I interviewed MsJen who shared her perspective on Dana Boyd’s theory of superpublics. I am especially interested in two comments in this interview:

1) people who do not have history on social networks may actually be at a significant disadvantage

2) we grow and change within our social networks. What we post on Myspace at 16 is much different from what we share at 24.

For more on Dana Boyd’s theory see:

• http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2006/03/21/friendster_lost.html
• http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2006/03/22/super_publics.html
• http://www.zephoria.org/thoughts/archives/2007/03/18/tweet_tweet_som.html

I had great time in Helsinki speaking with the impassioned geeks Nokia had flown in from around the world. Together we walked to Helsinki’s museum of modern art and spent a few hours in conversation. Everyone in our group was equipped with at least two cameras and two global phones. The mix of researchers, bloggers, and category experts made for lively discussions.

I asked a few people to share a website or two they recommend. Here are a few they shared:

* Tag Maps: “We crunched through 50 million photographs on Flickr to see what people deem important in the world.”  Rahul Nahir, Yahoo researcher.
* GeoSpot: What’s open right now (in San Fran and LA)
* Carsonified:  – a creative agency, “I love the way the site looks,” Ilicco Elia, head of mobile, Reuters Europe.   
* Mizpee – where to find a toilet fast, recommended by Steve Dembo, Discovery Channel.
* Get Satisfaction: consumers and corporations can meet and get satisfaction online, recommended by Mikko Eerola
* Karaokeparty: The Singstar killer, recommended by Janne Saarikko
* Zero Punctuation: Video game reviews by a brit with a sharp wit, sardonic tone and a dirty mouth. Just. Brilliant. Recommended by James Whatley
* Phreadz: still in closed Beta, it’s a threaded multimedia conversation platform that offers the whole area of threaded archivable, taggable conversations, including video, text, photography, slideshare, audio etc. It rules. Recommended by Steve Lawson
* Silobreaker:  helping with pattern recognition related to current events, recommended by Teemu Arina
* Christian Lindholm: how life blogging should be done, recommended by Rob Evans
* Mike Maddaloni – SitePoint @ sitepoint.com: a great tech, design and business resource for creative and like minded people from around the world, like what I hope we build for OpenLab!

I recently ate breakfast at one of my favorite spots called “The Neighborhood.” They serve excellent Portuguese food widely adored by the 20-something crowd in Boston, and especially loved by Yelpers. As I was waiting in line, I noticed they had a white erase board with a special note to their Yelping customers. This was the first time I have seen a restaurant “talk back,” to their customers reviews in this way. It sparked a few ideas that I would like to share with you. If I owned a restaurant, here a 20 things I would consider doing to recognize and attract Yelpers.

1. Respond publicly to feedback on Yelp with a non-defensive and appreciative attitude.
2. Send a positive reviewer a private message thanking them.
3. Send a positive reviewer a coupon for a future dining occasion.
4. Invite a negative reviewer back to the restaurant for a VIP dinner on the house.
5. Invite a negative reviewer to tell you how you can improve the dining experience.
6. Respond to a review on your restaurant’s blog.
7. Make a big deal of a positive Yelp review. Frame it and take a picture with the Yelper and hang it in your restaurant.
8. Create special, “no-wait” tables in the restaurant for Yelp reviewers that have cool benefits.
9. Gather your Yelp reviewers to a private wine tasting or to sample new menu ideas.
10. Name dishes after Yelp reviewers.
11. Ask positive reviewers what they ate, post pictures of the dish on Yelp and reference the reviewer.
12. Make an offer to the friends of positive reviewers. If they print out their friend’s positive reviews and bring them to the restaurant, they receive a discount.
13. Have a Yelp-only happy hour for happy Yelp reviewers.
14. Create a menu item that you can only order if you have reviewed the restaurant on Yelp.
15. Conduct a focus group dinner for negative reviewers.
16. Indicate on your menu, “Yelp reviewed,” or  “Yelpers loved this.”
17. Post a blog entry that lists all the points in a negative review and how they were responded to.
18. Invite negative Yelpers to provide their feedback during a staff training session.
19. Offer free valet parking to positive Yelp reviewers (or unlimited drink refills).
20. Offer a discount when two Yelp reviewers come together.

(image from Flickr, by Pear Biter)

I live in two worlds.

The first values transparency, collaboration and humanity. In this world, I bog, tweet, review, share pictures and videos and constantly update my Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.

The second worships results. An individual’s value is defined by his or her ability to make things happen.

Sometimes these worlds pull me in opposite directions.

During a recent interview I was conducting for one of my clients, the agency I was interviewing made a snide comment about my blog. The comment was awkward and inappropriate – I ignored it, but felt its sting. I thought of my options: Should I create separate blogs for business and personal reflections? Should I delete my Twitter account? Should I research the online profile of the person who made the comment?

I didn’t act for several weeks. During this time, I reflected on how social media brings my personal life into my business relationships. Clients may actually see the tweet I sent from South by Southwest at 3 a.m., my blog entry about adult communities online or photos of spring break from back when I was in college.

Does this mean we should sanitize our online footprints? Running a marketing agency focused on social media makes this question even more complicated. In some cases, my online footprint can enhance my credibility in one world while undermining it in another.

I live in two worlds.

The first values transparency, collaboration and humanity. In this world, I bog, tweet, review, share pictures and videos and constantly update my Facebook and LinkedIn profiles.

The second worships results. An individual’s value is defined by his or her ability to make things happen.

Sometimes these worlds pull me in opposite directions.

During a recent interview I was conducting for one of my clients, the agency I was interviewing made a snide comment about my blog. The comment was awkward and inappropriate – I ignored it, but felt its sting. I thought of my options: Should I create separate blogs for business and personal reflections? Should I delete my Twitter account? Should I research the online profile of the person who made the comment?

I didn’t act for several weeks. During this time, I reflected on how social media brings my personal life into my business relationships. Clients may actually see the tweet I sent from South by Southwest at 3 a.m., my blog entry about adult communities online or photos of spring break from back when I was in college.

Does this mean we should sanitize our online footprints? Running a marketing agency focused on social media makes this question even more complicated. In some cases, my online footprint can enhance my credibility in one world while undermining it in another.