Who do you follow on Twitter? Here's 14 ways to get ideas...

How do you decide who to follow on twitter? Who do you follow on twitter? Why would anyone follow you back? These are big questions that social media professionals ask themselves as they work with new client companies but it also may be a question you have asked yourself. Here's a list of 14 different online services that may help.

clipped from news.cnet.com TwitterCounter. TwitterCounter shows you your worldwide rank in terms of how many followers you have. TwitterHolic. If you want all the functionality TwitterCounter provides, TwitterHolic probably isn't for you. WeFollow. It might be new, but WeFollow has already made an impression on the Twitter Community. Just Tweet It. Just Tweet It is similar to WeFollow in that it asks users to add themselves to the directory listing that's relevant to them. MediaOnTwitter. Though it's not the prettiest site in this roundup, MediaOnTwitter is a fine resource for those who want to find out which journalists, bloggers, and media outlets are on Twitter Social Brand Index. Social Brand Index is a listing of Twitter accounts held by public-facing companies. TrackingTwitter. TrackingTwitter wants to be the definitive source for "brands, media, television, celebrities, and electric artists Twellow. TwitterLinkUp. Twibs. TweeterTags. TwitterVision. Twubble. WhoShouldIFollow.

 

 

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Why do we dream at night?

Have you ever had an important meeting scheduled for the next day and you spent the night before dreaming anxious dreams. This happened to me a while back and it certainly isn't out of the ordinary (I hope). As the research below describes, we dream to process the events of our day and the day to follow. It is the brains way of sorting what should be kept and what should be gotten rid of. Read on for a great synopsis about our dream life.

clipped from scienceblogs.com While we're fast asleep, the mind is sifting through the helter-skelter of the day, trying to figure out what we need to remember and what we can afford to forget. Unfortunately for me, there's increasing evidence that our dreams are not neural babble, but are instead layered with significance and substance. The narratives that seem so incomprehensible -- why was I running through the airport in my underwear? -- are actually careful distillations of experience, a regurgitation of all the new ideas and insights we encounter during the day. the mind is sifting through the helter-skelter of the day, trying to figure out what we need to remember and what we can afford to forget. In recent years, scientists have discovered that R.E.M. sleep isn't just essential for the formation of long-term memories: it might also be an essential component of creativity.

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Should you have a mission or a mantra?

age via Wikipedia

According to Guy Kawasaki, your mission statement should be only a few words and everyone in your organization should be able to chant it over and over again. This really hit home for me as I am in the middle of helping my company with a new vision of our mission statement. Can you chant yours? What is it, if so? Tweet us @thirstyfishinfo or leave a comment.

clipped from blog.guykawasaki.com I give up trying to get people to create short, different, and meaningful mission statements, so go ahead and spend the $25,000 for the offsite, facilitator, and consultants to create one. However, you should also create a mantra for your organization. A mantra is three or four words long. Tops. Its purpose is to help employees truly understand why the organization exists. If I were the CEO of Wendy’s, I would establish a corporate mantra of “healthy fast food.” End of story. Here are more examples of corporate mantras to inspire you: Federal Express: “Peace of mind” Nike: “Authentic athletic performance” Target: “Democratize design” Mary Kay “Enriching women’s lives” The ultimate test for a mantra (or mission statement) is if your telephone operators (Trixie and Biff) can tell you what it is. If they can, then you’re onto something meaningful and memorable. If they can’t, then, well, it sucks.

Where and when (and with whom) do you do GREAT work?

I try to read a little bit each week about some new ideas in my field of expertise. I also couldn't live with out my podcasts in a number of different areas to stimulate thinking. How about you?

clipped from www.entrepreneur.com Whatever you're making, whatever services you offer, whatever you're selling, everything you do falls into one of three categories: Bad Work is the work that wastes time, slows things down and sucks the spirit dry. It's bureaucracy, complexity and paperwork. Good Work is what most of us do most of the time. It's comfortable, familiar and the heart of our business. As entrepreneurs, good work is our economic engine. It's that reliable product or service we produce for our customers, all with a profit margin that works. Great Work is the flame that burns inside most entrepreneurs, the work that lights us up and excites us. It's the work we care most about, that stretches and challenges us. It's work that has meaning for us and creates impact. So how do you manage the busywork so you can do less good work and more great work? Here are two simple and powerful tips: Begin with the Great set aside for great work Find Great Work Allies find people who are extraordinary

Use Twitter in a National Emergency...

You might be able to use this line of reasoning to your spouse to let you buy the new Droid or 3G iPhone, but better yet to learn a few high tech, social media tricks to help you during a time of crisis. Any other tips? Tweet us @thirstyfishinfo or leave a comment!

clipped from mashable.com Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes — lately, it seems like there’s a new natural disaster wreaking havoc on poor planet Earth every week. From our television sets to our Twitter () streams, it’s impossible to ignore the devastation these disasters leave behind. Create a Plan According to FEMA, the best way to avoid significant damage during a disaster is to prepare an emergency response plan in advance. The FEMA website is a great place to get that process started. You can easily order ID cards online at places like Life360, a site that offers multiple mobile and web-based emergency planning services, including ID cards for your kids your 3G-enabled phone will likely help you stay connected in case of an emergency. Even though phone lines may be down or jammed, the 3G network won’t necessarily be out as well. This is how Twitter status updates helped locate a missing person during the recent Chile earthquake bookmark your local emergency services site Google Docs back up your important papers

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How do you use social media?

Cover via Amazon

Chris Brogan is the author of Trust Agents and a great pragmatist when it comes to social media uses. Here's a great bit of how to make social media cool and use it for some great power business tools. What do you do with social media sites like twitter, linkedin, myspace or facebook that is cool?

clipped from www.chrisbrogan.com Social media are a bunch of tools. They let us see things a bit differently. They empowered new ways of working together. But they’re just the tools. When this all gets cool is when we start really turning this stuff on our own passion projects, on our bigger goals, on what COULD happen. Start a public list of Twitter accounts from local businesses. Point everyone in your community to it. Start small mastermind groups on Google Wave (I have an incredible group going. Very small. Very useful.) Donate four hours a week to a charity, giving them more promotion and exposure for their causes, equipping them with more ways to find what they need. Connect to 10 people every day. Make it a blend of 5 people you’ve been in touch with, and 5 people you need to stay fresh with. Ask for nothing. Offer everything. ( Tim Sanders does this well.) Give your local school teachers or library a free class on how to use the tools for their projects.

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The Social Impact of Friendships and Lies | Social Media Marketing | Social Media Consulting - Convince & Convert

We don't trust the media anymore but we do trust our friends online. Should we really?

clipped from www.convinceandconvert.com Social Media Strategy Blog Social Media Consulting

What's your emotional trigger?

We all got one! Some of us have a "hair-line" trigger and blow at the littlest things. More importantly, for marketing, what are you using in your copy writing?

clipped from www.entrepreneur.com Once you identify the target audience for your marketing messages, you need to consider which emotional triggers you can connect to those messages. Following are 10 common emotional triggers that you can tie into your marketing messages to make the sale. Fear: Fear is an emotion that can be used in a wide variety of marketing messages. Insurance companies often appeal to the emotion of fear with messages like "Don't get caught with too little insurance." Guilt: Consumers are easily affected by messages that trigger emotions of guilt. Nonprofit organizations use the guilt trigger effectively in copy such as "Don't let them suffer anymore." Trust: Trust is one of the hottest trends in marketing, and every company seems to be trying to jump on the trust bandwagon in their marketing messages. Financial companies are leading the way with messages like "no hidden fees." Value: Belonging: Competition: Instant Gratification: Leadership: Trend-setting: Time:

Twitter Speeding Towards 10 Billion Tweets

I was just chatting with a couple of friends who still haven't gotten on board twitter. Why not? Is it too late? I wonder...Click below to get more info.

clipped from mashable.com About one year ago Twitter reached a huge milestone: one billion tweets. Four months ago, 5 billion tweets were served. And now, in about one day, Twitter