LIVE OUT LOUD! STEVE VOSLOO

MLAB SOUTHERN AFRICA

BREAKING NEWS Youtube, Twitter and Facebook are merging into an incredible new uber-social media platform called … YouTwitFace

DEFINE YOUR BUSINESS GOALS “What do you want to achieve at the end of the day? Not having any idea on why you are entering the social media space is suicidal. You can end up wasting a lot of time, effort and money on board the social media ship without knowing what your final destination is. Like anything in life, social media is effective only when it has a purpose. The medium is not the message. Your ingenuity is. A social media presence alone just won’t cut it. Make your goals business goals, not social media targets.” Garreth Bloor, Memeburn

http://memeburn.com/2011/03/5-steps-ensuring-social-media-serves-your-business

FELLOWS HAVE TO “LIVE OUT LOUD”

WHY? •  To openly share our work •  To be a catalyst for connections, collaboration, inspiration •  To be visible

So I created:

1 x blog for me, various blogs for projects

1 x Twitter account for me, another for a project 1 x Slideshare account for me

1 x Facebook page for a project

ukubuza.blogspot.com

BLOG ATTEMPT #1

innovatingeducation.wordpress.com

BLOG ATTEMPT #2

www.vosloo.net

PERSONAL BLOG

www.yozaproject.com

PROJECT BLOG

vox.com

LOST BLOG

BLOGGING •  Think about your perspective: personal or company? Or

both? •  Think about “voice”: I, we or ACME Services? •  Think about language: formal or informal, or mixed?

•  Frequency?

•  Wordpress, Blogger, Live Journal, Vox, Tumblr? (I use Wordpress)

BLOGGING CONTENT •  Keep it focused •  Covering events •  Perspectives

•  Interviews

•  Reviews

•  Invite comment

BLOGGING: INTERESTING POSTS •  5 reasons why Windows Mobile will fail •  Highlights from mHealth Summit •  Report: Mobile usage in South Africa

•  What else?

twitter.com/stevevosloo

PERSONAL TWITTER

TWITTER •  Think about your perspective: personal or company? Or

both? •  Think about “voice”: I, we or ACME Services? •  Think about language: formal or informal, or mixed?

•  Frequency

•  Content: keep it focused, but can have “personality”

•  Goals for influence:

•  Number of retweets •  Number of mentions

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/04/07/twitter.influence/index.html?hpt=Sbin

IT’S ALL ABOUT INFLUENCE

TWITTER RULES •  “Mind-casting” not “life-casting” – don’t tweet just

because you feel you have to •  Retweet! •  Share links, reports, quotes

•  Tweet about your blog posts

•  Watch who retweets (RT) and mentions (@mlabsa) you

•  You don’t have to follow back

•  Don’t be scared to Unfollow •  Use Lists

•  Use a Twitter client, e.g. Tweetdeck or Hootsuite

www.facebook.com/YozaCellphoneStories

PROJECT FACEBOOK PAGE

PHOTOS •  Flickr, Picasa, etc. •  Embed into blogs, tweets, etc.

PRESENTATIONS •  I use Slideshare •  Upload and then do a quick blog post and tweet to point to

it

MLAB SOUTHERN AFRICA •  Supporting mobile apps and content services •  Aims:

•  Support and develop the mobile community •  Network and inform the mobile community •  Find rising stars •  Grow membership (incubatees and virtual members) •  Be the go-to place for mobile development in southern Africa

•  Social media •  Website + blog •  Twitter •  Newsletter •  Flickr •  Linked In •  Facebook

MLAB SOUTHERN AFRICA

www.tinyurl.com/joinmlabsa

MEASURES OF SUCCESS •  Number of followers? •  Number of conversations? •  Number of comments?

•  How many retweets?

•  How noticed, e.g. retweeted by someone important or famous?

•  How many mentions?

•  Number of sales leads?

•  ???

THANK YOU twitter.com/stevevosloo twitter.com/mlabsa steve@mlab.co.za