Hi Glenn. So can you explain to us what exactly Ruby on Rails is?

Ruby on Rails is a web application development framework built on the Ruby programming language. Rails is a Model View Controller or MVC framework which means that its easy to keep your business logic out of the presentation layer, thus reducing bloat and development costs. Frameworks like Rails come with a set of reusable components and conventions that make building web applications much easier, and therefore read faster. Rails takes away the pain of lots of stuff, like setting up how your data is stored, doing low level browser interactions and securing a site against common web attacks.

There’s a growing demand for the simplicity that Ruby On Rails offers, driven by businesses, and programmers, who want speed and agility in building applications. This is evidenced by Ruby on Rails being used for some 235,000 websites, including top companies such as Amazon, Groupon, Shopify, Basecamp, Highrise, Hulu, Slideshare, Zendesk, YellowPages and GetSatisfaction, to name a few.

What we really like about Rails is that it’s Open Source software, with a very talented and active community. On the language side, Ruby itself is a dynamic, object-oriented language, whose popularity has soared, partly because of Rails, and partly because it’s terrific to program with. Ruby  applications are now serving hundreds of millions of web users, so it’s a serious alternative to Java, PHP and Python.

Why did you decide to specialize in Ruby on Rails development?

Professionally, I think that once I saw how productive I was in building web apps in Ruby on Rails, I was hooked. Coming from a Perl background, I found Ruby had many similarities and many wonderful extras. I went from an Angry Perl Developer to a Happy Ruby Bloke. Plus the Ruby Rails community continues to impress me with it’s breadth of projects, depth of talent and willingness to help others.

From a business perspective, I find Rails allows us to focus on solving the business problems that customers are facing, rather than a lot of low-level busywork. Savvy clients don’t want to manage a bunch of techies, they want to work people who can bridge the gap between their business and technology.

Tell us why a strong community around Ruby and Ruby on Rails is important to you as a developer?

Having a strong community for your chosen technology gives you a lot of confidence in tackling a problem with it. Either someone has partially solved it and made it available to others, thanks to Open Source, or you’ll quickly find relevant resources with a modicum of research. Or you can dig deeper yourself, since the documentation or code is often of a very high standard, possibly due to the strong culture of testing in the Ruby Rails community.

If all else fails, you always get help from other developers. The technology and the community are possible because of these people who give up their time to write awesome software and share it with others. These people make me warm and fuzzy, and challenge me to become a better developer.

Okay, so tell us a bit about the work that you do?

At Siyelo, we use the web to help create new companies, and to improve the technology of existing ones. We’re a team of developers and designers who love to build web products that scratch an itch. We’re geeks for hire, if you will.

We work a lot with internet startups and with businesses that want to streamline an internal process. Recently we’ve also done a lot of interesting work in the health sector in Africa, building web-based financial applications that help improve oversight and reporting.

From your experience, what do you think are some of the key ingredients for developing a successful web application?

I spent many years struggling on IT projects where developers were too far removed from the business side of things. Firstly, to deliver what the client really wanted, and secondly, innovate. From this experience I found that to build a successful web app, or any reasonably sized software product, you’ve got to create an environment of open communication and regular feedback. To the point that the client and the development team communicate directly. It’s not always easy, and often needs to be facilitated, but there’s nothing like being in a product demonstration meeting where the client says to the team “Yes, that’s exactly what I wanted”.

Also remember, design is important. The user interface is the software. Write tests first before you code, automate everything, and hire good developers that understand all these points.

You have a team of developers in Europe and a team in Cape Town. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of working in a distributed fashion?

That’s correct, Siyelo started in Skopje, Macedonia, over three years ago, and we’ve grown to work really well as a distributed team. It has the advantage of allowing us to tap into two talent pools of highly skilled people; and forcing us early on to develop the systems for distributed development, which are also used to coordinate with our overseas clients. Some of the tools include lean project management practices like SCRUM and XP, Pivotal Tracker, Balsamiq, Campfire, Skype, Google Hangouts, git and GitHub.

Of course, distributed teams have their challenges and solutions. Different time zones, yet luckily our flexi-time policy helps. Communication, including plenty of Skype video chats; and cohesion so that we share as many projects across geographical boundaries as we can, helping us to develop that mutual respect for each other.

What new technologies are you looking forward to experimenting with in 2012?

Rails 3.2, Redis, Resque, Responsive design, improving user experiences with Javascript/jQuery.

Thanks for taking the time to chat with us, Glenn. We look forward to seeing more great things from Siyelo this year. Follow Glenn on Twitter here.

Hi Gio. When it comes to being a person behind a major brand, how does one integrate themselves into the brand,  and at other times separate themselves from the brand?

I’ve been part of Virgin Active for the past 12 years, so my integration is pretty solid. For those who are starting out, it’s imperative to be soaked up in the brand culture. Always spend a good amount of time watching, listening and learning how things are done and have those frank discussions where you question the processes currently in place. If they’re serving the customer well, then great, but if not, then try change them for the better. At Virgin Active our brand values of fun, value for money, innovation, challenging the norm and great customer service underpin all our efforts and we’ve actually summed them all up into one golden rule: Treat others as you would like to be treated. Your brand’s culture will build your moral compass and give you the instinctual decision making required for the role. In our case, the golden rule. This compass is imperative as you will be the voice of a brand and won’t always have time to pass comments through marketing, PR or customer service teams. You will need to know where to push brand boundaries and when to reign them in.

Separation of person and brand is something that we are still dealing with as I do have a personal life and with that comes it’s own personality. Because of the time spent with the business I’ve managed to align the values and ethos of the business with my own personal ones and thus negates any conflict of interest. If the business does anything that I feel divulges from those values, then we have the discussion internally and debate it thoroughly so that no matter the outcome, we are all on the same page and have a unified front.

Do you think having your name within the company name, such as Giovanni under Virgin Active SA on Twitter, can help or harm? Is it easier for people to feel a connection with a person than a brand? Or are there challenges to having your name attached to such a big brand name?

This decision was taken back when Frank Eliason was still running @ComcastCares and had his name behind the handle. I felt it gave the brand a real name and personality instead of a drone script reader behind the account. This does, of course, have it’s risks as whatever the person does in their personal capacity can be linked to the brand, and perhaps even supersede the brand identity, but the pros far outweigh the cons when it comes to emotional connection with the brand. It does also limit the number of people servicing the twitter handle, but that can be dealt with when the team size increases by either signing off with a distinctive signature or creating specific twitter accounts for the different query types.

I would feel far more comfortable knowing the name of the person I’m dealing with than simply firing emails or tweets off into the great unknown as it creates accountability for the response and always allows customers to find you through other channels.

What do you think is the secret to keeping an online brand alive through social media? What is key to keeping conversations fresh and engaging within the community?

This boils down to knowing what they community is looking for. Whether it’s inclusion, knowledge, a place to vent, a place to meet other community members or simply look for deals. Finding the root attraction and keeping the focus on that is key. For us, we’ve started seeing trends away from the initial complaints to more of an advice seeking platform and so our next focus is providing content that is both proactive and reactive, thereby maintaining the connection, and adding more value to the community. Constant interaction is key. A community can sense neglect very quickly. Posting updates isn’t the only way to interact, so don’t feel pressured to have X number of posts per day, simply ensure that you interact and talk with your community through whichever channels they prefer and always keep it personal. I find that nothing quells anger and frustration like empathy and honesty from a real person.

Thanks Gio, you’ve been great! All the best from us. Heavy Chef readers, if you want to witness what great social media managing looks like, follow Gio on Twitter here.

“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.”

- William Strunk, Jr. (1869–1946)

Professor William Strunk Jr, author of the first editions of The Elements of Style* (1918), was one of the first to publish a writing guide to English usage. His objective was to focus on a few essentials relating to the rules of usage and principles of composition. His statement “vigorous writing is concise” rings as true today, whether in writing a novel or getting your message across in 140 characters**.

<end of excerpt>

Thus, here are 10 lessons in writing for Twitter – inspired by an academic from the nineteen hundreds:

1. Make definite assertions. Avoid tame, colorless, hesitating, non-committal tweets.
2. Omit needless words (same goes for use of excessive punctuation marks!!!!!!!).
3. Drop the adjectives.
4. If you are indecisive or unsure of what to tweet, rather say nothing.
5. Use complete words, find shorter synonyms or at the very least recognisable abbreviations. DO NOT use text message lingo when tweeting. EVER.
6. Do not break your tweet in 2.
7. When asking a question, choose either rhetoric or open-ended questions as they are more conducive for generating feedback tweets.
8. Have purpose when tweeting. Know to whom your tweet is meant for and what you are expecting in response to that tweet (if at all). If you want someone to click on a link, tell them so accordingly
9. When referencing a link in your tweet, make use of url shorteners to help you make the most of 140 characters.
10. Lastly, a point I never get tired of hearing – to borrow from The Cluetrain Manifesto’s 95 Theses: “Whether delivering information, opinions, perspectives, dissenting arguments or humorous asides, the human voice is typically open, natural, uncontrived.” Read your tweets out loud before posting. Do they sound uncontrived?

So, now over to you – what do you find works well when composing a tweet?

• You can read the complete version of Strunk Jr’s The Elements of Style (1918) here.
• Have you ever asked yourself the question: Why 140 Characters? Check it out: http://www.140characters.com/2008/11/13/hello-world/

Chris Roper (@ChrisRoperZA)

If you are looking for a spoonful of sarcasm and a sprinkling of candid tweeting, then Chris Roper is your man. Editor of the Mail and Guardian Online, Chris tweets about life as we know it, with references to good food, stupid people as well as tweeting about the bizarre acts of life that just make you wonder.

Paulo Coelho (@paulocoelho)

Sometimes written in Portuguese, other times in English, this author is a keen tweeter and his tweets are inspirational and enlightening. Short, sweet and to the point, Paulo Coelho makes you think and there is no doubt that his tweets are utterly retweetable.

Richard Branson (@richardbranson)

If you are looking for something motivational, then Richard Branson is your man. This entrepreneur tweets about initiatives that he is interested in as well as causes that he feels are making a change. Right now, Richard is completing 60 questions for his 60th year, a series of Youtube videos that lets Branson fans find out a little more about the man himself.

Jimmy Carr (@jimmycarr)

Many of us are disappointed by comedians who feature on Twitter because when we expect them to be funny, and they really aren’t. Enter Jimmy Carr. His hilarious one-liners are highly entertaining and you can also find out “where in the world in Jimmy Carr” – if you interested, of course.

Bill Maher (@billmaher)

Probably one of the most controversial guys on twitter and known for his strong opinion concerning religion, Bill Maher is outspoken about everything and anything and this guy doesn’t care who challenges him. He tweets a lot about religion, politics and the state of the economy, just to name a few.

These are only five of many Twitter users that really say what they mean and mean what they say and this is why we follow, @ reply and retweet them. Who is your top Twitter profile that you follow and why? Let us know!

Twitter has become one of the primary mediums of communication for the US Mission allowing for interaction and personalizing the diplomatic corps. Elizabeth has top news stories from around the world waiting for us every morning and as an ex-pat myself, I turn to the Embassy to learn what is happening at home and around the world.

I took some time to chat with Elizabeth about her use of Twitter to create an online community of Americans living in South Africa.

How do you use Twitter to engage your audience?

As a US embassy, we use our stream as a platform to share information and answer questions. While we have a corporate account, @USEmbPretoria, we do share links and items that we think would be of interest to the Twitter community beyond a flood of US Embassy press releases.  Sometimes we succeed, other times, not so much, but we’re still learning.

How frequently do you use Twitter?

Every day. We post links and news, and answer questions as we come across them.  Social media is 24-7. If you are part of the conversation, you need to be in the space and as responsive as possible.

How does Twitter fit in to the overall social media strategy of the US Mission to South Africa?

It’s an important tool. New media in South Africa is a rapidly evolving sphere, and individuals and organizations use Twitter in different ways. We use it to link to our official site, to answer questions, to engage. The DM feature is fantastic, too, to contact people on a deadline.

How does Twitter compare to other social media platforms in online community building?

Twitter users reflect a microcosm of South Africa – we’ve heard estimates of about 60,000 in the country. That said, it’s an opinionated, smart, highly networked group.

What do you think makes a successful online community?

Humor. Interaction. Diversity.

What is your best advice in 140 character to build a community via Twitter?

Be in the space. #CharacterstoSpare

Any extraordinary ex pat stories learned through Twitter?

Lots of great stories during the World Cup – Americans who traveled to South Africa for the Cup had a chance to communicate with South Africans directly, received advice, recommendations, guidance and then shared stories throughout the event. Fun to watch.

To learn more about the US Mission to South Africa find them of Facebook at www.facebook.com/USinSouthAfrica, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/USEmbPretoria or check out the official website at http://southafrica.usembassy.gov/.

This generally happens on social media all the time without tangible compensation. If I want a recommendation or help I generally post the info on Facebook or Twitter and hope that I can get trustworthy and good advice from my friends and their network. This can be applied to charity as well.

Many people are willing to donate time and money, they want to do their bit for humanity however; they also want to make sure it’s worth while – that the money isn’t going to land up in the hands of a criminal. People generally trust word of mouth and when looking for somewhere to give or donate I am going to trust my friend and not a random site on Google.

Twitter has become great for this because not only can we get a real time response from our friends but we can also see real time evidence of the work charities are doing by following their tweets.

Celebrity endorsements also give charities credibility and with social media celebrities have a have greater audience to talk to and of course, a greater influence. Lady Gaga currently has ± 7 million followers, that’s a lot of influence to say the least.

Its no wonder that she, Alicia and her husband Swizz Beatz, Kim and Khloe Kardashian, Usher, Jennifer Hudson, Ryan Seacrest, Elijah Wood, Serena Williams and Justin Timberlake will be using Twitter to support Keep a Child Alive, however they wont be using the social media platform in the traditional way – all of these celebrities with over a million followers will abstain from the social network and not return till $1 million has been raised for the charity.

Well, this seems to be a brilliant twist on the conventional word of mouth tradition, and I’m pretty sure that the money will be raised in no time. It does make me wonder; to be a successful charity is it mandatory to have a celebrity endorsement? Are they selling their souls to the highest bidder or ‘coolest’ cause of the week? Or am I just being cynical and they’re the type of people to just do things out of the goodness of their heart? What do you think?

Ignorance is not bliss

Do not ignore your Twitter community. As many positive tweets that you have flowing into your Twitter stream, there will always be those few that do not like what you are saying. They might have a grudge against your brand, they may have had a bad service experience or they might just be having a bad day but the truth is that these individuals are out there. Some of us are scared to reply to these tweets and hope that if we do not reply to that hateful comment, it will go away. Wrong. Make sure that you reply in a respectable manner and try and rectify the problem but do not lower yourself to their level – that will only add fuel to the fire.

Turn on the heat, but keep it low

There is no reason to keep quiet, especially on platforms such as Twitter where conversation is key. Make your voice heard, but do not neglect what you are representing. If you’re an individual, then act like one, if you’re a brand, still act like an individual but represent that brand. Keep it tidy and do not shout to make your voice heard, rather speak and then listen – this is a better way to start conversation and keep it going. Twitter communities enjoy debate and there is no doubt that debate is healthy, but make sure that you keep it above board if you’re trying to gain and keep followers. If someone is offended, they will leave and take their conversation with them.

Give and Take

Is that not what it is all about? Without creating senseless noise, give (quality content) as much as you can as this will let others know that you’re not merely an automated response or a Twitter robot filling up others Twitter streams, but a person that is either representing themselves or representing a brand. Think about those 140 characters and how they will be portrayed by others and keep true to your tweets no matter what. Being polite can be one of the most underestimated factors in being a valuable contributor to Twitter and in order for your value to be recognised, you need to interact with others they way you would like to be interacted with.

Just an extra etiquette note:  make sure that you aren’t being polite just to gain a follower or two or being nice out of feeling sorry for someone else. If you feel that someone’s tweets will not contribute to your Twitter stream in a positive way, then do not feel bad for not following that person.

As a standalone entity, Twitter is a powerful tool which allows companies to listen to what people are saying about them and actively engage with their community.  However, the advantages of using Twitter shouldn’t stop when you leave the Twitter website. By breaking out of the isolation of the Twitter website and extending your Twitter presence to an existing website or blog, you can begin to see some of the lesser acknowledged advantages of an active social media profile.

The real benefits of integrating Twitter onto your website don’t come from just having a link to your Twitter profile on your website.  The link does show people that you do have a social media presence but unless they click on a link, it doesn’t show them what you are really about.  Below are some of the reasons you should make your latest tweets visible on your website:

1)  It shows that you are real

Seeing an active Twitter stream will help give visitors to your website the comfort that there are real people behind your website.  Proving your legitimacy is often a make-or-break problem for online businesses.  If a visitor is not 100% sure that they can pick up the phone and talk to a real person, then it is unlikely that they will convert from a visitor to a customer.

There are many ways in which you can try communicate to the user that there are real people behind a website – you can make the phone numbers clearly visible on the home page, you can use live chat features and you can write an extensive ‘Meet the team’ section.  A live Twitter stream with real conversations between real people, is just another tool to help you immediately signal to the visitor that the website and company are real.

2)  It will help keep your website updated

It is often very difficult for businesses to keep their website constantly updated with new content.  Nowadays, a lot of websites incorporate blog functionality to allow companies to make sure that there is always something new on the home page.  However, writing blog posts and news articles can be time consuming and tedious.  Keeping new content flowing on a website is important as it shows a visitor to your site that you are still active and more importantly, that you are up-to-date with the latest industry news.

Twitter updates provide you with the ability to quickly and easily publish content to your website on a regular basis.  However, it is important to note that tweets are not a substitute for blogging – 140 characters is not enough space to adequately discuss a topic and provide in-depth analysis (proving your expertise).

3)  You’ll get good quality followers

Showing your latest tweets on your website makes it easy for visitors to evaluate the quality of your tweets and decide whether they would like to follow you or not. It is often the case that the people who follow you via your website will be your most engaging followers because they have an interest in your business or industry.  These followers are therefore more likely to read your tweets, engage with you and syndicate your content for you.  Followers who are interested in what you have to say will prove to be much more useful to you and your community than those who follow you because of things like ‘follow our CEO to win’ competitions.

4)  People can see that you are knowledgeable

If you tweet about your opinions on the latest industry happening or you tweet back to your followers with advice relating to your business then visitors to your website will begin to see that you are knowledgeable about topics surrounding your business and industry.

5)  Visitors will see that you engage with your community

Finally, people visiting your website will see that you have a community or that you are trying to build a community around your brand.  They will be able to see that you take care of them by answering their questions, listening to their complaints and thanking them for their compliments.  Companies often assume that their Twitter profile is only there to accommodate people who are already on Twitter but the truth is that the tweets on your website can bring new users to Twitter itself.  As the Twitter network grows, your community will grow with it.

A professional Twitter profile can be used as a powerful tool when it is integrated into your website – your tweets accentuate the existing content on your website and it will show visitors that you are knowledgeable, community-focused and real.