aliza sherman rants and raves

Anatomy of a Twitter Scam

I'm fed up.

I've had it up to here with scammers swooping in and luring unsuspecting newbies to social media over to the "dark side" of social media marketing. In the same way that email scam marketers grabbed thousands of emails addresses from unsuspecting Internet users to hawk unwanted and often pornographic wares, the new wave of social media marketing scammers are preying on the desire of every new Twitter user to be "popular" and "successful." And they are making a bad name for the reputable, thoughtful and legitimate marketers.

How can a newbie -- or any of us really -- discern legitimate marketing tactics from abusive scam?

Breaking Down the Scam

Let's take apart a typical scam promotion:

"We have a service where you can input your Twitter information and it will follow other people selected from a huge database that we've built over several months. These people are very likely to follow you back. They are very likely to retweet. People that don't follow back or block other users are flagged so that no one follows them again."

So basically, this offering is an automated system that forces your account to follow other people in their database. Be suspect of anyone who claims their database contains "the right people" who will most likely do what it is they want those people to do. Always beware of people who accumulate contacts and then abuse their databases.

This service runs for you every day, rain or shine. You can take an account with no followers to about 10,000 followers by the end of next month completely on autopilot.

The damaging word here is "autopilot." Twitter is not about being on autopilot. It is about finding the right balance of engaged listening and participation to build an avid and active following as well as genuine relationships. Everyone does have their own reasons for using Twitter, and that's fine. However, gaming the system hurts all of us, not just the ones who are abusing these tools.

Getting Down to Brass Tacks

While communicating via Twitter isn't for everyone, I do believe that each of us can benefit from learning to use Twitter. Twitter changes the way we formulate our messages, forcing us to be concise and compelling in a small space. This form of communications - while often foreign to many of us - is a great exercise in distilling what is really important in what we are trying to get across to others.

This is going to make a lot of "Twitter Gurus" out there angry, because we're going to give you some secrets for free that they're making a living selling via their ebooks.

Spamming Twitter tools and services don't make "Twitter Gurus" angry because they give away secrets. What makes those of us who love Twitter and know how to use it with integrity hate most of all is that scammers are preying on people's lack of knowledge or weaknesses to perpetuate a scam and glut the "system" with empty and meaningless automated activity.

Everything we do is completely white hat. We don't do anything that violates the terms of service of Twitter. All of our contact with Twitter on your behalf is done through browsers. While we can't guarantee that you won't get banned since you'll still have control of your account and you could still do something that draws their ire, we've never seen an account banned with these methods.

I know I'm not the only one who sees this gigantic red flag flapping in the wind here. One would think - or hope - that everyone at this point would run away from this scam when they realize that there is the potential of getting banned from Twitter if you abuse the system. But just today, I saw that a travel blogger tweeted (automatically) that she was using this very system and sang its praises (again, probably a canned automated promotional message). I was so tempted to unfollow her immediately as I make it a practice to do when I see someone I've followed abuse Twitter and perpetuate scams. But I gave her the benefit of the doubt and thought I'd blog about this issue instead.

Twitter is all about credibility. If you have just a few thousand followers you're not going to be taken seriously. People will be a lot less likely to follow you back, click on your profile link, click on the links you tweet, or retweet your content. Once you get to be a major player you'll start to grow even faster because people will start to follow you just for being a big player.

Here is what I agree with in the above paragraph. "Twitter is about credibility." But the rest is ridiculous and not just misleading but patently false.

How do you feel about the Twitter scams out there and what should be done about them? What can we do about them?

Viva La Twitter Revolution from our armchairs

Over the last week, I've felt like an armchair revolutionary. I'm not sure how else to explain it. I can't claim any credit for doing anything revolutionary, however. Still I - along with fellow Twitterers - have been engaged in a communications coup that in part helped lead to a groundswell of international support and awareness of the Iran election protests.

For me, it all started with a retweet. I noticed that one of the people I'm following retweeted something about #iranelections by another Twitterer @persiankiwi. He (and I use "he" only out of convenience as I don't know who this person is) had 200 followers, no bio but location was set at Tehran.

I didn't know what to do, but knew I had to do something. I wasn't sure if retweeting someone whose identity I couldn't verify was a good idea. I sent out a tweet to see if anyone else knew if @persiankiwi was legit. No response. Still, I felt that I had to do something. I decided to do a little investigation of my own with my limited resources (and even more limited experience investigating someone).

All I really could consider were:

1. Content of Tweets - I read back on past tweets to see what they were tweeting about. It seemed to be someone who was actually in Tehran and gradually beginning to engage in what was happening around him.

2. Nature of Tweets -There was nothing overtly inflammatory about his tweets. He didn't seem to be instigating anything but instead participating because he seemed to have some computer/Internet knowledge that was facilitating his access to Twitter.

3. Followers - He only had 200 followers at the time but they seemed to be diverse, international and then some in Tehran as well.

4. Following - He was following predominantly Twitterers identifies as being in Iran, however, he also had a mix of some recognizable names on Twitter.

5. Gut - At this point, all I could do was follow my gut. I had no idea who this person was but his information seemed steady, correlated with what we could find out via the news (which at this point was minimal) and informative.

I followed him. Then began to retweet him.

At that point, I didn't know if my 4500 or so followers would be of any real benefit to him, but I knew the exponential power of Twitter meant that it wasn't necessarily just my actions alone but the subsequent actions of some of my key followers that could make things happen. And if others out there in the Twittersphere felt the same way as I did and did the same thing as I was doing, something could REALLY happen.

Within less than 48 hours, @persiankiwi was up to 20,000 followers. And the media had taken notice of what we were doing on Twitter (and Facebook) including the swell of media bashing as we desperately sought out current and "reliable news" from our "trusted" news sources. I was floored at how much digging I had to do to find anything but not surprised.

Ann Curry from NBC talked about this at the 140 Characters Conference in New York City last week. She talked about the struggle journalists have to get the "real" story out there. I have felt for a long time now that our U.S. news programs are more about entertainment and ratings than a reporting of global events. That's why I've turned more often to the BBC for world news than any American network.

But on Twitter, despite the risks and potential for deceipt - and misinformation - there is still the chance to tether a line between us and them, between Americans/the world and Iranians in the midst of a simmering revolution. We were there. Yes, we were sitting in our armchairs at Internet's length from the fray, but we were a part of what was happening and not just inactive observers.

Then what? Many people changed their locations to Tehran in hopes of thwarting the efforts of the opposition to track down the Iranian Twitterers. But Rita J. King of Dancing Ink who spoke at #140conf talked about both an ethical issue with replacing our locations and also a confusion we'd be causing for the Iranians searching for others in their proximity - we'd be making it harder for them. So I used that information to decide not to switch my location.

Next we were given instructions for changing our Twitter avatars to green. I did this immediately because I had to do something and this seemed to be the Twitter equivalent of waving a flag in solidarity and support on a potentially global scale.

But now what? As I read the news now coming in regarding #iran elections, I'm disheartened to see the ruling powers working to crush the Iranian people, to silence their voices, to snuff out their efforts. I don't know if I could have mustered the courage to do what they have done - and are doing - putting themselves in harms way for a cause they believe in. That is an amazing quality of courage.

@persiankiwi is now at over 30,000. He has a photo of a child behind bars in green as his avatar. His bio reads:

If any do fail to judge by that which Allah has sent down, they are tyrants - Allah Akbar yare Mohammad (s)

He has placed a link to Mir Hossein Mousavi's Facebook page.

And we still do not know who he/she is, but he/she is our touchstone to another people in a faraway land who are doing what many of us do not have the courage or wherewithal to do but we can do something. Something.

What else can we do? We are safe and comfortable in our armchairs, boasting our green avatars, retweeting, paying attention, but how long will this last? How many people will be injured? Disappear? Die? And how do we know that we are retweeting the right things?

What are we doing, and how can we do it well from this distance?

I don't have any answers. I just jump onto Twitter and retweet what I can in between going about my life and my daily work. Is that enough? Is it still making a difference?

What are you doing, and do you know what else we can do?

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• Facebook, Google Go Persian, Helping Iran's Activists (wired.com)
• Iran clamps down on Twitter in attempt to control images of election protests (telegraph.co.uk)
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Live, On Stage, a Twitterstream - 140conf

In case you missed The 140 Character Conference in New York City (140conf), this is a glimpse of what you missed:

The Twitterstream came alive, personified, on a stage.

Jeff Pulver did a phenomenal job bringing together a broad and pretty diverse group of Twitter Characters.

The conference was run like a Twitterstream. Very tight time limits - 10-15 minute individual presentations and 20 minute panels - forcing everyone to tighten their points, squeeze out the superfluous, distill down to the salient points.

Not every moderator or panelist (or audience member) was able to shake off their traditional (long-winded) communication styles and get that naked that quickly, but some in particular who nailed it and were standouts were

Laura Fitton @pistachio
Ann Curry @anncurry
Chris Brogan @cbrogan
Liz Strauss @lizstrauss
Jeremy Epstein @jer979
Sharon Glassman @sharonglassman

and especially Christopher R. Weingarten @1000TimesYes and Jessica Gottlieb @jessicagottlieb.

If you were coming to Twitter to learn the basics of Twitter, this wasn't the place. This was next level discourse and rather than learning the nuts and bolts, it was learning through the exposure to different experiences and perspectives, even to those that the crowd boo'd.

Christopher Weingarten said this incredibly well, probably with the F-bomb insterspersed liberally, so this is a very clean summary of what I got out of one of his points:

It is NOT a good thing to just follow what and who you know and like. The great thing about Twitter is the potential for discovery, the random encountering of things that are not familiar, that are not within your comfort zone.

So this conference was a Twitterstream of discovery personified. The second day is still underway. I'm looking forward to all of it.

How have you felt about the conference if you're at it, listening in or following the #140conf stream?

Getting Your Facebook URL

Image via CrunchBase

It felt like we were all waiting for a land grab as we anticipated the moment Facebook direct URLs would become available. I knew I was going to be on the road driving across Alaska without cell signal so arranged for one of my Conversify team members to log into my account and claim my name. Score!

http://www.facebook.com/alizasherman

I'm not sure why I felt so nervous about getting my name. There aren't many Aliza Sherman's out there but there are at least two that I know of because. I've corresponded with the one in New Jersey now and then. We were drawn together by the curiosity of both of us having the same rather unique name (Aliza Sherman is my maiden name and her married name).

That other Aliza Sherman told me that when her friends and family search for her on the Web, links for me are always coming up instead. I can't imagine how that must feel although the times that her blog comes up when I do a Google vanity search, I do feel a tiny twinge of disappointment that another Aliza Sherman shows up when I'm searching for myself.

Every so often, I come across another Aliza Sherman. I haven't been in touch with her yet, but probably will someday, drawn again by that odd "You have my name" feeling and just thinking we should connect at some point.

I feel a touch of guilt that I claimed Aliza Sherman for my Facebook profile, but it was "first come first served," right?

Deciding what name to claim on Facebook for my profile took a moment to strategize. Should I claim "Aliza" instead of Aliza Sherman? It would be shorter. When I used to work in the music business, I went by one name. I'd joke "Just Aliza, like Madonna" and figured it was hard enough to remember how to pronounce my name correctly so a last name would just be distraction. (It is Uh LEE zuh, for the record).

I thought maybe I should claim my married name, but I've spent the last several years post marriage trying to rebrand myself as...myself, that is, to return to Aliza Sherman after a year of screwing up my Google and Amazon.com searchability by adding my married name and then using only my husband's last name for a while. Men should realize how changing one's name after marriage can wreak havoc on a woman's personal brand.

So I guess that, without gloating, I should feel good about getting the name Aliza Sherman on Facebook because I understand the value of a brand name, the importance of findability, and the need for consistency. I think I did the right thing.

Did you get your name - or the name you wanted on Facebook today?

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The Modern Day CV

I'm always struggling with recording my career-related activities to keep track of my own professional history. I haven't used a resume for years because as a business owner, I'm more commonly asked for my bio or background, and I try to edit my bio every six months or when I do something new or significant in my work, whichever comes first.

I did try to put a CV together which is much more of an academic document. While I have a 15 page CV, I ended up paring it down thinking it would be easier to read and ended up with a cross between an extended resume and abbreviated CV.

These days, I think the Resume/CV is LinkedIn. I can't see being a working or even an out-of-work businessperson without a LinkedIn account. The site prompts you to add your work history in an orderly fashion and encourages you to keep adding relevant activities and experience to get to a 100% completed profile.

When I want to know about anyone's background, I hit LinkedIn first to see if they have a profile and if so, what they've been up to in the last 5 years. I'm sure people are doing the same to learn more about me.

I find myself tweaking my LinkedIn account several times a month, making sure that it clearly conveys what I do.

How are you keeping up with your resume, CV or bio? Is LinkedIn working for you?

Social Media Goodness podcast #3

Talking about the old way we did things in marketing and communications and the new way we are doing things. Also a short rant about fundraising scams.

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What Companies Need to Know (and Embrace) about Social Media

I'm getting really into lists posts. After all of the positive response to my 10 Golden Rules of Social Media, I've been thinking more and more of other lists of "rules" or "tools" or useful bits of information I can compile from all the many things I've thought about, written, talked about, and read about the Internet over the years. After 20+ years online, I've watched - and lived through - many fads, trends, evolutions and revolutions.

With the popularity and impact of social media on our world, I want to address some of the ideas and issues that have been brought up by clients and colleagues who just don't get social media and don't want to use it - especially not in business. "I don't have time," they say. "I'm afraid it will get me in trouble," they say. "I don't see how it can work." "I just don't get it."

Two of the scariest things about social media are: 1) that it does take time to understand and use properly, and 2) that it causes all of us to shift how we think about communications.

Here's some of my thoughts about what a company should know about social media before attempting to use it. I'm not sure how effective this information will be to convince the individuals within companies and organizations who are the naysayers of social media, who have emotional knee-jerk reactions to the very thought of blogging or Twitter or Facebook because they feel threatened.

I'm not here to coddle those who fear social media. I just want to keep putting into writing what I keep telling them to try to help them understand. Honestly, they may not like what they hear.

But here we go...

1. Release control. When it comes to social media, you have to let go. Let go of preconceived notions. Let go of an iron grip of control. Let go of what you know about - and feel comfortable with - when it comes to communications. At best, you can provide social tools for others to help propagate your messages, and they will use the materials you provide to communicate your messages well. At worst, they will take what you put out there and use it against you. Most of social media happens somewhere in between.

2. Provide tools. I tell my clients that we will work with them to identify the wealth of assets and tools they have to tell their story well and to put all of it out there to put tools into the hands of others to help you tell their story, too. This blows some people's minds. "What? We're GIVING this stuff away? We're PUTTING this stuff OUT THERE?" Yes, you are providing rich, interactive, behind-the-scenes, compelling and fun tools to people so they can help you tell your story. Just remember that all the videos and images and posts and tweets in the world that you put out there are not half as valuable as the ones that come from your true fans and loyal customers that happen unsolicited.

3. Be transparent. Don't pretend to be someone you are not. Don't lie about your identity. If you are the CEO, let people know that. If you are the marketing person, let people know that. Never, ever post anywhere pretending to be a "satisfied customer" or "happy client." There's actually a term for this deception - Astroturfing - and it is frowned upon by industries and individuals alike. Full disclosure is critical.

4. Be yourself. And in the spirit of honesty, let your personality shine through. People don't just want to hear from the CEO of a company or director of an organization, they want to hear from another human being who is out there doing business well or doing good things. It is about human connection, not an overly prepared speech or heavily edited blog post.

5. Get naked. And for the truly brave, get deep and get naked. Raw honesty, no-holds-barred exposure, from-the-gut missives - these are what truly strike chords in others. If you feel it, let it be known. Passion is contagious (view C.C. Chapman's presentation about passion). While there is a line between being "out there" and "too much information," your personality and the personality of your brand can help guide how naked you want to get.

6. Ask opinions. Everyone has an opinion. The beauty - and frightening - thing about social media is that everyone now has a platform and audience to express their opinion. Whether they are using Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Utterli, Tumblr, you name it, we're all practically drunk with the power of publishing our opinions. Solicit the opinions of others about your company, your brand, your organization, your cause, about you. Brace yourself though because people will tell you like they see it.

7. Respond. People want to feel that they are heard. Take the time to respond to others when they take the time to blog about, tweet about, write about, talk about you. By responding, you are showing that you are listening, that you are paying attention, that you care. And by all means, reward those who are saying good things about you and your company. Even just a public acknowledgement of thanks goes a long way. Sometimes listening, paying attention and responding can take a lot of time, but the rewards are far greater than time "lost." I'd actually look at this time spent as a gain.

8. Be respectful. If someone has expressed their opinion, acknowledge what they are saying and what they are feeling. Even if they are saying something negative, even if they are bashing your brand, be respectful. Social media is not about fighting with an enemy. It is about conducting oneself in a kind, generous and respectful manner and realizing there are real people behind the avatars, icons, and pages. Most people attack others because they first and foremost lack self-respect so therefore cannot be respectful of others. Most people just want to be acknowledged and respected, no matter how angry they might be.

9. Take the high road. Back in the 90s when I was running my first Internet company Cybergrrl, Inc., people would sometimes say very hurtful and hateful things about me and my company. I'd tell my business partner that we always had to take the high road and never lash out or retaliate. I used to live by the theory "kill them with kindness," but today, I believe it has to go deeper than that. Be genuinely kind. If you never speak ill of others (including your competitors), that negativity will never come back to haunt you.

10. Learn lessons well. We all make mistakes. Acknowledge them, apologize if needed, move on, but take with you that lesson. Don't repeat the same mistake twice. Don't forget the lessons you are learning each day. We are all learning how to use social media well. We can all learn from one another. Be open to learning because social media is not a fad - it is seriously changing the way we communicate and consume information.

We are all students. We are all teachers.

What are some other overarching ideas companies need to hear regarding social media, whether they want to hear them or not?

The Grossly Neglected Blog

I have been neglecting this blog. There, I said it. The first step in recovery is admitting you have a problem, right? And my problem has a name: Twitter.

Don't get me wrong. I love Twitter. To me, Twitter is like breathing. I can't go a day without at least one tweet. Twitter is my lifeline, my connection to the rest of the world and the people in my industry. Twitter helps me feel less lonely, more informed, less isolated, more...important.

Blogging takes so much effort. The irony is that I can compose long, rich, and exciting blog posts in my head but when I get to my computer to type it all out...I tweet instead. I've lost countless compelling blog posts that way.

But I can't just blame Twitter. Here are the 10 reasons why I'm neglecting my blog:

1. Twitter.

2. Motherhood.

3. I'm running a business.

4. I'm forgetful.

5. I blog way too much for way too many other people for way too little money.

6. I'm overloaded.

7. I think in 140 characters or less. I'm starting to dream that way, too.

8. Not enough caffeine.

9. Too much caffeine.

10. I'm paralyzed by the blank page whether on paper or on a blog.

What are YOUR excuses...I mean reasons for neglecting YOUR blog?

Social Media Goodness podcast #2

Should nonprofit organizations use social media? Doesn't it cost too much time and money? I talk about those things in more in this podcast.

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Social Media Goodness 1

Started up a new little podcast. This is geared toward nonprofit organizations & do-gooders wanting to learn how to use social media marketing for social good. Will define terminology, explain tools, give brief case studies, etc. and hope it is helpful!

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