• Leather Waist Bag with phone pocket
• Use the search on their site to locate others

Step 3 is to write a blog post. Blog posts are a great way to increase visibility during key times – and the shopping holiday season is especially important to many businesses. What you choose to write about during any peak buying season can greatly increase incoming links, visibility and sales.

Step 4: If you use the Zemanta browser plugin, each post you write is suggested to other bloggers. By publishing new time-sensitive posts when interest is highest,  more bloggers will see them and can include a backlink to your post with one click.

Step 5: Click on the word cell phone on the Top 50 Gifts page and you will be taken to the Twitter results for all the phone related Tweets. This page takes a while to load because TipTop is generating the latest results live.

Tip Top Phone Results - Click the image to see the actual results page

You can modify the search with the filters shown at the top of the page or by changing the search shown in the Search Twitter for anything box and clicking TipTop to generate new results based on your changes.

The green left column shows Tip Tweets, the red column is piTs Tweets, and the lower blue section shows other Tweets. Tips and pits are defined in the TipTop FAQs:

“Tips are the messages that express something positive about the search term, like a favorable comment about the person’s new cell phone. piTs express a negative sentiment related to the search term, such as a warning not to go see an awful movie. Both Tips and piTs are useful in helping you make everyday decisions.”

The yellow Related Content column allows you to change the timeframe you’re searching.

NOTE: Because of the complexity of languages and the multiple meanings of many common words you will see that many of the Tweets are not going to be relevant to your research.  Disregard those and focus on those that ARE relevant.

Step 6: You may find Tweets you can reply to or from Twitter users who may be interested in your new post; sometimes you won’t. Even if you don’t, the research will still give you ideas for posts that will have strong potential audiences. You can also hone in on the optimum times for promoting seasonal products. Share your targeted post with those who have recently Tweeted about that topic and across Social Networks.

You can read more details in the Press Release about the new Tip Top 2009 Holiday Search Special.

NEW: How to Use TipTop Twitter Search to Manage Corporate Personas, Product Branding & Market Trends in Social Media

Related articles by Zemanta

• New mobile device does Twitter and only Twitter (sfgate.com)
• Zemanta (fulltimechris.blogspot.com)

Donation Coder Cody the Duck Mascot - Click to visit Cody's site

I just wrote this request up at DonationCoder in the Donation Coder Forum. They offer free software and allow anyone to request what they call coding snacks – custom code written by volunteers on a donation basis.

My thanks to April Russo (Twitter) of Cranial Soup, for telling me about donation coder. She has some other great sites you may want to check out:

• SnailWare blog where she writes about newer software that will run well on older PCs and phones
• Mom’s Cookbook for great recipes
• Beautiful graphics including wallpapers, tubes, skins, tiles and games

I decided it makes sense to put the word out here too. We (serious bloggers and Social Networking users) REALLY need some tools built. I belong to a private blog club of really sharp power users who will gladly alpha and beta test them and with my persuasion I have no doubt that we would also be interested in promoting the tools developed to the public.

Although I posted this at donationcoder, these tools would be highly marketable and we could set up an affiliate program and get power affiliates to sell them for the developer(s). The founder of our group has an affiliate marketing blog and company that is often ranked number one and some of the others are power affiliates.

We need two things:

1. A way to identify specific blogs we want to interact with consistently and track our comments and links in those blogs. Ideally this tool would include Blog Name, hot-linked URL, PR, DF, CL, KL (PageRank, Dofollow, CommentLuv, KeywordLuv). We could add that data manually or a really slick tool would identify and update PR and toggle DF, CL, KL Y/N or on/off.
2. Blogging Group tool with these features:

a) Ability for each member to add and update their site URLs and the most important Keyword Phrases and specific page/post to link to each phrase.

b) Ability for each member to add and update their Social Networks (ideally where they only have to add their user name and NOT the entire link – the tool should know how to format it)

c) Section for members to share requests to spread only their most important, most recent content. If that section could allow other members to check off that they chose to share that specific item and where (columns for Tw, SU, Fa, Fr, Di, De, Re where those abbreviations stand for Twitter, StumbleUpon, Facebook, FriendFeed, Digg, Delicious and Reddit) that would make it even more valuable.

What we need is a fast, effective way to be consistently productive. Members need to focus on what is most important and this tool would hone in on that. Every business, corporation, Search Marketer, blogger could really use a tool like this.

If you know of anything that does this today or can develop it do let us know.

If you are a freelance coder or want to hire a freelancer, you can connect at RentACoder. Thanks to Web Designer Jake Rocheleau (Twitter), who published this great interview with Rentacoder Founder Ian Ippolito in his dofollow Web Design blog.

Be the Hub what Feeds the Spokes

Mitch Joel (Mitch Joel) of Twist Image wrote in Six Pixels of Separation that Your Personal Brand is NOT Scalable. Most people are going to find that to be very true; however, there is an obvious solution.

Just as some focus on blogging while most focus on performing specific services, some of us who choose to be power Social Media users must serve as connecting hubs for those who choose to focus on what they do – whether that is providing goods or services.

This is the same issue, multiplied, that freelancers have always had that causes gaps in their incomes: not marketing while they’re performing and not performing while they’re marketing. Instead of juggling those two obvious necessities the solution is to collaborate with others who are in the best position to recommend your services.

Those who do not have the time to live and breathe Social Media can establish relationships with those who do. The trick will be how those who are Social Networking activists will support themselves. Perhaps those they recommend will support their efforts directly or those they benefit by providing answers and recommendations will be willing to support them.

What ideas do you have on the best ways to become the Social Networking Hub that feeds the spokes of business?

Not surprisingly, Affiliate Marketing expert Murray Newlands (Twitter) had some great ideas on this subject and on collaborating. Find out more:

• Blogger Outreach
• Blog Club
• Word Of Mouth Marketing

Related articles by Zemanta

• Six Questions About Six Pixels of Separation (futurelab.net)
• An interview with Mitch Joel, author of Six Pixels of Separation (trafcom.typepad.com)
• 6 Reasons To Read “Six Pixels Of Separation” (sassholes.blogspot.com)