That Instafamous Guy

Your friendly neighborhood IG Supehero

May
30

By

Don’t be that Guy… Yeah, THAT guy

Category: So Genius Tags: , , , 40 Comments

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I’m a patient person by most people’s standards. I try to be easy-going, understanding, and positive but someone’s gotta put their foot down and put a chokehold on THAT guy.

You’ve seen THOSE guys, not to be confused with #usguys, in action. Regular spam methods just aren’t good enough for that guy(or girl). That guy has to sauté it, bread it, and deep fry it before personally delivering it to your newsfeeds and timelines. That guy goes above and beyond to make you feel uncomfortable, annoyed, and suspicious of their motives. I’ve always been of the opinion that relationships are a two way street and deals should be made based on a win-win premise… but those guys obviously see it differently.

So this is going to be short and simple – if you value the meaningful relationships that develop through social media, pay attention.

DON’T BE THAT GUY WHO

- Creates a Facebook group for the sole purpose of promoting their own agenda, and then add their whole friend list to be part of it.

- Suggest I like your Facebook page if you don’t know me or never had a meaningful conversation with me

- Contest and Charitable causes aside, perpetually asks for likes and/or retweets; it looks desperate

- Snatches someone else’s photo, status, or infographic and front as if it’s your own

- Doesn’t respond to commenters or reply to tweeters because you’re worried about your Klout score

- Drops into a tweet chat, talk it up like you actually participate, and then bounce 5 minutes later

- Talks smack behind peoples back; social circles are too tight knit, they’ll find out.

Wow, I feel 132% better now that I’ve got that off my chest.

Please help and add to the list. What else does THAT guy do that annoys the hell out of you? Was I wrong/overly lame on any of the above examples?

May
18

By

uniQue, inQuisitive, and uneQualed – @mQtodd is the Quintessential friend

Category: So Genius Tags: , , , , , , 29 Comments

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.

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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

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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.

May
8

By

So When did P’s and Q’s become F’s and U’s?

Category: So Genius Tags: , , , 6 Comments

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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.

May
4

By

OMG – Be as Popular as a Teenage Girl on #instagram

Category: So Genius Tags: , , , , , , 19 Comments

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!

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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.

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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?

May
1

By

The Only Thing Better than #SocialMedia is Using it for #SocialGood

Category: So Genius Tags: , , , , , , , 23 Comments

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.