Flickr-2-Twitter how-to — and a note on floating web-strategy proposals to the boss.

I blather, John shows how it’s done. Gotta remember one of the first things I learned from the experience of trying to explain social media to people who don’t compulsively swim in the stuff: Show, don’t tell.

Seized with enthusiasm for some new social-web experiment I want to try, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve launched into a spiel to colleagues/higher-ups only to be met with that unmistakable “What you talkin’ bout Willis?” expression. Save your powder, if you’ve any suspicion this could happen to you. Wait until you can literally demo the concept somehow — you want good visualizations of the concept and the mechanics, and you want to filter out every last word of web-geek jargon. Watch a few pieces by these guys (two old favorites) — they’re the best “explainers” known to me. (Commoncraft’s work sets a lofty standard; I inevitably fall short but their stuff gives me a good compass.)

Anyway, here’s John Haydon’s screencast showing how to wire your Flickr and Twitter accounts together. Clear, simple, shows the timid that there’s nothing scary about doing this. Nice work, John! (And btw, John, I like the cut of your jib on twitter — in just a few minutes of attention your style of interaction has given me a lot to think about, in a wikipatterns sort of way. Follow that man, people.)

July 2, 2009 | Filed Under emerging technologies, mobile tech, the social web