Gallery: How the Leading Social Sites Describe Themselves

I just wrapped up a nine-day swing through California, the majority of which I was in Silicon Valley. Every time I visit the Bay Area (which I truly love to visit) I am always struck by how technology pervades the region much more so than any other. Digerati chatter is everywhere, from the coffeehouses to the billboards that line US 101.

While technology influences all of us, life is different inside the bubble of the Valley. This is why I am glad I get to spend so much time each year in several major cities: Chicago, New York, Toronto, London, LA, as well as San Francisco and Silicon Valley. My travels help me maintain a broader perspective that I believe the Valley sometimes misses. I am increasingly embracing my time on the road because it (hopefully) helps me maintain a wider worldview.

Here's a small example of what I mean. In the gallery below I pulled together the welcome screens that grace some of the more popular social networks and communities on the web. As you look at these note how similar the language is - particularly Twitter, digg, Friendfeed and Stumbleupon. 

Now try to imagine you're a new user from Bismark or Des Moines who heard about these sites on CNN, would you sign up - and how might you choose?  Do these sites only speak to Silicon Valley, rather than the broader universe of citizens they hope to attract? If so, how might this hamper their growth?

That's what's on my mind tonight now that I am back in NY.

See the full gallery on posterous

Streams from the Road: Trends from Friends

On Sunday I spent the afternoon in Half Moon Bay with Robert Scoble, his lovely family and Francine Hardaway (whom I had never met).
 
For over five years now I have looked to Robert as a beacon for what's next for social media. He got me blogging back in 2004, on Twitter in 2006 and Friendfeed in 2007. I returned the favor (finally) by getting him onto Posterous. Naturally, the conversation turned to what's next.
 
However, unlike years past, this time we were all hard pressed to come up with a crisp answer. The one clear takeaway, which Robert writes about here, is not to overlook Yelp - which is growing like mad and with the non-digerati set as well.
 
Beyond Yelp, we discussed augmented reality, the post-iPhone world, lifestreaming/Posterous, a resurgence for blogging and what's next for Twitter and Facebook. However, while it might seem like the world is taking a breather and that innovation is slowing, I see it another way. Everything is becoming social. As a result the noise is only going to get worse.
 
As I travel many I talk to are having a hard time keeping up. The digerati at least are breathless and frustrated with their overflowing inboxes - RSS, Twitter, Facebook, email, SMS and IMs. The Attention Crash is worsening. And there's no end in sight.
 
However, as everything becomes more social I believe there will be a boom in curation technologies that help us find the signal in the noise. These apps will help us spot trends from friends. You can spot these everywhere - the Facebook highlights column, PostRank, Feedly, Alltop, PopUrls, Regator and my6sense.
 
As these take hold, who you follow will become more critical. Follow people like you who share things you're interested in and the signal will rise. Follow noisemakers and the signal fades. This reason is precisely why Robert recently cleaned out his Twitter and Facebook friends after following everyone for years. So Robert remains a sign of what's to come: smarter attention management with the help of smart tools.

Video: Mr. Kawasaki's Wild Ride

You might think Guy Kawasaki lives a sweet life. Well maybe he does, but he still drives a beat-up Toyota Sienna mini van. I took a ride in it today in Palo Alto where we caught up on Alltop and its growth and had a laugh or two. I am a fan of Alltop and, now that I survived the ride, one of these days I will set up my own My Alltop page.

Streams from the Road: One Impressive Teen

As a rule of thumb, as I age I try to spend some time with people who are younger than me when I can. Not only does it make me feel younger but it helps me keep my eye on the ball of what's next.
 
The generation growing up today feels more self-sufficient and entrepreneurial than any other. They use technology in ways that many of us can't fathom. Daniel Brusilovsky is one such teen. During my last few visits to Silicon Valley I have had the pleasure of spending time with Daniel and I learn something every time. We had coffee in Palo Alto the other night. I shot this photo of him at TechCrunch HQ.
 
Why is Daniel unique? Well, even though he is just a senior in high school Daniel: runs marketing for Qik (and was one of their first employees), writes for TechCrunch and also continues to build out Teens in Tech, a site he started a couple of years ago.
 
I don't know about you, but to me that's impressive. At age 16 all I had accomplished by then was delivering newspapers and working as a summer camp counselor.
 
Anyway the takeaway here for marketers is to seek out teens like Daniel (and others who are less tech savvy too). They are your future customers.

Streams from the Road: Public vs. Private Personas

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