I still regularly hear that people fall for these scams, and this video, although a couple of years old, is still highly relevant. If you’re not sure if it’s from your bank.. check this video!

Brizzly appears to be a new toy on the market, as recommended by @StephenFry (still the UK’s top Twitter advocate?). I still haven’t done a great deal with it, but with the rise of spammers, it looks to be a useful/interesting tool, and again, is capable of managing multiple accounts. I wondered what was different, but it opens up all short-links (which you’ll still need to use to post to keep them short and maximise the use of your 140 characters), images and videos (which can be watched in the software). The intro video is a helpful start off, and you can group people by self-defined groups, and mute people for short periods of time (rather than de-following) if, for instance, they are at a conference that you’re not interested in. You need an invite code to get in – I got mine via @WriterCharly, who got hers from @StephenFry.

I am looking at who I follow/am followed by on Twitter, and was looking for a tool which would give me an idea.

• As a first run, I have found http://friendorfollow.com very helpful in identifying those who I am following but are not following me.
• Some people will only follow those who are following them, which isn’t my style (as some of the biggest names, who post the most interesting tweets (e.g. @mashable) don’t follow many back).
• It does, however, give me an idea of people who I may have followed in a moment of madness, who’ve then de-followed me (and picks up on some people who I can’t imagine ever following, so I’m not quite sure how that happens).
• The software is quite slow to run, but you can add /username and it will start searching immediately. I thought it had hung, put the computer into hibernation overnight, and the data was all there.
• When you click on an icon, it will take you into Twitter itself, where you can choose whether to defollow or not (I’m not an advocate of auto-defollowing), so there’s a bit of clicking back and forth, but worth it.
• The tool can come in particularly handy if you’re reaching the limit of 2000 following, when you don’t have as many followers!
• From now on, I can just add those I think I’m going to get value from, and use their tweets to decide whether to defollow (whether they’re following me or not) – trying to improve the ratio of signal to noise!

Interested in suggestions of programmes that others have used, and their pros/cons?

Social Networking Sites
So, all social networking sites have different functions? I use Twitter as a push/pull news source and for relationship building with people who are interested in the same things as me, whereas I use Facebook for people I already know to continue to build those relationships, and of course there are many more options. On Linked In, you are only able to connect with people that you truly know, and both parties have to accede to the invitation. Linked In recommend that you only link with those that you really know, as all your connections are able to post recommendations ,  which won’t be helpful from those you don’t know… the idea is to build a trusted network, and if you’re interested in what is in someone’s public profile, you can get introduced through another friend!

Linked In: Business Only?
As we noted in an earlier post, Linked In is designed for maximising business opportunities. Interestingly, when I checked out Google images to see if anyone had poked fun at the “stiff” reputation that Linked In has, I was faced with a sea of serious blue and white images and earnest endorsements for Linked In, so it clearly doesn’t attract that kind of attention, but there are more functions to this site than at first glance

DrBexL: Profile
I’ve had my Linked In profile up for a while, but not done a huge amount with it, but over the past few weeks I’ve had an increasing number of requests for connections. So, what does my profile now include:

• Current job has now become current jobs. It’s great to be able to see them concurrantly, demonstrating the range of projects that I maintain an active interest in. I used “Import Resume” to import from a Word document. I had problems initially, but this could potentially have been that 2 windows were open, and it did eventually work. Fairly impressive, although as with all these automated tools, not 100% accurate.
• An image.  I’m still debating whether to change this to the “Keep Calm and Carry On” image I’ve been using most other places, but I also have a PhD portrait doing the rounds, and I like to ring the changes – although the conventional wisdom is “Keep it the same across the platforms”.
• WordPress application: This draws the latest posts from my http://ww2poster.wordpress.com/ feed. I would like to be able to add a feed from this site also, but it only allows one site, so I have also implemented BlogLink by Typepad, which not only draws the feed from here (for some reason in duplicate, there don’t appear to be any edit options), but also shows me the latest postings from my contacts.
• Added a few entries to the “Reading List” (which feeds back into Amazon, but unfortunately without any monies to you), which gives an indication of how seriously you take the projects you profess to be interested in. I read a lot, but would use this space only for “professional” books, which might make it manageable, but for today, I don’t have time to add them all right now!
• Slideshare (for which I already have an external account), which gives me access to uploaded PowerPoint (and other presentation) slides uploaded by my connections and those in my industry. Presentations can be download, shared through other social media, and recommended. Recommendations not only help others work through the “dross”, but demonstrate that you use credible resources, and therefore your recommendations may have some value.
• Joined a number of relevant groups. There’s hundred to choose from, so care needed here. Again, look at those that your connections are using to assess their relevance, and then sift through the “noise” for helpful information. I receive a summary email every day, so can quickly read the headlines.
• Recommendations for a handful of connections (it’s great for working on being concise), with more in planning. I have also contacted others (again, more in planning) to request recommendations on my own work.
• I haven’t used Box.Net yet, for the uploading of files to the profile.

“The potential impact of blended learning on the learning and teaching experience of staff and students at Winchester”

Already had a number of good discussions, and have ideas, plus been picked up more on the ALK-C 2009, especially via Twitter and Elluminate, picking up tips and presentations from CrowdVine, but obviously a lot of the role is going to be prioritising as new technologies roll towards us!

I would LOVE to know (and crowd-source!) your tops tips for this, what’s worth investing time in, and seems to pay off for the students (and yourselves), and what you’d put to one side. I’ve watched the arguments rage about “is the VLE dead”… I use Twitter and blogging extensively, and so want to investigate learning applications for this, but also think Wikis, etc. have great potential! THOUGHTS?!

Everyone can watch videos on YouTube. People can see first-hand accounts of current events, find videos about their hobbies and interests and discover the quirky and unusual. As more people capture special moments on video, YouTube is empowering them to become the broadcasters of tomorrow.”

http://www.youtube.com/user/drbexl

I manage a number of Twitter accounts:

• http://www.twitter.com/drbexl (general tweets)
• http://www.twitter.com/digitalfprint (social media tweets)
• http://www.twitter.com/ww2poster (history tweets)
• http://www.twitter.com/sfdo (adrenalin sports tweets)

Tips from my Experience of Twitter

• The fun challenge in Twitter is getting an understandable message across in 140 characters!
• If others like your information, they may “Retweet” it, thus their circle of friends may also read it.
• Twitter is about relationship building, you can’t just “broadcast” announcements out, you need to engage with your followers.
• Post a mix of useful information, links to others tweets/information, and some personal information… quotes seem to work quite well too!
• Think carefully about the name that you use for Twitter. Shorter is better so you can be re-tweeted, and you’re not using up large chunks of your 140 characters before you start..
• Add a clear picture of yourself. I don’t like following people without ‘avatars’ unless I already know them in ‘the real world’.
• Think carefully about how you use your 160 characters for your ‘biography’, as others will use this (along with your ‘feed’).
• Password protected accounts allow you to have private conversations, but you can only have one account per email address so think carefully.
• If you’re going to feed your status updates into Facebook, and you’re planning on fully engaging, you may want to find the “Selective Twitter” app in Facebook, adding #fb to your “Tweet” (otherwise FB friends will unsubscribe as you fill up their feed!).
• Use ‘hashtags’ (#) to follow conversations. There’s a number of now settled hashtags (e.g. #followfriday, although the etiquette for recommending is somewhat interesting, and a certain amount of you pat my back, etc.), but otherwise you can invent one. They’re generally ephemeral so with a few basic checks (e.g. on searches), it’s a fairly safe bet.

I think this diagram “Twitter Currency” sums it up really well (and will, in time, add information on useful add-ons for Twitter, as I LOVE TWITTER).

Associated Applications:

• Hootsuite
• Friend or Follow