04/26/2012
It’s about communication
0April 26, 2012
As with any form of transferring information, social media can become mired in the idea of broadcasting information out, instead of being true communication.
Take Twitter, for example. Many folks use this networking tool as a broadcast medium. They send out dozens of tweets, but never interact with anyone else. Others do nothing but retweet and repost, but do not listen for feedback. This is a one-way broadcast, not a true communication or collaboration.
Facebook, G+ and Pinterest can be the same way, with people blasting out update after update and pin after pin, but not listening to what other folks are saying in comments or in their own independent posts.
Falling into the trap of broadcasting only can be a killer for any Information Worker. We’re planning to use social media to communicate with customers, potential clients and others; but in reality we’re just screaming into the wilderness. That means the message will quickly get lost.
It’s relatively easy to communicate instead of broadcast, but it does take a little effort. Here’s a few simple ideas to keep in mind:
– Follow other people. So many folks on Twitter just send out information, but follow so few people back that they cannot possibly be listening to what’s out there. This isn’t to say that you should automatically follow everyone, or that you should randomly follow folks. See who interacts with you, and pick some people who you want to interact with. Then follow those people to foster a two-way communication stream.
– Reply and answer back. In addition to posting, read the timelines of those you follow and those who comment on your posts. Reply to them to say thanks, or to ask questions or make comments to foster more dialog. This doesn’t have to be an all-consuming time-sink, just a few minutes here and there in your day is enough for most people.
– Do share links and retweet/repost, but don’t flood your timeline. Forwarding on things you find that are part of your message is a great idea, but a constant stream of links and RT’s can put people off. Instead, use a service like Buffer to spread out your links and other posts so that you reach more people in more places. This gives you the ability to start a dialog with more people in more places, too.
– Talk about other things. Yes, we – as info professionals – mostly talk about what we’re doing/selling/creating. That’s normal and expected, but shouldn’t be the only thing in your timeline. Talk about what’s going on around you – such as local cultural and sporting events happening near you. This allows people to see that you’re not a one-trick-pony, but rather a real person who is willing to talk, not just broadcast. This shouldn’t be forced, however. Pick things you’re interested in to talk about. Got a hobby, play certain games or have an interesting side-job? Talk about those things, so you can show that you’re interested in more than just the corporate message.
Remember, social networking is networking. Multiple people sharing information and talking to each other. Don’t fall into the trap of making your social media streams become a loudspeaker that tunes out anyone else online.
04/26/2012
Routine maintenance is routine.
0by Mike Talon • newbie2mac
Apr
26
2012
While Macs are much less cumbersome when it comes to updating, fixing and fiddling, they are not without those needs entirely. On a regular basis, you do need to go through some tasks to keep your OS X computer running smoothly and safely.
Once a week, I go through a maintenance procedure on my iMac and MacBook just to keep everything going the way I want it to go. The process is simple, and gets the job done without wasting a lot of time. The whole shebang should take less than 30 minutes a week unless there are a large number of updates, so find some time and get it done.
Here’s my weekly procedures, your mileage may vary, but feel free to copy my methods =)
1 – Software Update. Apple generally posts updates for OS X about once per month, but if there’s an emergency (like the recent Flashback malware) they can release updates much more often. Once a week is a good trade-off between being a time-consuming drudge and keeping everything updated and safe.
To run Software Update, click the Apple menu and choose “Software Update…” and follow the instructions that come up on screen. If there are no updates, the process takes about a minute. With updates the time varies, but even massive updates seem to finish within 30 minutes or so.
2 – App Store. If you have any software from the Mac App Store, then go to Apple Menu, “App Store…” and click on the Updates tab at the top. Download any updates to installed applications.
With no updates, the process is also less than a minute. If you have updates, the time varies, but is generally less than 15 minutes start to finish even if a lot of programs need updates.
3 – Check for other app updates. I use MacUpdate Desktop and rave about it quite a lot. One of the reasons is that it can find updates for just about every app I use on my Macs, and deliver the updates to me with a few clicks.
If you don’t want to use MacUpdate, you can always open each of your apps and look under the name of the app in the menu bar, or sometimes the help menu, and check for updates. This is much more time consuming, but will still get you updated.
4 – Run maintenance tasks. There is a great freeware tool called Onyx that will help you perform routine maintenance tasks on your Mac in a very user-friendly way. The tool can perform all the tasks I do each week, including:
– Cleaning up caches, trashes and miscellaneous data that hangs around after it’s no longer welcome
– Running the OS X monthly, weekly, and daily maintenance tasks
– Performing a Repair Permissions run on the OS X system volume
These steps improve performance, correct minor issues and head off problems that may be brewing in the background. The whole process takes about 15 minutes, and the Onyx user interface makes it very easy to perform.
Take half an hour, once a week, and keep everything in running order. You’ll be safer (by getting and installing updates that plug security holes), faster (by removing old cache files and patching permissions errors), and better (by getting the latest versions of your apps with their bug fixes).
Photo Credit: JanneM
By Mike Talon •
HowDoI? •
0
Share this: