If you’re not doing something that scares you today then find something. Options #apologize #writewithpassion #askGod
— Andy Traub (@andytraub) March 7, 2012
How to create vanity URLs for use in social media
Owning your own domain is important in building your brand and Platform. As sharing has increased in importance over the last few years through services like Facebook and Twitter having a custom URL to share you information has also become helpful. The limited number of characters allowed by Twitter make services like bit.ly, goo.gl popular to save precious characters.
CAUTION: This is complicated stuff for some people so I take zero responsibility if you mess something up on your domain. Use a domain that you use for nothing else.
UPDATE: One user had their URL updated and functioning in 20 minutes today. Mine took over 24 hours. So be patient and let me know if you get it to work!
You can now create your own custom short URL to extend your branding throughout your own site and social media reach. One ALTERNATIVE to this process is to use a subdomain to your domain if it’s short enough. My friend Cliff Ravenscraft uses l.gspn.tv for his vanity URL which works well because his gspn.tv URL is so short. I created atraub.us to use as my vanity URL. Here’s an example of what a Twitter message could look like with three different URLs and how many characters each one totals.
No custom URL – How to fix your nag of a wife – http://www.takepermission.com/babh-podcast/how-to-fix-your-nagging-wife-babh-016/ – (114)
Bit.ly custom URL – How to fix your nag of a wife – http://bit.ly/xLgHsx – (52)
Self-hosted custom URL – How to fix your nag of a wife – http://atraub.us/yoKmZX – (55)
The last link starting with http://www.atraub.us was created with the following tools.
How to embed a tweet in a "quote" formatted post in Standard Theme
Wise reader and Standard Theme user Kevin Bower pointed out that the Twitter Blackird Pie Plug-in does this already. Thanks for the tip Kevin.
After recently switching to the Standard Theme (affiliate link..thx) I wanted to utilize the “quote” formatted post option. As I was typing in the quote I wanted to post I remembered that I had tweeted the quote earlier in the day. The idea come to me that perhaps I could kill two birds with one stone; embed the tweet in the “quote” formatted post driving traffic to my site as usual but also increase engagement through my Twitter platform. Since I’m not posting the quotes for SEO purposes (I’m not sure Google will see my embedded Tweet the same as if I was typing in a quote) I was OK with embedding the Tweet. Twitter makes it very easy to embed your tweets and gives you some cool functionality at the same time. Here’s how you can do the same thing.
Step 1: Choose the “quote” format on the right side of your compose new post window.
How to network using social media
The biggest difference between networking 15 years ago and networking today is scale. Sometime over the last few weeks I reached the 1,000 followers mark on Twitter. Do I know all of those people? No. Am I connected to them? Yes. Our networks are scalable because the internet doesn’t care where you are as long as you’re connected. If you were good at networking before LinkedIn or Twitter started you’ll be good at networking now. Social networks are built to connect people and their ideas. That is not a new idea.
The connections are valid
Those who think the new networking creates less valid connections are focusing on the ease of the tools instead of the depth of the connections the tools provide. It is true that most things worth doing are more difficult. Thanks to the internet connecting is the easy.
Even if you’ve never met
Progressing beyond a connection into a relationship is where lives change and the world becomes a better place to live. The internet can help you go deeper in your relationships if you want to. My children live 17 hours from my parents but they see each other through Skype anytime. My mom watches out family YouTube channel (http://www.YouTube.com/Traubfamily) to experience the daily highlights my kids produce. Cliff Ravenscraft and I have done 81 episodes of our podcast Business Tech Weekly over skype. I’ve never met Cliff in person.
Scale the results too
Facebook is measured by the number of friends you have. Relationships are measured by the change they bring; joy, commerce, knowledge, encouragement, wisdom. I think you should ignore the number of friends and connections you have on the digital networks. Focus on the fruit of those relationships. If you use the tools the internet provides us you can not only scale the amount of connections you have, you can scale what those relationships produce.
It's about more than social media: a tweetup with Jeff Hayzlett and Jeff Pulver
Today I had the honor of spending some time with Jeff Hayzlett and Jeff Pulver. Since they both have their own Wikipedia pages they’re famous enough that you might know who they are. Hayzlett has worked at Kodak for many years and now has a book out and a television deal. He has his own consulting company now and he’s a local boy (we both live in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and despite the media’s misinformation he doesn’t live on a ranch). Jeff Pulver has a fascinating history with technology, from working with ham radios at age 9, making VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) the technology it is today, investing in Twitter to founding and running the movement that is the 140 Conferences.
We had a small a great Tweetup organized by Hugh Weber who is as close as you come to a social media guru (and a genuinely nice guy as well). I put together a video from the notes I took at the event because frankly it felt like it was too important not to document. Here’s a preview of the video…it’s not about the technology, it’s about people’s lives changing through connectivity. If you attended the Tweetup I’d appreciate you sharing what you took away from the event. I know we all learned something significant.
