Margie Clayman

Not too long ago, I wrote a post for someone’s site as a guest post. After a bit of a slow start, the post really started taking off, and it was really exciting. Then something interesting happened. A big name, someone who I don’t interact with a whole lot, retweeted the post, but they tweeted it out as being written by the person on whose site I was a guest. They didn’t say it was by me. It kind of made me pause, because, I’ll be 100% honest with you, it kind of bummed me out for a minute. I had done something good enough to get this person’s attention, but I wasn’t *technically* given credit for it.

I’ve been thinking about that pinpoint of a moment a lot over the last couple of months. I’ve been trying to figure out what gave me pause at that moment, whether I really should have considered that a let-down. I have come to realize that no, I should not have been disappointed at all. There are just different ways to have success online. The movie Galaxy Quest can help me illustrate this better.

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OK, I know what you’re thinking.

“Margie, engaging is fine, but people are generally just nasty boogers. Everyone on Social Media is just trying to promote him or herself, plus I’m an introvert and don’t like putting myself out there with just anybody. So…how can engagement possibly work for me?”

Well, have no fear. We can talk about that, dear.

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Have you watched the movie Talladega Nights, starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly? If not, I have to say I can understand the decision. I love it, but goodness is it stupid! Anyway, there is one particular scene that I was thinking about. John C. Reilly’s character has come up with an awesome idea and tells Will’s character (Ricky Bobby)about it. Ricky’s first response is, “Man, that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” When asked if he REALLY thinks that, Ricky says, “No, I admit it, that’s the awesomest…how did you come up with that?”

In the online world, we often find out that people in our community have come up with awesome ideas, and it’s possible that on occasion, that little green monster called jealousy might creep into the picture. When that happens, though, you don’t want to slip up like Ricky Bobby does. Few things can tear up engagement more than a spot of jealousy. Few things can make you look more defensive.

So how can you react online when someone (or another company) announces a great idea? Now, if you’re part of a big corporate online effort, this is something that will need to be discussed corporately, of course. But let’s say it’s you and another blogger, or you and another consultant. How can you handle someone else’s great idea?

Here are some possibilities.

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A few weeks ago, I had one of those sudden needs to run to the grocery store. I told myself that I just needed 1 thing – something like salad dressing, I think. Of course, as always happens, I ended up needing a cart, and I found myself wandering up and down each and every aisle. Normally this would not be a noteworthy event, but on this particular day, a voice came over the PA system and said, “If you want a free high quality paring knife, go over to the seafood section in 3 minutes.

Now, in reading Carol Roth’s Entrepreneur Equation, I have come to understand that I have a money sickness – I hate spending money. Because of this ailment, I am still using knives that I bought at the dollar store (I think) when I was in college. A free paring knife sounded awfully good. Of course, a presentation ensued. The man selling knives cut through metal. He cut tomatoes. He cut a hammer. What he really was doing was showing the value of what he was selling, which was a sharp knife. He emphasized that this knife would last a long time – more value. He emphasized the replacement policy – yet more value.

What is your true value? Are you a knife that can cut vegetables, or are you something more?

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