Our Latest Hand-Picked List of Events, Contests and Awards |  |
- Our Latest Hand-Picked List of Events, Contests and Awards
- Twitter Suspension? First Step: Don’t Panic
- How to “Own the Room” in Any Presentation
| Our Latest Hand-Picked List of Events, Contests and Awards Posted: 18 May 2013 02:40 PM PDT Welcome to our latest curated list of events, contests and awards for small businesses, solo entrepreneurs and growing companies. To see a full list or to submit your own event, contest or award listing, visit the Small Business Events Calendar. Featured Events, Contests and Awards
Join us at the Navy Pier to learn how you can raise capital for your small business. Meet 1:1 with loan officers. Attend panels on traditional and alternative lending options, start-ups, crowd-funding, and more.
Looking to create independence from this shifting job economy? Join John Lawson, award winning Social Commerce Strategist, American Express featured businessman, author, and founder of 3rd Power Outlet – an online clothing retail outlet that has exceeded $25 million in sales.
The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) will convene 3,500 decision makers from the nation’s leading corporations, government entities and women’s business enterprises (WBEs) to generate business together and stimulate economic growth at the 2013 WBENC National Conference & Business Fair in Minneapolis, MN, June 25-27, 2013.
The Big Awards started with a mission of recognizing real talent and performance. Real business people, those with experience and knowledge, judge the Big Awards. Request an entry kit today and submit your nomination by August 14, 2013. More Events
More Awards and Contests
This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends and SmallBizTechnology. The post Our Latest Hand-Picked List of Events, Contests and Awards appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Twitter Suspension? First Step: Don’t Panic Posted: 18 May 2013 10:10 AM PDT
Since last week, lots of legitimate business accounts have been suspended and then unsuspended on Twitter. Here’s more on what’s been happening and what to do if you find yourself in the same situation. Legitimate Business Accounts Getting SuspendedIt’s been fairly common for pure spam accounts to get suspended. Most Twitter users applaud spam crackdowns. But what’s less common is when legitimate small business users get their Twitter accounts suspended. That happened just this week in the business community, with numerous reports of business users getting suspended. It even happened to a small account used by a member of the Small Business Trends team. It also happened to another sizable account of one of our best contributors. Luckily, all of the accounts we know of were reinstated. No one seems to know why they were suspended in the first place. Here are some of the reactions to this latest round of suspensions:
Anatomy of a Twitter Suspension in ErrorSmall Business Trends contributor and branding consultant Deborah Shane discovered her Twitter account suspended at about 9 p.m. on May 7. Shane reviewed the Twitter rules and quickly determined she had not intentionally (or to her knowledge — unintentionally) violated any of the rules. She filled out and submitted the “file a report” form that appeared when she tried to log into her account. In the online form, she politely asked why her account had been suspended. She stated that she had not violated any Twitter rules. She explained that her Twitter account was vital for operation of her business and asked how to get reinstated. Though she couldn’t use her Twitter account, of course, Shane immediately started leveraging her other networks, including LinkedIn, to try to communicate with someone at Twitter. ”What I find very troubling is the complete lack of any human communication whatsoever. It's all automated,” said Shane. Others she had communicated with had had similar experiences and told her the service would likely be reinstated within about 48 hours. Sure enough, by the early evening of May 9, about 48 hours after her account had been suspended, Shane found she had been reinstated. She has concluded the suspension was an error based on information provided to her in an automated email from the company. Algo Tripped?Twitter has a long list of violations in its rules that will get accounts suspended and put you in Twitter jail. Let’s take a look at some of these. One grounds for suspension is “aggressive following.” A Twitter best practices page defines this behavior as “indiscriminately following hundreds of accounts just to garner attention. However, following a few users if their accounts seem interesting is normal and is not considered aggressive.” Call us crazy, but we thought the whole point of Twitter was following others! All kidding aside, it appears that following too many other accounts too quickly, is what will get you in trouble. Another behavior Twitter discourages is “follow churn.” Twitter defines this as “repeatedly following and un-following large numbers of other users.” We’re not sure why people would do this. It may be a misguided attempt to get around Twitter follow limits (Twitter limits how many you can follow in proportion to how many follow you). So you follow people, and as soon as they follow you back, then you unfollow them so you can follow others. Of course, this kind of behavior is risky, not to mention rude. You could get banned. Having your Twitter account compromised or hacked can also lead to suspension. In these cases, suspension is a good thing. It protects everyone from malware and other issues. Suspension in this case is less painful than your reputation getting smeared when all your followers get spammed with offensive stuff from your account. Political pundits using Twitter sometimes push things to the limit with behavior that can lead to suspension. This post on RedState discusses examples of intentionally trying to get other users kicked off Twitter, in order to silence political foes. However, most business users don’t engage in that kind of deliberate targeting behavior. Small business users understand the value of Twitter. Many small business owners and entrepreneurs spend considerable time and money building a Twitter following. They don’t want to risk suspensions from deliberate behaviors. True, there are aggressive online marketers who push the envelope. But most Main Street small businesses don’t want to take such risks. So back to the question. What caused the recent round of Twitter suspensions of non-spam business accounts? Over the years it’s been reported that Twitter has automated algorithms to detect violations of its rules. It’s quite possible that an algorithm was somehow tripped in error snagging all these business accounts. Or it could simply have been a systems glitch of some kind. (We contacted Twitter for an explanation but received no response.) More Rules: Why a Twitter Account Can Be SuspendedThe Twitter Rules page gives a list of limitations on how to use Twitter. Ignoring these could get you into trouble. They include:
There is also a list of activities Twitter considers spamming. The list is extensive. You might be surprised by what Twitter says it will take into account as evidence of ”spam.” Most business users are. Take a few minutes to study this list. Note that the rules do not say that each of the items is by itself spam — just that they are “factors” Twitter will take into account in determining whether the account is spam. We imagine that Twitter looks at an account in its entirety to determine spamming. Otherwise, a lot of business accounts (even from mega-brands) would be considered spam for such behaviors as primarily tweeting out links rather than personal updates. Yes, that’s on the spam list. Try to look objectively at your own account. If you or your staff members are intentionally engaging in multiple behaviors on the Twitter spam list — you are living on borrowed time. Make changes before you get suspended.
How to Deal with a Twitter SuspensionFirst, don’t panic! Being suspended from Twitter can be scary, especially if Twitter is part of your marketing and customer service outreach. But it’s important to keep your cool. Don’t rant and rave at Twitter, or get abusive. Remain polite and businesslike. We know you feel outraged. You may even feel betrayed if you’ve spent a lot of time touting the benefits of Twitter for business. But letting emotions rule will not help. Follow these steps: Step 1 — Carefully review all of Twitter’s guidelines again to be sure you have not violated the rules, even accidentally. Step 2 — Fill out the form provided when you attempt to log in, to contest the account suspension. Be sure to explain that you have followed all guidelines as far as you know, and ask for a way to resolve the situation as quickly as possible. Step 3 – Monitor the email inbox associated with your Twitter account, too. You may get one or more automated responses from Twitter that you MUST respond to, or they will consider your appeal closed. Step 4 — Give it time. Many members have reported reinstatement can take up to 48 hours. But some accounts have been reinstated in just a few hours’ time. If you discover and report the suspension outside of regular business hours, expect it to take longer. Tip: Don’t freak out if your Twitter account returns with zero followers at first! This appears to be normal in most cases, especially if the suspension was an error. You probably will not have to beg everyone to follow you again. Give it a few hours and your Twitters followers will all likely be back. It happened that way in all the erroneous Twitter suspensions we learned about from business owners. Remember, you’re not alone. Other business users have been in your shoes and survived. Have you had your Twitter account suspended? Have any advice to share? Please post it in the comments below. Twitter, Twitter bird, Jail Photos via Shutterstock The post Twitter Suspension? First Step: Don’t Panic appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| How to “Own the Room” in Any Presentation Posted: 18 May 2013 06:00 AM PDT
If you have, you'll never forget the feeling of having every eye in the room on you, people practically breathing along with you. I think that's what they mean when they say having them "eating out of your hand." Now, have you ever completely lost control of the room? As you look around, eyes are glazed over, people sneaking peeks at their smart phones and mobile devices or just typing on their computers (and you know they aren’t taking copious notes). Even worse, executives throwing twenty questions at you and you having that sick, squirmy feeling inside? If you've spent any time at all in the world of business, you've probably had both of these experiences and wondered how in the world the same person could create two completely opposite experiences. One answer is to simply say that it's a function of the audience, and in some ways it is. But like most things in this world, the experience we create for our listeners is really in our own hands. What I didn’t realize, until I read “Own the Room: Discover your Signature Voice to Master Your Leadership Presence,” is that we can control the outcome of any conversation and any presentation. WE are in control. What authors Amy Jen Su (@AmyJenSu) and Muriel Maignan Wilkins (@MaignanWilkins) clearly point out in their new book is that you can power up your career and leadership cred by simply mastering your "Signature Voice" that is uniquely your own and can be adapted to any situation. This signature voice comes from aligning your beliefs, your communication skills and your physical energy with the needs of your audience. For example, there are what I'd call "doing" conversations and "leading" conversations. And you have to be very clear about which conversation you are having. If you are the team or project leader giving an update to the management team – a "Leading" conversation is required because you are speaking up to a leadership audience. Their information needs are different AND they are looking at YOU as the leader in the situation. Hence, they expect you to communicate as a leader would. The Authors Speak From Personal Experience I heard about the book from a publicist and requested a review copy based purely on the title. I mean, if there is a process out there where I can get people eating out of my hands, I want to know about it. The authors, Amy Jen Su and Muriel Maignan Wilkins, are the owners and managing partners of Asis Associates, an executive training and coaching firm. Both are sought after speakers on the topic of leadership presence and communications. Both have had personal experience in this area. Amy was told that she needed to toughen up. She was perceived as being too young and passive to be considered as "leadership material." On the other hand, Muriel was told that she had to turn her bold personality down a notch. Amy and Muriel took their personal experiences and work to transform their communication style and turned it into a process and a book that you can use to learn how to leverage your strengths and gain the high-powered presence you need to reach your full potential as a leader. How to Become an A-C-E in Your Field The authors have developed a powerful model to help you become a power communicator. It's called A-C-E: A – Assumptions you make and the mindset you bring to your interactions with others. C – Communication Strategies – Techniques and tools you use to engage influence and inspire. E – Energy and Expression – How you physically show up; how your nonverbal cues impact others. You will learn from the examples of well-known people like:
But the book also includes those unsung leaders in organizations like yours who are all dealing with the same communication challenges. You won't just learn from their stories, you'll have the opportunity to experience the process for yourself by using their diagnostic tool to assess your current and ongoing presence and how others perceive you. “Own the Room” is a Much-Needed Book While there are many books on how to give powerful presentations, “Own the Room” is about how to have appropriate communications while not losing yourself in the process. One observation I had as I read through many of the examples is that the style was a little more "corporate-speak" than I'm used to in the world of small business. But don't let that stop you from taking the authors' message to heart. This is a book that is as applicable to small business owners who sell to more corporate clients as well as to employees who are looking to move into leadership positions. The post How to “Own the Room” in Any Presentation appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
Have you ever "owned a room?" I don't mean in terms of actual real estate, but rather in terms of mental real estate?| You are subscribed to email updates from Small Business Trends To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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