Okay, everyone hates Klout, what's the alternative?

There's been a ton of discussion lately about Klout and in particular their new algorithms. Klout and other similar tools can be useful in measuring your online success but what do we do when those tools fall short (as we've seen lately with Klout)? I want to talk about other ways to gauge your effectiveness at least on Twitter.

Most of these measurement tools seem to focus on influence. Depending on your goals, influence can be important. However, we should focus on engagement more than influence. Social media is all about engagement and although a lot of people will talk about engagement and authenticity, those same people often really seem to be focusing on number of retweets, follower counts and other measure of influence. But I would argue that engagement grows your influence but does it in a much more meaningful way than just getting followers that pass along your content.

Let's apply that to Twitter since it's my favorite of the social networks. It takes a minimal amount of effort to click that retweet button. Sometimes we'll add a comment but even that really isn't much of a commitment. However, when someone actually replies to a tweet then you know you've really grabbed someone's attention. I'd rather have one person that finds my content so interesting that they're compelled to respond than have 10 people retweet me. Sure the 10 retweeters would be out there spreading my name to the world, but who cares? What does that get me? A couple of followers? A little boost in Klout? But that one person that was truly interested in my content will be much more likely to remember me and be part of an online relationship that is actually meaningful.

When you want to gauge how you're doing on Twitter take a look at how many people are responding to your tweets. Also look back at your timeline and see how many of your tweets are parts of conversations with other users. This a great way of determining how effective you are on Twitter. And best of all it's not based on the whims of an algorithm you have no control over.

Yep, followers and retweets are great but next time you want to see how you're doing on Twitter just take a look at your actual engagement. No third party tools required.

Full disclosure: I love checking my Klout score. Even though it generally appears random and meaningless I still can't help but check it a couple of times a week. And yes, I saw a significant drop in my score with the new algorithm.

Don't Be "That Guy"

A recent interaction on Twitter left me baffled and annoyed. I replied to a user about a link that he retweeted. He responded with confusion and after three tweets he finally figured out what I was talking about. Turns out he didn't even read the link in his retweet. So of course when I wanted to discuss it he had nothing to add to the conversation. Worse still he told me to contact the original poster if I wanted to discuss the link.

It's easy to jump in to social media and start throwing out links and working on increasing your follower count. However, in social media, just as in the real world, you have to be accountable for your actions. You're only as good as your reputation, whether you're running an account for your business or just for personal use. If people learn they can't trust you to be authentic or accountable then your relationship will be over. Sure you might be able to dupe a bunch of people into following you but the relationships that will actually pay off in the social media world won't be there without accountability.

A Discussion of Crowdsourcing Graphic Design

Yesterday I noticed a tweet from Chris Brogan telling designers that he had just put a logo design contest up on a popular crowdsourcing website. If you've heard me discuss crowdsourcing then you know I'm not a fan so I sent a quick reply letting him know that most reputable designers are against this type of design "contest."

Considering that Chris has over 135,000 followers on Twitter I thought that would be the last I heard of the issue. I was pleasantly surprised when Chris replied back asking me why. I responded with a link to NO!SPEC and a quick summary of my point of view that, "designers deserve to get paid for work they do and businesses deserve full attention from their designer."

It was clear from his discussion with me and others on Twitter that Chris was attempting to educate himself. He also asked if anyone had written any blog posts on the issue and said he might link to some in a future post of his. I happily sent him links to the two posts I'd made about crowdsourcing graphic design last year.

Soon Chris had a blog post up about his project and the strong reactions he'd been getting from Twitter, he also linked to one of my posts. There has been a great discussion in the comments on his blog about crowdsourcing benefits and why it might hurt designers and businesses. I'd recommend taking a few minutes to read his post and his decision to pursue a $300 logo over the $20,000 logo he had previously had done.

Of course I made my opinion clear although I don't particularly expect it to change many minds. What I do appreciate is someone taking the time to educate themselves and others about both sides of the debate. It's understandable that a business might just see crowdsourcing as a way to get a cheap logo but hopefully discussions like these will educate those people so that at the very least they are aware of what they are asking of designers.

Twitter and Facebook can help boost creativity

There have been plenty of reports lately about work time wasted on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook. Now a recent article in Wired magazine backs up what I've been saying for a while, small breaks while working can help boost creativity.

Obviously not everyone would boost their productivity by spending time on Twitter or Facebook during their workday. But for graphic designers or other creatives these short breaks can help keep our minds running and the ideas flowing. Take a look at the article and see what you think.

Why your business should be on Twitter

I recently experienced a great example of customer service on Twitter. It started when I complained about my web-hosting company (Earthlink) and mentioned that I was switching to Bluehost.

@basketsbybonnie responded to this post saying that she had been having problems with Earthlink as well and that she was considering moving her hosting to Network Solutions. Within a couple of hours both Bluehost and Network Solutions had responded to our discussion. Bluehost dropped in to say hi and Network Solutions also offered help if it was needed.

So why does this matter? To me it's an indication of customer service. Yes, this was a marketing effort from both companies but it was on my terms and it was pleasant and unobtrusive. It also worked! Although it may not have changed my purchasing decision on the day of the exchange, it did give me a very positive impression of both companies. As a result of our short dialogue, I'm already happier with Bluehost and will be keeping Network Solutions in mind for future websites.

Where was Earthlink in all of this? I have no idea but they certainly weren’t involved in the hosting discussion and in my short search I was unable to find an Earthlink Twitter account. If Earthlink had been paying attention it would have been a great opportunity to try to resolve my issues with their services. Instead they missed out on that opportunity.

A lot of people are still skeptical about the value of Twitter but if your business isn't participating it could be missing out on a vital opportunity for customer service (not to mention damage control).

Check out Adam Lee Design on Twitter.