Learning to swim the Web 2.0 waters

I am a new Web 2.0er. For years my knowledge of the Internet was limited to e-mail and the run-of-the-mill Google search. Until this year.

As a professional, turned communications student, I have been tossed into the seemingly bottomless waters of Web 2.0. It has been an adventure. It has been overwhelming at times. Mostly, it has been eye-opening.

There are so many tools out there. For those who are just starting out, allow me to offer you some simple guidance, a few life preservers to help you manage the fast and changing waters of the World Wide Web.

Wikis are wonderful

If you haven’t heard of wikis, I recommend checking them out. Wikipedia is the wiki that most can say they have visited, but wikis can be used for a whole lot more than definitions and descriptions. Wikis are effective and efficient tools for any type of project that entails brainstorming and group contribution. Whether used for school or for work projects wikis provide an effortless tool with which to edit and change documents or plans collaboratively.

Signing up for a wiki is simple. I have used both PB wiki and Wetpaint. For simple and clear instructions on how to use wikis, I suggest visiting the commoncraft YouTube video.

Facebook fears

Facebook is probably the most known Web 2.0 application out there. It can be a great tool to keep in touch with friends and share what is happening in your life, but can also become detrimental if you fail to consider how it could be used against you. It isn’t uncommon that an employer requests to look at your Facebook page or that you are asked to open up your Facebook account during an interview. Thus, it is important to keep your Facebook interactions as professional as possible. Make sure that your Facebook represents what you would want the employer of your dream job to see.

Bloggers can’t be choosers

Actually they can be choosers. If you want to start a blog, you should. It’s easy. It’s free and lots of people are doing it. There are too many things I want to say about blogging for this post, but stay tuned for a more in depth look at the power and the pitfalls of the blog in my next post.

Tweeting to the Twitter song

Twitter is an instant messaging tool that allows you to follow people and be a part of the conversations and ideas that inspire them. With a maximum of 140 characters per message, Twitter messaging affords you the opportunity follow a number people who inspire you and be engaged in separate conversations with all of them at the same time. Wow! That’s a lot of inspiration coming your way!

Intellects from across the globe power the Twitter communities. Got something important to say? Find the key influencers on Twitter, follow them, contribute, and if they decide to follow you – you’ve got their attention. Time to share.

Google reader: blog posts at your door step

Would you like to know exactly when your favourite blogger has posted something new? Google reader is free and it feeds you all of the updates that make your day because you are the one who chooses them. All you have to do is create a Gmail account (if you don’t have one), find the Reader heading at the top of your e-mail home page – click – follow the easy prompts and voila, interesting blogs and news at your door step.

Del.icio.us is delicious!

Book marking is a tool that can make life a lot easier. By combining bookmarking technology with Google reader feeds, you have 360 degrees of information at your finger tips. Del.icio.us bookmarks are simple to set up and allow you to not only save and revisit your favourite sites again and again, but connect you with a network of bookmarking aficionados.

Podcasts for storytelling

Some may say that the day of the podcast is as over as the day of Space Invaders – but I think otherwise. Podcasts are like books on tape. They are live recordings that can be listened to online. With visual streaming tools such as Seesmic and YouTube, you may wonder why on earth you would go the podcast route when you can use video…well because podcasting gives the receiver something different.

Podcasting is a great tool for storytelling and for creating pictures with words. It gives poetry the chance to live and breathe in the mind of the listener. Don’t underestimate the power of the imagination and how moving “the listening experience” can be with the right words.

For more information on podcasts and reasons why they should not be forgotten among the many new emerging Internet tools, I suggest visiting this site.

E-mail etiquette

Yeah I know what you are thinking…why is she talking about e-mail? There is nothing new to learn about this ancient way of communicating.

This is precisely why I wanted to include the “old” and most commonly used technology with the “new” stuff. Because we have become so accustomed to using it, we often forget how to use it effectively.

E-mailing for business can be disastrous if the message is not delivered using words that the receiver can understand and relate to. Remember that when you are using the written word as your communication vehicle you run the risk of misinterpretation. Make sure that before you hit send, you do the following things: reread the message to make sure it isn’t ambiguous or can be misinterpreted, check punctuation to ensure it reflects the tone you desire and proof read for spelling and grammar because the simplest mistake can turn a well-intentioned e-mail into a communication nightmare.

Taking the diplomatic route is the safest and most productive way to go. Always.

Seesmic lets you get it right

Seesmic is a video messaging tool. It allows you to deliver messages face-to-face. The beauty of seesmic is that you can record your message, preview it and then rerecord if you are not happy. This can be very helpful when the message is complicated, emotional or just really important so getting it right means everything.

You can keep your visual conversation private or you can make everything you say and do on video public. If you decide to go the public route – think carefully about what you post. You are what you post.

Be your most professional self

No matter which tool you decide to use remember that integrity is everything when you are online. Whether you are blogging, podcasting, editing a wiki or posting video messages, always remember that the Internet is a public space and that means your words and your actions represent you. Everything you say and post online becomes a part of your identity.

So if something you write or say does not reflect who you are, don’t hit send or post.

Get Satisfaction is worth checking out

First thoughts

 

Getting signed up to use this website is easy.  It doesn’t present any new or different challenges compared to other online tools and services.  I like the fact that anyone can sign up and that companies are taking the step to use a service like this to hear from their users and communities. This shows that they are willing to become vulnerable in order to give more power to their target public, which can ultimately increase the satisfaction of their customer base. 

 

Site set-up

 

Company sites are organized in a way that easily allows their customers to report and discuss problems, make suggestions, share ideas and see what questions have yet to be answered. There are many tags available so users can find conversations about their specific concerns or ideas more efficiently.  There are also a number of links and options to help you better understand the company.  The green boxes around employees’ names help users identify who is helping them – the community or the employees.  It’s amazing how much the community helps.  The community does most of the work.

 

Benefit to user-friendliness and variety of options

 

As a user of this service, you have the opportunity to really gauge how customer service savvy a company is as well as build an online community that can really help you save time and make a product more meaningful for you.  For example, your community can help you solve problems that haven’t yet occurred for you and give you insight into other ways a service or product can make your life easier. 

 

This service also allows you to do the same for your community as well as make suggestions and share ideas about how the product can be improved.  

 

Another very interesting feature is the use of emoticons to establish the satisfaction level associated with the answers and information provided. 

 

Company rep profiles

 

Company reps are very easily found.  They sit at the top right-hand side of the company page and are bound by a green box.  All of the reps icons link to their profiles, which provide a variety of information. The information available varies from rep to rep. It may include where they live and other ways you can reach them online including, but not limited to: Twitter feeds, blogs, Flickr accounts and del.icio.us. 

 

The reps profiles also include the number of replies they have made and which ones have been tagged as useful.  This is helpful because it directs users to information considered useful by the community. 

 

Get Satisfaction: Twitter

 

Twitter has 14 employees who are waiting to hear from their public.  This is a significant employee base compared to other companies.  Problems that have currently been discussed include: complaints about upholding terms of service agreement (these are the ones that are particularly worrisome and get many replies), deleting old accounts, poor quality profile pictures, inability to see previous tweets and various challenges receiving SMS updates.  Other questions have also been asked regarding pagination coming back and adding more international sites.

 

How are they managing?

 

Most often, community members reply before employees.  An interesting option for those reading replies is that they can choose to tell the person whether their suggestion or advice has solved the problem.  This is great for the community because it helps direct individuals to the solutions that work and also provides positive feedback for the person giving the solution.  This way everyone can get satisfaction!

 

There are also emoticons available for users when they get replies and they can share how they are feeling by using them.  Lots of sad faces in the community should  definitely be a warning to any company. 

 

Get Satisfaction: Apple

 

Surprisingly, Apple only has one employee participating.  This is a shock given the reputation of Apple in the world.  Most of the replies come from the community and not the company.  Not only is there only one rep, but the rep has no information available in his profile.  Essentially the community is doing all of the work for Apple. 

 

Some complaints posted include: plastic eroding around the edge of the keyboard, iPhones not automatically connecting to wifi network and desktop icons missing from the desktop.  Some other Apple user questions include: iPhones being available through other carriers than AT&T and where to find an Apple support line. 

 

Maybe they should consider some more reps.

 

Final thoughts

 

Get Satisfaction is a site that can work very well if you use it your advantage.  You can get a lot of support from a community that uses and believes in the same service or product that you do.  The community is by far the best part of the service.  The people within it are the ones that most often will help you get the answers you need and even coach you along the way. 

 

The more I learn about online communities the more I feel connected with everyone.

Message delivered accurately? Check.

Check!

The more I learn about social media, the more I like it.  Not because I secretly long to be a technology geek (although I do), but because it is all about building communities and relationships the old fashion way – by chatting. Granted, chatting online can present some added challenges.

Take intonation for example.  It is pretty tough to hear sarcasm or catch tongue and cheek remarks without the use of some pretty creative punctuation.  Unless of course you are using seesmic, a tool that allows you to actually speak to your community face-to-face.

You can record and insert messages directly into conversations the way you would like them to be heard.  If you don’t like the way they sound the first time, you can go for a second round of “making them right” before posting them.

This gives you control back.

You are the master of your voice in the seesmic universe.  You don’t have to bold, use exclamation marks or emoticons to get your point across.  You can hit record and share your message the way it is intended.

What a great tool for PR.