Join Us in the Twitter Break Room

Yesterday, my friend Ann tweeted that it was her four-year anniversary of being on Twitter. "See you in the break room for cake this afternoon!" she said. And that got my mind spinning about how cool a Twitter break room would be, because it would be there that you could hang out with all the cool people you are connected with on the social network.

If you use Twitter as actively as I do, then chances are this concept sounds cool to you too. Over the past two years, I've met lots of people on Twitter. Many of them I don't know offline, but they add value to my life because they're either funny, insightful, or they tweet solid information (sometimes all three). A handful of them wished me happy birthday this year from as far away as Australia. Others have made watching the Lost finale, the Oscars, or the Super Bowl more fun. Celebrities and famous people (B- and C-level ones, typically) make me feel like I'm part of the "cool kids" crowd (even if I'm waaaay off on the periphery of the crowd, looking in).

People I have met offline I've gotten to know more through their tweets. I can say I've even dated people I met on Twitter. Others have made business trips and conferences more enjoyable. Speaking of which, industry colleagues I tweet with have made me feel a part of a great community of smart, fun people. And that's just part of it.

On any given day on Twitter, I laugh and I learn, and I share the laughs and insights with my own network of followers. In short, my Twitter experience includes a wide range of interesting, informative, amusing, and friendly people. It's a great mix of people who've gotten to know me and who've allowed me to get to know them, making all of our lives better in the process.

Again, I know I don't know the majority of the people I follow on Twitter offline, but that's not always the point. It's about connecting, interacting, and engaging. Being open to dialogue, not just a pusher of content. It's about using information and personality to bridge barriers and find commonalities. I've used Twitter to expand my knowledge and broaden my network. Making actual offline friends — those that I've made as a result of or with the help of Twitter — has been both inevitable and a great bonus.

As Andrew Dubber once wrote, Twitter's not stupid. You just have boring friends. Allow me to second that: If you're on Twitter and you don't enjoy it like I do, then it has to be because you're not following the same people I am (1,312 at current count). If you'd like to meet any of them, we'll be in the break room, having cake with Ann. Come join the party!

Americone Dream Come True

I did it again.

As you may recall, last summer, I successfully led an effort to get Ben & Jerry's to come and give free ice cream to my coworkers. In fact, it was exactly this week that the ice cream truck rolled up to our building and gave out servings of tasty Ben & Jerry's ice cream to all who wanted it.

Well, Ben & Jerry's is at it again this summer, and so was I. All month long, I've been tweeting at @benjerrystruck to get them to come to our office, and Monday, when I saw that they'd be in Waltham and Lexington a day later, I really stepped up my efforts, enlisting the entire office to tweet and get the truck to come our way.

Late Monday evening I received confirmation that our efforts would be rewarded, and Tuesday afternoon, the truck arrived. Hundreds of my coworkers enjoyed delicious Americone Dream scooped fresh from the truck, and others got cups of Cookie Dough, Cherry Garcia, and other flavors. It was a perfect day: Meeting-free (for some folks, anyway), gorgeous weather ... and free Ben & Jerry's. What could be bad?

And I'll remind you, this all came about because of Twitter. For the small "price" of a few tweets saying how much I (and others) love Ben & Jerry's, we got lots of free ice cream. Ben & Jerry's got lots of "free" marketing and exposure, and generated lots of goodwill for its brand. It was a win-win for everyone involved.

Between the ice cream and Pretzel Crisps, plus good relationships I've developed, plenty of connections I've made, lots of information I've learned, and fun times I've had, I'd say Twitter's been very good to me. If you're not using it, I still say you're missing out.

A Very Good Birthday, Indeed

Not to get all girly or anything, but ... not being married and not having kids, I've always put a bit of a special significance on my birthday. My thinking goes that my birthday is the one day when it's all about me for a change, so people should show me a little attention. I mean, is that really asking so much? And truth be told, I've kind of kept a tally over the years; each year, I remember who didn't call or email or somehow get in touch. I joke, and I know it's petty, but I do.

So believe me when I tell you that there's no such tally this year. That's because, to put it simply, there were many, many people who did acknowledge the day. I had more than 175 posts and comments on my Facebook wall. Nearly 20 tweets. Lots of emails (personal ones, not just the many "special offers" from businesses whose mailing lists I'm on). Some phone calls. Text messages. I had birthday cake. Cupcakes — lots of cupcakes. Lunch. Dinner. And much more. Honestly, I was overwhelmed by all the love and attention. There were times during the day when I was struggling to keep up with the email notifications and messages.

The in-person drive-bys, the personal emails, and phone calls were great, don't get me wrong, but it was the Facebook and Twitter posts that left an impact. I know some people don't put a whole lot of weight on social media relationships, but let me tell you, when you're getting told every couple of minutes that someone else has said "Happy birthday," it's pretty cool. After all, it's not just Facebook that notifies you these days, Twitter does it now too. When people you don't even know — people who live halfway around the world — feel a connection and want to wish you happy birthday, that's really neat. (And it just goes to further prove the point that Twitter can be worth it if you put in the time and use it correctly.)

Let this blog post serve as my thank you to all who acknowledged my special day, the so-called Day of All Days, in all the different ways that you did. I really appreciate it because, well, maybe you read my post yesterday about how I wasn't exactly in a celebratory mood. And you probably didn't know this, but I had woken up prematurely, so I was tired and cranky, and I really wasn't feeling social (in the conventional sense) when I got to work in the morning. But somewhere between 6 a.m. when I woke up, and the arrival of 150 cupcakes from Baked by Melissa at 11:00 a.m., my mood changed and I began to feel good about the day. What a difference a few hours and a ton of emails made.

Someone once said to me that a good birthday is defined as "having people that care about you take the time out to recognize that." So by that measurement, my 37th birthday was a very good birthday, indeed. (That's one item done off my summertime to-do list.) Thank you for making it such a great day.

More Free Stuff Thanks to Twitter

You may recall that last summer, I used Twitter to get my entire office free Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Aside from it being a great marketing program for Ben & Jerry's, it was lots of fun for me. To this day, I use the story as just one reason why I think Twitter is worthwhile. I mean, how can you argue with getting free stuff?

Well, guess what: It's happened again.

Last Thursday, I tweeted that an article on Esquire.com made me want to host an Oscar party. A few minutes later, I got a random reply back from the folks at Pretzel Crisps: "You host the party we'll bring the snacks!" All I had to do was send them my address and they'd make a delivery. After a couple tweets back and forth, and a little bit of skepticism from me, I confirmed that the offer was legit. Turns out Pretzel Crisps (which are yummy, low-fat chip/cracker-style pretzels) are monitoring social channels and are swooping in when they see someone in need of a snack. It's a great way to spread the word and get a little buzz for the product. And hey, it worked for Ben & Jerry's. So with all that in mind, I arranged to have a delivery a couple days later; as Jacqueline wrote, "We really want to help u kick the case of the Mondays!" And sure enough, that's what happened.

Mid afternoon yesterday, Jacqueline arrived at my office with a shopping bag and a box of Pretzel Crisps. All different flavors, too: Original, Buffalo Wing, Everything, Sesame, and Garlic Parmesan — about 20 bags total. (No Cinnamon Toast, though. What a bummer.) It was plenty for me, and plenty for me to share with my coworkers — many of whom were impressed that I was once again able to use Twitter for personal gain.

But it's not all about me getting free stuff, is it? I mean, after all, Pretzel Crisps is getting a bit of mileage too. I tweeted about it on Thursday, so my more than 1,000 followers saw. Then, after the delivery, I took a picture and tweeted and posted to Facebook. I'm sharing some of the bags with people who want to try, and they'll tell others. And now I've written a blog post, which I'll tweet and post to Facebook. So as far as Pretzel Crisps is concerned, they've gotten a bit of "free" marketing from me. All it cost them was a few bags of crisps. Point is, everyone's happy and it's all because of Twitter. Oh, and did I mention how good these crisps are? Really, they're quite tasty. I recommend them. Seriously.

Of course, now I'm really curious about how far I can take this "free stuff thanks to Twitter" thing. Apple, are you out there? What are the chances I can score a free iPad ...

All kidding aside, though, gotta give kudos to the folks at Pretzel Crisps. Great campaign, nice execution. I'm happy to help spread the word.

I Have 1,000 Twitter Followers. How Did That Happen?

Last week, I reached what I consider to be an impressive milestone: the 1,000th person decided to follow me on Twitter. Who'da thunk it when I first joined Twitter that I'd be so into it, that I'd stick with it this long, and that I'd ever reach this auspicious milestone. My followers did, and they kept flocking to me one after another. Now I've tweeted more than 8,220 times and yes, I have more than 1,000 followers. (BTW, if you don't already follow me, I'm @martinlieberman.) When Jeff Ginsberg clicked the Follow button on Wednesday, he did more than add to my list; he validated that I'm doing something right here.

I've made no secret of my love of Twitter and I continue to believe that if you don't like it, then you must not be using it. Like, really using it, not just listening and staying on the sidelines. Twitter is good for much more than wasting time. It's good for learning new things, meeting new people and building relationships, and yes, getting free ice cream.

There's a reason I have a Klout score of 63. Apparently, I'm a good Twitterer. (Or is it tweeter?) The 63 means I'm an "Activist," my activity is "consistent" and "focused," and as the site says, "You've got an idea or cause you want to share with the world and you've found the perfect medium for it. Your audience counts on you to champion your cause." Perhaps that's why, in the past year, a number of people have asked me to teach them about the site, how to use it, and how to grow their presence.

In that spirit, here are my 10 tips for getting more followers on Twitter:

1. Be active. You can't expect to get followers if you hardly ever tweet, and you can't expect to be taken seriously on social media if you don't tweet often. I tweet daily, and many, many times during the day. Actually, for a long time now, I've been tweeting every 15 or 30 minutes (a tactic I borrowed from Guy Kawasaki, who tweets about that often from his personal and his Alltop handles). That way, whenever people check their feed, they'll see a tweet or two from me. And I use HootSuite so I can pre-schedule those tweets and don't have to be sitting at the computer all day. (Note: I'm not saying you have to tweet as often as I do. I'm sure what I do is excessive.) In addition, over the past year I've been to more than a half dozen conferences, and I've live-tweeted all of them, giving my followers the chance to attend vicariously through me.

2. Be a resource. I may tweet often, but I don't post everything. Instead, I share the articles and content I find interesting and worthwhile — stuff I think my followers will benefit from reading too. People who follow me and who share my interests can count on me to keep them informed. They don't have to follow multiple people because they know I'll tell them what they need to know.

3. Tweet well. You can't just share a link or a fact on Twitter. You have to draw in your followers so they want to click on your link, or so they'll be interested in what you have to say. After all, if you believe the research, 71% of tweets are ignored. I don't care what anyone says, spelling and grammar count, and so does good, tight, pithy writing. There's a reason Jim Ducharme tweeted to me last week, "There are times when your tweets straddle the line between tweet and poetry."

4. Be authentic. Want credibility? Want people to believe, trust, and listen to what you're saying? Then you can't have someone tweet for you, and you can't tweet with your hands tied. There's no way for your personality to come through that way. Be honest, be authentic ... be you. I've been told I do this well, that people tend to know who I am based on what and how I tweet. Speaking of which ...

5. Screw the lines. Share what you want. There's a lot that's been written about keeping your personal and professional lives separate on social media. In some cases, that's good advice. But if you're tweeting for yourself and not for a corporate handle, then there's no need to stick to one subject matter. My tweets are about marketing, social media, email, TV shows, movies, sports, things that annoy me, restaurants I enjoy, and more. If it's true that people buy from people, and not from businesses, then simply being yourself will help you to forge connections with other people.

6. Tweet with people. I mentioned that I've been to a bunch of conferences this past year. That's just one way I've met people and started relationships. Other people I've simply replied to and started relationships that way. I don't know all of my followers and I don't know all of the people I follow, but I've used Twitter to get to know many of them. Now, when I see people I follow offline, there's already a basis for a relationship that we can continue IRL (in real life). No wonder I enjoy going to conferences now.

7. Engage. Speaking of which, if someone retweets something you've posted or includes you in a Follow Friday roundup, or replies to something you tweet, write back, and be sure to use that person's handle. Say thanks, or encourage people to follow this person, or retweet something that this person has posted. It'll show the person you're for real and will encourage future sharing. And for the record, even though I pre-schedule many of my tweets, I'm always checking to make sure I haven't missed a reply or a retweet, so I can reply if needed.

8. Let your followers bring you more followers. Building relationships with people on Twitter has allowed me to get exposure to my followers' followers. When someone who follows me retweets something I've posted, or mentions me in a tweet, then that person's followers see me and often follow me as well. The endorsement of my followers means a lot.

9. Get in the mix. Is there a hot topic you're interested in? Tweet away, and use the appropriate hashtags. For example, I was tweeting during the Lost finale and the Super Bowl last night, during various awards shows and other sporting events, and other peak times for Twitter activity. People saw my handle, enjoyed my comments, and clicked Follow as a result.

10. Don't try. I didn't try to get more followers. In fact, when I first started using the site, I blocked some people because I thought, "Why would they ever want to follow me?" The thing is, if you put enough good content out there, and you just be yourself, then people will find you, like they've done with me.

I'm not saying these tips are the 10 right ways to build a Twitter following, and I'm not saying they'll work for everyone. I'm just saying that's this is what's worked for me. Really, there are no social media experts yet, and anyone who tells you otherwise is full of it. The best advice anyone should give is simply to get on Twitter and just use it. No one knows exactly how to use it, so you need to find out for yourself.

Point is: I've got 1,000 followers and a Klout score of 63, and those numbers keep on growing. So I must know a little something about what I'm talking about.

Not So Sunny Days

I'll be honest ... At least on the surface, as far as any of you can tell, life is going pretty well for me these days. I have two new nephews, two weeks ago I got "stuck" and had to spend an extra day in Las Vegas thanks to a snow storm back east, and this past week it happened again, only this time I was in Key Biscayne, Florida. As I keep telling people: Don't hate the player, hate the game. But I have to say, I wish everything was as glamorous and fun as it seems.

I was in Key Biscayne for, yes, another conference; this one was about social media. And it was interesting, if not always entirely relevant to me. Still, I learned a bit and thought it was worthwhile being there. Of course, this isn't my work blog, so I can also admit that the conference also had its moments of fun. For example, I got to hang out with former Detroit Piston John Salley, an avid Twitter user, and talk about social media, how he always wanted to play for the Celtics, how Susan Sarandon has maintained her great looks, the benefits of coconut oil, sugar mamas, and more. Great guy, super nice.

So why did I get home Thursday night and find myself in such a bad mood?

Perhaps it was the back and forth about when I was going home. With the snow storm predicted for late Tuesday and all day Wednesday, the coworker I was traveling with decided to try and fly back a day early, on Tuesday, and I decided to do the same. After all, when you're not traveling alone and one person wants to fly back early, you'd be a jerk not to do it too. Otherwise, you come off as the guy who got to stay in Florida an extra day, while the other person was the more responsible one because she came home early.

So Tuesday morning I packed up and checked out of the hotel ... only to have our flight canceled. Luckily, I was able to check back in to the hotel, so I unpacked, and I went to day two of the conference. Then, at 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, American Airlines called to tell me I was now booked on an 11 a.m. flight home. So I woke up in the morning, packed again, and got ready to go ... only to find that my flight was Thursday morning, not Wednesday. So I unpacked again and went to day three of the conference. Then there was confusion about whether I'd be traveling with or without my coworker, and a miscommunication resulted in even more frustration. And all this back and forth distracted me from the whole reason I was in Florida in the first place. (There was other stuff too, but I'm not gonna get into that here.) Suffice it to say, I arrived home Thursday night not in the most pleasant of moods, and that stayed with me for a couple days.

If only I'd done what I did a week earlier when I traveled alone and simply planned to leave on Thursday, thus avoiding the confusion and allowing me to relax and to focus on the conference, not my travel.

Yes, like the week before, there were two silver linings to all this: When I re-checked in to the hotel, I was put in a room with a much nicer, oceanfront view. And, despite all the delays and cancelations of flights, my two on Thursday (first to LaGuardia in New York, and then to Boston) were on time, or early. Not everyone was so lucky.

My point is, even though things worked out in the end, the trip ended up being not as pleasant as it would seem to have been on the surface. I don't expect you to have sympathy for me given that I was in Florida while folks in Boston were covered in snow. Just know that I wasn't exactly enjoying myself at the time.

Chatting About Culture with Mr. Crane

There's a pretty good chance that David Hyde Pierce won't see this. That's because when I interviewed him for Continental magazine a few months back and I asked him about whether he uses social media and is on Facebook or Twitter, the erstwhile Niles Crane responded rather quickly and tersely, "I'd rather die." Alright, fine. So that subject was a dead end. But thankfully, there was plenty else for us to discuss, and some of that conversation is now on planes and on the magazine's website for all to read.

No surprise, the man folks know from his TV, film, and stage roles is not much different from the man I "met" on the phone back in August. He was well spoken, even-keeled, polite, and calm, and happy to chat about subjects as varied as Alzheimer's research and the difference between theater audiences in New York and London. I thought he'd be turned off by a question or two about Frasier, the show on which he starred for 11 years, but instead he told me he's always happy to talk about it. "I have only been blessed and not been cursed by 11 years of Niles," he said of the role for which he won four Emmy awards.

Pierce and I conducted the interview so he could promote his role in the current Broadway revival of La Bête, which opened in mid-October and is scheduled to close in early January. In the play, Pierce plays a sophisticated director who clashes with a boorish performer, and that gave me the perfect opportunity to ask him for his thoughts on the current state of pop culture. I figured he'd have something to say about the gap between silly reality shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians and more substantial fare, and I was right:

"There’s always going to be a large market for crap, and there’s always going to be a smaller market for high art. And the really great works of theater are the ones that manage to bridge the gap. Shakespeare did that. He had his clowns smack in the middle of Hamlet because he understood not only the theater, but that life is a mixture of extreme comedy and extreme tragedy. Life very seldom separates itself into one or the other. The things I’ve been drawn to, Frasier included, are things that mix both the high art and low art, or comedy and seriousness."

It was truly a pleasure to speak with David Hyde Pierce. If you'd like to read my article, just click here.

Influential Me

It is no lie to say that my photo is included in the latest issue of Fast Company magazine, the one with Lance Armstrong on the cover, on page 138, in a section about Social Media's New Stars. (Yes, that's how it's referred to on the cover.) Inside, an article is called "The New Influentials," and it's all about the "unexpected players" who "exert outsize impact and power online." As the magazine asks, "Who is the most influential person online?" Well, according to Fast Company, I'm one of them. That much is all true.

Of course, the full story is that I'm one of 32,955 people who entered themselves in an "experiment" to determine who was the most influential person online, and I'm one of 29,795 people who also submitted a photo, and therefore were included in a four-page spread in the magazine. Those who, through a combination of clicks and signups, were deemed the most influential, have their photos a little bigger than those of us who are not in the upper echelons, but my photo does actually happen to be in the top third of all those on the page. (Thankfully, I'm not in the bottom third, where the photos are so small they're unrecognizable.) If Shaquille O'Neal is No. 1,709 and I'm just one row below him, that's gotta mean I'm up there — relatively speaking, of course. And if that's not enough, the web site says I'm in the 94th percentile, so that's definitely up there.

I mean, the whole thing was nothing more than a virtual popularity contest, but still ... it's pretty cool, right?

If You Don't Like Twitter, Then You Must Not Be Using It

CNN.com reported Tuesday that 71 percent of all tweets on Twitter are ignored. I don't believe that. Just because only 29 percent of the things posted on the social network get an @ reply or a retweet, that doesn't mean the others are being ignored. I'm sure people are clicking on the links in those tweets, or reading the tweets and moving on (they're only 140 characters long, after all). I'm an active user of Twitter, and even though I don't reply to a lot of tweets I see, and I don't retweet everything people post, I'm hardly ignoring everything in my timeline.

I'm mentioning this because a friend of mine posted the article on Facebook and added the following note: "See, I thought the figure would have--and should have--been much higher, like at least 100%." Clearly he doesn't get Twitter. When the site launched a couple years back, it was a place where people could — and often did — post silly updates about what they were up to. "I'm on line at Starbucks" or "I just had a sandwich," for example. And he's right: those kinds of posts should be ignored.

But these days, that's far from the kind of stuff you'll find on Twitter. Pick the right people to follow, spend the time, and you'll laugh, you'll learn things, you'll make new connections, and you'll be part of a conversation. You'll actually find value in being on the site. Anyone who uses Twitter actively knows that. It's only the people who don't use it who think it's full of lame postings. Clearly, my friend is one of those people.

When I first joined Twitter, I didn't understand it either. Like many people, I did it more out of obligation than interest. "How can you really say anything of value in 140 characters?" I asked. "Do I really need to see the random Tweets of random celeb folks and other people? Why would I want to 'follow' someone if all they did was link to other sites? What is with the people who seem to Tweet all the time? And isn't Twitter really just a marketing site now — a place for companies and celebs to promote themselves? Sounds like a waste of time to me."

Flash forward about a year. Now I'm an active tweeter. I don't just listen and read other people's tweets. I post my own content — in fact, I do so with almost obsessive regularity (HootSuite allows me to schedule new tweets as often and as frequently as I want). I engage with other people, retweeting and replying to their tweets or starting up brand-new conversations. I go to conferences and I live tweet, which forces me to pay better attention to the speakers and increases my overall enjoyment — and even better, allows me to meet a whole lot of new people. I've found lots of interesting and entertaining (and sometimes infuriating) people to follow — actual, smart people, who are relevant to my life, not just celebrity types. I've developed my own following (as of this writing, 772 people — more than half of whom I don't even know). Oh, and I laugh at and share the posts by "fake" tweeters (like Average Batman and Fake AP Stylebook). I wouldn't say I'm an expert on how to use Twitter (chances are good I overtweet), but I've come to really enjoy using this social network.

It took me some time, but I've gone from Twitter skeptic to evangelist. I don't hesitate to tell anyone that I really like Twitter, and because I'm so into it, I've even been asked to teach folks how the site works. I enjoy being a part of global conversations (especially during big events like the Oscars or the Lost finale), learning about new and interesting things, and just being in the mix. To put it most simply, Twitter is fun. I mean, how can you not like something that results in tons of free ice cream being delivered to your office? But that's just one of the benefits of being on and actually engaging on Twitter.

So that's why I have to take issue with people like my friend, who think Twitter is lame. As a counter-argument, I often direct people to the blog post "Twitter’s not stupid — you just have boring friends," by Andrew Dubber, because I think he hit the nail on the head: You can't possibly like Twitter if you follow uninteresting people who have nothing of value to say, and you don't really engage with other people on the site.

I am a firm believer that if you spend the time to get to know Twitter, then you'll find there's a lot to like about it. And then you'll agree with Mitch Joel, who wrote earlier this week that "Social media is only a waste of time if you’re using it to waste your time."

Hey Zuck ... Leave Facebook Alone, Will Ya?

During a much-buzzed-about press conference yesterday, Mark Zuckerberg announced two significant changes to Facebook: Users will now be able to download all their data to their desktops for safe keeping, and they'll also be able to more easily segment their friends into groups. Great. It's nice to see the site evolve, and for Zuck to continue introducing forward-thinking innovations that make Facebook an even more important part of our lives. (And I'm sure he liked taking more attention away from The Social Network too.)

Except it isn't so nice. Quite frankly, I'm getting really tired of Zuck changing the site on me every few months, or even more frequently than that.

In the social media world, as far as I'm concerned, Facebook is like chicken soup or macaroni and cheese. It's online comfort food. Strip away all the games and the videos and flashy stuff, and Facebook is reduced to a site where you can connect with friends and, perhaps more importantly, reconnect with old friends. As websites go, especially social media ones, it's about the connections more than the content. And the soft, blue color, the simple, lower-case logo, and the relatively basic design only add to the warm feeling you get when the site comes up on your screen.

Personally, while I'll post things to my profile page throughout the day, I often won't read all the posts until I get home at night. That's when I sit at the computer, and for about 15 or 20 minutes I'll scan through every single status update, news article, photo, video, and other item my friends have posted. Yes, I know I'm a freak, and not that's not something the typical user does. But I do, and it's one of the ways I like to relax at night.

Facebook is one of those things you can count on: When there's news to share, you post it to Facebook. When there's some big news event, you look to the site to see how your friends have reacted or what funny comments they have. And so on and so forth. Everything in its place, and you know how to navigate it all. It's consistent, it's predictable, it's good. As I said, it's like online comfort food.

And then Zuck goes and changes things on you, whether it's by reorganizing the news feed or putting the birthdays in a different place or having your items display differently on your page, or whatever. Facebook users know this kind of stuff happens all the time. Now he's made the experience of using the site different again with this new Groups thing. Will it radically change how people use Facebook? That remains to be seen. All I know is one of my friends is already using it and I'm not sure I'm a fan of how it has affected me.

So here's what I'm asking: Mark Zuckerberg, would it be so bad to just leave Facebook as-is for, like, six months or a year? Make your subtle tweaks, clean up some code here and there. Fine. But don't do anything else that'll change the user experience for a while. It seems like every time we get used to a change, you go and change the site again. Nobody's asking for this stuff; we like the site plenty right now.

Look: I get it. You need to move quickly in the social media space. Failing to evolve can seal your doom. But think of it this way: At this point, there are about 550 million Facebook users. Clearly you've already built a great site, and it's not like there's a mass exodus after every change. Would it be so bad to do me and the rest of us this small favor and just back away from the computer and leave the site alone? Or, as my coworker Brian suggested, could you create a "Facebook Classic" version of the site that doesn't include all this hoo-hah I don't want? I'm not threatening to close my account or anything, but as a loyal user and fan of Facebook, I'd like to see it maintain its place as my online comfort food for a while longer before you tinker with it again. Thanks.

All Creation Myths Need a Devil

Whatever your feelings regarding Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg before seeing The Social Network, you're bound to have them intensified. That's because the film, which details the early days of the site, portrays the guy as both a nerd superhero and total jerk, and it's up to the viewer to decide which label sticks. For me, it's not an all or nothing answer, and I suspect I won't be alone when I say I started on one side and moved more to the middle by film's end, but never crossed all the way over. Regardless of where you come down on the debate, however, it's hard to deny that The Social Network makes great entertainment out of one of this generation's biggest Internet success stories.

When the movie begins, it's the fall of 2003, and Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), a socially awkward Harvard sophomore who resents but longs to be part of the cool crowd, has just been dumped by his girlfriend. Drunk and seething with anger, he takes to the Internet, creating a site called Facemash, which asks his fellow students to compare their classmates and decide which is more attractive. Suffice it to say, the site is such a hit that it crashes the school's server — and garners enough attention that soon Zuckerberg is approached by rich identical twins Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss (Armie Hammer, playing both roles), who want him to help them build an exclusive social network. Zuck has other plans, however, and he decides to build a separate site, a better site, thefacebook.com, which he hopes — he knows — will beat his privileged, cooler classmates at their own game. Yes, the site is a huge hit almost instantaneously.

The Winklevoss twins believe Zuck stole their idea, and he rubs their nose in it by expanding thefacebook and growing it bigger and bigger — so big that it attracts the interest of Napster founder Shawn Parker (Justin Timberlake), who seizes the opportunity to make Facebook the billion-dollar company that Napster never was. With Parker's help and guidance, Zuck almost single-mindedly pursues his goal of making thefacebook (later renamed simply Facebook) the biggest site in the world, never obsessing about money or any other distractions — unlike his friend and partner Eduardo Saverin (Andrew Garfield), whose fruitless attempts to monetize the site drive a wedge between the two friends. ("Like fashion, it's never finished," Zuck tells Saverin. "Yes," Eduardo responds, "but they still make money selling pants.") By pursuing his goal so doggedly, Zuck reveals himself as being vengeful, selfish, and cruel. He not only ostracizes the Winklevoss twins, but by film's end, he's no longer friends with Saverin or partners with Parker.

The Social Network was written by Aaron Sorkin, directed by David Fincher, and (loosely) based on the book The Accidental Billionaires, by Ben Mezrich, and like the book, it's a fast-paced and highly enjoyable story, told in exciting and compelling fashion. The film uses two depositions (one with Saverin's lawsuit, and one with the Winklevoss twins' lawsuit) as a framing device, but sticks to a mostly linear narrative. Sure, the film gets a bit exhausting about 3/4 of the way in, but that's because Sorkin packs so much into his screenplay, and Fincher manages to cram it all into this 120-minute-long film.

In the lead roles, all are excellent. Timberlake is suave and charming (it's no wonder he's able to assume the role of Dr. Landy to Zuck's Brian Wilson), and Garfield makes a sympathetic and betrayed Saverin, but this is really Eisenberg's film. His portrayal of Zuck is so balls-out rude and, well, cool that you can't help but root for him and the site to succeed, and laugh when his opponents don't get their way. (It should be noted that Zuck comes off as much more of an asshole here than he does in the book.) And yet, Eisenberg also shows some heart at Zuck's core, some pain in his success, which only serves to put a fine-point on the irony of a guy with no friends who starts a huge network that's centered around that very word. (As a lawyer played by Rashida Jones says to Mark at one point, "You're not an asshole. You're just trying so hard to be one.")

Did everything in the film happen as it's shown? No. The story is essentially told from multiple points of view, and Zuck himself says, "That's not what happened." That said, as Jones' character notes, "Creation myths need a devil." By giving Zuck more of that role here than he had in reality and in Mezrich's book, I think it only makes his legend grow larger — in a good way. Call The Social Network the real Revenge of the Nerd if you will, but it's clear from the film that Zuck's the one having the last laugh right now, with few regrets. I'm giving The Social Network an A–, and I look forward to seeing it again.

No Perks, No Power ... No Point?

I became the mayor of another place on Foursquare yesterday, and again, when that crown badge showed up on my iPhone screen, I thought it'd be accompanied by an explosion of confetti, balloons raining down on me, flashing lights, fanfare, a banner unfurling from the ceiling with my name on it, applause from the other customers, and the manager of the store rushing over to congratulate me on the achievement. Alright, maybe that's a slight exaggeration (maybe??), but after the smile went away from my face, and I was done mentally patting myself on the back, and I realized there wasn't any benefit to being the mayor, the same reaction I always have set in: So what?

A little background if you don't know what Foursquare is: It's a geolocation-based "game" that works on multiple levels: As a user, you can share your location with others and earn badges for going certain places or checking in a certain number of times. You can also offer "tips" about the place to other users. For businesses, it's a tool that allows you to learn who is coming in to your store or restaurant, how often they do so, and then lets you reward your loyal customers. Some places offer free desserts, drinks, or coffees, or discounts off purchases — small tokens that say, "We appreciate your patronage, come again soon."

Earlier this summer, I dated someone who used Foursquare, and often when we'd go somewhere, she'd check in and we'd get some kind of reward — a free game of bowling, 20% off time spent playing pool, a free topping on our ice cream/yogurt. I had been skeptical about joining Foursquare (I just didn't see the appeal), but going places with her convinced me that there was some merit to the whole thing. So I joined the service a couple months ago, and since then, I've checked in to a lot of places and have even become mayor of a handful of them — I'm currently the mayor of Johnny's Luncheonette in Newton Centre, Brooks Brothers in Chestnut Hill, Friendly's Express in Brookline, and yes, my own apartment. I also used to be the mayor of Crazy Dough's Pizza in Brighton and CVS/Pharmacy in Chestnut Hill, but, well, there were some coups and I got ousted.

At none of those places I just listed is there a benefit or value to being the mayor. No extra sweet potato fries at Johnny's, no free sundae at Friendly's, no 20% off my purchase at Brooks Brothers. All I get for achieving mayor status is a scenario like the one I described at the beginning of this blog post: a smile, a mental pat on the back, and some disappointment. Yesterday when I told someone about my new mayorship, I received the following text message in response: "4 square is dumb to me." And I couldn't argue. Yes, becoming mayor is fun. But that's all it is. And that shouldn't be the case.

I've read that only about 20% of Foursquare users share their check-ins publicly (if even that many). Speaking personally, I don't broadcast mine very often because a) I don't want people to know where I am all the time, and b) not every place I check in is so exciting or novel. However, if I was rewarded by places I frequented, then I'd be happy telling everyone I was there — and that they should go there too. I'd be more likely to suggest going there when I'm with friends and we're looking for somewhere to go. I'd be a much stronger brand advocate, not because I'm being rewarded for being one, but because the business has in essence told me it appreciates me, and is making it worthwhile and fun to spend my money there. As a result, with so few businesses that I patronize taking advantage of Foursquare, I feel like there's a huge missed opportunity.

Which is not to say I'm going to stop checking in places on Foursquare anytime soon. I may not get recognized for being the mayor now, but my hope is that more businesses will catch on to the value of this service sooner rather than later. And when they do, I'll already have so many check-ins that they will be more valuable, and will be worth more to me in reality than they are in my head.

The Other Facebook Movie

The new film Catfish raises a few questions. Among them, which will be the bigger PR threat to Facebook, this movie or The Social Network? And perhaps more importantly, is this film even real? That second question hangs over this entire film, a "reality thriller" (don't call it a documentary) about a guy who meets a girl and her family on Facebook and comes to realize they are not exactly as they seem. I don't want to spoil too much about Catfish because most of the movie's appeal comes from watching things develop. But suffice it to say, where you come down on the "is it real?" debate definitely affects how you feel about the movie.

Catfish begins with New York photographer Yaniv "Nev" Schulman agreeing to let his brother Ariel and friend Henry Joost film him as he befriends an 8-year-old girl in Michigan named Abby, who has taken a liking to Nev's photos and who sends him a reproduction of one that she's painted. Then he's introduced to Abby's mother, Angela, and Abby's attractive older sister, Megan, who he begins flirting with and develops strong feelings for. They continue their long-distance relationship through emails, chats, texting, and phone calls — all documented by the cameras — but it's not until Megan's story begins to unravel fast and furiously that the three men decide to travel to Michigan and meet her in person.

Catfish is a very strange movie, and walking out of the theater I really didn't know what to make of it. Parts of it seem very real and parts of it just ... don't. If everything was on the up and up, then you have to assume that Nev, Ariel, and Henry would probably have walked away from the whole thing at multiple points. And some things that happen do so too easily and conveniently. But it's what happens in the movie's final third that stays with you and gives Catfish its real appeal — and much of its credibility. I won't say any more so as not to ruin it.

We all use social media sites differently — personally, I won't connect with people on Facebook unless I actually know them — and we've all heard stories of people meeting other people on the Internet, whether through an online dating site, social media site, or something like Craigslist, and how those people turn out to be not who they said they were. Catfish tells that kind of story in alternately creepy, fascinating, suspenseful, and heartbreaking fashion. I wish the film had been edited a little more tightly, and any person with common sense will question things before Nev does, but on the whole, Catfish is a compelling film that examines online identity in the social media age, and you watch it waiting to see what will happen next.

The filmmakers maintain that their movie is real (of course they do). I'd like to believe them, but I can't about everything. That said, proving how fake the movie is spoils the point, doesn't it? I mean, everyone knew Blair Witch Project was fake, but it still scared the bejesus out of audiences. So Catfish may not be totally legit, but I bought into it anyway. I'm giving the movie a B.

The Facebook Book

I finally finished reading Ben Mezrich's The Accidental Billionaires last week. I say finally because it only took me, oh, about a year to do so. That's not indicative of how much I enjoyed the book. Rather, it's just that the book fell victim to my lack of reading time and my laziness about finding time to read. Actually, this summer, as I got more and more excited about seeing The Social Network, I made the time to read, and I spent a number of Sunday afternoons outside reading the book. And I'm glad I did.

You already know how much I enjoy social media, and how much I'm looking forward to seeing The Social Network, the movie that's based on The Accidental Billionaires, so I guess it's no surprise that I enjoyed the book as much as I did. A very quick read (all things considered), it tells the story of the founding of Facebook, and how Mark Zuckerberg single-mindedly pursued his vision of a website where people could connect with each other — in the process ostracizing not only some rich Harvard classmates, but also his best friend. Admittedly, it's hard to read the book without seeing folks like Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake in your head, but perhaps that's because Billionaires is more focused on story and less on character.

For example, we don't learn much about Zuckerberg due partly to the fact that he didn't cooperate with the book's writing, and also because there may not be much to learn. The kid's pretty focused on his programming for much of the book. (He seems like more of a jerk from the trailer.) On the other hand, Eduardo Saverin engenders much more sympathy, probably because he did help Mezrich and could tell the story from his (biased) point of view. Sean Parker, a public figure since the days of Napster, comes off as a fast-talking svengali — Dr. Landy to Zuckerberg's Brian Wilson — and I can't wait to see Timberlake play him on the big screen.

But what Accidental Billionaires lacks in character development, it makes up for in story — and what a great one it is. Billionaires is a real page-turner, one that I should have read much quicker and sooner. That said, I'm glad I did before the movie comes out. If you're a faster reader than I am (how can you not be?), then I recommend flipping through it before October 1.

Social Media Sure Is Delicious

I don't in any way pretend to be a social media expert. Sure, I'm an active user of Facebook and Twitter, I have a blog, and now I've even started checking in everywhere on Foursquare. And sure, some people I work with think I'm an expert. But if there's one thing I've learned when it comes to social media, it's that nobody knows anything (to borrow the phrase from William Goldman), and we're all making it up as we go along. So I'll let other people label themselves as social media gurus, experts, ninjas, or whatever word they're using these days. Me, an expert? I'm not ready for that kind of label just yet.

That all said, I really do enjoy social networking. Sure, like most people, I've reconnected with old friends and learned more about coworkers, and I've spent too much time doing so, but I've also made some new friends, enhanced my enjoyment of events and conferences, and hell, I'll admit it: earlier this summer I even dated someone I met on Twitter. Yes, I've had my doubts, but now that I'm fully in the weeds, I'm the kind of guy who actually gets in debates about the right and wrong way to use the sites, I think people who aren't on Facebook or Twitter are missing out, and I find myself getting all riled up when I find articles about social media that I agree with (like this one and this one, for example).

All this is a preamble for telling you I may have reached a zenith in my social media "career." You see, Ben & Jerry's has been traveling around Boston this summer giving out free ice cream at concerts, beaches, malls, museums, office buildings, and other places. The promotion has been driven (no pun intended) largely by social media sites like Twitter, Foursquare, and Facebook, with the idea being that they'll announce on those sites where the ice cream truck is going next. By extension, if you want the truck to stop by where you are, you just have to tweet your heart out — and getting your friends to do the same wouldn't hurt.

You can probably tell where this story is going.

A few weeks ago, I started tweeting that I wanted the truck to come to my workplace. And surprise, surprise — to cut the story short — on Tuesday it did! Now, I can't take full credit for getting this done ... aw hell, if there's one other thing I know about social media, it's that everyone's a self-promoter, so why not me? Yes, I was the ringleader who got Ben & Jerry's to come to my office and drop off a ton of Cookie Dough, Cherry Garcia, and Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream cups. (Seriously, a ton. We will likely be eating ice cream till Christmas.) I sent messages back and forth with the @BenJerrysTruck handle, last week I enlisted a bunch of people across the company to tweet in support of this very important cause, and voila: it totally worked. Ben & Jerry's heard us, responded, and made good on its promise. (They must have known we like to eat.)

This, my friends, is the power of social media. Provide a great customer experience, engage with people on the sites, mobilize and empower your fans to spread the word about you, and amazing things can happen. Oh, and have fun with it. That's the really important part. Ben & Jerry's made hundreds of my coworkers happy on Tuesday, and made the folks who were out of the office jealous. Lots of people posted comments and photos on Facebook and Twitter, thus telling even more people about how much they love Ben & Jerry's. And it all happened because I posted a few tweets and got some of my friends excited about the prospect of free ice cream. (Or so I'd like to believe.)

As one of my coworkers said to me, "I don't understand everything about social media, but it sure is delicious!" I'm no expert, but I'd have to agree with that statement.

I "Like" This

I'm a believer that the quality and quantity of the trailers shown before a film can adversely or positively affect the moviegoing experience, no matter how good the movie itself is. So suffice it to say, on Saturday, when I saw the awesome Inception, having the new trailer for The Social Network (i.e., the Facebook movie) playing before the film made the experience even better.

I'd seen the trailer a few times already online, and loved it, so I knew what trailer it was the second it began. But not everyone else in the theater had. Let me tell you, it didn't take long for them to catch on, and the place just went totally silent. And when it was over, there was a palpable buzz all around me. That movie looks incredible. Clearly, I'm not the only one who cannot wait till October 1, which is when it opens.

Check out the Social Network trailer for yourself. I've embedded it right here for your viewing pleasure.

Follow Me

It's no secret that I love Facebook. I enjoy reconnecting with old friends, getting to know new ones even better, keeping up-to-date-with people I know (even if we're not actually "in touch"), sharing interesting items and news stories, and most fun of all, coming up with amusing status updates — even if many of them are just song lyrics. Facebook has become nothing short of an addiction for me; it's a routine, a site I check often throughout the day, and one I genuinely love visiting and spending time on. Facebook's a community site, and while it's not perfect, I tend to find value in being a part of it every day. And, it's a site I feel I've become "good" at using.

On the other hand, I've never quite understood Twitter. How can you really say anything of value in 140 characters? Do I really need to see the random Tweets of random celeb folks and other people? Why would I want to "follow" someone if all they did was link to other sites? What is with the people who seem to Tweet all the time? And isn't Twitter really just a marketing site now — a place for companies and celebs to promote themselves? Sounds like a waste of time to me. You can have your Twitter, thanks. I'll stick with Facebook.

But last week, when I was at the MarketingProfs Digital Marketing Mixer, everyone, it seemed, was on Twitter. It was topic number one in a few of the sessions. One of my coworkers was meeting all kinds of people he had Tweeted with in the weeks leading up to the event, and adding new Tweeters to his Follow list. And I was actually enjoying following the Twitter stream of the folks in attendance, and Tweeting on my company's corporate handle.

Not surprisingly, then, over the weekend, I finally decided to sign up for my own Twitter account in an attempt to understand just what all the hoo-hah was about — and, you know, because of my need to be in "the cool crowd" and all. My first Tweet? "As VP candidate James Stockdale once said, 'Who am I? Why am I here?' Thus begins the search for intelligent life on Twitter." Cute, perhaps. Maybe even a little cliched. But you'll surely agree that it's nothing terribly exciting. In truth, it's about as deep as my first blog post was four years ago. Then again, I think it's appropriate for the medium.

So I've been Tweeting, and a few days into my Twitter Adventure, I'm still of mixed opinion on the site. On the one hand, I enjoy the challenge of condensing my thoughts to 140 characters or less each time I post something, and I like Tweeting random non sequiter statements. I like that I don't have to write every "status" as a third-party statement about myself, like I do on Facebook. I like some of the back-and-forth "dialogue." John Mayer lives up to his billing as an engaging Twitterer, as does Jimmy Fallon. (Mindy Kaling, from The Office, is good too.) I think it's cool that the official handle for the TV show Modern Family is following me. And I like being part of an international conversation.

But I still think much that passes as "content" on the site is just text messaging on a public scale. Not having too many followers yet, it's hard to really feel "engaged" on the site. I prefer how you can comment right below people's posts on Facebook, and not how replies get lost in the endless stream of Tweets. And the celebs I'm following? Do I really need to know that a certain young starlet (who shall remain nameless) just got a new cell phone? No, and that was one of the more interesting things she's Tweeted recently. (They can't all be John Mayer, I guess.) This particular Tweeter is, like, all about the site and she post all the time. Seriously, girlfriend needs to step away from the computer a bit more often. (Though full disclosure: I am going to keep following her.) I think my lowest point so far was when I actually considered Tweeting a message to another beloved of mine on Monday night to tell her I didn't enjoy the latest episode of her TV show. (Thankfully, I didn't do it.) Oh, and I still refuse to follow Ashton Kutcher, so I guess that's a good thing.

I guess the question is, do I really need to be a king of all media? No. So for now, I'll reserve judgement on Twitter and I'll keep devoting more of my attention to my Facebook account — and this blog, of course.

That said, I'm not giving up on Twitter just yet. I'd like to try and make my Twitter feed something as fun as my Facebook page is, and not become a statistic. So, if you'd like to help me grow into my Twitter handle (and I hope you will, despite the absolutely glowing endorsement here), go ahead and follow me: I'm @martinlieberman. I'll try and make it worth your while.

If Real Life Worked Like Facebook ...

... it would probably be a lot like this video by a British comedy group called Idiots of Ants.

Face It

What's with, like, all my friends and lots of other folks all of a sudden joining Facebook and LinkedIn? Not a day goes by lately where I'm not getting an e-mail from one of these sites asking if I'm actually someone's friend or if I wish to be connected to someone. I don't mind being in the networks — it takes just two seconds to say yes — but really, does anyone actually use these sites for something worthwhile? The only time I ever do anything with them is when I get one of these e-mails that I've been poked or someone's posted something on my "wall" or taken a quiz or answered some random question that has been automatically selected for me or whatever. I joined LinkedIn, but I don't know that I've done anything on the site since that initial sign-in (other than hitting Accept). Facebook I don't do anything on unless someone does something to me. I've got much more interesting things to do than keep checking that site to see what everyone's up to. Some friends of mine swear by it and say they love it. Really? I mean, seriously. I guess I just don't see the big deal.