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Editor's Notes

1. I'm not kidding, everyone is banging on about social media. You can't move without someone tweeting, liking or checking in.
2. An emperor: This one is clearly wearing clothes, which may be a metaphor for the fact that there is some substance behind the hype or it may reflect the fact that it was difficult to source an image of an emperor without clothes Stephen Fry: Is quite well know as a twitterer. He is followed by over 2 million people (which is under 1/3 of Lady Gaga's followers). Does it then follow that twitter is only of benefit to famous celebrities? No, it does not. Dave Carroll: Wrote a song “United Breaks Guitars” to complain about United Airlines... breaking his guitar. It went global, with over 10 million views and counting. He got a career boost and some new guitars out of it. Something odd is going on.
3. This could be a philosophy question.
4. The printing press: This was pretty disruptive technology. It seems unlikely that the American and French revolutions would have taken shape without this technology, and the reformation, and a host of other things. Is social media radically different or is it just a cheap, easy printing press for everyone? UK citizens accessing the internet every day 30.1 citizens access the internet every day. 77% of households have internet access at home. Lots of people, in summary, are using the internet Growth is steady and rapid. Facebook user stats (global) 600million people have facebook accounts. Which is a lot. Growth is moe like geometric.
5. “Hello. I am a deposed prince from Uganda” Not all ways of using social media are legitimate.
6. Mark Zuckerberg: Invented a highly compelling use of data. Then invented a very usable customer interface. Then started selling advertising Groupon: Saw a way to bring people together to deliver savings through economies of scale. Angry Birds: Created a game that made use of some new technology and was fun and was intuitive. Sold it many times.
7. For the rest of us Listen: DO NOT leap into social media broadcasting your wit and wisdom (or even your services). Be respectful, take your time, chill, find out what everyone is saying. Listen, learn, research. Join in: This is a social space. Be social. Maybe you disagree with what someone is recommending on a linkedin group. Why not say so? Even better if it's in your business area because this will reinforce your brand. Maybe you know the answer to someone's question. Then answer. Help out, chip in, be a human being. Go back and tweak your business If you've done the first two bits right, you will have a really good understanding of the market, what your competitors are up to, who's getting work, who isn't. Are you perfect? Probably not. Can you get better? Probably.
8. Yes. Yes they are.
9. @hoptonhousebnb Last week had 3 new bookings and 1 repeat. Via twitter. She owns her space. Which is boutique, quality, get-away-from-it-all dog friendly B&Bs. She is a fine example of showing, not telling. She uses photos, stories, quotes and retweets to create a compelling brand. People want to be part of that. facebook.com/thebicyclehub Is a bicycle shop which is very clear that it wants to be at the heart of a cycling community. The facebook page is an extension of that. Staff members will take the mickey out of each other. Rides are discussed. They do a little light advertising but always in a fun way. They run facebook draws and they always interact with customers who post on their wall. Where would you take your bike to be serviced?
10. I seriously do not understand this question. How do you find the time to manage cashflow? To submit accounts? To do your VAT return?
11. BUT Using social media can be like drinking from a firehose (do you see what I did there?) There's huge amounts of data. Most of it from people who are not interested in your business, would not buy your product if they were and are not eligible to work with you in any case. One can obsess about the numbers... big numbers = good, small numbers = bad. But this is not relevant. Find your niche. Occupy it. Own it.