One Way Conversation? 8 Types of Twitter DM's Reviewed

When I follow some accounts on twitter, I often receive a Direct Message (DM) shortly afterwards. The messages I've received so far fall into one (or more) of the following categories:

1. Hello and thank you for following
2. Check out our website
3. Check out our app
4. Please answer this quick question
5. Feel free to connect
6. Check out my Facebook page / LinkedIn profile / other Social Media Profile
7. Invitation to collaborate
8. Motivational quote

Sometimes the sender makes it clear that the message is automated, other times it's a bit ambiguous, but sometimes the message has a distinctly personal touch and invites interaction.

But what is the etiquette regarding DM's? Or is there any?

For any brands out there who would like to improve their interaction with followers, here's a brief insight (for what it's worth) into how I deal with DM's.

1. Hello and thank you for following

I assume that it's an automated message and move on with my day. It doesn't leave a lasting impression.

2. Check out our website

Sometimes I click on the link, sometimes I don't. I also assume that these types of DM's are automated.

3. Check out our app

Again, I assume that the DM is automated. I usually click on the link and decide whether or not I need it in my life. The chances are, I followed you because your app sounds interesting, and I may have already clicked your link; so I will pay more attention to the DM in that case.

4. Please answer this quick question

I may or may not respond to these DM's. These ones tend to be worded in a way that is quite ambiguous in terms of whether or not they are automated or human. If I do respond, I will probably ask a relevant question of my own and await an answer. I do this partly to understand how much importance the brand places on engagement. If they respond, I don't know what I will do because this is yet to happen...

5. Feel free to connect

I assume that these are automated. Thoughtful, and good to know. Thanks.

6. Check out my Facebook page / LinkedIn profile / other Social Media Profile

Automated. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't.

7. Invitation to collaborate

These tend to have a specific call to action, and I assume that they are automated. Sometimes they are clearly personalised, and I will investigate further / respond.

8. Motivational quote

Please and thank you. I will motivate right back!

Put that in your pipe and smoke it

So, that was a small (and probably useless) insight into my DM experiences. If you have any questions, ask away! :)

Mr. Robot - eps1.8_m1rr0r1ng.qt - Episode 9 - IT Nut Blog Review

Mr. Robot - Episode 9

That last episode ended a bit weird... Mr. Robot is Elliot's dad... Moving on!

Episode 9 begins! How did they get all those antique computers and pristine bits of hardware for the shop! It's like a museum piece. Amazing! So, this episode starts with a flashback to Elliot's youth, and his father's computer shop, which is called 'Mr. Robot'. Get it? Ok. It's all very lovely. Blah blah blah whatever.

It gives us an insight into Elliot's criminal past. He stole $20 from one of the shop's customers, and his dad covered up for him. "Even though what you did was wrong, you're still a good kid. And that guy was a prick. Sometimes that matters more." Right...

Mr. Robot mentions to Elliot that he met with Tyrell last night. We don't really know what they talked about at this point.

Elliot is understandably disconcerted that neither his father nor his sister thought to reveal their identities earlier on. He thinks he's going crazy, and we see the first bit of passion from Elliot since the beginning of the series. Btw, has there been any mention of where Elliot's mother is?

Mr. Robot takes Elliot on a trip down memory lane, and they end up at his childhood home in New Jersey. They recreate the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet, but a window is smashed and it's not very romantic. In the mean time, Angela and Darlene are frantically rushing around in search of Elliot because he has gone AWOL. They finally catch up with him and things descend further into confusion!

"Elliot. Who are you talking too?" That question is about 9 episodes too late! And no, we didn't know all along. It wasn't obvious at all! Elliot's dad is dead. He was dead all along. He didn't come back as a zombie or a ghost or anything like that. He was a hallucination.

Yes Elliot, we're going to make you say it. "I am Mr. Robot."

This is not a particularly rewarding revelation. What do you think?

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Sprout Social - Free Trial - IT Nut Blog Review

I've heard a lot about Sprout Social, and I wanted to know what it can do, so I signed up for the free trial. If you are thinking of using Sprout, I hope you will find this review slightly helpful. If you do use it already, maybe you have some insights that I have missed, so please share your comments.

At the moment, I keep on top of the social media for my business using tweetdeck, twitter analytics, unfollowers, and the integrated analytics tools for Facebook and LinkedIn. That means I usually have at least half a dozen pages open on my laptop at any given time just to keep on top of the usual social media platforms. Plus the other platforms that I am exploring, such as medium, reddit and livejournal. That's not to mention keeping tabs on my website and blogs - Sumo.me and Google Analytics are my nbf's!

The Sprout Social Dashboard gives a quick snapshot of how your different social media profiles are performing. The main sections of the dashboard are:

• Group Trends - Which displays the stats used by the various platforms (E.g. tweet impressions, engagement, etc.)
• Audience Demographics
• Connected Profiles

The buttons across the top of the app interface take you to the 6 main sections:

1. Messages
2. Tasks
3. Feeds
4. Publishing
5. Discovery
6. Reports

1. MESSAGES

The term 'messages' seems to be used as a loose term. It includes twitter Mentions, Direct Messages, Retweets, Retweets with Comments, New Followers and Sent Messages. For Facebook it includes Wall Posts, Comments and Private Messages.

The results are filtered by selecting / deselecting the checkboxes next to each of the above categories. You can also save messages here.

There is also an option to add 'Brand Keywords' to further filter / expand the results. You are able to add 5 'Brand Keywords' to filter the results. I sent Sprout a tweet asking if they just limit it to 5 keywords for the free trial, or if that's standard with the paid version too. They responded with the following tweet:

2. TASKS

Tasks are created by going back to the messages section, selecting the desired interaction and clicking on the drawing pin icon. You can then leave an 'internal' comment and select a 'Task Type' from the following options:

• General Task
• Sales Lead
• Support Issue

The task will then show up in the Tasks section. This creates a 'to do' list that is very useful and easy to action / follow for future reference.

3. FEEDS

I connected my twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles to sprout social. This section allows me to access those separate profiles in a central place within the Sprout Social app, rather than checking the profiles within the other apps individually. Having this central location definitely saves time.

4. PUBLISHING

This is a way to publish content across multiple platforms from one central location, and posts can be scheduled in the calendar for future dates. Again, this will doubtless save time for busy social media marketers.

5. DISCOVERY

The main subsections and sub-subsections are:

• Suggestions - 'Your Followers', 'Conversed with', 'Have mentioned you'
• Cleanup - 'Silent Accounts', 'Irregular Usage', 'Do not follow back' - I currently use unfollowers to check the accounts that are not following back. Sprout incorporates this into the app, so that is a plus.
• Smart Search - This does what I use tweetdeck to do. It's great that this function is housed within the Sprout Social app, but the advantage that tweetdeck has over Sprout is that tweetdeck displays the keyword searches in columns, so you can glance across multiple topics, side-by-side, without having to change the display.

6. REPORTS

Last, but definitely not the least!

Note: This is where you can include Google Analytics for your website or blog. Very useful.

The subheadings are:

• Group Report - This is similar to the Dashboard.
• Engagement Report - Goes into more detail about the overall engagement across the group profiles.
• Facebook Pages - Gives detail on engagement with Facebook pages.
• Twitter Profiles - Gives detail on engagement with twitter profiles.
• Trends Report - Reports for each individual twitter profile.
• Twitter Comparison - This is a really useful tool! It allows you to generate comparison reports between your accounts and other twitter accounts. A great way to gauge your effectiveness compared to main competitors!
• Sent Messages - Tracks the performance of tweets in which you have mentioned other users.

IN CONCLUSION...

Sprout Social is a great app with lots of very useful features. I'm sure it is an invaluable tool for very large or busy businesses, that are running lots of social media profiles and campaigns simultaneously. Running a small start-up company, however, I'm not sure if I can justify the cost just yet, when there are so many great tools out there already that I can use for free... It's definitely an aspirational app for me, and now that I know exactly what it does, I can make more informed choices in future. Thank you to Sprout Social for extending my free trial for an extra week.

Mr. Robot - eps1.5_br4ve-traveler.asf - Episode 6 - IT Nut Blog Review - Contains Spoilers

Mr. Robot - Episode 6

This episode looks quite normal to start with. Elliot and his dealer / girlfriend, Shayla, are having dinner in a dingy diner, with their characteristically one-dimensional facial expressions.

I haven't really mentioned Shayla much because her part is more like ambient noise than central to the plot. Shayla's supplier, a pleasant chap by the name of Fernando Vera, was sent to prison, thanks to an anonymous tip. Vera has now discovered that the tip came from Elliot. He's understandably annoyed, so he uses Shayla to get to Elliot. Vera figured that if Elliot could put him in prison, Elliot could also get him out. Vera arranges for Shayla to be kidnapped in order to get Elliot's attention and cooperation.

This is another interlude that feels a bit like the hallucination sequence in episode 4. It takes up a lot of time and it's not immediately obvious what value it adds to the main plot. Anyway, long story short, Elliot succeeds at breaking Vera out. Sadly, Shayla is collateral damage.

In the previous episode, Tyrell goes all creepy in his pursuit of his CTO ambitions. The CTO position was given to someone else, Scott Knowles, and Tyrell pays him a visit. What looks like a civilised dinner at the guy's home turns into Tyrell's biggest mistake. In this episode it becomes clear that by looking for the flaws in his opponent, Tyrell exposes his own biggest flaw. Arrogance. Knowles has Tyrell's card marked. That CTO position is even further from Tyrell's grasp than ever.

Angela is up to her own games also. She has resurrected the case against Evil Corp, relating to the death of her mother and Elliot's dad. What will happen next?

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Mr. Robot - eps1.43xpl0its.wmv - Episode 5 - IT Nut Blog Review

Mr. Robot - Episode 5

The best episode so far, by far! Warning! Contains Spoilers!

Elliot has gone through his Morphine withdrawal at record-breaking speed, and now he's in the mountain! Steel Mountain - the fortress that houses the servers used by Allsafe.

Evil Corp have decided to do physical backups of all of their data, and they are moving it from Steel Mountain. Probably due to the security breaches, but possibly because it was always part of the plan that Tyrell revealed to Elliot, to bring everything in house and cut Allsafe out of the loop.

The downloading and movement of the E Corp data gives fsociety a limited window of opportunity to act.

Whilst Elliot is inside Steel Mountain, he bumps into his old friend, Mr Tyrell Wellick! What is he doing there? They weren't expecting to see each other, but it works to Elliot's advantage. He needs to get access to the 2nd floor, which requires special security clearance - and Tyrell has that clearance. Bingo!

Tyrell, drops the bombshell that he knows about Elliot framing Colby - the previous CTO of Evil Corp. There's no trail leading to Elliot, so he's safe for now, and Tyrell doesn't want anything. He just wanted to know what Elliot's weakness is, and now he believes he has it. Revenge. Revenge for his father's death, for which Elliot holds Evil Corp responsible. What Tyrell will do with that knowledge is unclear at this point.

Anyway, the raspberry pi has been put in place and the plan is in motion, or so they think! Darlene had enlisted the help of the 'Dark Army' (a Chinese hacker group) to bring down Evil Corp, but it looks like the Dark Army had plans of their own.

Now that we know about Cisco (the rapper / hacker), we know that he was working for the Dark Army. They are the ones who blackmailed Ollie, and Angela took the bait. Presumably, the Dark Army got what they needed when Angela put that CD into a computer at work, and now they have gone silent. fsociety has had its legs cut off.

The more we learn, the more doubt that is cast on the true identity of the fsociety behind the mask. Tyrell Wellick had a lot to gain from Colby being out of the picture. Wellick has his eye on the CTO position, and he is relentless proactive in his pursuit of power. The Dark Army also has its own agenda, which is still shrouded in mystery. Maybe they are working for the highest bidder, whoever that may be. And Mr. Robot. We still know nothing about what drives him. What's his story? Is he really driven by idealistic motives, or is he a hacker-for-hire?

The plot thickens!

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Mr. Robot - eps1.3_da3m0ns.mp4 - Episode 4 - IT Nut Blog Review - Contains Spoilers!

Mr. Robot - Episode 4

It's all kicking off! I can't really review this episode without containing spoilers, so look away now if you haven't already seen it!

Elliot goes back to fsociety, and the other fsociety hackers finally get voices and start becoming characters in their own right. Before Elliot can help them, however, they need to help him get off the drugs. There's some sort of hallucination / dream sequence that takes up what feels like most of the episode, which is probably my least favourite part of the series so far. I almost switched off at that point, but I'm glad I stuck with it.

That apparently random rapper / hacker (who gave the CD to Ollie in episode 2) makes a reappearance. His name is Cisco and his part to play in the grand scheme becomes a bit clearer.

Angela takes the CD and Ollie's worker ID badge and frames Ollie, but the consequences of her actions remain to be seen.

Keep an eye out for episode 5!

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Mr. Robot - IT Nut Blog Review - Episode 1 (eps1.0_hellofriend.mov)

Mr. Robot - Episode 1

I must admit that I was intrigued when I saw the trailer for the imaginatively named 'Mr. Robot' ('A.I.' and 'i, Robot' were already taken). Episode one starts off with the 'mysterious black screen and narrator's voice sequence, which sets the scene. The premise is that there are a bunch of wealthy bespectacled white males that run the world (or America - same difference). Nothing new there.

For those of you who haven't heard about this series, it's about Elliot Alderson. He's a sociopathic hacker who works for 'Allsafe Cyber Security', which has clients like 'E Corp' - that Elliot affectionately calls 'Evil Corp' (it bears a strong resemblance to one of the large corporations of the day) - and he's some sort of do-gooder vigilante by night. He has a pet goldfish called Qwerty (classic!).

I'll try not to include any spoilers, but we're given a preview into Elliot's expertise when he hacks into the servers of a coffee shop chain, just because it has the fastest wifi in town and that arouses his suspicions. Nothing is ever good for no reason. He discovers that the owner is running a child porn ring and dobs him into the police. He's not doing it for the money, so he's a one of the good guys. Clear cut case, or is it? The grey area is that he does morphine, but he controls his addiction, it doesn't control him.

When 'E Corp' is hit by a cyber attack, Elliot saves the day, but Mr. Robot leaves him a message in the code. That is when it starts to get interesting!

In short, the show is about a young man who is disenfranchised by capitalism and large corporations, and he's groomed by idealists that want to change the world. See the show if you want to know what else happens in episode 1!


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