Twitter Lists…What do YOU Think?

We all navel gaze in the era of the social web.

I remember I used to check my stats when I started blogging and obviously that happened on Twitter for a while as well.

I don’t check my personal Twitter stats anymore, but I do want to know everything about Stocktwits and companies I have invested money with.

When asked, I always tell people that you must be willing to be UNfollowed and UNread when you blog and tweet. In the stock market it is called ‘backing and filling’. It’s a healthy thing. In fact, I lost two followers from my last tweet and it feels great:

I just peed chocolate. I may pass a Starburst tomorrow.

Last week, Twitter lists launched. I believe the web of the future is all about discovery and filters. The seduction of attention has created a massive spam problem. No offense to Twitter follower leaders Ashton Kutcher, Dell and CNN, but you just won’t say anything of interest for me to follow and there is NO way Twitter is working properly for Web 4.1654 if you are.

Twitter Lists seems like a step in the right direction. I really like this post by Todd Zeigler on how twitter lists can be used to judge influence .

I know for Stocktwits it was very important to us to suggest people to follow the first time they show up. Curated lists will always be flawed because great people will be missed and left off, but it’s a start.

I/We at Stocktwits are open to all suggestions.

Posted on October 31st, 2009 | Category: General | Comments

Attention…Is There a Playbook?

I have gotten a little Attention lately…Stocktwits too.

I would like to think that attention just gets in the way of hard work, good ideas and good execution, but Attention, like life, is not fair.

On Thursday I got to speak in front of about 80 Phoenix entrepreneurs about ‘The Real’ Tim Web. I worked hard on preparing a 15 slide powerpoint (which still came out looking like a first time user), but when my time came to speak, I got to about slide 4 and my hour ran out.

The first slide said…Thank-You

The second slide said…I Apologize.

We don’t say thank-you enough on the Social Web. Bloggers (includering Twitterers) bitch and moan about every feature or missing feature. Social Web entrepreneurs have it easy. You don’t think so, go watch Daniel Day Lewis in ‘There will be Blood’. We should be thankful in this era of the social web. I want to offer many thank-yous for that attention. I know it is fleeting.

The second slide…an apology… was for the soon to come bad grammar, expletives and lack of a cohesive thought that lay ahead in the last 13 slides.

Social Leverage gets me fired up. Of course the term financial leverage gets me fired up as well because we are years away from the middle class America being able to benefit from it again. That’s because the country treated it as a strategy, not a tool. Social Leverage is a strategy open to EVERY person with bandwith and a connection to the web. It is a tool AND a strategy that should lead to a more stable and productive growth.

Back to Attention. I am not sure there is a definitive playbook as much as their is a wrong way to chase it. I love this post from Seth Godin :

“Notice me”

If the new web has a mantra, that’s it.

So much time and effort is now put into finding followers, accumulating comments and generating controversy… all so that people will notice you. People say and do things that don’t benefit them, just because they’re hooked on attention.

Attention is fine, as long as you have a goal that is reached in exchange for all this effort.

Far better than being noticed:

* Trusted
* Engaged with
* Purchased from
* Discussed
* Echoed
* Teaching us
* Leading

Although this post has not created ‘THE ATTENTION PLAYBOOK’, I hope you realize from all my day to day blogging, linking, and interacting in other’s communities is a strategy for one day getting noticed and appreciated by your peers.

It’s fun and totally worth the voyage.

Posted on October 31st, 2009 | Category: General | Comments

Stocktwits Suggested List…Expanding and Dissecting

There is no one reason that traders love microblogging.

If there was, we would not have such a long list of suggested traders to follow. Our updated Suggested Lists have something for anyone that likes investing/trading and is interested in Stocktwits

Traders love chat, they love AIM, they love Twitter and now Stocktwits.

Traders and investors want flow. As the floors of the NYSE, CME and CBOE get distributed, the lightweight communication tools serve to re-aggregate.

I am surprised every time I open the ‘All’ Stream at Stocktwits. Lately, I have been amazed though at the growth of Futures and Forex Traders. One of my favorite voices is Hamzei of Hamzei Analytics . He loves tweeting, laughing, being social and also being right. None of us will always be right, but I know Hamzei is out there everyday in the electronic world as hard as he goes in the physical world. It may not be for you, but it’s just cool to watch.

Futures and Forex is a world that I don’t fully understand but I am trying to learn fast. Lucky for me there are a shitload of seriously good traders posting their thoughts. It’s like a flash community erupted.

Forex and Futures are truly the microblogging of the trading world.

In the world of e-mini’s, 5 minutes can be a lifetime.

It’s like the universe of time and investing shrunk to 5 minutes.

I would advise anyone wanting to see the power of time meets leverage, to follow some of the Futures and Forex people of our Suggested Lists.

Posted on October 30th, 2009 | Category: General | Comments

Falafel and Foursquare…A Match Made in Hummus

it’s no secret…Howard loves his falafel. There is no doubt that Howard will run the biggest falafel network when the time is right.

If you want to hang with me late night, you must engage in falafel hunts.

I was hanging out with Dr. Phil in SOHO recently and we went to falafel country a few blocks away. I like to test out all the joints and play no faves. Many to choose from on my quest for perfection.

We came upon Sam’s Falafel…not clean, but at 1am…..

Phil and I were not high, nor drunk (not that is anything wrong with that) but really enjoyed us a Sam’s falafel.

I said …hey Dr. Phil…should I be the mayor of Sam’s Falafel?

That got Phil and I thinking…why do I need to be mayor of Sam’s and what are the odds that Sam would get Foursquare if pitched on it’s benefits. I would like to repeat that we were still not high or drunk (not that there is still anything wrong with that), but obviously thinking clearly from our falafel buzz.

Here’s the thing…

The opportunity from web marketing is nearly infinite in the returns it can provide your business, large or small. AND that goes for the web service provider as well. So many great web startups, so little marketing talent.

I passed on Foursquare because I just did not get it. My friend Andy Finkle was urging me to do it. He got it.

For great ideas, money is a commodity and you don’t want my money if I can’t get fired up and pitching your product all day every day.

I still don’t get Foursquare nor do I feel I need it, but I love the way Fred is using it . If I was marketing Foursquare today, it would be fun. I would show Sam and the world that I could double their business. I would make Sam’s famous. Thousand’s of OTHER Sam’s would see the potential. It would be cheap to do and a powerful case study.

It’s not just a great time to start a business in the social web, it’s a tremendous time to be a great marketer and hustler.

Posted on October 27th, 2009 | Category: General | Comments

Loving Glue…Here is Why…

Glue is the easiest social network and recommendation engine on the web. The best part is that you don’t have to do anything– simply install the toolbar and it just works. As you surf the web glue will pick up on your interests such as books, movies, music, restaurants, and more. Here is their latest product release and feature set .

They definitely have some great investors (Fred Wilson, Brad Feld and James Robinson).

Here is Fred’s post on why he likes it and why you should try it.

The latest release has some major changes. The most noticeable change is the size of the toolbar. It’s smaller! By 40%!

Aside from size, the most important features are accentuated. I love glue because it is so easy to share content. The big “I like it” button allows me to recommend content to my followers. Worried that your friends aren’t on glue? Well. My best friends aren’t either. However, they follow me on FaceBook and Twitter. Clicking the “Ask Friends” button allows me to seamlessly share content with them on those networks.

My favorite features are aggregation and recommendation. If I am on any page recognized by glue, I can quickly view related content around the internet. If I am looking at a recording artist on Wikipedia, I can watch their music videos via YouTube, purchase their music on iTunes, or listen to them on Pandora, or Last.fm. No more digging around. If I like what I hear I always want to discover more. The personalized suggestion is also a killer feature. I will now receive recommendations of similar artists.

AdaptiveBlue has also redesigned user profiles. They are now accessible to everyone via the web. You can view mine here . Everyone can view my favorites and recent activity. If you are a glue user, you will now have a personalized suggestion stream that is based on your likes, friend favorites, and everyone’s popular.

They have also added a game component to the network. Users can earn stickers and the “Guru” title for participating and commenting on items.

If you haven’t installed Glue it’s worth a look. I promise it is easy, addicting, and will add a lot of value to your browsing experience.

Disclosure – I am an investor (through our Knight’s Bridge Capital Fund) and of course biased, but if I can use it, anyone can.

Posted on October 26th, 2009 | Category: General | Comments
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