Category Archives: Observations

The Mystery of the Silent Partner, Part II: Three Additional Theories

October 25, 2010 – 6:44 am

In a post this past August, I discussed a relationship I had observed on Twitter that I called the “silent partner”: accounts that follow you but never interact with you, or those who follow you back, but seemingly refuse interaction. I had put forth some proposals on why these connections occur, but I’ve since developed three additional theories on why you may find yourself linked up with a silent partner.

By brightmatrix | Also posted in Social Media, Twitter | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (2)

The Conundrum of Critical Mass

September 9, 2010 – 9:47 am

How much noise must you tolerate in a social network to attain a reliable set of responses to your posts? Would the content and value of those responses be sufficient to balance the “wheat vs. chaff” formula in your network? What’s that magic number or ratio that marks the “critical mass” of your network to [...]

By brightmatrix | Also posted in Personal Reflection, Social Media | Tagged , | Comments (0)

The Mystery of the Silent Partner

August 21, 2010 – 4:41 pm

Social media produces some interesting and downright curious behaviors. Over the past few months, I’ve noticed a rather compelling relationship that’s popped up in my social interactions. It tends to manifest in two similar fashions: Someone chooses to follow or friend you. They’re active within their own network; it’s not a spammer or automated account, [...]

By brightmatrix | Also posted in Social Media | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Auto-Following and Mutual Follows: A Circle of Obligation

August 11, 2010 – 5:05 pm

In this post, I share my thoughts on why I think both auto-following and mutual follows, with the exception of some customer service interactions, are pointless and don’t contribute to the value that can be derived from using Twitter.

By brightmatrix | Also posted in Social Media, Twitter | Tagged , , , | Comments (2)

Eat More Dog Food

July 23, 2010 – 8:41 am

In the information age, you need to “eat your own dog food”: follow your own advice and own up to your mistakes.

By brightmatrix | Also posted in Personal Reflection | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

Crafting Your Project’s “Vision Quest”: Thoughts on Jared Spool’s “Turning Back to the Future” Presentation

June 18, 2010 – 1:15 pm

The closing presentation at the UIE Web App Masters Tour in Philadelphia was “Turning Back to the Future” by Jared Spool. In this session, Jared shared how “successful teams learn about what they should design from their future” by having a shared vision. I’ve collected some thoughts about what a “vision quest” needs to succeed.

By brightmatrix | Also posted in Personal Reflection, UIE Web App Masters Tour | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

Confessions of an Occasional Introvert

June 11, 2010 – 5:23 pm

Every now and again, I prefer not to talk. Consider me an “occasional introvert”.

By brightmatrix | Also posted in Personal Reflection | Tagged , , | Comments (2)

Some Lessons Learned from Live-Tweeting the UIE Web App Masters Tour

June 10, 2010 – 1:53 pm

I learned a lot during my tenure as “citizen journalist” during the User Interface Engineering Wep App Masters Tour in Philadelphia. In this post, I share some of my experiences and a few “lessons learned” that I picked up along the way.

By brightmatrix | Also posted in Social Media, UIE Web App Masters Tour | Tagged , , | Comments (2)