Write Technology

Personalize Your LinkedIn Invites

Because I have started doing a lot more speaking and more public blogging, I get a lot more LinkedIn invites.In many cases, these folks feel they have a personal connection and don't realize that I have a heck of a time remembering names without a memory jog.

Would you send out an invitation to an event without thinking through the invitation and considering the wording? Probably not. I wish more people applied that same logic to LinkedIn invites.

Michelle:

I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn.

- John Doe

Now, I probably do want to connect with John Doe. He's probably a great guy and might even have some great contacts. But because I need a memory jog sometimes, I'm not sure who he is. I also question how seriously he takes connecting because he didn't bother to personalize his LinkedIn invite and just sent the default.

Now, I admit to having done this myself once or twice. I get lazy and send the default invite, especially when I'm connecting with good friends. But if you're reaching out to someone you met via Twitter, or briefly at a conference, go ahead and personalize your invite. Not only will it jog your connection's memory, it will make you stand out a little more as well.

--
Find Michelle Lentz here at Write Technology, on bub.blicio.us, on Twitter, or Pownce.

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• 10:15 I get these LinkedIn invites, but they're the default invite. How am I supposed to know who people are if they dont personalize the invite? #
• 10:48 Getting a great response to my Pay-for-Twitter question on bub.blicio.us. Thanks everyone! bub.blicio.us/?p=962 #

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• 12:19 Tnx to my readers for the headsup. In my post, I got JotSpot confused with Jott. Silly web 2.0 company names ... #
• 12:20 Am learning all sorts of things about PR lately, such as pre-briefings and embargos. #
• 13:00 Just installed RocketDock on my PC and I love it: www.rocketdock.com. It helps me pretend I have a Mac ... #
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• 13:06 Twhirl & I routinely disagree on people search. It never functions quite like I expect it to. #
• 15:43 Am NOT happy about first-checked bag fees on airlines. snurl.com/2a59y since I'm forced to check my bags w/ liquids. Very irritating. #

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Lesson Learned on Presentations

Really, presentations are changing, and I should go with my instincts instead of caving to the norm.

Thanks, in part, to Elliot Masie's Learning [insert year here] conferences, I started appreciating presentations that have very few PowerPoint slides. Yet, I tried this at ASTD's TechKnowledge 2008 and it didn't work. It didn't work so much that before I presented a second session, I whipped up some slides. People appreciated the slides. I was baffled.

When I started offering, and presenting, a Web 2.0 course, it involved a lot of slides. I took a different approach to my slides, however, after being impressed by the slide style of Anders Gronstedt. I now use Creative-Commons-licensed images that cover the entire slide, with a small heading explaining the information. Most of the information comes from me, with the slide as an intensely visual guide. This method was a happy medium for me between almost no slides and depending slides. (With my Web 2.0 course, if given over 2 days instead of 4 hours, there is a lot less reliance on slides, and more on discussion, using and doing.)

I attempted to use my happy medium slide method the other night, with my LinkedIn/Facebook presentation. It didn't work out for me as well as I'd hoped. When discussing social networks, people have a lot of questions. Regardless of the fact that I'll be re-designing the presentation when Facebook redesigns it's profiles in a few weeks, I'll also have a different presentation tact. I'll start with the basics in the beginning of the presentation, then just go live to LinkedIn or whatever social network I'm discussing. At that point, I need to run an "unmeeting," going where the crowd takes me. Ironically, I'd originally wanted to do this and changed my mind and went with slides, based on my odd experience at TechKnowledge.

Aside from my TechKnowledge experience, the need for the "unmeeting" style is indicative of the subject matter, I think. People want to learn more, and they want to see it live, not just in a slide. If more presentations were run as "unmeetings," I think we'd all be a lot happier in attending them.

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• 08:54 Today must write 45-minute presentation on Facebook & LinkedIn 101 for professionals. Any suggestions? #
• 10:30 If you had to give a newbie One Tip on either Facebook or LinkedIn, what would it be? #
• 10:40 Can't MS only buy Facebook if Facebook is willing to sell? snurl.com/29lm4 Last I checked, Zuckerman didn't want to sell. #
• 10:43 These tips are for a presentation I'm writing. Keep 'em coming on LinkedIn & Facebook 101! #
• 13:36 I hate when Outlook completely blows up. #
• 13:45 Thanks for all the tips! I have a lot of info to sort thru for 45 min on Facebook & LinkedIn. Definitely need more than 45 min! #

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• 11:16 I'll be speaking on personal branding using Facebook & LinkedIn on Tuesday nite if anyone is interested. Pre-register: www.gcastd ... #
• 12:36 Based on this snurl.com/2966v , am wondering if I should wait untli July for my MacBook Pro. #
• 13:07 Occasioally I remember to post to my OWN blog: YouTube Insight snurl.com/296dj #
• 13:48 Has anyone played with Stumpedia? www.stumpedia.com/ #
• 14:06 Tomorrow is another benefit for the scholarship in memory of my sister. Burgers, beer, sports - snurl.com/296pr #
• 14:53 In search of something fun for a Friday afternoon, I went with Pingercast Messaging: bub.blicio.us/?p=933 #
• 15:54 An extra post on Wine-Girl.net Today: RIP, Robert Mondavi: snurl.com/297d4 #

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YouTube Insight

Yesterday, Google announced YouTube Insight. Ever wondered who, or why, people are watching your monkey video on YouTube?

Today we're taking our first step towards answering these questions with YouTube Insight, a free tool that enables anyone with a YouTube account -- users, partners, and advertisers -- to view detailed statistics about the videos that they upload. For example, uploaders can see how often their videos are viewed in different geographic regions, as well as how popular they are relative to all videos in that market over a given period of time. You can also delve deeper into the lifecycle of your videos, like how long it takes for a video to become popular, and what happens to video views as popularity peaks. For now, you can find currently available metrics by clicking under the "About this Video" button under My account > Videos, Favorites, Playlists > Manage my Videos.

So off I went, to check out the metrics for my ridiculous YouTube videos.

Now, let me preface these screenshots with the fact that I am a poor videographer. I cannot hold a camera steady to save my life. Add to that I get sidetracked and forget I'm filming, so the camera veers off occasionally. My YouTube videos are not high-quality, but they are fun.

Here are the metrics:

click to view the full-size image

Get Connected: Understanding Personal Branding

I'll be speaking for the Greater Cincinnat ASTD chapter on Tuesday night. You don't have to be a member to attend, but it will cost you $20.

I'll be talking not about learning or training, but about building your personal brand using Facebook and more importantly, LinkedIn.

Social networks are everywhere. We'll take a quick tour of LinkedIn and Facebook, setting up profiles and exploring options such as groups and pages. It's time to establish your personal brand online.

click to view full invitation

The session will be held May 20th at DeVry Institute in Mason. Your $25 (or $15 for members) includes dinner, which is nice.  You can register here or pay at the door. If you register after 5/17 or pay at the door, add $10 to the cost.

Tid Bits (Tid Bytes?)

Just a couple quick, but important items to mention today:

First off, I'm dipping my toe into the professional blogging pool. Really. I'll be writing tech posts on Brian Solis's bub.blicio.us. If you follow PR at all, you might know Brian from his PR 2.0 blog. If not, perhaps you know him through his book, Now is Gone, with Geoff Livingston.

As a side note, in a previous post I mentioned how Twitter flattens the org chart. This is particularly true in this case. Here is an author of a book I happen to really enjoy, and a leader in Public Relations and Social Media. I followed him on Twitter. He expressed a need for a writer on Twitter, I replied, and here we are. He may be in California and I may be in Cincinnati, but Twitter flattened it all out and made everyone approachable. I love the new Web.

Next, on Tuesday we had the first Social Media Breakfast in Cincinnati. SMB was founded by Bryan Person in Boston and is infiltrating other cities. The first Cincinnati SMB included Cincinnati, Dayton, and Louisville. I took some notes, but none of them are half as great as the writeup by Jason Falls, so check that out here.

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• 08:51 Hit my deadline last evening. Today I have to write a press release and, wait, that's it. I only have to write & send a press release. Yay! #
• 09:52 How have I lost a .dll file? I've got to get a mac... #
• 12:00 Sigh. Why can't my little charity have discussions on our wiki instead of in 1000 emails? *Banging head against wall in frustration.* #
• 12:01 Must now figure out how to write a press release. I am sooo not good at this kind of writing. #
• 13:15 Am using www.prxbuilder.com to build a Social Media Press Release. Doesn't help with my bad copywriting though. #
• 15:32 Am officially dipping a big toe into the blogging for $$$ pool as of tomorrow morning. More on that in the AM. #
• 15:33 Must admit, I'm a bit nervous about it. #
• 15:34 Send me your thoughts on BrightKite. Email me at mlentz dot 03 at gmail dot com. Would love to hear from you! #

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