There is a tale from China about two young brothers. The younger brother’s name was Chang. But the older brother, well, he had a very very long name, as was the custom. His full name was Tikki Tikki Tembo No Sa Rembo Chari Bari Ruchi Pip Peri Pembo. Now, even though they had been told not to, the two little boys loved playing near a well, which was very deep and therefore very dangerous. One day, an awful thing happened, and Chang fell into the well.
Are you familiar with this story? When I was a kid, my mom would read the 1968 version of the tale to my brother and me (this charming puppet show uses as a script that version of the story). The moral of the story is that having a super-long name that takes so long to say can actually be very detrimental. When Tikki Tikki Tembo falls into the well, it takes so long for everyone to say his name as they look for help that he very nearly drowns (in some versions he does drown). On the other hand, Chang gets saved very quickly because his name is so short.
What can this possibly have to do with Social Media?
[Read more…] about The Social Media implications of Tikki Tikki Tembo
When you think of Social Media, you probably do not think about a man who lived several centuries ago, who wore foofy collars and who, if one can believe the paintings, had very well trimmed facial hair. However, when you are thinking about how to engage with people in the online world, just such a fellow can serve you quite well. His name is William Shakespeare.
Awhile back, Becky McRay wrote a post called 
There is one struggle that I keep coming back to when I think about building a personal brand in the wild and wooly world of Social Media. That is the struggle to keep your eyes on your own prize, whatever that may be, to keep your feet on your own path, whatever THAT may be, and to not let yourself get distracted by what everyone else is doing.
I used to work for one of the largest PR firms in the world. I was hired for an entry-level position on their digital team, which concentrated on finding insights for clients within social media. Though I’d never worked in social before, it felt as if the firm expected me to become an expert in the field within a very short amount of time. And part of what they expected me to know was everything and anything about Twitter.
Humans seem naturally wired to ask a single question all of the time: “Is it me?” When we go through a hard time, we automatically start searching for what we did to deserve it. When someone passes away, we think, “Is this because I didn’t sweep off their porch in 1987?” When someone treats us poorly, we think, “Gosh, what did I do to that person?”