Good Works Grapevine

I was at a speaking gig a few months ago and a participant asked, “How do I reach out to seniors? Most of them aren’t on the Internet.” Although, I don’t necessarily agree that seniors aren’t online (my 85-year-old father-in-law is online more than me), I thought that it was a fair question. Then I discovered Eons.com.

Eons is an online community for baby boomers and it is hoppin’ (and pretty well done.) Users can share photos, blog, keep in touch with family and friends and much more. And even though the most discussed topic is “death”, the community revolves around the celebration of life and fun for seniors.

There are advertising opportunities for businesses and organizations and they serve a large, dynamic community.

If your organization targets seniors, it might be worth it to give Eons.com a look!

I’m considering putting together a social media 101 class for the businesses and non-profits in the metro DC area. If anyone is interested (or thinks its a good idea or better yet - wants to participate as a presenter) please let me know! I’m looking at an October time frame. Thanks!

I’m on several Listservs on a variety of topics. Lately, there has been a lot of discussion about managing your online persona. How much personal information is too much? How do you control what other folks are posting about you? Should you avoid social media altogether or lock down your profiles so tightly that no one can get information about you?

My take is (and always has been) - if you are going to participate in the social media space, you need to manage your brand (in this case - you name). Social media is just what the name implies - having social interaction within a media (in this case - an online platform). In order to keep your reputation in check, manage your message. Be a real person with real stories, ideas and opinions. Share the YOU that you want people to see. Sure, someone may post a photo of you at a college frat party on Facebook, but, whether you like it or not - that’s part of your life. We’re all humans behaving humanly (Brilliant!)

Now, I completely understand that privacy is an issue and certainly don’t condone posting your social security number on the side of a cargo truck. But, by putting your name, information and what you’re all about out there, it’s much easier to say “Hey - this is me.” It’s also easier to rebut any negative information about you.

In a nutshell, if you put yourself out there, manage your name and let the world know who you are - you build your personal brand, you make new friends and you grow your standing within your space.

Shock of all shocks - Google has decided to jump on the virtual bandwagon with its own virtual world - Lively. I decided to check it out and the overall feedback from others playing around is, that at this point, its a glorified chat room. And maybe that’s all its intended to be. You have a few avatar options to choose from and a few pieces of clothing. The service is web-based, so you just need a Google account and to download the small desktop appliance to use it. Avatars can set up chat “rooms” fully furnished to converse, dance and even puke on their fellow “roommates”. While at some point Lively may compete with Second Life, I don’t think that it will be any time soon. Moving from room-to-room is a little clunky and it seems that every link opens a new browser window. Lively has a lot of room to grow. It will be interesting to see where Google takes it.

As you may have noticed, I’m going through all my old emails and blog feeds this morning. It’s the holiday - aren’t holidays for playing catch-up?

Here is a little nugget that was sent to me and I think it does a great job of summing up LinkedIn. I have been fortunate enough to truly grow my network through LinkedIn and have not only met some great people but have made some beneficial relationships. This article helps justify why you should be there and even gives a some tips to those who are already using the service. Thanks CreativePro.com!

The Fine Art of Linking In