Social Media
Social Media won't be called Social in the near Future
I was unable to attend BlogWorld EXPO 2009 in Las Vegas this week but it was streamed on a site called Mycontent.com, the service worked very well yesterday but day two was not smooth at all, but the audio was rock solid. So I watched from a far, the real stuff happens after and in between the sessions and of course all the after parties. The meetings after the meeting so to speak. I would love to have been a fly on the wall at many but technology hasn’t made it possible to be in two or three places at once just yet.
This event was chalked full of amazing people sharing and encouraging all of us, but also to help one another, to work together, and build each other up rather than put down and tear down. Chris Brogan as usual brings it with such authority and conviction, he works hard to relate all that he has learned, not from books, from his experiences. Chris doesn’t just preach, he has done or has walked through the experience of what he shares, either himself or a client he was helping. One of my favorite quotes from Chris’s Keynote was, ” Equip the people you want to do business with and they will want to do business with you “. Most people are always thinking about what they can get out of a given relationship or interaction, what I take from Chris is the opposite, help without getting first, then in time you will be rewarded at some level. This does not mean you will get money every time you get something back, it may be in the form of recognition, praise and or being referred to as a trust agent.
I struggle with these major events because there are so many of them and I can’t afford to attend all of them, not always because of cost but because of location and time. I also recognize that you don’t get as much out of the speakers and sessions unless you are actually attending, watching on the Internet doesn’t do any of these events justice in my humble opinion.
An announcement made today on the first panel of day two; State of the Blogosphere Address: Richard Jalichandra & Opening Keynote Address: The Death and Rebirth of Journalism, The announcement was this, Everytime you tweet #beatcancer in the next 24 hours a donation is made by BWE09 (Blogworld EXPO 2009), Tweet’s like this one are choking the Twitter fire-hose:
@scottmonty The organizers of #bwe09 are trying for a world record. RT #beatcancer to raise $ to beat cancer.
There is another shift taking place and it’s the new name of Social Media, it won’t be called Social in the near future or from this event forward, the new name will be….The New Media! This name will represent all types of media, not just the online world but traditional media as well. We’ll see how it takes. Until next time.
Social Media Random Acts of Kindness
You frequently hear of people doing the most generous things in your community, and you can’t help wondering why it doesn’t happen more often. I think it does but we don’t hear about most of them, we hear about the high profile stuff, the things that glorify individuals or an organization. In general people think you have to be a Christian or a Missionary to do acts of kindness, you couldn’t be more wrong! I can say this because I am a Christian, but I wasn’t one for 34 years and I can tell you I have seen many great people and not so great people do things that wow you.
You’ve heard on the news of people saving lives, street people jumping into rivers to save people, those heroic people. What about, well, you and me? Just everyday folks who get up in the morning, go to work and then come home and rest up to do it all over again. These individuals are caring loving people to, they may show it in many various ways but it’s in each one of us.
Our church, or should I say some everyday people held an Oil Change for Single Mother’s behind the 7-11 store at our Church location and we had some wonderful stories come from that experience. You don’t need to be part of an organization to pull these things off, even our own neighborhood holds a BBQ in the cul-de-sac around the corner from my house each summer. We get together, get to know one another and help each other when in need.It’s about people, it’s about building relationships, it’s about making a difference in the lives around you. You’ve seen it here and you’ve seen me post in Twitter and other various Social Media Networks. How Many People Are Better Off Because You Lived?
There are many of us who are trying to translate our offline activities and bringing them here to Social Media circles, raising money for various events and organizations, building one another up and help each other. It appears it’s easier to do it online than in real life, why? Why don’t have to get up off the chair, it’s easier, less work and effort. Does that means it’s any less valuable? Less effective? Is it shallow? Does it say, I really don’t care enough to go be with you?
So I leave you with a question and I hope you will share your thoughts here with us and those who read this Blog.
Does doing Random Acts of Kindness hold the same weight and importance in Social Media Networks?
Do You Attend Blog Events?
I attended a Blogger event here in my community at a pub / restaurant / night club called The Duke of Dublin, we tried to talk but the live entertainment meant we had to yell. It’s a nice facility but probably not the best place to sit and talk quietly, get to know each other and cover items like blogging. Having said that, it was still great fun to catch up with a few people I already new and of course its always fun to meet new faces to match the names on Twitter.
The two primary question’s were, do you have a Blog and do you monetize your blog? Interestingly enough everyone had a blog but not all have monetized their blog because that wasn’t the reason why they started the blog in the first place. My primary goal is to help businesses with I.T. Strategy and how to use Social Media and Social Media Networks in their businesses. I’ll admit I didn’t start out with the intent of monetizing but over time I have put up some low level ways of monetizing my blog.
Once there was a break in the music we were able to share some stories and swap business cards. If you haven’t attended a Tweet-up or a Blogging Event you should, you meet the coolest people. These aren’t the most flattering pictures but I’m posting them anyway, enjoy!
A Few of the Gang
Who Are You and What Are You Doing?
Every Sunday afternoon I play soccer with a great bunch of guys, we’ve been getting together at the same field now for over ten years, trying to stay in shape of course. In July of this year I took a tumble at warp speed and broke, no shattered my left shoulder at the clavicle joint. Here it is now late September and I still have not been cleared to play, do you have any idea how frustrating that is? To know you can’t be out there with your buddies, knowing you can help your team mates win. Half the fun is the strategy, who plays what position and who has the touch up front and finish the play by putting in the net. As this is just drop in soccer we get people at various levels of ability, from 17 to 56 years of age and every once and awhile someone comes out that doesn’t have clue what you can and can’t do, they don’t know the rules. So they run around all over the place not knowing what to do and never really ask for help, and when they do, they forget what you said almost as fast as you said it. Given enough time and they come out more often, eventually, they find there way and start to contribute in a meaningful way.
You are probably wondering where I’m going with this, the question is, are you one of those soccer players running around trying to accomplish something meaningful in the game? Are you playing with the Internet and Social Media the same way? You’ve setup your Blog and you’re telling everyone to come to your site but you haven’t taken the time to learn how or what to do with all those visitors. There are a great many people out there you would consider successful, but there is a far greater number that haven’t realized their 15 minutes of fame yet. You have two ways to approach the Internet & Social Media, you can learn from those who have gone ahead of you or you can try to figure it out yourself.
I can tell you from personal experience, learning from those who have gone before you and succeeded is much easier, that is the choice I would make if you’re just getting started. In fact, if you’ve been Blogging for awhile you should study the leaders anyway, learn the guidelines and then figure out how to make them work for you. Pay attention to what they do, but don’t try to act like they do…why? In Social Media circles you will hear the mantra, be real, be yourself and be honest. So trying to act like someone else won’t let the uniquely designed you to come out, and you will be known as someone who is not authentic and phony.
Everyone loves guy’s like Gary Vaynerchuck, Chris Brogan and Scott Stratten but you will never be able to duplicate how they deliver the message and do what they do. You can however, learn what they do and then learn to make it yours, learn to make it unique by being who you were meant to be. Gary wrote a book soon to be released in October called, ” CRUSH IT ” and Chris’s book which is already out and amply titled, ” TRUST AGENTS “, tell you what I just shared, be sure to order a copy and learn from them first hand.
As you can see, help is closer than you think. No matter what your niche or area of expertise happens to be, study what Gary & Chris do but also pay attention to others like Amber Naslund, David Armano, Mack Collier, Olivier Blanchard, Trey Pennington and Kris Colvin. Spend some time in the Silicon Valley circle to by watching Robert Scoble and Louis Gray. Most of the above have sites with video’s you can view so you get an idea of who they are, and what they are doing with Social Media Networks. As you can see there many to follow and learn from, but they all cover their interests and passions in their own unique way. Also keep in mind some of these people are paid to do what they do in Social Media Networks, but that’s what makes them great case studies.
– Amber Naslund works for Radian6, they provide tools for real-time social media monitoring and analysis designed primarily for PR and Ad agencies.
– David Armano, is the Senior Partner at Dachis Group, was created to unlock the value of social technologies for large corporate enterprises through its Social Business Design global advisory practice, and technology implementation program. David talks about the 5 B’s:
1.) Be Ubiquitous
2.) Be Social
3.) Be Interesting
4.) Be Remarkable
5.) Be Yourself
– Mack Collier, Helping companies understand the ” Social ” part of Social Media.
– Olivier Blanchard, trains company executives and project teams in all matters of social media management and measurement, then help them build and integrate effective programs into every facet of their business, from Public Relations, business development and market research to Human Resources and Customer Support. Oh and Olivier is working on a book that will educate you on the proper way to realize and calculate the true ROI (Return On Investment) in Social Media.
– Trey Pennington, Interviews leaders in Business & Social Media on BlogTalkRadio and uses almost every Social Media Network out there.
– Kris Colvin, is the designer of Twitterface.com and a Social Media Maven with passion and desire, Twitterface is a great tool so be sure to use it.
Whether you already have a business or a Blog, you will never stick with it and see it through unless you’re passionate about it. Gary Vaynerchuck’s war cry is to do your passion and you’ll give yourself the best chance to win. Remember, the Internet is the Platform, Social Media is the Tool you can master on the Internet. Do your homework, study how to use the tools and pay attention to your passion. In another article I wrote, called ” Your Passion Is In Front of You, You’re Just Not Paying Attention” its so simple it’s almost embarrassing, I triple dog dare you to read it.
Each person who is a success online can only teach you how they did it, not how someone else did it. Now pay attention to what I just said, they may have duplicate someone else’s system but they made that system there’s through their personality and how they think. They couldn’t ever act or be like the person they learned from, so study by taking notes, watching videos and then find your passion. The final step is to make it your own, only you can be you and only you can do it. So who are you and what are you doing?
The Fruit Of The Social Media
You’ve heard of the fruit of the spirit, well guess what, they translate very well here in Marketing and Social Media environments. Personally, this is exactly how you should live and practice offline and online. I guarantee you, if you use the fruit of the Social Media your experience here will be something to be hold. The results will be a more open, loving, transparent person that will always give back to everyone who comes in contact with you. Sound familiar? What do you think everyone is saying when they say be open and transparent? Today’s marketing world and Social Media Networks don’t and won’t tolerate anything less, we were taught this over 2,000 years ago, too bad we are just starting to practice the following:
The Fruit Of The Social Media
1.) Love
2.) Joy
3.) Peace
4.) Patience
5.) Kindness
6.) Goodness
7.) Faithfulness
8.) Gentleness
9.) Self-Control
How could you go wrong practicing the fruit of the Social Media? Try it, no….do it, you’ll be transformed and renewed!