I use TweetDeck to organize the people that I follow on Twitter and Facebook, and I have the application divided up into many columns. Three of the columns are Do Not Miss, AM (for Affiliate Marketing) and Autos/Companies. I always pay close attention to the people that I’ve put into the Do Not Miss column. The AM column has the largest number of people in it, but I do my best to skim and pick up important tweets that I can interact with. The Autos/Companies column, unless I’m really bored, gets largely ignored.

Do Not Miss is full of people that tweet personally. They may promote their sites or products, but they always do it from a personal point of view. They never (or at least, very rarely) automatically pipe anything into Twitter (something that I am sometimes guilty of myself, I know). Many of them are also personal friends of mine, but not all. Being interesting and personable gets you on this list., and I keep it short.

AM is populated by anyone that’s part of the affiliate marketing industry. There are many people in it that I don’t know personally, but I’m interested in what they have to say. This is kind of an “everyone else” column. If you don’t fit into Do Not Miss, and you’re part of the industry, you’re probably in this column. Most of what shows up in this column is personally sent, not automated.

Autos/Companies is nothing more than people or companies that I don’t want to unfollow (because they occasionally post something noteworthy) but I don’t want to pay a lot of attention to. They automatically post nearly everything to the stream, there’s nothing personal about the tweets, and it’s often little more than a stream of links to offers or coupons. These are tweeters that use services like twitterfeed.com or RT everything under the sun without regard for the answer to the question: do my followers really care about this?

If I told you that I’m not the only person that uses a system like this, would it surprise you? If we told you that you were on the Autos/Companies (or whatever title other folks give it) list and that we rarely read your tweets, would you change your style?

Which list do you think you’re on?

It’s been said that 2010 will be the Year of FourSquare (via Peter Shankman) but it’s also been called annoying and worthless by folks who’d rather not see FourSquare updates on Twitter and Facebook. Like any technology or social application, there are ways to use FourSquare without annoying anyone – or, with minimal annoyance at least.

1. Turn off notifications to Twitter and Facebook
   This seems counter-productive, but users that login and search nearby areas will see you. FourSquare doesn’t break when you don’t send updates to Facebook or Twitter. If you don’t want to go all the way, at least turn off the notifications of unlocked badges and achievements.
2. Think about where you’re checking in
   There is no reason why you should check in at your house. Remember, locations you create, like your home, are publicly searchable. While paranoia shouldn’t be the rule of the day, there are few compelling reasons to put the location of your home out there for all to so easily find. Checking in at  church, at a bar, at a movie theater? That’s one thing. Checking in at your doctor’s office, your (for the ladies) gynecologist, or your kid’s preschool? That’s altogether different.
3. Updating every 20 minutes isn’t necessary
   There’s no need to check-in at every store you visit while you’re out running errands. “At Walmart” followed by “At Ace Hardware” 15 minutes later followed by “At Staples” 20 minutes after that gets old pretty quick. If you wouldn’t take the time to type “I’m at Walmart” in your Twitter client, don’t bother checking in with FourSquare. Like anything else that goes out to the social web, ask yourself if it’s worth putting out there.
4. Participate with people that want to participate
   Seek out businesses that want to use FourSquare as part of a marketing strategy. They will often offer discounts to customers that check-in at their location. Bars have been quick to jump on this. Don’t go overboard! The previous three suggestions still apply.
5. Don’t be rude in real life, either
   Whatever you do, don’t hold up the line at the grocery store trying to check-in while you’re standing at the cashier. Don’t belly up to the bar, get the bartender’s attention, then make him wait as you check-in. True, there are people online who are annoyed by FourSquare updates; there’s no reason to annoy people in real life, too.
6. Show you can have fun with it without taking it too seriously
   Check in from someplace like Missy Ward’s Ample Cleavage (wish I’d known about that little bit of comedy while we were all in Vegas). If you’re making people laugh, you’re probably not annoying them.

Like anything (especially abusing services like twitterfeed), FourSquare can be used in ways that others don’t like. While I do believe that there aren’t any hard-and-fast rules when it comes to social applications, I do believe in strong guidelines. Are you on FourSquare? How do you use it?

Imagine you are a software developer, a writer, or an artist. You have something to sell. You walk into a boardroom, a party, or a social gathering where people are interested in what you’ve got to say about your product. Chit-chat is encouraged, people are making small talk. You talk about yourself and talk up your product a bit. You want these people to take an interest in you and your product.

You wouldn’t, if you have any sense at all, start mouthing off about the scumbag Democrats who are forcing their socialist agendas on “us” hard-working Americans. You wouldn’t go on about how Obama is stealing our money, is going to throw people in jail for not buying government health care, and wants to control every aspect of our lives. You wouldn’t go on about how the only people exercising a government health care option would be lazy freeloaders, just like those on welfare and imply that we should be burning flags as a form of protest. You wouldn’t, if you had a brain in your head, jeopardize the success of your product and your business over your inability to keep your mouth shut about politics in a room full of people who are not there to discuss politics.

So why the hell would you do it on Twitter?

I followed someone, until this morning, because I wanted to hear about his software development. I liked reading what he wrote about his life and times. What I don’t like reading is hatred and venom (and it was pure hatred, thick and rich) directed toward people like me, people who believe that while government may not be perfect, helping those less fortunate is a virtue. Say what you like about health care reform, but there is a time and a place for everything, and while you may think that everyone who follows you wants to hear your rants, you’re wrong.

Look, believe whatever you want. Say whatever you want. I’m not suggesting that people should censor themselves if they want to use Twitter as a soapbox. Just make sure you understand the consequences. You’ll lose followers, and maybe because I’m not getting updates about your software anymore I’ll end up using a competitor’s product. When the vast majority of your followers are only doing so because of the software you’ve written, understand that when you piss them off, they’re going to leave.

Worse than that though? I’m an affiliate for this particular product. Piss me off, and maybe I’ll start promoting your competitors (and there are a lot to choose from). You still want to bitch about health care on Twitter? Even if it costs you sales? Are you sure mixing business and personal is the best route to take?

This post is being written on my iPhone using the WordPress iPhone app – which I would link to if it weren’t such a hassle.

That is my major gripe about the app, and it’s one that can’t be stressed enough: writing HTML on the iPhone (on any phone, I imagine) is an exercise in frustration. I suppose if you are just dashing out a three-line post and have no need to link to any address you haven’t memorized, this might be okay. For those of us that write more than a paragraph per post, this is slow, clunky, and annoying.

When I write in web-based WordPress, I have in-theme previews available to me. The app says it “can’t retreive [my] theme” to show a proper preview. Web-based, I have multiple browser tabs in which to look up links, and all the power that being a Thesis user brings. I have none of that in ths app. Was I expecting any of that? Of course not. There is only so much you can squeeze into a smartphone screen and Automattic can only account for WordPress funtionality, not that of third-parties.

Image support? Not so much – only whatever is in your camera roll. Plugin support? Not at all. This app is basically good for a few things: writing short posts, managing comments, and making quick & small adjustments to existing posts and pages.

I think that it’s a good start, and useful in a pinch, but I don’t see this app getting a lot of use in it’s current form.

With both legitimate marketers and spammers setting their sights on Twitter, it is only a matter of time before spam becomes a major problem.

Anyone at all can send you an “at” message, and unfollowing someone is a very final solution. What if you like 90% of what someone tweets but they throw in a few ads or sponsored tweets every now and then? Do you throw out the baby with the bath water?

There is a better way, at least for some desktop client users: filtering. With filters, you can block words or phrases; for example, a popular hashtag is #ad. Users should be commended for using that hashtag because it makes it easier for us to filter out their ads! I’ll show you how filtering works on two desktop Twitter clients. Unfortunately, this is not an option for the Twitter website or for tools like Power Twitter. I was very surprised, in researching for this article, to find that most clients don’t support filtering yet. Tweetdeck has supported it for so long that I foolishly assumed that other clients had followed suit by now. If you don’t use a client that supports filtering, you’re out of luck. Why not consider one of these tools?

If you’re aware of a Twitter desktop client that supports filtering, I’d love to hear about it! Filtering is presently the only option we have for effectively fighting spam on Twitter. I hope I’ll be able to update this article in a few months with a slew of clients that support it!

Everyone, and I mean everyone, is welcome to follow me on Twitter. That’s not exactly an earth-shattering statement, but according to many Twitter users, some followers are less desirable than others.

• Porn bots – Twitter accounts that have a scantily clad avatar, are following 1,000-2,000 people, and have ten tweets that are variations of “come see me naked”.
• Spammers – people that use sponsored tweet services, people that send automatic (impersonal) direct messages, and whose tweets are nothing but affiliate links.
• Marketers – people that don’t spam, but still tweet “too much” about deals or products they’ve found online.
• Generally untrustworthy people – this is a vague category, but one that has been gaining traction among some of the people that I follow. When a user doesn’t have a properly filled out Bio or uses a URL shortening service in their Web link, they are deemed untrustworthy. According to Will, ”in my experience, no bio = planning to spam.”

All of these are valid complaints… I suppose. The thing is, I don’t care who follows me. I never block anyone. I don’t automatically follow anyone back. When I get a new follower notice in my email inbox, I don’t often click through. I don’t waste any of my time on these activities. Since I don’t follow the porn bots and the spammers when they follow me, I don’t have to read their junk in my Twitter stream. They can’t send me Direct Messages. They do not impact my Twitter usage at all.

No wasted time + no impact on my stream = I don’t care who follows me.

My Bottom Line

It’s easy enough to determine who is worth following back based on the emails sent by Twitter. Does the person follow 1,400 people and only have 50 followers? Don’t follow them back. Does the person follow 50,000 and have 50,000 followers? Unless you don’t mind being ignored, don’t bother following back. This person isn’t interacting with 50k people. Does the person have a reasonable number of following/followers but a name like “MakeMoneyOnlineNOW”? I shouldn’t have to tell you to ignore that one. You see, there are enough clues in those emails to determine if someone deserves attention. When in doubt, click through and check the person’s tweets. Do it this way and you’ll probably click through a very manageable number of emails and pick up some quality followers that you might be interested in following back.

This is weird little blog post because I’m going to recommend you join an association that I’m not renewing my membership with. The National Association of Photoshop Professionals has been a fantastic resource for me over the past four years. The benefits of membership are enormous: written and video tutorials, a rich community forum, discounts, perks, a subscription to the excellent Photoshop User magazine, and so much more. I’m proud to have been a member.

Proud Member... for 20 more days.

My membership expired this month, and I’m sad to say that I’m not renewing. I know that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement, but all I can say is that I’ve used Photoshop for maybe three projects in the past year – two of them logos (which I should be doing in Illustrator anyway). So, NAPP, it’s not you, it’s me. I’m not taking advantage of everything you have to offer… but I hope that anyone who uses Photoshop regularly will.

In my experience, there is no better resource for learning Photoshop at all levels from beginner to expert. For $99/year you can’t beat it.

I’m a busy guy – working at home with two small kids means I need to be organized. I work on a Mac and I just bought an iPhone. Are there tools to help me stay organized? You bet. These are the two that made the final cut, and I’ll tell you which one I ultimately went with.

Here’s the setup. I have been an OmniFocus user for about ten months. I paid the $79.99 after trying it out and comparing it to similar programs. Last week, I bought a new 3g iPhone, the Apple iPhone 3G S. I knew that OmniFocus was available for the iPhone, but it’s $19.99 in the App Store. I knew that there are alternatives. I tried out many free GTD tools and listing/notes programs (booo to the App Store for not having trials of the software). I had just about settled on paying for OmniFocus for the iPhone when I remembered one called Remember the Milk.

Two days ago, I fired up my Twitter client du jour, Nambu, and prepared to send a message to my friend Sam Harrelson. Sam is a big proponant of GTD – Getting Things Done – programs, and I wanted his opinion about OmniFocus vs. Remember the Milk. Coincidentally, Sam had just posted to Twitter that he was switching from OmniFocus to Remember the Milk on his iPhone. Ooooh, drama! Would Remember the Milk change my mind about buying OmniFocus?

Round One

Remember the Milk – RTM – is free to use on the web, and the iPhone app is free… sort of. The app is free to download and install, but you must be a Remember the Milk Pro user in order to login and actually use it. Pretty sneaky. RTM Pro users pay $25.00 annually, and the list of perks is pretty slim.

OmniFocus for the Mac is $79.99, a price I was happy to pay 10 months ago. OmniFocus for the iPhone is $19.99. Point updates are free for both versions, but major updates are not… I think. Neither the Mac nor the iPhone version has had a major upgrade yet, so it’s unknown what will happen. The good news is that there have been many, many updates and improvements so far – the Mac version is up to 1.6.1 without an upgrade fee.

Winner: OmniFocus. My Mac version is already paid for, and I’d rather pay $19.99 once for the iPhone version than $25 annually for RTM Pro.

Round Two

Looking at the two products, there’s a lot of similarity in function, but not form. When it comes to GTD products, ease-of-use is paramount. If the product is too difficult to use, it’ll be abandoned and defeat the whole purpose – I won’t be Getting Things Done anymore.

When I bought the Mac version of OmniFocus, it took me about ten minutes to have the entire program figured out and working the way I liked. I found it very intuitive and needed no help from anyone to get things going. The interface is clean and organized, and being a desktop app, right clicking has meaning.

Right clicking in the Remember the Milk web interface simply brings up the default browser right-click menu. Not intuitive. This is, to me, symptomatic of the entire RTM experience. I found myself wrestling with the interface for 20 minutes and even though I could get a few tasks set up, I never felt like I was using the program correctly. Could I learn to use it effectively? Of course. Do I want to take the time (and then learn the iPhone counterpart)? Not really.

Winner: OmniFocus. It’s easier to use, plain and simple.

Round Three

How well do the products sync between the Mac/Online version and the iPhone app version? OmniFocus syncs via a variety of methods: iDisk/MobileMe, Bonjour, networked volumes and WebDAV. Setting up OmniFocus to sync locally, via Bonjour, is quite easy, but it would limit me to syncing only when I’m home. I decided to see about a WebDAV sync, and it was quite easy to understand once I got some handy advice from the OmniGroup forums. I signed up for a free SwissDisk account and I stored the Mac’s OmniFocus sync file there. Should I decide to buy the OmniFocus iPhone app, I’d simply point to that password-protected file.

The Remember the Milk sync is more straightforward because RTM is based online, not in a desktop application. All of your tasks and notes are stored on the RTM servers, and when you launch the iPhone app, it syncs.

Winner: Remember the Milk. There’s nothing to set up for syncing. You just plug in your login info, either on the web or in the iPhone app and you’re good to go. OmniFocus isn’t difficult to set up; there’s just a little more to it.

While on the subject of syncing, I should mention access. One of Sam’s points to me was that he needs to be able to access his tasks from any machine at any time, and if that’s the ultimate goal, then Remember the Milk wins overall. To use OmniFocus, you need either your Mac or your iPhone – you can’t just login to a central website from any browser on any computer. I always have either my Mac or my iPhone with me, so for me, it’s a toss-up – neither product has an advantage over the other.

Finally…

I bought, and am happily using now, OmniFocus for the iPhone. Although OmniFocus won the contest for me, I am not saying that Remember the Milk is a bad product – far from it. RTM has some great features going for it. This isn’t a Heavy Metal vs. Polka comparison, it’s more like Beatles vs. Elvis – both of these GTD tools are very similar in many ways, but different enough that people will generally like one more than another. I’d love to hear what you think.

Fill in the blank:

“In the next five to ten years, your ____________ will be as commonly used as your phone number.”

Here’s a few suggestions off the top of my head:

1. AOL screen name
2. MySpace ID
3. Facebook URL
4. Skype ID
5. LinkedIn Profile
6. Twitter ID

If you answered any of the above – or any other service like them – you’re wrong. The only thing that will be as ubiquitous in five to ten years as your phone number is your phone number.

Realism, FTW.

Every time a new social service pops up and gets moderately popular, we get a prediction about how mainstream it will get and how it will revolutionize modern communication. It hasn’t been true yet. As much as I love Twitter, and I do, the truth is that to the vast majority of humans, it’s nothing – they’ve never even heard of it. To the majority of people who have heard of it, it’s nothing more than a fad. To its active users, Twitter is anything from a nifty communication tool to the digital equivalent of the next coming of Christ. Considering we’re nearing seven billion people on this planet, having a user base of a few million isn’t very impressive in a as-common-as-a-phone-number kind of way.

The only thing that has given the telephone a run for its money in the modern age is email – a non-proprietary, open method of communication that is not under the control or regulation of any single company. It has many, many faults – not the least of which is that it’s a method of written communication.

My parents still prefer to talk to my daughter over the phone.

Realism, FTW.

Today, I recieved notification that I was being followed by “agus3anto“. I always check the Twitter page of the person who follows me to see if I might want to follow him or her back. If you’re new to Twitter, please follow these instructions to ensure that nobody of value ever follows you.

1. Choose a login that makes little or no sense. Don’t bother customizing the display name.

2. Follow as many random people as possible as quickly as possible. Hit that 2,000 follow limit or die trying.

3. Feel free to fill out your Bio in English, but make sure you misspell the name of the country you’re in (Idonesia) and your primary reason for using Twitter (bussines). For extra points, ignore grammar – ‘i want make bussines’ is perfectly acceptable.

4. Protect your updates so nobody can read what you write before deciding if you’re worth following back.

5. Use the default Twitter background and color scheme. Nothing says “I’m worth following” like a lack of personality.

Follow these five simple rules, and you’ll likely get bored with Twitter and give it up in no time. Thankfully.

[UPDATE - January 2, 2009]

Two things happened which make this entry look like the ramblings of a madman. First, whilst switching this site to a new web host, I somehow lost two images. One was a picture of my son, Ian, which accompanied another recent entry, and I was able to get that image back. The other image was the one that went with this entry, and without it, #3 above just doesn’t have as much punch.

The second thing that happened was the suspension of the “agus3anto” account. Twitter nailed him. Bummer, huh?