uniQue, inQuisitive, and uneQualed – @mQtodd is the Quintessential friend
Aside from the fro’d out green hairdo, the Q was the first thing that jumped out at me when I met Michael Q Todd on Twitter. I mean, how many people have a middle name that starts with Q, right? After getting to know him a bit better, I finally popped the question (No, not THAT question… I’m already married). Admittedly, I was expecting the answer to be Quentin or another somewhat obscure name but his response took me by surprise.
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE Q
The Q wasn’t a name given to him by his parents, remember, Michael is uniQue. He bestowed the Q, short for Qi, upon himself after an expedition to China that likely saved his life, or at least how he lived it. Qi 氣,by its ancient Chinese roots, is translated as life force or energy flow. You see, he was diagnosed with Reiters Syndrome (a debilitating, acute arthritic disorder) and was told by a top NYC rheumatologist that he would never walk again in 1996. But if you know MQT, you know he didn’t take that diagnosis lying down.
While most would have succumbed to their Doctor prescribed fate, Michael traveled to China sought out masters of Chi Gung (Qigong 氣功) in an effort to heal himself. This practice has been existence for over 4000 years and is a method of aligning one’s body with their mind through extensive coordinated breathing and rhythmic movements. If you’ve seen any of Michael Q’s video’s, you know that he is fully healed. Talk about inspiring!
A LIVING LEGEND
Usually, these awards are heavily based on accomplishments in Social Media. In the case, though, the Living Legend award is a reminder that there are things WAY bigger than social media. If you’ve had two near death experiences like Michael has, you deserve some recognition!! One of the most endearing aspects about MQT is how unwaveringly positive he is. Now that you have better knowledge of his back-story, you can probably understand why he is so upbeat. He doesn’t sweat the small stuff. He is now devoted to giving back, and is particularly chivalrous when it comes to the environment and sea life. Bottom line, you’ll be hard pressed to find someone more deserving of karma than him.
Since his network is so large, there’s a strong chance you already know Michael. That’s great! Make sure you share how much he means to you in the comments below. If you’re not familiar with him, or don’t know him that well, here are a couple links to get closer to him. He did all the work for you – check out his XeeMe profile to connect with him on ALL of the different platforms. Then, click here and subscribe to his blog… or at least bookmark it. After all, he is probably one of smartest social media minds on the planet. We here at The So Genius Blog would also like to extend our deepest gratitude for all the support you’ve given us as well. Thank you for all that you do, Michael.
So When did P’s and Q’s become F’s and U’s?
Forget writing about Social Media Manners… we need to get back to the basics. Common Courtesy is officially on the endangered species list and, in some segments, it’s seemingly already extinct. Fortunately, I do have many friends who carry themselves with class and dignity. If only I could say that about everyone…
Between my daily commute, watching the news, and observing the interactions of others, I’m disgusted with the lack of respect shown for one another. People are more likely to start an argument about someone else’s ignorance than say thank you to the person that held the door for them. Can we please stop the madness? I’m forced to write this rant because acting like immature school kids is not a good way to roll.
I thought this was common sense, but I’m clearly underestimating how far our etiquette has fallen. So please make sure you adhere to this list – we don’t want you to be labeled as one of “them”
TOP SEVEN TIPS ON HOW NOT TO BE A JACKASS
7.) Wave to say thank you when someone let’s you exit onto road during traffic.
7a) Give people room to pull onto the road
7b) Nevermind, we could do a whole post on driving etiquette.
6.) People are big enough germaphobe’s already so cover your damn mouth when you cough or sneeze – Don’t give anyone a reason to complain
5.) When you’re not in a dance club, turn down your LMFAO ringtone when you’re in a bank or quiet place. Most phones do have that new function called vibrate
4.) Don’t post personal questions/comments for someone on their facebook or twitter timeline. PICK UP THE PHONE or private message them.
3.) ALWAYS hold the door open for people, especially if they’re a woman or elderly.
3a) Say THANK YOU when the door is held for you
2.) Stop blaming other people for what sucks in your life – YOU’RE RESPONSIBLE for the outcome
1.) Never take someone’s feelings for granted because you never know how much courage they took to show it
This is a totally hodgepodge potpourri list that I wrote on the fly. Is this really too much to ask, though? I don’t think I’m alone in my cry for a return of common courtesy. What other pet peeves would you add to this list? I’m sure we can add a good number more.
OMG – Be as Popular as a Teenage Girl on #instagram
Here’s the big unveiling of the newest Instagram strategy – act like a teenage girl by doing the following:
1 Be attractive so you get lots of boys hollering at ya and girls saying “you’re so pretty” in comments
2 Take pictures of your fingernails painted up all pretty; it’s an easy 1000 likes for the good ones.
3 Dress in scantily clad outfits or bikinis so you can get horny old men worked up, you’ll make the popular page
4 Be rude, don’t reply to most other commenters, and fill your feed with annoying shout outs of other “cool” people.
Follow this advice and you’ll be a Instagram super user in no time!
Wait, what? You can’t implement any of these foolproof strategies?
Oh gosh, I forgot, those tactics only work for teenage girls and there aren’t too many of those in the So Genius audience. People might laugh at us if we tried any of that crap… although I know we have plenty of attractive readers here! It’s ok, you don’t have to flaunt it because I’ve got a few other tips and ideas on how to build an engaging instagram fan base.
Tools of the Trade
Vincent Van Gogh only had a paintbrush and a canvas. Let’s face it, we’re not VVG! I’m by no means a professional photographer, but with the help of editing apps, I’ve been able to create some wicked awesome scenes. I highly suggest dropping $3-$4 on a “pro” app because you’ll get effects and editing power not found in most freebies. My two favorite Android apps are Pic Say Pro and Pics Play Pro (eerily similar names, I know). Look at some before and after shots, I was amazed at what could be done.
If you’re not willing to skip your Starbucks Latte, there are a few adequate free ones, as well. Little Photo, Pics Art, and Be Funky can all add some pizzazz to your photos. Since I’m not a cool kid with an iPhone, we’re asking the apple readers to help by adding suggestions in the comments below.
Tag, You’re it
The first thing you’ll notice on Instagram is that it’s more tag happy than even Twitter… and some of them are even awkward! Did you think you’d ever tag #skyporn or #cloudporn to anything, ever? I didn’t either, but if some people get their jollies from sky shots, I’m happy to help provide material for them. The one group and tag(s) I’d most recommend revolve around the #gang_family. For a full breakdown, visit their website here. The concept is really cool. There are a number of different tags to suit your style, some more popular than others, but a great way to get exposure when you’re starting out. My favorites are #skystyles_gf #landscapestyles_df and #floralstyles_gf. Also, there are contests and daily themes run through #gf_daily and the other affiliated groups. Oh, and btw, the actual member photos will blow you away.
Attract Followers
Once you’ve got the hang of tweaking your photo’s and feel their “like-worthy,” you’ll want to develop a follower base that appreciates this. While I can’t say this is an original strategy, any variation of it is rather effective. It stems from a post I read on Paul Steinbrueck’s blog about the plan Steve Bretzke implemented with his IG. You can read the post here for FULL breakdown, but here are the cliff notes. Steve goes to the popular page, finds similar themed photos to his own, and then follows 50-100 of the igers(Instagramers) who have just like those particular photos. It’s a sound idea, because you know they’re active and online. Then I spoke with a spectacular photographer in his own right, Ryan J. Zeigler, who altered it just a bit. Ryan targets commenters on the popular pics because he’d rather have engaging followers – makes sense to me! You’ll get some riff-raff and you’ll probably end up unfollowing quite a few annoying accounts. But when it’s all said and done, you need as large of a follower base as you can get if you want to get noticed.
Cue the LMFAO Music
Everyday I’m Instagrammin! Forget the shuffling… I love IG. It’s probably not for everyone, especially if you don’t appreciate art or you’re not a teenage girl (j/k). DON’T FORGET iPhone’rs; please add your favorite editing apps for apple devices. Now it’s your turn. Are you Instagrammin daily? Is it as cool as I make it out to be or overhyped? What other ideas can we add for Instagram Success?
The Only Thing Better than #SocialMedia is Using it for #SocialGood
Have you heard this passage before?
“Work for a cause,
not for applause.
Live life to express,
not to impress.
Don’t strive to make your presence noticed,
just make your absence felt.”
This quote so fitting because the author isn’t even credited for creating it. It’s attributed to “unknown” and odds are, he or she wanted it that way.
CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE
In this look-at-me world, especially in Social Media, we’re all pre-occupied with ourselves. Whether we’re pushing our own agendas or surveying how we stack up against the competition, our natural instinct propels us to worry about things like… “Did my Klout score go up or down today?” “How many likes did I get on that post?” “Ughh, only two people retweeted that last tweet” “My blog is so much better than Spin Sucks, why don’t I get as many comments” … but really, in the grand scheme of things, it’s all BS. In the past 10 days, after being a part of a couple group efforts promoting other people’s causes, my outlook has been changed forever. I didn’t organize these events, wasn’t in the forefront, or get any publicity from it. I had no skin in the game aside from my tweeting prowess – but that’s the beauty of it. It made those previous questions meaningless.
#BEWBLUV
It feels good to help other people, even if It’s as simple as bringing a smile to someone’s face. Because of the power of using Social Media for good, most of Twitter now knows about Brandie MacCallum’s world famous bewbs. I can’t get into the “secret” details, but Margie Clayman & company played the role of Paul Revere and gathered the troops to support one of our finest soldiers, Brandie (aka @lttlewys). Despite all the Debbie Downers saying that “you can’t MAKE something trend” a group of hundreds (maybe thousands) did, in fact, get the #BewbLuv tag trending in 5 countries and 7 US cities. Read more about Brandie kicking cancer’s ass and the story of BewbLuv on her blog.
#PROJECTFORGIVE
The other campaign that caught my attention was #ProjectForgive. You probably know the story, but in case you don’t, here’s a quick synopsis. A father’s choice to forgive the drunk driver who killed his family has touched countless people. It’s a really powerful story, you can read more about it and help make the planned documentary a reality on their website Project: Forgive. It’s another, now “classic”, case of using social media for good. Two friends of the So Genius blog actually spearheaded the Social Media efforts in fundraising for this project.
TWO COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS
Jackie Bigford and Kimberly Reynolds hit their marketing campaign out of the park and reached their Kickstarter Goal of $100,000 much more quickly than anticipated. I’ve gotten to know Jackie fairly well over the past year and she dedicates her life to helping others. Whether it’s the dolphins, the Global Village Foundation she volunteers for, or her friends; we know that we can count on Jackie in a time of need. As for Kim, she’s certainly a rising star in social media and an established entrepreneur. I almost feel that this will be Kimmy-overkill since Michael Q Todd just featured her on his blog and the UK Digital Business journal did a write up on her, but what the heck, she’s worth it. So, to celebrate their accomplishments and to give best wishes for their new partnership, Savvy Media Marketing, we’re proud to present dual So Genius Awards for their achievements in Social Media.
Yeah yeah, we’re In the social media world, and the projects I wrote about were “old news” because it happened over a week ago. But you know what? There’s no expiration date on helping other people. If you haven’t yet used your powers for good, what are you waiting for? After you’re finished giving props to Jackie and Kimberly, think about some causes you’re passionate about and start donating your Social Media Prowess for good.
Don’t kid yourself, SIZE MATTERS, but we’re not talking about sex here
Ha, what did you think I was talking about when I said size matters? Wow, you have dirty minds! We’re talking about blogging here, not sex.
I’ve heard a laundry list of recommendations regarding the length and girth of a good blog post. Most suggest keeping it under 500 under words while some guides say 300 words is a good marker. 700 has also popped up as the line in the sand that you should never exceed.
The first question I had is what do these people have against even hundred numbers? Are 400, 600, or 800 so much more inferior? Yeah, that really popped into my head. Back to the land of the normal, I did come to a painful conclusion. Shorter likely is Better for maximum pleasure.
By The Numbers
There was no official survey done with previous posts published here, but I’m willing to bet that not a single one of them was less than 500 words. Even worse, there’s a very high probability that say 30% of them breached the 700 word point of no return. Fooey.
I set out with a mission here to make this my shortest blog post but it’s already 200 words for crying out loud. If you have the wordsmithing skills to deliver something tangible and impactful in 300 words, you are freakin awesome. I can’t do it. I’m a story teller. I like to paint a picture and then deliver the message. I think it’s working, but this blog will be taking more of a simplicity is genius approach. Here are a few suggestions why your blog should be a lean, mean, sexing, err I mean writing… machine.
People Scan, They Don’t Read
As much as I’d love to think you all read every word I write, I stopped lying to myself. People read the beginning, the bullets, and the end. Give them something to scan and do your best to draw them in
Avoid Looooong Paragraphs
The only thing worse than a 1500 word post is a 1500 word post broken up into 3 paragraphs. How dreadful would that be? It’s a touch tricky when you like hearing yourself talk and think you have to keep those 7 sentences together to prove your point, but do your readers a favor and break it up.
The Net is caffeine fueled and ADD Riddled
I have ADHD, so I’m allowed to make fun of it, right? Look there’s a flower. People are busier than ever, whether it’s by choice or by necessity. Fact of the matter is that takes half the time to read 500 words than it does 1000… and that’s if they actually read it. They want to finish what they start so they can move on to something else, like the butterfly that just fluttered by.
Screw it, hard-wired rules are for the birds. This post was supposed to be under 500 words but I want to do a conclusion. Hope you’ll be able to survive an extra 30 words! And don’t worry, I’ll still be able to live with myself despite the fact I’ve never written a post under 500 words. Are we in agreement that shorter is better? What length structure do you approach in your writing? Thanks for stopping by!
Ain’t no Party Like an #usguys Party cuz the #usguys Party Don’t Stop
Four Score and Two Years ago our social fathers brought forth on this Twitterverse, a new nation, conceived in intelligent conversation, and dedicated to the proposition that all tweeters are created equal. The brave men, and women, who tweeted here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The blogosphere will little note, nor long remember what I say here, but Social Media will never forget what do did here. Yes, #usguys community is so cool that they get their own Twittersburg address, and moreover, we’re proud to bestow our first group So Genius award to them.
PROBLEM SOLVED
The whole #usguys community was born during a Twitter conversation between Thomas Moradpour @tommoradpour, Patrick Prothe @pprothe, Cristian Gonzales @galactic, Jason Mikula @mikulaja, and Chase Adams @realchaseadams. If you’ve ever discussed something with 3 or more people on Twitter, you quickly realized that your handles turn 140 into like 40 or 60. To combat this and promote character conservation, they had the bright idea of adding a tag so everyone could follow along even if they weren’t mentioned. Thus, the #usguys movement was born.
NON STOP ACTION
Who would have known that a hashtag started by Five Guys (no burgers and fries) would evolve into a 24/7 twitter party? Seriously, if you’ve never heard of this community, test me on that statement. Because of its global appeal, the #usguys stream doesn’t go more than 5 minutes (a way conservative estimate) without a tweet. There’s no specific topic, just daily fun and comradery. If that, for some reason isn’t enough and you need some structure, there are often impromptu and planned #usguyschat sessions.
THE CREAM OF THE CROP
While there are quite a few Social Media Superstars, like Josepf Haslam, (sorry, had to do it, you’re my favorite to banter with) who grace the #usguys stream, it’s the everyday contributors that really make this the best community on twitter. I’m not an “official member” of the tribe, the bell has not yet been rung for me, but I am on Stephen Caggiano’s #usguys pinboard so that has to count for something!! But that’s the incredible thing, you don’t have to be a member to be recognized and responded to. Whether you have a question that needs answers or a blog post that needs feedback, someone will be happy to help. Another endearing quality of this twitterhood is their unwillingness to accept a superficial response, it’s SO refreshing. It’s the collective intelligence they possess that makes you think about what you tweet. I was going to do a list and give some shout-outs because I’ve made so many virtual friends from this group, but I’m bound to leave a few out, and it would make it far too easy for our readers.
Congrats to all of you, you’ve earned this award. While #usguys is the best twitter community in my eyes, I’m not yet a twitter veteran and may have missed some other groups. What other communities do you participate in on Twitter? Any worth checking out?
P.S. #usguys are doing a meet up tonight in NYC. That’s how you know this is one tight-knit crew! May all of you have a good ol’ time and be safe in your travels. Lastly, don’t do anything stupid because you’ll regret the drunken pictures on FB & Twitter tomorrow 
Stay Thirsty Friends – Be the Most Influential Man in the World
No one in Social Media cares if you are the most interesting man in the world like the Dos Equis Guy… We want to see the most influential man(or woman) in the world! A few names come to mind for that title; but it’s not like Ann Handley, Scott Stratten, & Gary Vaynerchuk need any more accolades. This term influence has become quite the buzzword lately. Who do you influence? How many people do you influence? What is influence? If you’re anything like me, you’ve become nauseous due to influenza from the influence epidemic. Did we break a record for saying influence 7 times in the opening paragraph? Let’s call Klout,since they’re the “standard” of influence( that’s #8!). But before we do that, here are a few ways that you can immediately increase your authority in Social Media
INFLUENCE FOR $200, ALEX.
Alex Trebek “The number of Timothy Snow’s Klout Score”
You “What is 82”
Alex Trebek “That is correct”
It’s like a game show sometimes, isn’t it? As much as we hate to be poked & prodded, or don’t want big brother watching our every move online, it’s what the people want to know. Like it or not, the measurement apps aren’t going away and you’re always being rated by someone, somewhere. There’s never going to be a perfect assessment of one’s influence, they all have flaws. They often measure your superficial influence, not real influence. You’re not more influential because the cute puppy picture you posted gets shared 30 times or 10 people retweet your retweet of a Mashable story. Real Influence goes beyond an action… beyond the shares and retweets. Influence is the power to persuade, the ability to change people’s thoughts, and sway their pre-conceived beliefs. It’s tricky to measure, but you’ll know the feeling when you’re doing it right.
PERCEPTION IS REALITY
It’s not necessarily how successful you are, it’s how successful others think you are…and I’m not talking about your mom. When you convey a sense of importance, you instantly become more significant. Successful people don’t ask other people to like their fanpage or retweet their blog post. In other words, there’s a fine line between self-promotion and being labeled as a spammer. When you utilize tools like Empire Avenue and Triberr where people promote your content, it makes you appear in-demand. It’s far more effective when others are doing the promotion for you. Also, winners in social media do not clutter their feeds with negative commentary. Remember, winners find ways –losers find excuses. If you’re not getting the desired results, change your tactics.
NETWORK: QUALITY > QUANTITY
While it’s possible to have a marriage of both quality and quality, only a small percentage of influencers will achieve this. Not to say that can’t be you, but I highly recommend building your network through known commodities rather than going for the quick score. There are services that will get you a bunch of twitter followers. You can send friend requests to everyone with a pulse and maxout your 5000 connections in a jiffy. That’s all fine and dandy, but what good are thousands of people who ignore you? Or, what if you don’t relate to what their most talked about topics are? Bottom line, when expanding your network, it’s ok to be picky about who you chum with. It will pay dividends to bring value to those who are more influential than you are. Start supporting them, and you might be surprised how many will start supporting you.
PARTING SHOTS
Before I ask for your thoughts, I didn’t an interesting Twitter experiment that plays into this topic. For the first time, I was approaching a symmetrical number between those I was following and those who followed me right around 1867 last week. Although a bit shallow, one of my own “metrics” when I observed other people was that same follower to following ratio. It’s just human nature, it gives the perception of importance when someone has more followers than they tweeps they follow. So I decided to trim the fat and unfollowed 40 or 50 not-so-active accounts that weren’t following me. In the last few days, I’ve gained 125+ additional followers without doing anything else different. Might be worth considering if you’re in a similar spot with less than 10,000 followers.
Here’s what I’m interested in hearing about – What’s your definition of Influence? Who Influences you most and why do you think that is?
Blast Off!! Save the Space Program by.. Legalizing #Marijuana?
After careful deliberation, I’ve opted to speak my mind and invite the readers to chime in on the issue. Those close to me already know about my intention to run for political office in the future, so this is a risky subject to write about. This post could either garner mass support for, or crush, the Tony Bennett for Senate campaign before it even starts. It’s a gamble worth taking because the benefits of legalizing marijuana clearly outweigh the negative aspects that my counterparts bring up. Sadly, we’re skipping the So Genius Award this week because I should have had the cojones to publish this Wednesday instead of switching to a PC topic that I ended up scrapping as it was just “Eh.”
With all the crime and violence in our society, doesn’t the government and law enforcement have bigger fish to fry? More and more we see innocent children being killed, houses being burned down, shootings at schools, and Tide Detergent being stolen off the shelves; yet there are still hundreds of thousands of cases involving reefer that continue to drain our already extended resources. While it would be foolish of me to argue that the decriminalization of Cannabs would alleviate all the hostility, an old saying does come to mind… there’s a thin line between love and hate, it usually starts halfway through a joint. We’ll save that debate for another day, though. We’re going to focus on how the is government turning a deaf ear toward the people’s calls for reform and how it will help our economy, both financially and socially.
IGNORING THE ISSUE WILL NOT MAKE IT GO AWAY
Similar to the perceived approach to our national deficit, it seems the lawmakers on Capitol Hill are ignoring the problem. The example highlighting this most is the “Twitter Town Hall Meeting” that took place last July. Tweeters were encouraged to #AskObama questions that would be answered in the stream. Dan Holowack and his team at TwitSprout did an INCREDIBLE analysis to reveal the most twopular topics that were tweeted about. Their findings were featured on Mark Schaefer’s {grow} blog. Would you believe me if I told you that questions concerning the legalization of Marijuana outnumbered all the other topics like taxes, jobs, and the economy… COMBINED? Granted, twitter doesn’t accurately measure the sentiment of the whole country; but I find it peculiar that the president didn’t even address the most popular question that twitternation wanted to know. I wouldn’t be surprised if our site is flooded with support once the Marijuana Movement on Twitter (#mmot) gets wind of this because they are such a dedicated bunch. I’m interested to see what reaction we receive from the other side.
SHOW ME THE MONEY
Quick Fact – According to the .pdf report issued by The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, over $26 Billion dollars in revenue was generated from taxing these two products. With our deficit still spiraling out of control, I find it hard to believe that the government cannot use an additional revenue stream. Sure, Federal and State gov’s earn monies in relation to penal fines when offender’s are prosecuted, but that’s a pittance compared to what it could make on a Marijuana tax. I’m all about safety and placing restrictions on its use just as much as the next guy, but the excuse I’ve heard about the government not being able to figure out how to tax it is absurd. To put it into perspective, even if the Marijuana tax only generated 75% of what the tobacco tax does, that would be enough to send 5-6 rocket ships back into space. That fact inspired the title for this, but I’m not actually sure that’s the best use of the money (but good to know we’d be able to send a ship into orbit if Aliens ever threaten us). Alternatively, $8 billion split up amongst our 50 states would yield $160 million per state. Come on people, we’re talking about money for education… money for roads… money for healthcare. Isn’t that what it’s about?
CAN’T WE ALL JUST GET ABONG
World Peace might be a long shot, but the simple truth is Marijuana smokers are less likely to commit violent crimes. And it’s not like a law legalizing it forces you to smoke it if you don’t want to. In fact, even if you were a registered smoker, there are plenty of people who SHOULDN’T smoke dope. If weed makes you paranoid and you go crazy, DON’T SMOKE IT. If you abuse weed habitually in an attempt to permanently escape your reality, DON’T SMOKE IT. If you’re unemployed and lazy because you partake so often that you’ve become a sloth, DON’T SMOKE IT. But for Pete’s sake, if someone, like many of successful people I know who are closet tokers, wants to hang out with a few friends and enjoy the pleasure of smoking herb to gain a different perspective, LET THEM DO IT. The debate about drinking vs smoking has been hit pretty hard and I tend to agree w/proponents that Mary Jane has fewer dangerous side effects than alcohol. So why do we still not have a choice? I have my own conspiracy theories, but I’d rather hear from you. What do you think are the main forces behind keeping marijuana an illicit substance?
Myth: Nice Guys(and Gals) Finish Last – See Exhibit A @JessicaNorthey
You’ve heard it before; “Nice guys finish last.” A good number of you probably still believe that philosophy but that argument comes to an end TODAY. We’re debunking that myth using this week’s So Genius Award Winner, Jessica Northey, as evidence…. that is, unless you consider being a top Social Media Influencer with hundreds of thousands of twitter followers (including top music talent) as finishing last. But if that we’re the case, I certainly wouldn’t mind bringing up the rear! A genuine interest for helping others is quickly becoming an extinct quality in this “me-first” society. It’s refreshing to see someone as compassionate as Jessica achieve such great success without employing the backstabbing or mudslinging tactics that some people resort to.
Before we get too much further talking about the awesome sauce Jess pours onto everything she touches, I want to congratulate her (along w/Amy Howell) for having the opportunity to be backstage covering the Academy of Country Music Awards this Sunday night (live from the Reaction Room). I know they’re both super pumped, as they should be, and want to wish them both a grand ole’ night! Jessica is the Kred leader for the music community and you can check out the nice write-up they did on their blog to get the 411 about all the tags & details on the event.
WHAT MAKES JESSICA SO AWESOME?
I asked a few of our mutual friends that same question, here’s what they had to say.
Reg Saddler
Geez, where to start. I’ve known Jess for what seems like an eternity in ‘Social Media’ time. Some people write amazing books about our industry, others speak at conferences. What sets Jessica apart is she does some serious heavy lifting. The girl’s moving eyeballs and you don’t have to squint at a chart to see her industry prowess. Every Monday night the beast known as CMChat is ripped out of its slumber and into the twitterverse. Greats like the Oakridge Boys and Charlie Daniel step into the stream to pay homage to her mastery of the domain. Her charm and grace, paired with a strong history in radio add a polished professionalism to a still sometimes green industry. Beyond all that I consider her a dear friend, who support knows no bounds. If you don’t know her already, get to know her. She’s an amazing person to have in your corner.
Amy Howell
They broke the mold when they made Jessica —one of social media’s key influencers and personalities. Jessica has built a powerful platform for herself in the country music industry and is recognized as leading one of Twitter’s largest chats: #cmchat where she hosts selected country music icons and facilitates a Q & A on Twitter each Monday night. The quality people Jessica attracts and the diversity of the chat is one of the best things about it as it increases in popularity and reach. Jessica has an amazing gift of wit and attracts fans and followers through her constant engagement online and her gregarious personality. I have had the pleasure and honor of working with her on several events and can tell you that she is as real, generous and even more wonderful in real life.
Stephen Caggiano
I retweeted Jessiica’s arrival in Las Vegas for the CMA Awards. I noticed that She gave no mention of the Red Carpet access She would be given. Nor did she mention the Celebs She would be rubbing elbows with. She never even mentioned why She was going. Jessica is the voice of the Country Music Industry, in Social Media. from the Fans perspective. Her profound impact was magnified by the Country Music audience, whom She won over, one at a time. Her 300K+ following on Twitter, would rival 6 of the Nations largest Concert stadiums, all filled to capacity, tuning in on Monday Nights for #CMChat on Twitter. Jessica is a Celebrity in Her own right. What really defines Her, for me, is one humbling moment a while back. I told Her I had a question that was too long to type out. Moments later, She called. I am still humbled. She’s impossible not to love. Go get em’ Girl! #Boom
SHE’S THE PEOPLE’S CHAMPION
The 3 testimonials probably say more than I can but I have a funny story. I recently had a back-and-forth conversation with Jessica about whether she embodied Social Media. She tried telling me while she’s knowledgeable about Radio, Broadcasting, Celebrities, and Musicians, she doesn’t think she’s “mainstream” or influential about social media. But that’s Jessica, always grounded and unpretentious! I countered by saying that if you’re in with the Twitterati and clearly influence other “top” influencers, YOU ARE SOCIAL MEDIA. When your twitter chats generate millions upon millions of impressions, YOU ARE SOCIAL MEDIA.
It boils down to the simple fact that she’s a people person. You’d think someone who was so popular would be more caught up in what others think about them but her upbringing and perspective simply won’t allow it. Her Grandpa Bill, an accomplished stock car driver, always told her “don’t drive by the rearview mirror.” It’s apparent that she took his advice, as she’s running her own race – and WINNING it. When I’m looking for guidance, I look for #TrueNorthey on my social compass and her blog always points me in the right direction.
She’s great at building us up and making us feel good, now it’s our turn to show appreciation for our beloved Social Media Celebrity. Tell her what an inspiration she’s been to you, below, and then stop by her Klout and Kred pages to make her head spin with more +K(red)’s than she can handle!!!
What #SEO really means to bloggers – So Effing Overrated
This is an open invitation for all of the SEO evangelists to come and purge the anti-SEO sentiment from deep within my soul. What’s the worst that could happen? It may turn out that I’m wrong, which happens up to twice a week, so I can live with that. What I have trouble living with is all the articles, tweets, and posts that claim Search Engine Optimization(SEO) is the holy grail of blogging. I don’t know about you, but I’ve already accepted the fact that I’m not going to bump Mashable, Social Media Today, or Alltop from the top results when someone searches for Social Media on Google. While SEO isn’t completely useless, it’s SO OVERRATED for most bloggers
PEOPLE TRUMP KEYWORDS
I’ll admit that if your website sells products or services, SEO would play a more important role in getting noticed. But what about blogs? Are people really starting their Social Media or Marketing blogs with the expectation that SEO will magically deliver millions of hits and put them on the first page on Google? Get Real, it’s a pipe dream, unless you have tens of thousands of dollars to invest. Even then, there’s no guarantee that you’ll reach the promised land. Maybe it’s worth considering when you’ve already become established with hundreds of thousands of visitors, but don’t buy into the hype before then. Instead, find a better(and less costly) way to grow your community.
Here are a few suggestions:
Spend time creating meaningful relationships with other bloggers
Focus on adding value to other successful blogs by becoming a part of their community
Find a niche market and build credibility through your content
Get to know your audience – go beyond saying “thank you for commenting”
DARTH SEO vs LUKE SKYGOOGLE?
Last time I checked, the purpose of SEO is to optimize your website in order to rank higher on search engines. Sounds innocent enough on the surface, but when you dig deeper into the technicalities of SEO, it gets creepy. Who wants to deal with the likes of robots, spiders, and crawlers…be tempted to engage in cloaking or spamdexing… and be able to differentiate between white hats and black hats? No, stop, I know what you’re thinking – this is not the description of a Star Wars Movie. There is no Darth SEO that fights Luke Skygoogle in an epic battle of good vs evil. If that were the case, SEO would be easier because at least you could tell good from bad. In the SEO saga, the line between is fuzzy, at best.
There I said it – I’m more concerned about building the so G community from the ground up with quality people, rather than rely on search traffic, backlinks, and 5 second page visits for cool stats. Let the outcry begin, am I completely off base here? Am I missing the boat or do you agree? Lastly, do me a favor and include a link to your twitter profile if I don’t follow you already.