Marketing Talk

For awhile now, I’ve been telling you my tale about how I finally got comfortable using Social Media sites. Well, for the most part. Along the way, I’ve passed on things that worked and things that didn’t.

However, I’m not the only one who has gone through these trials, tribulations, and successes. So, for the next several Mondays, you’re going to see a series called Your Social Media Journey. People from my community will be sharing their own stories of how they got used to Twitter, how they bore the frustrations of blogging, and what they learned along the way.

Hopefully, if you are struggling right now, these stories will stand as proof positive that we ALL have been there and it does get better.

The series kicks off tomorrow with my friend Stanford Smith from Pushing Social. Stay tuned! And if you want to offer your own tale to the series, let me know!

Image by Chris Coglietti. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/Marsau

Have you noticed that Lady Gaga’s name is constantly paired with Madonna’s in the news? In fact, if you Google the two names together you get a funny range of results, from “Madonna says she’s very flattered” to “Madonna says Lady Gaga is a copycat.” You have people who claim that Lady Gaga is too original to be imitating anyone, and you have people who claim that Gaga’ s hit Alexjandro is a mix of Madonna’s Vogue and Like A Prayer.

Is imitation really the finest form of flattery?

This whole Madonna/Lady Gaga dynamic got me thinking about this crazy Social Media world. One perpetual fear that haunts bloggers is, “Oh man, someone has probably blogged about this all before.” And yet, a lot of bloggers spend a lot of time offering insights on how they blog, how they get inspiration, how they approach their craft, and how they do a lot of other things successfully. Is it really any wonder that a lot of the same material pops up here and there? Is that a bad thing? Then again, the line between “being inspired by” and “stealing from” can get just as blurry online as it can in the music world.

What’s a blogger to do?

Put on your meat dress and get to gettin’

It’s entirely possible that Lady Gaga purposefully incorporated Madonna-esque elements into her work. The comparisons were already there. Madonna was successful. And hey, there are only so many riffs out there. So what? The fact is that while Lady Gaga may borrow things from Madonna, not to mention other musicians, she is her own entity, and she has put her own twist on pop culture icon.

You can do the same thing in the blogosophere.

I have written on topics directly inspired by other people who blogged on the same topic from a different angle. I’ve linked to peoples’ posts. I’ve even argued with peoples’ posts in my own blog posts. But in the end, the resulting post was mine. My voice, my spin. You can show your influence without being a carbon copy. Heck, that’s how the whole music industry grew and evolved. You think Mick Jagger was accused of being a copycat when he emulated Muddy Waters?

I think not.

Bow to Madonna, remain Lady Gaga

How can you show your influences in your blog posts without worrying about seeming like a copycat? Here are some ideas.

• If you are responding directly to a post or are inspired by a post, include a link within your post to that person’s part of the conversation. This shows your readers that you are purposefully riffing on something that has been riffed on before.

• Absorb advice in this space the same way you learn the alphabet. Everyone learns their ABCs, but boy do we end up doing different things with those letters.

• Don’t cover topics that don’t fit with your mission, even if the topic seems to be doing well for another blogger. Be true to your identity and objectives. Abandoning your purpose for a few more tweets is a sure way to get people mad at you.

• Give credit where credit is due. If you find that you’re having luck with a certain approach or topic that someone else trail-blazed before you, say so. Call that person your muse. Call them your inspiration. Again, let people know that you’re aware of what is influencing you. This allows you to highlight how you are making it your own.

• For more ideas on how to channel Lady Gaga, check out my pal Stanford’s post called Lady Gaga’s 8-point guide to larger than life blogging. It’s an amazing chain of thoughts he has in there.

Are you in touch with your inner Lady Gaga?

Are you building on the resources around you while holding true to your own unique personality, voice, and mission? Are you worried that you might be straying too much towards those who have gone before?

Would Madonna be flattered or would she call you a copycat?

And most importantly, how can I help?

Over the last few days, there has been a lot of hubub (technical term) about Ricky Gervais and his hosting of the 2011 Golden Globes. Among the responses I’ve heard:

“Career ending performance”

“Went overboard”

“Inappropriate”

Now, I love me my Ricky Gervais. I just do. But when I heard that he was being asked to host the Golden Globes for the second year in a row, I was kind of surprised. I still remember him hosting the 2010 Golden Globes, and even I shifted uncomfortably in my seat on a few jokes he told. They must have known that he wasn’t going to go easy on people this time around. Still, I wanted to see what the ruckus was about, so I found his opening monologue on YouTube and watched it. All 5 minutes of it.

It was a big dose of truth more than anything else.

The problem is that sometimes people don’t like hearing the truth, especially when it is passed on in a comedic way with the intent of making people laugh. But let’s face it – Charlie Sheen did completely trash a hotel, on a Monday, with a prostitute locked in his room. Hugh Heffner is marrying a 24-year-old and he is 84. The women in Sex and the City are no longer 17. These are just plain facts of life.

The truth online

The Ricky Gervais controversy is interesting when viewed through a Social Media prism. In the online world, it seems easy to call a duck a duck. After all, unlike Gervais, we do not have to see looks of horror as we act out. We do not have to hear the gasps, nor do we often have to see criticisms of our behavior wherein our careers are consigned to the nether-regions. We can tout our desire to tell the truth and to call a duck a duck, but we don’t have to bear the ramifications of that kind of shocking truth-telling.

Humans are squishy, even if you don’t see them

Do you think Ricky Gervais would be under so much fire if he had done his act in a small night club? If it was played on HBO? If it was somehow worked into a television show? I highly doubt it. In fact, I’d wager that a lot of people would be proclaiming him “bitterly hilarious” or something like that. So what is it that people find so bothersome about Gervais’ Golden Globes performance? You want to know the truth?

I think people are envious of his bravery. And I think they’re a little freaked out.

After all, who doesn’t make fun of Hollywood stars and Hollywood movies? We just don’t do it to anyone’s face. In their faces.

It’s something to think about before you hit “publish” on a post that is aiming to spill some “truth” about a person. Would you walk up to him and say it to his face? Would you say what you’re about to send out into the world to that person’s mom or dad, or their spouse, or their kids? If you wouldn’t, should you send out those nuggets of truth while crossing your fingers that nobody involved actually reads them? What if someone you’re targeting does read your post? You won’t have to see their reaction. You won’t have to hear it. In this way, blogs and online communication platforms can be compared to atomic bombs. You push the button and you move on with your day. The results are not on your radar. But they are there.

Is that a better way to go?

What do you think?

What’s your take on this whole Ricky Gervais thing? What’s your take on the online truth-teller? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Image by Gölin Doorneweerd – Swijnenburg. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/babykrul

I always hate generalizations, but generally speaking, there are three kinds of posts that tend to do really well in the world of Social Media. The first is the super personal, “Uh, do I know you well enough to be reading this?” post. The second is the “I call BS on…” post. The third is “I’m calling out this person” post.

Now the super personal posts are fine, and in fact a lot of them have a lot of merit. It’s honorable to courageously tell your story so that you can shine a light on a problem or give courage to others who are struggling along with you. It makes sense that these posts get a lot of comments and tweets. Post number two usually does well for two reasons. There are a lot of people who say “Heck yeah” and there are a lot of people who say, “Um, what on EARTH are you talking about?” Then they call BS on each other in the comments section. Basically, it’s the same dynamic in post type number three.

I feel like the “calling out” posts are creating little black holes in the fabric of my Social Media universe. You see, here’s the thing. We all have this great power, right? I mean, when on earth have you ever had 500 people “following” you? What about even more people than that? It’s crazy the amount of “amplification” (to use Klout’s term) that we all have online. The thing constantly nagging at me is, “OK, so I have this ability to reach a lot of people. How can I use this to make the world better?” Because woah, there are so many people who would really love a roof over their heads, not to mention a computer to blog on.

I haven’t thought of a really good way to use my voice to help the homeless or the starving yet, but until I figure that out, I figure I can at least use my time online to make little differences. I can spread a little love. If I can create a smile or ease a burden (like telling someone what #FF means in Twitter world) then that’s a great day.

Just in case you are in my hippie dippie camp, I thought I would share some ways that I like to go about spreading the sunshine online. This is stuff that doesn’t really get you a lot of comments or notoriety. It’s just an alternative to the daily grind of “rah rah I’m going to beat you up with my evil typing” stuff.

1. If you’re running a little low on blog topics, write a post about a person you feel is really doing a great job. Or heck, write a post about a bunch of people. I had so much fun writing my “Social Media All Start Team” post because I got to spotlight a ton of really great people.

2. Comment, with a real comment, on someone’s post – on a blog you’ve never commented on before.  You know what a rush it is to get a thoroughly thought-out comment on one of your works of art. Do that for someone else.

3. Introduce two people to each other whom you just know will get along. Whether or not you opt to use Hashable, it’s a real joy to scan your Twitter stream and think, “Oh, I’ll bet those 2 could talk to each other for hours.”

4. Tweet out a link to a post for someone who doesn’t get a lot of blog traffic. It’s like handing someone a bag of gold.

5. Compliment someone out of the blue. I find that this always turns people into complete mush, which is really fun to do.

6. Answer a question that’s really bugging someone. Not long ago, I was having a bear of a time trying to figure out how to add a bit of design to my site. The rush of help from very kind people I didn’t know that well was amazing.

7. Ask people how they are. It seems so basic. In fact, it seems so basic that we almost never do it. I do this especially if I see someone floating by in my Twitter stream whom I haven’t spoken to in awhile. It’s like running into someone at the grocery store. Except there aren’t cold cuts around.

8. Come to someone’s rescue. This can be risky, because you don’t want to get caught up in a big, well, I think the technical term is “hoopty doodle.” But if you see that someone is getting picked on or harassed, at the very least send them a direct message and say, “Hey, do you need help out there?” We all love knights in shining armor, but seldom see them.

9. Invite someone to guest post on your blog. We all feel that our blogs are sacred ground, and our readers probably know we feel that way. With that in mind, tapping someone on the shoulder and saying “Hey, do you want to use my platform?” is a GREAT way to spread the love.

Those are 9 ways that I try to spread the love in my Social Media community.

What’s number ten? You tell me. What can or do you do to make the online world a little brighter?

This is the first in a series of posts from Facebook expert Tommy Walker. Tommy not only understands the intricacies of using Facebook for business, but he also can explain things so that other people can make use of Facebook and succeed. Visit with Tommy on Twitter at @tommyismyname.

My friend, Rufus “the dog,” invited me to participate in the #letsblogoff project. Today’s topic is “What is creativity?” No small order to tackle this topic!

Oddly enough, a related question has been running through my head in regards to blogging. I’ve been reading Richard Branson’s “Business Stripped Bare.” He talks about how in the first days of Virgin Records, he bought a manor in the country, turned it into a studio, and it became a creative haven for Virgin musicians. They could really indulge in the creative process, let loose when they were done working, and then go right back into work when the mood was right.

It got me thinking about how I think a lot of us blog. At its heart, blogging should be considered an art – something born of creativity. But do we approach blogging that way? I started thinking about my mode of blogging. I don’t light candles, turn on relaxing music, get a nice cup of tea, and luxuriate in the experience of blogging. I sit down and say, “OK, how many of these ideas can I get written down?”

Is it the same for you? We become producers, not artists, right?

So what is creativity? To me, creativity is not just the act of creating, but it is luxuriating in the ability to do so. It is putting fingers to keyboard, pen to paper, paint to canvas, voice to guitar because you just have to. It is expression without thought of ramifications.

And it’s exceedingly rare.

What do you think? How do you define creativity?

Image credit: http://www.sxc.hu/profile/arte_ram