When you talk about the world of measuring online network strength or online influence, there seems to be two favorites leading the pack, Empire Avenue (network strength) and Klout (influence). Some will bunch the two together into one category [of measuring influence], but they actually have two slightly differing paths and approaches.

What are Endorsements?

Empire Avenue allows users to connect their RSS feeds to their profile. Then, people can vouch for their feeds and content, validating those for others to see. In many ways, it also allows people to discover blogs of those users in a simple, handy way. Once you get 5 endorsements on a single RSS feed, you can convert it into a blog feed (just as long as it is a true blog of your posts). When the RSS feeds is upgraded to Blog feed status, new blog posts show up in the profile feed in near-real time. By doing this, more people will discover your blogs.

Endorsement Limitations?

Currently, there are no limitations as to how many feeds you endorse on a given day nor when you make those endorsements. So, what does that mean? Well, you can endorse as many RSS feeds of others as you want. It is great that there are no caps on endorsing as it is great to be able to endorse when you feel the urge. At the same time, not having a limit also lends to a diminished perceived value of the whole endorsement feature.  For example, if you can only endorse 15 feeds per day, you will most likely become more selective with your decision(s). As a result, you might spend more time truly examining the actual RSS feeds to ensure that they are in line with your philosophy or certainly at least something that you enjoy reading! Lastly, when dealing with blog feed status, an Empire Avenue profile can only upgrade 5 eligible RSS Feeds to blog status in order to count towards share price and dividend amount, but that certainly does not specifically affect the amount of endorsements one can give or receive.

Where are +Ks?

Klout, on the other hand, has something called +K. Basically, they allow you to vouch for somebody’s expertise on a given topic like social media, foursquare, reading, writing, or football. By default, Klout will calculate up to 20 [top] topics that somebody is influential about based on their social media activity on Facebook, Twitter, foursquare, and other platforms that are synced up. If a profile has less than 20 topics (or if one gets removed to get below the 20 topic maximum), that user or anybody else for that matter can add a topic to the influence list for a nominal virtual fee, but I will get to that in a minute.

+K Limitations?

Unlike the setup on Empire Avenue, Klout users are limited to the number of +Ks they get to use each day.  Currently, I get about 10 +Ks to use each day. Less active profiles with a smaller Klout score might only get 5 +Ks to use each day. When you give +K in a specific topic for somebody else, you cannot give them +K in the same topic for about one week. However, you can give them more +K in other topics that they are considered “influential” about. As mentioned above, you can add topics to your own profile or to other people’s and brand’s profile that you feel they are influential about. The nominal virtual fee is 5 +Ks, so, if you are like me and get 10 to use each day, adding an influential topic to anybody’s profile will only allow me to give 5 more +K to others for that day. While I get frustrated by this daily limit, it makes me think twice before passing out +Ks – making me be more selective on the topics and people I give +K to!

Which is better?

Well, that is a good question. Each really has its own niche and place. Empire Avenue lets me connect with people’s blogs and niche social media channel feeds. I can put my one-time stamp of approval on the person [or brand’s various presences online] and then click on the related links to further engage with them on their blogs. On the other hand, Klout allows me specifically give people an endorsement of sorts on a topic or two. I might find that my friend or colleague is really great at using Facebook or Twitter, so I would give him or her some +K in that topic while not endorsing him or her in a topic like Atlanta or surfing. Klout +K allows me to drill down to that specific topic rather than having me endorse an entire feed or blog, so that is cool. But, I am limited as to how many +K I give each day. So, m verdict is to use both when applicable.

Each and every one of us has a vice or two, and most of us enjoy many great freedoms as well. In some cases, the price of those vices and freedoms are nominal while others are extremely priceless. Now, imagine that somebody was willing to pay you to endorse something like Coca-Cola or Mountain Dew. How much would they have to pay you to promote and endorse their product? Of course, if the product that they want you to endorse was already a product that you use and enjoy, that price could be much smaller. Heck, you might ask for a lifetime supply of it as part of the negotiation, but what happens if the product is something that you despise and never use? For me, I have not had a carbonated beverage since Christmas of 1999, so, if Coca-Cola asked me to endorse their Coca-Cola Classic [carbonated] beverage, I would actually turn it down… but suggest that I promote their non-carbonated Powerade sports drink instead. However, we all see athletes settling for a price; sometimes, it is quite obvious when a celebrity is endorsing a product that they do not use and merely did so to earn some fast cash. Like wrestling’s Million Dollar Man always said:

“Everybody’s got a price for the Million Dollar Man.”

This question is universal as we can ask that about every aspect of our lives. Think about your hobbies and ask yourself what price somebody would have to pay you for you to stop (or start) doing something that you loved (or hated). For me, some of my biggest hobbies and interests include fitness and social media. I have recently debated within myself about what I would do if somebody offered to pay me to stop one of my favorite hobbies, but I honestly cannot find a price suitable to stop working out or engaging others on social media. I sometimes joke around with my foursquare friend, Eric Andersen, about slowing down his check-ins so I can catch up in the near future. You see, Eric started on foursquare a few months before I did, and he has maintained. As a result, he is nearing 21,000 check-ins while I remain a mere 4,000 check-ins behind. Of course, I am not going to be paying him to stop checking in, but it is a fun topic to think about. Also, when it comes to foursquare, no amount of money would satisfy me enough to stop checking in; as you know, foursquare introduced me to Elaine, and that added bonus makes all the difference in the world. Similarly, I have met (both virtually and in person) a lot of people thanks to Facebook and Twitter, so you won’t find my posts and tweets stopping anytime in the near future either. I will be going to the gym nearly every day, and I will be checking in each time in order to help maintain my mayorship! Lastly, I won’t be doing any carbonated beverage commercials any time soon. Still, I’m sure there is a price out there for just about anything. How much is your online freedom worth to you? What about your hobbies or your business?

Recently, I earned a Klout Perk that gave me an early look at the beta version of a new Twitter app called Bottlenose. While I have yet to fully explore all of its features, I have found the new third-party app to be quite interesting and useful. Essentially, Bottlenose gives you a different type of approach to viewing the Twitterverse! Unlike the native Twitter environment wherein you mainly just see the Twitter feed of those you follow and those lists that you either created or follow. While that is nice and normally useful, Bottlenose provides a visual component that they call SONAR that enables users to see what is trending and drill down into those topics and hashtags. By clicking on the trending topic from those you follow, you will see the latest tweets about that subject or the tweets that have that specific hashtag! This is especially useful for conversation discovery and for those who are extremely visual thinkers!

Once you sign up for Bottlenose, you can sync both your Twitter and your Facebook profiles. The app allows you to post to Facebook or Twitter just as you would with any other similar app. One cool feature that Bottlenose has is the capability to find themes and trends within your Twitter Direct Messages (DMs). So, if you are having private conversations about a specific topic, you can visually pull that up, and you can then find current conversations on those topics using the visual map on the right hand side. For me, this app is really intriguing, and I encourage you to give it a try. Bottlenose is a refreshing new approach to managing your Twitter feed and following the conversation! Plus, it just looks really cool! Have you given Bottlenose a look? What do you think? Are you somebody who prefers the visual approach?

Foursquare Day 2012 has come and gone, and it was great to gather with fellow foursquare users in my community (and virtually with fans around the world) in celebration of a great 4sqDay! As I mentioned right before the 4sqDay holiday, I had a few goals planned for that day. Of course, I was planning to check-in everywhere I went, celebrate at the local 4sqDay event in Kennesaw, and represented my local foursquare community by receiving the proclamation from the mayor! However, there was one goal I fell short on, and that was regarding my foursquare tip goal. To celebrate the third annual 4sqDay, I planned to leave 416 tips. While I manually added over 104 (25% of the 416) before mid-morning, my schedule did not permit me to add many during the early afternoon hours, so I was left with racing to finish adding 416 tip in the few hours (during the weekly #4sqCHAT) after our local event! After all was said and done, I drifted to sleep at the computer with mouse in hand; I had only left 221 tips in total. While I added a great amount of tips, I fell short of my goal, so I will have to wait until 4sqDay 2013 to attempt this feat once again.

However, there are a few discoveries that I found along the way. In order to better capture those tips that I left on April 16, 2012, I created a foursquare list for all follow along! Once I added (and listed) my 200^th tip, the foursquare platform would not allow me to add anymore tips to the list, so I was left with having to create yet another list. If I would have reached my goal of 416 tips, I actually would have had to create yet another list – three in total. Overall, I found this to create some confusion for those trying to follow along. At the time of this post, I had 17 followers of the first list and only a few on the second list. For 2013, I am hopeful that foursquare will reassess the list cap and potentially bump it up to 416 (since that is a foursquare-friendly number)! Time will tell! Being a numbers kind of guy, I realize that I need to average just over 17 tips per hour for 24 straight hours. Obviously, I could preplan many of the tips, but there is not an automated tip posting system or app that I am currently aware of, so I will still have to manually search for each venue before adding the tip. Maybe, I should create a list or two ahead of time of the places that I want to leave tips for; that would certainly speed up the process a little bit. I’d love to get your thoughts on how I can better achieve this 4sqDay goal next year, and I encourage you to add lots of tips and photos whenever you can!

Wow! We are counting down the hours until it is Foursquare Day 2012, and communities around the world are all excited to enjoy another great celebration. Many communities, small and large, have planned events and worked with local businesses to offer foursquare fans/users a lot of great specials. In addition, many communities (like my community here in the greater Kennesaw, Georgia, area) have found ways to involve and give back to non-profit organizations in their communities. So, how are you celebrating 4sqDay this year?

As you know, I am super excited for Monday to get here and for the celebrations to begin! Of course, I plan on checking in a lot throughout the day, and Elaine and I plan to participate in a Check-in for Charity pledge drive to help a great local organization, MUST Ministries! We have planned a nice small gathering at Dinner at the Depot to celebrate 4sqDay with awesome food trucks and interactive displays thanks to ScreenScape!

With all of that said, I am looking to challenge myself to add 416 more tips on 4sqDay (since 4sqDay is 4/16); currently, I have only added a total of 381 to the system since I started using it a few years ago, so this will be a good challenge and one that I really embrace! On average, that takes me adding 17.33 tips per hour for each of the 24 hours on Monday! Since I plan to be busy checking in and celebrating in my community (and working out at the gym), I will have to rely on adding many of those right after midnight (early on Monday morning)! Follow along on foursquare as I add the tips! Where should I add more tips at? I’d love to get your feedback. Also, I’d encourage you to add some great tips (and photos) of your own!

Over the years, Twitter has grown to become quite a popular social media network. Its short, text message-like communication mode has struck a great chord with people inside and outside of the technology world. In many ways, tweeting has become second nature to most of those with a smartphone. But, some want to use Twitter yet do not know great ways to embrace the channel. Others are brand new to the Twitter experience. So, here are just a few tips to give out about Twitter:

1. Don’t Over-Tweet: Some people simply tweet in bunches. Sure, there are times when I am guilty of it, but, for the most part, I like to spread out my tweets; timing is important. If you are one of those people who find a lot (and want to share a lot) of great content with your followers, you might want to post those tweets throughout the day instead of merely in one long string of back-to-back tweets. I’d even recommend looking into a solution like HootSuite or Buffer to schedule out your tweets throughout the day if the content is not time-sensitive. Of course, being robotic all of the time is not always ideal either. So, you need to…
2. Mix It Up: I like to add a bit of variety throughout my posts. I try to balance out my retweets of others’ content with original content of my own. I sometimes post my check-ins from foursquare or Get Glue, and sometimes I share a photo!
3. Embrace Hashtags: With so many different conversations going on simultaneously over on Twitter, it can be tough to keep up with the conversation. Luckily, some savvy early adopters decided to use hashags as a way to keep the conversation organized and easy to follow. If you have an event or a long conversation about a specific topic, you might want to look into using hashtags. I find that I meet even more great people this way, and I am better able to follow along in the conversation!
4. Leave 21 characters free: If you want people to retweet and comment on your tweets, it is best to try to allow as much space as possible for those. If you figure that your username could be as long as 15 characters and then add in the :RT: ” in front of it, you are looking closer to 115 to 120 characters as your true maximum. While the “newer” retweet function does not require this additional space, I always like comments in front of my RTs. It adds to the value of the tweet; food for thought!
5. Be yourself: Do not be afraid to add some personality and just be yourself. It is important to remember that you are the one tweeting. More people will follow and engage you on Twitter if you allow your awesome personality to shine! Enough said!

So, there you have it – five simple and easy-to-follow tips for Twitter! Now, get to tweeting already and put these tips to good use!

As you probably have realized by now, Facebook is the top social media network out there today, and it does not appear that Facebook will be losing that designation anytime soon. So, whether you like Facebook or not, chances are that it will be around for quite some time. As such, it is important to find new and more-productive ways to use Facebook to better engage with your friends, family, and customers. I have put together some quick tips that (hopefully) will help you do just that.

1. Beef up your profile: By now, you should already know and want to have a profile photo and some basic information on your Facebook profile. I recommend that you take the time to like your favorite brands and communities [pages]. Personally, I like to change up my profile photo from time to time and add to the list of things and brands that I like. If you are invited to join a group, I think you should look into it.
2. Change things up: As I mentioned above, I change my profile photos up from time to time. With the newly released Timelines feature, you can now add a cool cover photo to compliment your profile photo. Be creative with it and mix it up from time to time. A little variety or change does not hurt, right?
3. Deal with the changes: Speaking of changes, social media [in general] is constantly evolving. Facebook is no different; they are constantly adding new features and changing the look and feel of their free service! With the popularity of Facebook at all-time highs, it seems like it gets a lot of flak about these robust changes. Sure, getting familiar with a new look or feature can be troublesome or annoying at times, but it is just a fact of life. Spending time getting extra upset about it does no good. Instead, take the time to embrace these changes and figure out how these new features wok before your friends and competitors! Many times, Facebook allows you to preview the major changes about 30 days or some before everybody is forced to switch over Turn a potential negative into a positive by taking these opportunities to master these new changes. By the way, this holds true for any platform in social media… and life in general.
   
4. Connect your other networks: Are you sharing photos on Flickr and/or Instagram? Are you checking in on foursquare? Are you sharing your reading progress on GoodReads or Shelfari? Are you pinning photos on Pinterest? Since Facebook is growing into a major landing spot and many people are spending a lot of hours on Facebook, I recommend that you link up your other social media profiles to Facebook. This does not mean that you need to push every check-in from foursquare to Facebook, but adding some variety from time to time is great. Plus, this gives your followers a better understanding about you and motivates them to connect with you on those other networks.
5. Post engaging wall content: It is important to remember that you want to post great and interesting wall content. Pick some cool photos to add from time to time and be sure your status updates are engaging! If you want your content to rise to the top of your friends’ news feeds, you need to be sure to write engaging, status updates. Maybe, you can ask a question or post a statement (ie quote, etc.) that will garner a good number of likes and comments. If you can accomplish this, more people will see your update and want to engage more! How cool is that?

So, there you have it; five quick tips to remember when using Facebook. Sure, there are many more, and I am sure that I will think up and share even more later as well. Let’s hear what you have to say. Which tips do you recommend for Facebook usage?

As we all know, iTunes is the industry-leader when it comes to music library software. For the most part, it does a nice job of organizing your music by allowing you to add new tracks, create playlists, get music recommendations, and much more. While I am thankful for this software and its close integration with my iPod Touch (2nd generation), this software nags me in a few ways; maybe, it is just my obsession-compulsion ways kicking in. Here are two ways that Apple really irks me with its iTunes software.

Song Ratings

Do you remember the days of Star Search? Well, I certainly do, and I remember that the judges could give contestants a score of up to 4 stars. In the end, that allowed a total average of a fraction of a stars (ie if somebody received 4 stars from three judges and 3 stars from the final judge, their average was 3.75 stars). I just wish that iTunes followed this type of strategy or at least gave me a 10 star system of sorts, allowing me to better differentiate between those 8s, 9s, and 10s. Instead, I have the pain of deciding if a song is a three or a four, a four or a five.

Partial Plays

If I end the song that I am listening to with 2 seconds to go or skip to the next song, that song does not get credit for being played. Similarly, if I manually fast-forward within the track to the end so it gets credit and repeat that over time, I can give credit for song plays when in fact I might have only listened to 10 seconds of the song each time. That means that my statistics are all skewed. Heck, the same holds true over on YouTube… UGGHHH!!! I am a numbers kind of a guy much of the time, so I’d like much more accurate data at my fingertips!

What Do You Think?

Does iTunes bug you? If so, how should Apple go about improving this industry-standard software? What new features should be added? Which old features need to go?

In this ever-advancing and maturing age of [mobile] technology, more and more people are checking in whenever and wherever they travel. Whether it is just up the street to their neighborhood gas station or it is at an amusement park while on a much-anticipated vacation, more and more people are pausing to pull out their smartphones and check-in and share their current location. Of course, there are many reasons why people check-in and are willing to share their location (that is a topic in and of itself), and most seem to have selected foursquare as their location-based service (LBS) application of choice. But, as a heavy foursquare user and world-renowned foursquare fanatic (or something like that), I begin to ponder what truly constitutes an appropriate, valid check-in. When should I check-in? When is it not appropriate to check-in? Where are the gray areas? As a foursquare user and an over-analyzer at times, this question has crossed my mind many times, so I am asking you what truly constitutes a check-in? What defines a check-in?

“Check-ins are the center of location-based marketing.”
- Aaron Strout & Mike Schneider ~ authors of Location-Based Marketing For Dummies

“We think of a check-in as a way for users to opt-in and share their locations with friends or other applications and services… We see the check-in as the atomic unit in creating technology that facilitates serendipity.”
- Dennis Crowley ~ co-founder & CEO of foursquare (quote excerpt borrowed from Location-Based Marketing for Dummies book, p. 11)

While the basic fundamentals of a check-in have been defined, I raise these questions:

Should you check-in if the venue is closed?

Okay, first things first; this question is quite situational for me. First, I always recommend that you try and check-in using your mobile app while outside of the venue (if at all possible) prior to walking in to it so you can best sync up with the GPS in order for your check-in to count and be accurately logged. If this is a venue that you have never been to before, you could easily check-in before realizing that it does not open for another hour or two. In that case, I do not think the check-in is completely wrong and now becomes a matter of whether or not you believe in deleting check-ins. Secondly, what about that late night malicious check-in? You know that one at 11pm when you know that the business closed at 7pm or 8pm? To me, those types of check-ins are really wrong. Now, there are some extenuating circumstances that we all need to remember. For example, the post offices here in the United States (USPS) have lobbies that are open 24 hours per day, so there is a chance that somebody might be checking his or her PO Box or sending off a letter in their drop boxes!

What about the delivery man?

Let me start by saying that, if I was a delivery dude, I’d be checking in at every major stop that had a foursquare venue. I’d even get to the UPS or FedEx docks early to load up on my own time so I wouldn’t get behind schedule due to my foursquare activity! Of course, that brings up the whole question about the check-in limits that I speak about so often (30 or so per 24 hours and 4 or 5 per 15 minutes, etc.). While I understand why those limits are put into place, those limitations already prevent me from checking in to all of the venues I truly visit, especially when I am on vacation or doing a lot of shopping on the weekends. As I sit here typing this blog right now, I have to delay my next check-in or two in order to avoid incurring a rapid check-in error and be frowned upon by foursquare veterans and possibly staff. Luckily, I have some time wherein I can write this post!

Now, checking into a venue while making a delivery is cool in my book, but that does not mean you get free reign to check-in when you are merely passing by. Certainly, if you are not a member of a certain gym and work for FedEx (for example), I doubt that you are picking up a package on Sundays and/or Christmas when the gym is closed, so let’s be sure to play by the rules. Even if you pull into the parking lot with no intention of going into the gym, that should not count.

Should employees check-in to their places of work?

Sure, why not – that is my short answer. However, what happens if you work at a retailer and they offer a mayor special yet your company does not identify you as an employee of theirs? Well, in that case, I would recommend creating a venue for the break room or for employees only or something. My reasoning is that, if you do not, you will be gaining an unfair advantage over your company’s customers, and their motivation to become the mayor (hence shopping there more and hopefully providing you with more job security) decreases.  But, what about if you work in an office building where few customers would come to? I say check-in at will!

What if I check-in a lot and worry that people think I am cheating?

As a heavy user of foursquare, I sometimes get concerned with this too. With over 15,000 check-ins to my credit (not counting my work with or for clients of mine), I am sure that a few people have looked at me and my daily check-in routine with questions. One great way to help calm the critics is to take a picture as you check-in and share that with your friends. Also, it is great to add some personality to your check-ins by adding a few creative shouts as you check-in. You might get a few comments, and that can really be fun! Both of these things will help illustrate and validate your check-ins; plus, it will help engage your friends and followers in conversation. Hey, and don’t forget to add tips and build lists with pictures attached to really get the buzz going!

The Debate Continues

So, it seems that the debate continues. As foursquare grows ever more popular, more unique questions and circumstances grow. Will the debate continue forever, or will the masses define these parameters and boundaries? Certainly, the bulk of the superusers continue to discuss related questions as we, as a community, continue to push the envelope of what is possible and what is standard! What side of the debate do you sit?

When it comes to blogs, I enjoy a good read just as much as I enjoy posting my own opinions and insight about various [business and social media] topics. Along the way, I have found some pretty impressive blogs that always seem to provide some creative, cutting-edge, and enlightening information. While it would take a few long posts for me to cover all of the awesome blogs I have stumbled upon and now frequent!

Social Media Explorer – Thought-leader Jason Falls is a highly-regarded author (No Bullshit Social Media) and keynote speaker with a vast amount of social media marketing experience. Lucky for us and instead of merely charging for all of his thoughts and insight, he and his colleagues relay much of their knowledge on this blog, It is refreshing to know that they are sharing their information and experience with us each and every day!

Social Media Examiner – Considered by many within the industry to be jam-packed with great, reliable, and relevant information, Social Media Examiner has grown in popularity in recent years, amassing over 130,000 email subscribers. Currently sitting in the sixth spot atop the AdAge Power 150, Social Media Examiner delivers the latest news in social media. Oh

AboutFoursquare – As a huge fan of foursquare, how could I legitimately exclude this great blog from this list? I mean, I visit this site all of the time in an effort to find out the latest and greatest news about everything location-based services (LBS). Chris Thompson is the editor-in-chief, and he is always on top of his game. When I need to know anything about foursquare, I first turn to this blog for the details. And, if I missed anything during the week, there is a weekly podcast to recap the foursquare news, latest foursquare badges, and much more. I will admit that it was a privilege to be a guest on the podcast many times already, and I hope to go back on in the near future!

Likeable Media – I first started reading more from this blog once I got a copy of David Kerpen’s (its founder) book, Likeable Social Media! I found it to be an awesome extension. Kerpen is on point and knows what is and isn’t likeable. This blog (and the book written by Kerpen) is a great resource for businesses of all sizes.

Mashable – I guess that, if I am going to talk about social media blogs, how can I leave out Mashable, right? Although, it is a different breed of blogs, I will admit that it is full of great and interesting stories of the latest and greatest stuff that is social media and technology!

Well, that is a quick glance of five solid sites that I visit a lot and highly recommend. Of course, being an avid social media professional and fan (and a technology junkie to boot), I have a lot of other sites that I visit with great regularity. Which sites do you visit most often? Which sites have the best information?