Bedtime with Rob and Alex

We're coming up to the fifth anniversary of the Social Signal blog. So it's fitting that this Bedtime with Rob and Alex podcast looks at the heart of what we do: developing strategies for participation. And this time out, we're looking at strategies for smaller organizations (both in budget and membership). We cover:   whether you should build your own community or plant a flag somewhere like Facebook how to motivate participation, especially when you can't draw on a big audience for your community some of the myths you need to let go of ("But my membership is different! I just know they'll come and participate!") to plan a successful social media venture just what that blue stuff from France is. Enjoy - and let us know your thoughts.

Regular visitors to SocialSignal.com will know how obsessed Alex is with project and task management. So tonight, on A Very Special Bedtime with Rob and Alex, when we bring an outsider into bed* with us, it's Manymoon CEO Amit Kulkarni - here to talk with us about his collaborative task management web app. Billed as the web's "first social productivity application", Manymoon grabbed Alex's attention last month. In this interview, she offers Amit some kudos as well as a few suggestions for improvements... and Amit offers a sneak peak at some upcoming features. This is a long one by our standards... but if you haven't landed on a decent task management solution, chances are your anxiety is keeping you awake anyway. So why not tune in?

After more than a month of radio silence - life does love to throw the occasional spitball, no? - the drowsy duo are back. And in this episode, inspired by our hiatus, we ask what it takes to give a social media project some staying power.The five questions we suggest you ask about your project, if you want it to still be around by the time we do our next episode:Do you feel really passionately about this project?Do you have a reserve of content (say, 8 to 12 weeks worth of topics, and 4 weeks of actual produced non-time-sensitive content) to cover dry spells?Do you have the time and staff you need to pull this off?What kind of audience do you have? Is the size and quality enough to motivate you and your organization?Do you have the buy-in within your organization to support this?Podcast feed: here Or subscribe with iTunes

Just for variety's sake, we take you back to the halcyon days of mid-March for a discussion of what makes a community more than just a collection of little interactions. And it's just as valid now as it was then. Some truths are timeless, huh?Podcast feed: here Or subscribe with iTunes 

Finding yourself plunking the kids down with something unhealthy - weaponized anthrax, ninja throwing stars, Bob the Builder - just so you can grab some keyboard time? How do you tell when a healthy pastime is turning into unhealthy competition for your children's attention?We bring in an expert: our daughter, code-named Little Sweetie, who dishes the dirt on how our computer use makes her feel. Some of it's sobering, some of it's encouraging, and it all builds up to five questions to ask about your computer use... plus a bonus five questions from LS.Podcast feed: here Or subscribe with iTunes 

Twitter and its microblogging siblings let you follow a stream of one-line updates from your friends. It's pretty much the shortest form of social media out there... but that doesn't stop us from going on at length about it.  And we came up with five questions about Twitter:How do you know something is Twitter worthy?Who should you be following on Twitter?How can use Twitter to support what you're working on?How can Twitter support collaboration?What rocks out more -- Facebook or Twitter status updates?The tools we discuss include:TwitterFox for posting to Twitter from your web pageTwitter's Facebook app lets you keep your Facebook status updated from TwitterThe 10 Best Twitter tools for Wordpress blogs helps you integrate your tweets with your blogPodcast feed: here Or subscribe with iTunes 

Alex came home from a talk by Grameen Bank founder Muhammad Yunus, and she was in a soul-searching frame of mind. How does the web support meaningful social change? And is there a particular kind of change the web does an especially good job at?We cover a lot of terrain in 15 minutes. Here are a few of the signposts we pass along the way:Grameen BankThe EldersMuhammad Yunus's official siteKiva.orgthe PLAN InstituteYour thoughts are always welcome - just leave a comment below!Podcast feed: here Or subscribe with iTunes   

It's episode 16 - a significant number in the binary world, and we start with a few words about our own 10th cohabitation anniversary (we believe that's the "Macbook Air anniversary"). Then it's on to parenting and a not-unrelated note, project management. Is it time for you to switch to a new project management system? Maybe we'll help you figure that out.It was a wide-ranging conversation (we've spared you seven minutes of it, and it still weighs in at over 17 minutes), and lots of links did verily arise:SkitchBasecampBasecamp's profile of Alex's workflowHeh... Alex's photo on the Highrise site tour (scroll to the bottom and look for "Suzanna Cavatrio")Google SitesI Want SandyToodledoMailTags Podcast feed: here Or subscribe with iTunes

A special guest star joins us as we ask: how is your (and their) computer use affecting your kids?Here are some of the links we touch on:the XO LaptopSesame Workshopthe Sesame Workshop video player (check out the still-in-beta message)Super Why  

A little encouragement goes a long way in keeping the Web 2.0 world turning. Alex and Rob talk about how to offer a few kind words to the folks who do everything from posting Creative Commons-licensed photos to creating fantastic YouTube videos.(Speaking of a few words, kind or otherwise, that comment field down below would probably love to hear from you...)A little linky goodness from this episode (in which we definitely establish that Rob is a. flossing and b. eating his okra):Kate Trgovac's amazing Squidoo lens on laptop bagsRob's speechwriting Squidoo lensAnd while we're in a Squidoo frame of mind, some great suggestions for commenting on Squidoo lenses without being all spammy. Podcast feed: here Or subscribe with iTunes