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note: follow me on twitter.

twitter launched an updated version of their people search earlier today, but unfortunately it’s not very useful in the absence of the following features:

1 - more sorting options - by default, it seems that the results are largely randomly ordered. right now i’m seeing people who have been inactive for over 3 months (some even a year) as the first results for my query. not only would i love to see an option that allows me to sort users by ‘last active’ but also by how active they are on a daily basis. i don’t want to follow inactive people but i also don’t want to follow hyperactive people that are bound to clutter my stream.

2 - more information - right now when you search by location, you see the people’s name, location, web and bio, and last twitter message (and when it was updated). i would love to more recent messages (maybe last 5 messages) from these people, who they interact with (who follows them and who they follow) and which follows/followers we have in common. this would help me make a judgement call regarding how useful it would be for me to add them and for them to reciprocate.

in the absence of these options, i think twubble is a much more robust and useful way to find more friends (and better, more targetted friends) since it tells you which friends you have in common with recommended twitterers (social proof people!).

Technorati Tags: twitter, people search, twubble

i’ve written a post on search engine land on the past, present, and future of mixx.

mixx, a social media submission site, is a newcomer on the scene, so it understandably will take a while for it to catch up with older sites like digg, propeller, reddit, and stumbleupon. that said, this article looks at the current state of mixx and the potential future of its small but devoted community.

please check out the article and let us know what you think.

Technorati Tags: search engine land, social media, digg, propeller, reddit, stumbleupon, mixx, community, growth, roi

part 6 in my 10-part series on ’social media and simplicity’ is up.

based on the previously discussed rules, you should by now have a fairly good idea of what tools you should be using. while each of these tools (social bookmarking, networking, etc) ultimately help you accomplish your goals of increasing brand awareness, increasing engagement, making money, etc., it is important to understand that each of these services do so in their own unique way and must be used accordingly.

head on over to freelance switch to simplify your social media workflow today.

Technorati Tags: blogging, freelancing, social media, business, muhammad saleem, freelance switch

part 5 in my 10-part series on ’social media and simplicity’ is up.

while it is perfectly fine to write for the social media audience, it’s absolutely wrong to pander specifically to that audience at the cost of your loyal readers. know the difference between the content that is generally useful and relates to your regular audience, and the content you are creating to target an audience you don’t currently own.

most importantly, know the difference between your existing audience and your potential audience, and the relative importance of each.

head on over to freelance switch to simplify your social media workflow today.

Technorati Tags: blogging, freelancing, social media, business, muhammad saleem, freelance switch

part 4 in my 10-part series on ’social media and simplicity’ is up.

it seems paradoxical that achieving simplicity would be such a laborious and complex process, but it’s true. simplicity rarely comes naturally and we have to learn how to achieve simplicity in our daily routines and how to live by its principles.

head on over to freelance switch to simplify your social media workflow today.

Technorati Tags: blogging, freelancing, social media, business, muhammad saleem, freelance switch

with a special thanks to tris hussey, darren rowse, and wendy piersall.+

Technorati Tags: south by south west, sxsw 2008, muhammad saleem, tris hussey, darren rowse, wendy piersall, problogger, beer bus

part 3 in my 10-part series on ’social media and simplicity’ is up.

by automating all the parts you can, and being alerted about the parts that you can’t automate, you can let the machines do the work while you take care of other things. remember, working on the web is great, and you can get a lot more done (in a wide variety of areas) if you’re not confined to the cubicle.

head on over to freelance switch to simplify your social media workflow today.

Technorati Tags: blogging, freelancing, social media, business, muhammad saleem, freelance switch

i’ve written a guest post at read/writeweb on how in the face of adversity, starbucks is turning to social media.

with starbucks’ stock beaten down from its mighty highs of $47 to recent lows of $17 in the face of strong competition from peet’s, caribou, mcdonald’s, and dunkin’ donuts and a suffering economy, the coffee house chain has made many changes over the past few months. from eliminating jobs and reshuffling management to permanently shutting down lagging stores and retraining its baristas, perhaps none of these moves will be as important or effective in the long run as the development and launch of my starbucks idea.

read the full article to learn more about starbucks’ social media effort.

Technorati Tags: starbucks, my starbucks idea, social media, readwriteweb

part 2 in my 10-part series on ’social media and simplicity’ is up.

how you organize your life can make the difference between utilizing 10 tools and reaching 40,000 people or utilizing 5 tools and reaching 100,000 people.

head on over to freelance switch to simplify your social media workflow today.

Technorati Tags: blogging, freelancing, social media, business, muhammad saleem, freelance switch

part 1 in my 10-part series on ‘social media and simplicity’ is up.

remember, there are no secrets. less is often more, and the key is in creating and sharing value. as we said in the beginning, step 1 in achieving simplicity is through thoughtful reduction. if you don’t feel it’s right for you, get rid of it, and focus on an alternative that works for you.

head on over to freelance switch to simplify your social media workflow today.

Technorati Tags: blogging, freelancing, social media, business, muhammad saleem, freelance switch