Aug 12, 2010 | blog
One of the most amazing things I’ve experienced in the past decade of social media is the aspect of sharing. From the first time I read Cluetrain to the current place it takes in the multiple buzz word lexicon of social media – sharing is a central pillar of social engagement.
For many of us today, sharing is an easy exercise. Cut & paste a link, click a share button for a photo or embed a video in a post. We take it for granted… it’s easy!
For those getting started, or for businesses both large and small, sharing is not as clear as one would think it is. Businesses may worry about ownership of content (copyright) issues, or the context of the content they’re sharing and how it reflects or impacts their brand and reputation.
Individuals may have similar concerns, and might have trouble understanding the technical “how to’s” of proper attribution or embedding of HTML code. But that’s what the seasoned folks should be, and are, helping with – that’s a lot of what we share.
Back to sharing itself though.
As online social engagement grows with mainstream participation, people and businesses gain more from sharing than we initially realize. Giving back to the community has always been a cornerstone of corporate responsibility, and participating in online communities is easier and more cost effective than in the physical community.
Offering up tips, tricks, ideas, solutions, trials, samples, free product, services and more helps build community and reflects on individuals and brands in a positive light. Who doesn’t enjoy or respect those who are helpful? That’s not the same as giving things away simply for favors, that has it’s place in brand building, but not for community building.
Many will call it the “pay it forward” method, and indeed giving back to your community is crucial to the health of that community. It motivates others to do the same and thereby provides a basic, common knowledge to the community that benefits the whole. In the end, ideas are shared back to you or your business that you might otherwise not have thought of. And that’s always a good thing.
Photo credit: Andrew Crummy
Aug 10, 2010 | blog
Interesting thing, communities. We live in them our entire lives. Multiple ones actually, and usually are participating in more than one at any given time.
Today we think of communities more as online constructs, usually referring to a social network as a community. Of course, a community isn’t a tool, but rather a collection of people with similar interest.
The reality is that we participate in multiple communities because of the varied interests we have and the need to connect. We are social creatures and connecting with like-minded peers brings a certain satisfaction to our lives.
This is where the future of communications and marketing come together. Building communities around a brand isn’t misguided as some may suggest. Brands have always had followers, they’ve usually been called loyal customers. These customers are the ones that evangelize at the drop of a hat, and rally around their favorite brand, be it an automobile, soda, or candy bar.
These brand-specific communities existed before social media, indeed, before the Internet itself was useful to the average consumer. So building on that existing base, and providing added value to your brand’s community is the job at hand with social media. The opportunity for your brand is to make it easier for the average consumer to become a loyal customer.
Discover how the power of community can enhance your products and strengthen your brand. After all, why produce and sell something if it isn’t worth people getting excited about it in the first place.
Photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography
Dec 2, 2009 | blog, leadership
I want you to succeed.
Whatever it is you’re passionate about and want to do – I want you to succeed.
For many of us it’s our career. You know that 9 to 5, Monday through Friday effort that allows us to support our families and obtain our dreams. Yeah, that one.
There is something that I wanted to share on that front, and hopefully it’ll help a bit. I want you to define your role. Define your role in your department, and in the organization as a whole. It could be in the company you work at today or the one you want to work for tomorrow. You need to take an active part in defining what you offer, and what what you bring to the mix.
Don’t allow yourself to be typecast or pigeonholed. Letting other people define the boundaries of where you’re supposed to participate or allowed to participate is unacceptable. You alone have that right.
You have the ability set boundaries and goals. You have control of the decisions that move you forward or backward. By defining your role, you establish your voice. By being vocal and establishing a presence, you have the means to share your perspectives and expertise in any situation your role lands you in.
Its not easy and it can be a little scary when first starting out, but the rewards are unending. Its also up to you to fulfil the role you define, but that sholdn’t be difficult because the definition of success and failure is also within your control as well.
Take that step to define your role in life, in work, and in the success that you want. Without figuring out what you want from your efforts, and what you want for your family, it’ll take a lot longer to get to your definition of success.
I want you to succeed.
Photo Credit: yeah buddy!
Jan 12, 2009 | blog
So it’s the end of another year. As such, I wanted to take a minute and put my plans & goals for 2008 out there. I’ve not done this one before, but thought I give it a go this year. Much has changed and I have some directions that I want to follow in 2009 that I neglected in years past.
Writing – Blogging
I’m planning on making a return to a regular blogging schedule after a bit more than a year of a more random approach. The reason for this was partially work related, but also from a lack of direction in the Fall/Winter of 2007/2008. This will include the review of a couple other blogs I have – see if I still have the passion & interest to continue those, or if I should end up selling them off.
Writing – eBooks, Newsletters
Ah… yes, there were two aspects to the writing bug this time around. I also am planning to move forward with some eBook projects and a possible Newsletter in 2009. I’m not sure when exactly this will take place, but will be working on the planning in January. The eBook topics will relate to personal branding, the social web, information technology (& social media), and probably how many of these relate to the enterprise. I’m thinking hard on these lately.
Events
Social Media Breakfast – Twin Cities (@SMBMSP on Twitter) has been a great success here in the Minneapolis & St. Paul area, and I plan to continue evolving our local version. It will remain a low or no-cost event. In addition to this fun monthly event, I’m planning on working some one-off special events and possibly an annual event. Whether those are a summit, retreat, or un-conference style I’m not sure yet, but I do have a few concept ideas that I want to expand on. I’ve found that I really enjoy helping people connect, and thereby connecting their business or career needs with resources in the local community.
Online Income
2009 is the year I get serious about increasing online income. By focusing energies on new ideas and business models for my consulting services I plan to make the transition this year from a senior technologist role to a business & customer communications role. The end result will probably be something different, but that’s the fun of a dynamic, fast-paced industry… it’s constantly changing.
Direction
The next few weeks of this year is also the time I’m going to be taking to reassess my career direction. Am I really pursuing the dream, or have allowed myself to get sidetracked and mired in the mechanics of the mundane, again? This is a crucial piece of the puzzle, as it feeds into everything else. Without direction, none of has have a clue as to where we’re going.
So what’s your plan for this year?
Photo credit: tochris
Dec 29, 2008 | blog
I’m catching up on feeds and have run across a number of posts and articles on personal plans, goals, or predictions for 2009. It’s a good exercise, and one that I’m working on for this week as well.
However, I’m amazed (nay, dismayed) at the number of people who either do not understand what a goal should be or at the goal that they’re fixated on. Especially in relation to blogging. There are a number of great posts around outlining what people are planning to do, but I’d like to see folks really focus their energies when writing them.
For example, I’ve seen a number of people taking about increasing their blog posting schedule, or about getting 100, 200, 300 RSS readers, or hitting 1,000,000 page-views. This doesn’t tell me what they’re purpose is, however. It doesn’t tell me why I should come back tomorrow to read a post. It doesn’t tell new readers why they should spend time reading their blogs. This is simply a lack of understanding of what makes a good blog – in short, numbers don’t count. It’s about the quality of information rather than the numbers of clicks you can run through Google AdSense.
Another theme I’ve seen in some of these planning post for the new year are more lower-level task specific items rather than broad visionary goals for an individual. New or casual bloggers who are interested in growing their blog should look at things that bring value to themselves and their readers. An example of this would be something like "Revise and rejuvenate my blog’s theme to reflect it’s focus, and for easier reading" would be better than simply wanting to "get a new blog logo".
These more far-reaching goals help us stretch outside our comfort zones for the year. It gives us something to strive for, something to attain… hence "goals". I hope more folks take the time and really go through a good personal growth exercise for 2009. It doesn’t have to take long, and if a person allows themselves an hour or two to really think about what they want to accomplish in one year – and what just may be possible in one years time, they may surprise themselves and really accomplish more than they think they can.
So good luck to you on your goal quest for 2009! Watch for my 2009 goals post in the next day or so.
