Connecting Communities – A #FollowFriday Alternative
When it comes to Twitter, my usage has changed quite a bit recently. I’ve unfollowed about 30 people as a result of their spamminess, excessiveness, redundancies or just plain not being up for a conversation. I’m very picky when it comes to letting people fill up my info-stream with their ideas. Why should I waste my time when I feel they have nothing to say that is of value to my community?
Community, though, is quite a broad term these days and one that is frequently abused. The way that I use Twitter has changed from just gathering a following of people, but building relationships with those people who want to be a part of my community. Look at my twitter feed, and you’ll see that many times I am just chatting with other users or linking to their blog posts. I use Facebook to connect with people I know personally, and Twitter to connect with people I want to get a beer with; it’s as simple as that.
When it comes to the big-time Twitter memes, though, #FollowFriday is one that I have always avoided; even when I can see such a great value in a fun practice such as this. The problem, as pointed out by Paul Smith, is that many users are simply using #FF as a way to get new friends, spam their “favorites” or make themselves look more popular. It’s all but retained any of the meaning or value that it may have once had.
Therefore, I’m taking some ideas proposed by Paul Smith and Seth Simonds, and modifying them a bit to begin my own weekly “favorite” list called Connected Communities. Each week I’ll look at my favorite tweets and feeds to pick some of the more interesting things for you to see, as well as share a few people that I enjoyed talking to recently. I want to do this not because it makes me look more friendly, but because I believe the people that I list here can be valuable to you as much as they have been to me.
And now, to begin:
Jared Mahone
Twitter: @JaredMahone
I first heard about Jared through a good friend of mine who took me to one of his concerts about a year and a half ago. Since then I’ve been a huge fan, and I listen to his music on a daily basis to get into the swing of things. He doesn’t just have a refreshing style, though, he also has some really cool ideas for progressing his career in 2010, including a weekly song writing subscription called Mixtape.
Jared not only does great music, but he also does great community. He’s someone that I feel open to chat with on Twitter or in gTalk, and has replied by email to every comment that I’ve left on his blog. He is building a community around music, and he’s doing it the right way. Of course, his Mixtape subscription (for just $20) is made with all of his fans in mind. I hope to continue hearing more from Jared as he progresses, and hope that you hear from him too.
Jonathan Acuff
Twitter: @prodigaljohn
When it comes to hilarious blogs, Jonathan has one that tops them all. A copywriter and new author from Atlanta, John likes to keep his reputation of being awesome by bringing some of the more interesting stereotypes of Christian culture out to the forefront in his blog and new book. He gets involved with his community by being active in the comments, recruiting guest posters from time to time and listening to what readers have to say to make their thoughts be heard.
But he’s not just a funny guy, he’s also intentionally insightful when it comes to the things of importance in life. I’ve quoted him many times in the past, and plan on quoting him many more.
“The Language of God”
By: Francis S. Collins
Seeing as how this book was written by the head of the Human Genome Project, I was initially drawn to the book how credible the author was, but continued reading when I saw that his insight was beyond what I might have imagined. Each time I turned the page I found myself thinking “Oh, he’ll use this argument next to prove his point” only to find myself blown away by some completely different revelation; one that went far beyond what I was giving the author credit for.
This book is not for the strictly religious, nor is it for the willfully ignorant anti-theist. It is, instead, for those people who are seeking to find a way to follow both the God that they have accepted as being real, and science which has solid facts to back up many claims. Everything from Moral Law to the Big Bang to evolution to religion is touched on in this book, and I would recommend it to anyone.
Miscellaneous Readings
Like I said before, I like to read a lot. Here are some of the latest articles from around the web that I’ve found interesting:
What happened to Ground Zero? via @arnied
Content Strategy is the Next Big Thing. via @copyblogger
“Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.” via @brianlayman
What Popular Bloggers Got Wrong (and how you can get it right) – Skelliewag
What if you were invisible? – Julien Smith