What's New in Social Media

It's been a few weeks since Linda talked about social media. In this article, she expounds on some of the changes that have occurred at Twitter, Facebook and Ning...and, she introduces a few more sites that may help you network with other designers, future clients and even your geeky neighbour.

Change is a Hassle

The older I get, the more I gripe about constant learning curves. Social media is full of them, as the venues constantly change. But, some of the changes that occurred in FaceBook, Twitter and a few other sites over the past few weeks have been worth the hassle...and some not.

In fact, the only issue I encountered initially was how to log out of my Facebook page (logout now located under the "Accounts" tab at top right on your Profile page).

In this article, I'll provide you with information about some of the changes, as well as provide you with a few new sites that might crank your tractor.

Twitter

Twitter's lists have been around for a while, but I didn't realize how valuable they were for a marketing tool until I began to move my subscriptions into those lists.

In the image below, I'm logged into my @appomattox_news account, where I've already created a number of lists for my own personal use. I went to the Wired Twitter page, which I already follow. But, I haven't put Wired into a list yet...

The top red arrow shows where you can manage your lists, which you can make private or public. Note the bottom red arrow, which points to my "personal" list – the lock on that list shows that it is a private list. Therefore, no one can subscribe to this list because it is private and the only person who can see that list is the person who creates it.

The middle red arrow shows where I will put Wired, but I may also put them in another list...you can add a subscription to any list you desire, name that list anything you want. But, as with tags in blogging, use words that are relevant so other people can find them.

As you create lists, they will accumulate in the right column of your Twitter home page. When you begin to create a number of lists, you end up with a page of your own that is filled with lists – such as the one shown below for @appomattox_news:

Note in the right side of this page that you can see the number of subscriptions in each list as well as the number of followers for each list. Since I just started this project – installing over 1,000 subscriptions into lists – I'm amazed that I already have a follower for the "foodies" list.

What good are lists? You can list people without following them, for one thing...thereby creating a list that is both inclusive and that doesn't crowd up your Twitter feed. Instead of subscribing to individual pages, you can subscribe to lists instead (such as the list for all the Olympic athletes on Twitter).

Creating lists is a great way to create groups, too, especially of people who you think other people should follow.

Two other ways to push your lists and to find new lists is through Listorious (a third-party site that is a learning curve in itself) and through Tweetmeme's Twitter Lists.

If you click on the "Listed" link in your Twitter profile (next to "Following, Followers"), you can learn about lists that include you. In the previous image, you can see the tab at the top of that page that says, "Lists following you." Click on that tab and you can learn about those lists.

Considering the "listmania" that is running rampant at the moment, take some time out of your evening to organize a few lists and get in on the new Twitter method of going viral.