1. Realize that you are not going to convince anyone of anything they don’t already believe through online banter.

Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t know of anyone who had a twitter conversation and suddenly accepted Jesus or became a Buddhist. It is what it is. You are not smart enough, wise enough, or witty enough to change the world with a single tweet.

2. Everyone except you knows your online persona is way sexier than your offline truth.

If you come correct with this at jump street, people will take their capes and breastplates off faster than if they think you think you are all that.
Admitting your faults while rejoicing in His strength will get you a lot farther in conversation than you imagine.
And my abs online look WAY better than they do offline.

3. Remember that people probably only see 25% of what you blog/tweet/say.

We all think that we are the center of the universe. It revolves around us.
So I say things all the time like…”Why is that guy going off on my because of that one Instagram with a beer in it? I Instagram pictures of beer all the time?”
Um. Earth to Carlos. He is not holding his phone waiting with baited breath for the next unoriginal sunset picture you Instagram.
Newbies to my blog may read something without getting the holistic view of me and suddenly think I’m a stuck up shock jock.
Little do they know I cower in the face of conflict and fear confrontation.
But I can’t place this expectation on my readers.
So I have to be consistent in my inconsistency.

4. Don’t just have conversation in your own space. Have it in other spaces.

When people see you stepping out of your space and entering theirs for conversation they feel safer to be genuine with you in yours.
I regularly visit conversations with opposing views as I and comment in direct opposition to their view without being filled with venom in order to make my place safe for them.
The post below on Elevation is a perfect example.
There are plenty who disagree with me, but the venom filled commentators won’t be gaining conversation from here. The authentically concerned who commented in love will.
It’s not rocket science.
Be an idiot and eat alone.
Be kind and eat with me.

5. Be willing to be wrong.
You will want to take the post down.
You were wrong.
You don’t want to look like an idiot.
You will want to take it down.
Don’t.
Bask in your idiotness for a good while.
And think harder before hitting “publish” next time.

These are some things I do to keep my authentic conversations sharp online.
What are some practices you use to keep it real online?
Los

He’s a trend setter.  

I get it.
But that is also why I don’t auto follow people back on twitter.
People began following everyone back on twitter because their numbers would grow.
And they did.
But gone are the days where it’s important how many people follow you on twitter.
It’s now about WHO follows you back on twitter.

Here is my system.
I have 2 twitter accounts.
One I use to communicate with my social media amigos and one I use to simply just read a list of about 70 people whom I “really” follow.
If you look at my HooteSuite screen I have 4 columns.

The far left one is my “secret” account.
It’s not really secret. It is just not interesting for you.
Cause I don’t tweet from it.
I just only use it to follow people I actually know.
I don’t tweet from it. I don’t reply from it. I don’t DM from it. I just read it.
The next two are my @replies to my main @loswhit account and my DM’s to my main @loswhit account.
As you can see I don’t have a stream setup that actually reads 12k tweets in my main @loswhit timeline.
That would be insane and stupid.
So I use my @loswhit account to talk with you in real time.
The last column is a search column that I use to see who’s talking @$# about me and send my cousin Joey to beat them up.
It’s that simple.

Now my reasons for following everyone who asks me to follow them.
1. It speeds up communication.
When someone asks me how to get a hold of me, I say tweet me.
This turns 4 page emails into 140 character emails.
This turns 2 minute voicemails into 140 character voicemails.
It allows me to be connected to my tribe while not drowning in emails and voicemails.
The amount of time I spend answering emails has literally been cut 75%
2. It let’s me hang out with 22k people at a time.
I I don’t use an “autofollow” script.
This is why you are following porn.
This is why you get so much spam.
If somone asks me to follow them back so they can DM me, I do.
It’s simple.
Following real people will result in real conversations.
And when they do decide to accidentally type their credentials into a hacked site, and when I do get their spam messages, I let them know personally and they see me as even more a human than they did before.
3. Twitter is the new Google.
Gone are the days where I use Google to find where to go eat in a new city.
I now just tweet at you and you tweet back at me or DM me some of the most delicious plates in your cities.
You tell me what the best homeschool math program is.
You tell me when I mispell something on my blog.
You DM me about how offended you are when I post pictures of beer.
4. Did I mention it allows me to see who the up and coming social media ninjas are?
I’m not fooling myself into believing that I am the one with all the important stuff to say.
There are THOUSANDS of you who are coming up with WAY better crap than I am. And I get to see it all.
If you are interested enough to read what I have to spit, than I want to know who I am influencing, so I can in turn, be influenced.

So there you have it.
What do you think of my strategy?
What is your twitter strategy when it comes to how and why you use it?
Los

ANSWER THIS PLEASE ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA AND AUTHORS OR MUSICIANS.
What makes you cringe at their use of social media?
What makes you smile at their use of social media?
Los

Please SHARE this with your tweets and facebook amigos so I get a good set of answers!

There is SO much good and bad to ANYTHING.
I mean I’m not saying that I’m not going to ever crowd source anything I can’t afford to pull off alone.
I mean I had my own Kickstarter back in the day before Kickstarter was cool.

Remember this blog button? (If you do you are a REAL OG RAGAMUFFIN)
Give 5 bucks you get to give him one hug. Give 10 bucks you can babysit him. Give 100 bucks you can have him for the summer.

I’m just saying that we need to make sure that we use the tools given to us in a healthy way as opposed to an unhealthy way.
And c’mon.
That video is brilliant.

What are your thoughts on Kickstarter and the culture it has created?
Los

Nobody wants to see a stage.
They want to see the movement that is on the stage.
Alas this thing called social media has some confused.
If you build a movement, art, or expression that is necessary to our culture, then the culture will build the platform for you.
So stop trying to build a platform and instead build what God has placed deep within the alleyways of your heart.

The platform will rise to meet you when the movement inside of you is ready to be seen.
Los

It would cost something like 99 bucks to fix the screen but I have found it a good conversation starter.
Let’s share some phone stories.
Ever since we have been able to carry phones on our person there have been amazing crashes, butt dials, and accidental texts.
What has been the craziest mishap with your personal communication device?
Los

So much has changed since this little web app has launched.
How has twitter changed your world?
Los

TOOL BOXES
• 15? Macbook Pro. 2.53 GHz Intel Core i5 Duo GLOSSY Screen 8 GB 1067 MHz DDR3?500 GB Hard Drive
• iPhone4 32GB
• iPad 64BG – I never used this consumption device.  It is an amazing toy and book reader right now.  But until I can edit videos and songs it’s dead to me.
• My Passport Essential SE 1TB – Backup my junk like nobody’s business. Especially after my last machine died
• Incase Coated Canvas Black Backpack – I can’t say enough

TOOLS (online)
• Google – This is my home base. Within this landing zone are my Google Apps…
Gmail, ?Google Reader, ?Google Calendar, ?Google Docs, Google Voice.
I seriously run my life off these apps.
• Freshbooks – It’s how I bill you yo
• Tokbox – All my group coaching sessions are done thru this…
• Wordpress – Obviously it’s where I live on the back end of ragamuffinsoul.com.  I don’t use an offline editor.
• MobileMe – Share Share Share.  It syncs my world and files and everything else.

TOOLS (Mac)

• Skype – All my one on one coaching sessions are done thru this…
• iChat – duh
• Aperture – Habit.  I use it to touch up the RAW files before moving to Photoshop
• Photoshop – I’ll do a post on the plugins and actions I use soon do get the look I like…
• Mail – Love/Hate. I do use lots of scripts to workflow my junk.
• Quicksilver – I meet people who still don’t use this and am blown away.  It makes me a Mac Speed Ninja.
• Wallet – Passwords.  I’m already losing my mind in my thirties.
• Transmit – FTPness.  The most powerful Mac client I can find.
• Evernote – If you get anything from this list.  Get this.  It is my life.
• iShowU – Screen Capture.  All my video screen captures ect.  But it is tripping on my a bit lately. I’d love to know what you guys use on this end.  But it has worked for so long I don’t know what else is out there.
• Tweetdeck – Not my favorite but it integrates tweetshrink and I use that religiously…
• iMovieHD – The 2006 version. Yup. I know I should use Final Cut. But I cant afford it. And iMovie has progressively sucked since 2006. So I stay faithful.

TOOLS (iPhone)

• The Essentials // Phone/SMS/Mail/Safari/Camera/iPod
• HeyTell – It turns my iPhone into an old nextel push to talk phone. It is the greatest thing that has happened to my communication skills since text messaging. I love it
• Instagram – Besindes the really bad filters it applies to really bad photos…I actually LOVE the small community it creates within the app itself. Since I am flooded with people on Facebook and Twitter this reletively smalll community makes the world seem small again. I like that
• Quadcamera – It is how I take all those 4 shots in a rectangle pics on my twitter stream.
• Facebook – Because I have to.
• Twittelator Pro – I’ve tried them all. I keep coming back to mama. I think this is the powership of iPhone twitter apps. I can’t say enough good things about it
• Evernote – Seriously. 64,000 notes. All searchable. I drop ideas in this religiously. Syncs to the web and to my Mac. Boomsauce.

Wow. So there you have it. My digital toolbox.
I hope this helps you guys find something useful.
These are the programs that shape my day.
Let’s make the comment section of this post our digital Home Depot.
Share your wealth of tools…

Los

Share this on your facebook/twitter feeds so we can build up a good list.

So I have been dragging my feet on this.
Over the next few days I am going to be slowly but surely unfriending ALMOST everybody in my facebook personal account.
So this means like 99% of you.
Let me tell you why…
I need at least one personal space. Just one.
One where I can be a little crude…oh wait, that happens here.
One where I can share dark secrets…oh wait, that happens here.
See. You won’t miss a thing. And really you wont.
And seeing that there is a limit of 5000 friends on your personal page, I was starting to have to say, “Sorry I don’t have room” to friends and family that are just getting on facebook that I want to connect with.

There are many ways in which you guys can stay connected to my innermost thoughts and crazy life.
1. This blog – For you readers who I love and stop by here everyday, this is ground zero. Those who just follow me on twitter and facebook are missing the good stuff. This right here is the good stuff. The meat. So stick around and you won’t miss a thing.
2. My twitter – This is the random crap. The stuff that happens every few hours and all the good secret ninja pics I take of people sitting next to me on planes. If you haven’t started following me on twitter, these pics are worth the follow alone. My facebook personal page was almost an exact duplicate of my twitter feed. So many of you were seeing things twice anyways.
3. My facebook “Carlos Whittaker” page. This page does not limit me to 5000 friends. And it pretty much does EVERYTHING my personal page does. I’m also linking my twitter feed there so you honestly will miss absolutely NOTHING.

1. I hope by doing this anyone who want to keep connecting with me on the topics of my blog and music will still have a place to do so (not limited by the 5000 number)
2. friends and family will have a more relevant place to connect with me
3. I will feel slightly less torn each day about what to post (and what not to post) on my personal page.

If you want to stay connected on facebook it is EASY.
Just click http://www.facebook.com/CarlosWhittaker

I’m sure I’m going to accidentally defriend some people I don’t want to.  With 5000 people to go through it is bound to happen… Please just add me again and we can continue our virtual spooning process.

I think that this is going to be great for me and just know you wont miss a thing by hanging out HERE on facebook!

So how do you guys handle your Facebook profiles? Who do you let in? Not let in? How do you manage it all?
Los

A good buddy of mine from my Sandals days is working with Logos and is letting me give away an iPod Touch on this blog to make you aware of their slick new Bible app.  So I’m giving away a free iPod Touch and making you aware of their slick new iPhone Bible Study App: Logos Bible Software iPhone App

Launched only four months ago, the Logos iPhone App just passed 100,000 downloads last week and has no sign of slowing down. A free download from the App Store, Logos Bible Software app is more than just a Bible reader. It lets you read, search, cross reference, compare versions, and even set up reading plans to keep your daily Bible reading on schedule.

Here are some interesting stats from the app’s first four months:

• There are over 25,000 users weekly
• Peak usage is at 8:00 AM PST on Sundays
• 74% of users are on an iPhone, 26% on iPod touch
• “love” is the most common search term

Anyone with the Logos iPhone app may instantly access around 30 Bibles and signing up for a free account gives you access to an additional 31 Bible study resources for a richer app experience—all without spending a dime.

Download the app now, and next time you rush out the door, you’ll have at least 30 Bibles in your pocket!
Head on over to www.logos.com/iphone for more details.

So how do you win the iPod Touch? Just leave a tweet about this post and leave a comment to enter the giveaway. At the end of the month, I’ll select a comment at random for a winner.

Already have an iPhone or iPod Touch? You are still welcome to enter the giveaway, but download the free Logos Bible Software iPhone App now, and start doing Bible study anywhere.

Who’s already using this App?

Los