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Understanding the Three C's of the Social Web

Before we dive into the technical how-to stuff, we should talk about general social-media philosophy. Technical tips without philosophy are meaningless. If you don't have the general philosophy down, your results are going to be poor because your interactions are going to be very one-sided affairs.

My daily actions on the Web are dictated by the Three C's: content, communication, and consistency. Over time, I've developed these Three C's through trial and error, and by observing others. Seeing how others used the Web as entertainers and bloggers helped me figure out how to get the most out of Internet as a platform. By examining these theories, you can better understand how to apply them for your own personal social-media use.

Content

The first pillar of my daily action on the Web is content. Although the Web has seen a growing shift away from content to community, I still believe that content is king. Communities based around common interests fall flat unless they have the content there for people to gravitate around. Facebook groups, for example, dominate because of the wealth of content they offer: the posts, links, videos, and other media people create within that group. Without the content, the group wouldn't exist.

Content is the single biggest plank in my social-Web philosophy. When I began to blog on MySpace, I had a small following of about 30 people. Over time, I saw that the more I wrote, the more people spread the word about ...