That Instafamous Guy

Your friendly neighborhood IG Supehero

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
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.

Apr
18

By

Don’t kid yourself, SIZE MATTERS, but we’re not talking about sex here

Category: So Genius Tags: , , , , , 32 Comments

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.

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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!

Apr
11

By

Stay Thirsty Friends – Be the Most Influential Man in the World

Category: So Genius Tags: , , , , , , , 44 Comments

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

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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?

Mar
30

By

Myth: Nice Guys(and Gals) Finish Last – See Exhibit A @JessicaNorthey

Category: So Genius Tags: , , , , , 71 Comments

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

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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!!!

Mar
23

By

Meet the International Man of #SocialMedia Mystery – Reg Saddler AKA @Zaibatsu

Category: So Genius Tags: , , , 17 Comments

So what is it exactly that Reg and his company do? Ahem… the first rule of fight club – you don’t talk about fight club. I can’t believe you already broke the first two rules! My bad, I kind of led you into that trap. Look, I’m not even entirely sure what Reg does. What I do know, however, is that people listen when the man speaks. First, let’s take a historical look at the meaning behind his nom de plume, Zaibatsu, to give you a perspective on what he’s all about.

According to Wikipedia – Zaibatsu is a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed for control over significant parts of the Japanese economy. So, basically, he’s the Godfather of Social Media.

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

“If Howard Stern is the King of All Media, Reg is the king of SOCIAL Media. The guy just gets it, is always ahead of the curve, and happens to be a quality person to boot. If you want to know the first thing or the last thing about social media, if you want to know what is coming next, or if you want to understand how to succeed in the digital era, then find Reg- track him down and just try to get a little karma off of him!”
- Chris McGill, CEO of Mixx.com

“Reg’s knowledge of social media, it’s uses and potential, and his deployment of strategy on all channels, is unparalleled. He generously uses his extensive reach to help others. I don’t think there is any other person at his level of social media who gives as much (or as freely or as often) as he does.
I’m fortunate to call him a friend and feel great joy whenever he receives the recognition he deserves.”
- Terri Nakamura, Author of Confessions of a Graphic Designer

“Having moved 100 million pairs of eyes to content all over the Internet, Reg knows the 18 to 49 demographic like the back of his hand. Though part of his superpower depends on complete discretion about both his clients and his methods, a brief conversation with anyone who has used his services quiets any doubts immediately”
-Tinu Abayomi-Paul, Owner of Leveraged Promotions

A TRUE SOCIAL MEDIA MOGUL

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Reg is a guy you want to know, to say the least. I’ve been privileged enough to be an acquaintance of his on FB, Twitter, and G+ so I’ve seen him in action. Many of you already know that he’s appeared in the top 10 on numerous Social Media Influencer lists; which he absolutely deserves to be. What you might not know, and what I find to be one of his most endearing qualities, is that he engages with people from all walks of life. He’ll still reply to your tweet even if you just barely made it into the top 50,000 social media influencer list! I’ve seen the how the other Twitter Powerhouses flock to him, pick his brain, and value his advice. He’s a man of the people and, as you read in the testimonials, he just makes things happen. So, on behalf of everyone in the socialsphere, I’d like to thank Reg for all of his contributions. And for the So G readership, after you leave a comment giving Mr Saddler a shout out, I encourage you to head over to his Klout profile and make it rain +K!

Mar
20

By

20,000 views our first 2 Months – The 3 Keys to Success

Category: So Genius Tags: , , , , , , , , 31 Comments

This will be a short post with a very simple strategy to execute… just bribe people to come read your blog. It’s easy, pay everyone between $1000 – $2000 to read and comment on every post you write and BOOM – you’ll get 20,000 visitors in no time. That’s all, thanks for coming. Problem Solved, right? Well, if you’re like me and DON’T have hundreds of thousands of dollars to budget on your blog, don’t worry, there’s still hope.

Before I reveal my 3 secrets and go all infomercial on you, I want to extend a HUGE Thank You to the So Genius readership. If it weren’t for you, I probably would have already joined the blogging graveyard with an epitaph that read “another boring blog that no one cared about.” Fortunately, the personal stories that you’ve shared and thoughts you’ve conveyed over the last two months have allowed me to further develop my craft. It’s a two way street and hopefully these 3 strategies will inspire someone who is considering a blog to get out there and DO IT. It’s a very rewarding (and therapeutic) experience)

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AVOID THE POPPYCOCK

My first mildly successful post was “No One Wants to Read Your Mindless Poppycock – It’s time to {grow} up.” It was both a tribute to Mark Schaefer’s world famous {grow} blog community mixed with the key ingredients necessary for creating an entertaining blog that will keep readers coming back. Ultimately, if you’re still writing poppycock that any old Joe Blogschmoe can write, the rest of the keys won’t help you. After you finish writing every post, ask yourself this crucial question. “Is this something only I could write?” Oh, and be honest with the answer because guess what? You’re not Mashable or Spin Sucks, the world will continue to spin if you don’t publish that post. It’s better to post once or twice a week and wow your readers than throw-up on them every day until they just don’t come back anymore.

TRIBERR

If you’re wondering what the heck Triberr is, you’re not alone. I am surprised at the number of bloggers who still either haven’t heard of It or just plain don’t utilize it. Big Mistake for a couple of reasons. Triberr is a loose-knit community on the surface but has hundreds (if not thousands) of micro-communities that are composed of like-minded bloggers called tribes. It’s based on reciprocation like I scratch your back and you share my blog post. Roughly a quarter of all the traffic I’ve generated on this site has been a direct result of Triberr shares and that’s only counts what is measured. Also, you’re going to be exposed to oodles of other blogs to read and comment on – which is key to building foundations for relationships with other bloggers.

WALK THE AVENUE

I’m such a Houdini. At the beginning of this post I talked about bribing people to read your blog and you thought I was just kidding…. But I’m not! I don’t care if your name is Blog God, you can benefit from Empire Avenue’s mission system and gathering of the most passionate engagers on the social web. Where else can you offer virtual currency as a reward for engagement on your site? No where else that I know of! Even more important is the relationships that you’ll build. I estimate the liklihood of establishing a MEANINGFUL connection on EAV to be 500% greater than any other Social Media site. For more info regarding the in’s and out’s of how to “play” Empire Avenue, I recommend checking out Michael Q Todd’s blog as he has written dozens of articles that highlight what I’m attempting to explain in one paragraph.

Your Turn

What do you brings you back to certain blogs? Is this the design, format, or schedule? Share your thoughts with the audience on what you like to see or let me know whether you found these three tips useful.

Mar
16

By

HOW TO: Change the World two Words at a Time #YOUMATTER

Category: So Genius Tags: , , , , , , 13 Comments

Originally, this post was intended to be a one man show that features our latest So Genius Award winner, thus kicking off a new weekly segment. No need to worry, though, as we’ll still unveil Jure Klepic’s So G Award; but there’s a movement going on that’s bigger than any one person. Jure epitomizes this mission so deeply, that I actually thought he started project. As it turns out, however, someone else gave birth to the two words that are helping to change the world – YOU MATTER.

WE MATTER

When was the last time someone said that you mattered? For many, it’s been far too long. Some may not even remember the last time. However, If you are friends with Angela Maiers, creator of the you matter project, it’s rare that a day goes by without her reminding you of how important you really are. Need some inspiration to fuel your potential for the upcoming week? Please watch Angela’s AMAZING Ted Talk to get your fix. Really, this isn’t just about words… it’s a message that can change the way you look at the world.

THE MORE YOU GIVE

It’s human nature to want to belong, to feel appreciated for what you do. This is a two way street, my friends. Dan Gilbert, a successful Midwest businessman, once told me his key to success. “The more you give the more you get” is the mantra he lives by. That, in itself, is not a new concept but most people seemingly have it bassackwards. Many first wait for someone to help them before they help someone else. Some expect an affirmation of their own contributions before they appreciate the things people do for them. I’m sorry to inform those people that YOU HAVE IT WRONG. Angela has laid the groundwork, but it’s up to us to set aside the me-first attitude that prevails in our society and start paying it forward. So, your mission for the rest of today and through the weekend is find a way to acknowledge the people that make a difference in your life. When enough of us buy into this philosophy, we really will change the world.

SO GENIUS AWARD: DIFFERENCE MAKER

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Jure is a difference maker

I sure hope Jure doesn’t mind getting buried at the end of this post. Actually, nevermind, I know he won’t care because he is more concerned with others than himself. I remember my first interaction with Jure, it was shortly after the first time that I retweeted him when he didn’t just thank me, but actually asked how my day was. While this probably shouldn’t have been so astonishing, it was on a few different levels. I had been on Twitter for maybe four months and it was the first time that someone I didn’t know actually cared enough to ask about me. It says a lot about someone’s character when they ask about you for no ot than to acknowledge you. Initially, I thought jure just had a thing for superheroes, but it so happens that he lets EVERYONE know that they matter. He is a true difference maker; and for that, he deserves our praise. Now it’s our turn to tell Jure how much we love him by leaving a shoutout below.

Mar
12

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The Queen is King of Social Media – Part II – Be the Change

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

International Women's Day march

This photo was taken on March 8th, 1975 during an International Women’s Day(IWD) march in Australia. Fast-forward 37 years and, regrettably, women are still fighting against the same stereotypes, discrimination, and sexism that have plagued them since Adam blamed Eve for making him eat the apple. In the first post, we clearly established that there is still a glass ceiling in social media. In this post, I asked two of the strongest women I know – Michele Price and Gini Dietrich – to discuss how we’re going to breakthrough it.

PROLOGUE

Before I turn it over to my guests, I want you to look at the picture again. Look at the passion that these women displayed while standing up for a unified cause. It’s rather inspiring if you ask me, but where is this fervor from the women in today’s society? I think it’s largely absent. We just celebrated IWD, but quite frankly, I saw a bigger buzz on national talk like a pirate day. That’s arrrrrghregious.

So where did all of the strong feelings from women go over the last 20-30 years? Search timelines for the Women’s movement – I dare you.  Google says nothing has happened in the movement since the early 90′s, unless you dig to page 2… and who ever gets THAT far? Ladies, don’t give up – stand up – and create some new search results for our Googling pleasure!

 

 MICHELE PRICE @prosperitygal

 

What I find amusing is before Chris, Scott, Jay, and Scott were popular as they are now, conferences put them in the line up.  Had these same events taken a more balanced perspective in thinking about their audience, they would have served them a different variety of speakers.  Instead they take the easy way out and continue to bore us all with the same Men-ummhh excuse me  -people.

WHO is in the audience?  Are they really 100% men?  Why would the same business principles be different for conferences?  “Serving your customers well.”

Being willing to be unreasonable is where breakthroughs originate.  If conferences feel having women are unreasonable-wonder what the breakthrough results might be for the conference that made a point of having it’s keynotes be MORE women.  Imagine the social media impact that would occur -generating more buzz.

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world, the unreasonable adapts the world to him.  All progress depends on the unreasonable man” George Bernard Shaw.

Who will be the catalyst and make a commitment to to “BE” that progress.  Good gracious women of the early 1900′s are turning in their graves seeing us relive the same things over and over.  Where is the progress?  Women submit when there is a call for speakers.

I am going to have a nice strong cup of coffee now as I am thoroughly disappointed that we are even having to have this conversation in 2012.  Thank you for having the courage to say it out-loud and point out where the Emperor has no clothes.

 

 GINI DIETRICH @ginidietrich
Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook, gave a compelling    commencement speech last May. She talked about how women tend to take our foot of the career pedal because we “think” we might get married and have babies someday. We feel guilty for pursuing the corner office or climbing the corporate ladder because we might not be there in a few years.
This is crazy. Yet she’s right.
So many of us are taught, since we’re very little, that getting married and having a family ismore important than our careers. Sure, we also grow up thinking we can be President of the United States or doctors or lawyers or business owners. But hardly any of us grow up thinking we’re going to do both.
Because of that mentality, the glass ceiling still exists. Business leaders find it difficult to put women in positions of power, especially if they’re engaged to be married or expecting. They just don’t know what will happen once we get married or that baby is born. So they don’t give us a shot. And the gender doesn’t matter. It can be a male or female boss.
There is only one way we can get past this. Put your foot on the pedal. Go as fast as you can. Climb the ladder. Start a business. Become a leader. Author a book. Go on the speaking circuit. And worry about what happens when it happens, not before. As it turns out, women are really good at multi-tasking, especially if they’re doing several things they love to do. Cross that bridge when you come to it.
THE FUTURE IS NOW

Michele and Gini are highly successful, motivated women making a difference TODAY.  We need to start another movement – the women in the Women’s Day march 37 years ago only had handmade signs and their voice.  We have Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ to raise awareness.  Just last week, on our fanpage, we recognized nearly 50 women for their greatness in Social Media.  We’ve done something, now the question is, what are you going to do?

 

Photo courtesy of The National Archives of Australia

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