See Ardath’s bio, photo, and Part 1 of this Q&A and Part 2.

Q&A with Ardath Albee (Questions 4 and 5):

Q: The culture is abuzz about Web 2.0 and social media. To what extent do you participate in social media (such as through LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Second Life, blogs, etc.)?

A: I participate in LinkedIn, Twitter and write a blog. I also spend time reading other blogs and comment when I can. I’ve met some great people and spent time doing some great brainstorming via email from people I’ve met through my blog and by commenting on others. I answer questions on LinkedIn when I can and browse answers to questions that interest me.

Q: To what extent and in what ways do you feel these venues are storytelling media?

A: I think a lot of blogs are storytelling venues. I also think a lot of them are thinly veiled sales/marketing content vehicles. The difference is in the personal tone and style of the author(s) and their intent/focus for the blog.

When a blog post is written in a way that gives you a glimpse of the person behind it, someone whom you can relate to, the engagement is higher. Whether it’s because they agree or disagree doesn’t matter. Although lots of people try to avoid controversy. I know I’ve written some posts where I took a stand I knew would be in conflict, hit publish, and then worried that I’d upset someone. Turns out that those posts are the most fun and the ones people respond to and talk about on their own blogs.

Best of all, blogs allow people to voice opinions, extend other ideas and express themselves. And, in a world that’s increasingly putting distance between people by becoming more virtual, it’s important to build a new social structure to maintain a level of involvement that helps you feel a part of it.

There are a lot of different ways to tell stories. Every impression you make online tells a story. Whether it’s a picture, an article, a video or the comments made linking to someone else’s “story.” All those interactions become a cumulative representation of your (or your company’s) story.

LinkedIn is a bit harder to define. You can have a profile and never do another thing. Or you can answer questions and search for and add connections at dizzying speeds. The question I have about those who add anyone and everyone to their contact lists is — what’s the value? Is it like being the most popular kid in school, or do you really know and maintain relationships with all those people?

That said, I’ve also met and done business with connections made on LinkedIn. As in all things, I think it’s in how you use them. How you choose to present your profile is currently the biggest story you tell on LinkedIn. How you answer questions is giving that a run for its money, in my opinion. For example - Your profile may look great, but if your extended story is displayed through argumentative answers to questions, without substantiation for your opinions, I’m going to think twice about wanting to do business with you.

Twitter is still up in the air for me. I love the shortness of 140 characters, but I haven’t quite figured out the value of knowing what people are doing all the time.

I also think there’s a lot of storytelling going on in the ways customers review and rate products, like electronics or books. From a B2B perspective, think user/customer forums. You can learn a lot about what resonates and what doesn’t. And, if you look closely, you can learn a lot about the people posting the comments. It’s a great view into how well the story of a company plays with its customers.