social media

The Difference Between Heaven and Hell in Social Media

This is a guest post from John Haydon. John is a guy of many talents. He’s a teacher, a learner, a singer, a comedian with a very dry wit and one of the nicest guys you could meet.

He’s also a damn fine blogger and the Blogger Outreach partner for 12for12k. I’m delighted to have John here today.

An ancient Buddhist parable involves a young Zen monk asking his teacher about the difference between Heaven and Hell.

His teacher replies, “Both Heaven and Hell have an expansive dining hall with a steamy vat of noodle soup at the center of the hall. The soup smells delicious and everyone has equal access to the soup. The strange thing is that each diner has to eat this soup with chopsticks that are 4-feet long.”

Puzzled, the young monk asks, “So, if both Heaven and Hell have this huge dining hall with this great soup and these strangely long chopsticks, then aren’t they the same?”

The teacher replies, “Yes, they appear to be the same. But how the diners eat is the critical difference.”

“How’s that?” asks the student.

“In Hell, everyone starves because no matter how hard they try, they can’t get the noodles into their mouths. The chopsticks are too long.

“In Heaven, each diner feeds the person sitting across from them at the dinning room table. Everyone is happy and eats to their hearts content.”

How does this relate to social media?

Understanding technology is important. Twitter’s potential is lost if all you do is post what’s new with you, just like long chopsticks aren’t placed at tables for one.
Giving to others nourishes our souls, just like feeding each other brings joy and full bellies. Supporting other people’s agendas with social media has surprising and immeasurable business value.
Everything works better if you put them together, like the two pairs of chopsticks work by feeding each other. There is no “Twitter or Facebook?”, only “Twitter and Facebook.”
Are you ready for another bite? There is a very good reason that Listening is the very first step in most social media strategies. Why boil more Spaghetti when all along they wanted Soba?

And finally:

There is enough noodle soup for everyone.

John Haydon does social media strategy and training for non-profits and small businesses. He is also a songwriter and a father to a 5-year old boy. You can find out more by subscribing to his blog or connecting with John on Twitter.

Ten Green Bottles

The phrase “drinking from the Kool Aid” is a strange one. Originating from a cult mass suicide, it’s also used to describe belief in perspective. I still can’t decide whether I’m a fan of the term or not, but that’s neither here nor there.

Either way, if I was to drink from the Kool Aid and share with you, here are ten bottles of Kool Aid that would fill your creative juice needs anytime. I hope you enjoy.

Gary Vaynerchuck Can’t Help You. Great post from Seth Simonds about why change will only happen if we make the change for ourselves. Inspirational.
How to Be a Social Media Expert – Chop Lettuce. This post from Scott Hepburn is actually the inspiration for this one. An insightful look at what it means to share and be informative to your community.
Have You Ever Gotten On the Escalator and Stopped Walking? We live in a fast-paced world that shows no sign of slowing. Tim Jahn offers a reason for stopping and breathing in the air.
Is Your Business Boring You? From time to time we all lose heart in a project. Although this is aimed at small businesses, Frank Reed gives us encouragement to get enthused again.
The Beauty in Simple Stories. Oftentimes we make things more complicated than they need to be. Chris Brogan reminds us why simple is just as effective – short and sweet.
What is Your Blog’s Bigger Idea? One of the stumbling blocks to people and businesses taking up blogging is the question of value. Here Mack Collier suggests how to offer just that.
My Pitch Log Mashup, Vol. 3. Finding what tools and services to check out can take time. Which is why this series from Jason Falls is the perfect lunch-time treat for all the latest goodies.
Tao of Marketing – Doing More With Less. When something is recommended by Maria Reyes-McDavies, it’s worth looking into. Here’s why.
Leadership Fail. Just as Barack Obama inspires confidence in leadership, you’ll always get the flip side of poor leadership. Drew Weaver gives us a prime example.
49 Amazing Social Media, Web 2.0 and Internet Stats. You like figures? You like lists? You like all things social media and more? Then Adam Singer is your man.

Hopefully I’ve satiated your thirst with these drinks. But now I’m thirsty. So, what would you suggest I drink – any recommendations?

photo credit: Vicki & Chuck Rogers

Discussing Social Media with… Sonny Gill

A little while back, I sent out a request via Twitter asking if anyone would be interested in being interviewed for a discussion on social media.

With the medium meaning so many different things to so many people, as well as how it can be used, I was interested to hear the views of the people I connect with.

My original plan was to run a ?round table? style of blog post – raise the questions and then have a mix of views as the responses. However, the answers I received back were all excellent, and showed why social media is the mix of interesting people and views that it is. So, I decided individual posts would be far more effective in an on-going series of interviews.

Sharing his views today is social media strategist Sonny Gill. His work emphasizes community-centric strategies through the use of social media. My sincere thanks to Sonny for taking the time to reply and share his views. To connect with Sonny or find out more about him, please visit his social media blog or connect with Sonny on Twitter.

If someone was to ask you for your definition of social media, what would it be?

Ah, the elusive answer that many of us seek! Well, here?s my personal definition: Social Media is the new technological means that help us build, enhance and grow our communications channels, as well as our relationships ? online and offline.

What is your reason for using social media?

Community ? simple as that. I was intrigued by the medium a few years back as I became acclimated with the space by reading some of the top blogs in the industry. I was amazed at how a group of people, that you may or may not know, actually cared about what you had to say.

I?ve always been a marketing nerd at heart but the possibilities with implementing social media into the mix were endless ? but more importantly, it gave me a place where I could better connect with people and actually build relationships with them.

Do you feel that social media is being used to its maximum effect?

Not at all. We all have helped pave the road to get SM to where it is today, but there?s an even longer road ahead. That road consists of further education to clients, executives, naysayers ? those who don?t understand how it can benefit their company but more so, who brush it off as a fad or a shiny new toy. It?s more than that and it?s our responsibility to prove them wrong. I think we all should keep this in mind as we move forward in this industry.

What social media tools or applications do you use? Why these ones in particular?

I can usually be found on Twitter for the better part of the day, along with Facebook and LinkedIn. Twitter is my original social media stomping ground. It?s where I first ?got it? and it?s where I?ve been able to connect with hundreds of people that I would not even had the chance to speak with otherwise.

Facebook has always been a safe haven for me and my personal friends that I grew up with or went to college with. Now, it?s kind of shifted into both personal & professional as I connect with people from my other networks and further build our relationship there while having the ability to share media (pictures, video) easier than I would on Twitter.

Lastly, LinkedIn is a site that I?ve always praised and hope that all my close friends and colleagues actively utilize. It?s your online resume, your background check for potential employers or clients, your own research tool. I connect with colleagues, old and new, as well as friends. I never know who I may need to know for that next pitch or possibly for that next employer ? staying connected gives me a greater chance for an introduction, for myself or for a friend or colleague that?s in the same boat.

Where do you see the future of social media, both in general and for you?

I think 2009 will bring SM to the forefront of marketing and communication strategies across many industries. The economic times is a sometimes overworked topic but one that can be addressed with social media, as there?s low monetary cost, though makes up for with the soft-cost of time.

For myself, I see social media further expanding my knowledge in the industry and in marketing as a whole. The great thing about SM is that everyone is willing to help, grow and learn with you. There are no limitations in this industry, as it?s all a matter of how hungry you are. Personally, I hope to utilize the skills I?ve learned and implemented within SM to hone my skills into a role where I can help a company maximize their potential, by tapping into what?s most important to their business ? the people.

Are businesses effectively using social media? If not, what can they do to improve?

Some are but most don?t get it, yet. With all its glitz and glamour, social media is still slowly being adopted by the corporate world. They?re getting their feet wet as some are on Twitter or have started a blog.

What misses the boat though is how they?re conversing with their community and the amount of time they?re putting forth.

First thing for them to understand is that social media is an extension of their current strategy, which needs to be understood throughout the entire company?s culture, as it?s not an end-all or going to save a failing strategy.

Listening and then communicating with your company?s community is a great initial step but use social media to help your community, not the other way around. This topic could definitely go into an entire post of its own but listening and learning is a good start for businesses to improve their use of social media.

What do you feel are the best and worst features/uses of social media?

I think by far the worst use of social media is the implementation of an MLM (multi-level marketing) strategy through Twitter. These tactics guarantee a massive amount of followers but what then? They fail to realize the time and effort aspect of social media and that it takes a lot of both to connect and build relationships, not numbers. They?re not utilizing Twitter for the benefit of conversation or relationships; they?re using it to get tons of followers.

Though this is one of the worst uses of SM that I?ve personally seen, it?s not something that?s sustainable. It?s easily seen / avoidable and the people who?ve done it will soon realize that there?s nothing more to their communities, than numbers, when there?s no substance behind it.

photo credit: Matt Hamm

You can find more ?Discussing Social Media with?? interviews here.

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