online culture is developing rules of behavior that change in different situations too.

Yet because folks have imagined virtual reality that is not all true, we’ve developed this mindset that being online isn’t the real world when in fact, the Internet is just another set of tools.

Being online isn’t another world … it’s a set of tools in another culture paradigm. It’s no less the real world than being on the phone.

To be visibly authentic in every conversation in every every culture, it’s important to be aware that media only mediates relationships and it only causes contextual cultural shifts. .

The media we use doesn’t define real life.
Media doesn’t change the world, people do.

The lack of integrity behind the Twitter retweet is well documented, from its marginal value as a measure of influence to its questionable role in the accurate republication of links and other content. Most Twitter identities are not verified, so the source of most tweets cannot be fully verified. The content of those tweets often points to other tweets, or to blogs written by amateurs (non professional journalists.) This lack of provenance is bad enough, but add that the sender of the retweet can (sometimes must) omit or change information, and the questionable quality of the original information, and NO ONE should be surprised that so many retweets are pure garbage.

So why are many replacing their blogs with Lifestreaming? I think prior to the advent of Lifestraming and its tools many people created blogs with the sole purpose of providing a diary. In this case, I think it makes total sense to make the swtich. But this is only a portion of the blogging population. So what else is fueling this movement? I believe its a combination of several factors that are either individually or combined making it compelling.

Here’s a few:

• Lifestreaming tools and services have gotten very good
• Mobile apps provide great functionality for creating and posting Lifestreaming content
• The popularity of Twitter and other micro blogging services have consumed folks
• Facebook has turned into a Lifestreaming platform
• The advent of the real-time web has transformed user behavior (being quick and first has become more important than anything)
• Quanity has appeared to have trumped quality (volume! volume! volume!)
• People are embracing the lazy web

The blog is the foundation and center for who you are - either as an individual, or a brand. While I believe the best bloggers in the world are participating outside of their blog, on Twitter, FriendFeed, Facebook and everywhere else, to only participate in those areas leaves a gaping hole. The world of lifestreaming and real-time is fun, but it can be as deep as a soap opera in a world that still demands insightful documentaries and news reporting.

Key Takeaways

• The trend for people to create more content is afoot, as a result aggregation tools like lifestreams, activity streams, and newsfeeds (and a new form of a social/email inbox) will take center stage.
• You should certainly join the conversations where they exist, but this doesn’t mean your base of quality content should erode, there are long term branding and search benefits.
• As a result, we’ll start to see new tools emerge that help to find the signal –not noise. Those who can filter out what’s important will matter more:, by using a: blog, delicious, or tweets to let your community  know what’s important.
• Expect the same heavy pieces on this blog, but feel free to spiral with me on Twitter and Friendfeed and whatever tool comes next.  I’m going to leave the choice to you.  I want to keep the signal high for my business minded community. Needles –not hay.

Basically, the speed of the real time Internet is now moving into the application world as well. Real time data is the beauty that sits at the center of Twitter. Will Twitter be able to capitalize on it? Who knows? There is a possibility that their free offering that is gaining so much momentum could end up hurting them on the revenue side. But how or if Twitter makes money is almost irrelevant.

What is more important is a real sea change that is occurring which shows that in business it’s real time or it’s no time. While it may not be practical or even possible to have true real time for everything most companies should be tapped into some form of real time availability of information that occurs outside their four walls. If not, they stand a real chance of being left behind. Now that this reality is hitting the inner workings of core company systems and not just the marketing areas, the adoption of Twitteresque services of the world only stands to escalate more rapidly.

In social media, participants will forever be at odds with the brands they represent.  Who we are as an individual and who we are as a representative of a company aren’t always in harmony or unison. However, there is an attainable balance and it’s this balance that inflates and steers the impression of all brands involved on both sides of the conversation.

While we profess to inject a human element to those companies as a way of making them approachable and compassionate, we must assess our intended role and the advantages of engagement in the communities we wish to reach before our inaugural utterance or declaration. Then and only then, can we discover our bearing and trajectory.

Humanizing the brand is necessary, if and only if, a human voice will reduce or eliminate potential friction between the customer and the company. Otherwise, social strategies must personify the greater purpose, significance and symbolization of the brand and reinforce those traits through everything we contribute. We do so by also humanizing our existing and potential customers, gaining empathy and sincerity in the process. But we must do so at a profound measure through not only a deep-rooted comprehension of human nature and connections as it relates to our individual personality, but also an entrenched comprehension of perception management, brand shaping and reinforcement, and active counseling and guidance that leaves those you encounter more informed, aware, and fulfilled. We’re instilling the attributes that engender awareness, enthusiasm, and loyalty.

The shift from specialist to authority is driven specifically by experience and the activities that define your social portfolio.  As a business professional seeking guidance, direction, and insight, become the person you’re trying to reach using the voice of the persona you wish to convey and fortify.

This is connectivity through inspiration. In the process, we become the very social media experts we sought to employ.

What's the Point of The 6 Spheres Diagram?

The point is for you to see how it's a process, with different actions and tactics depending on how close your prospect is to your ultimate goal.

The assumption is that you want prospects to buy something, or if you're a charity or non-profit, you might want them to donate or sign a petition.

(Yes, maybe now your goal is to get emails or build your twitter account or whatever- but those are ends that become means to the real end… if you're ultimately not making money, you're going to have to get another job.)

Surviving and thriving means keeping the end in mind, which is the small green sphere at the bottom.