Follow Friday: The Graceland Edition
One of the things that struck me about Elvis’ former home on our recent road trip through Tennessee was just how comfortable it looks.
Graceland’s certainly an imposing structure when seen from afar – or even the front. But once you get inside, the rooms aren’t vast and the furniture looks really comfy. It doesn’t look too much like a rock star’s home, unlike some of the mansions you see on Cribs; it looks like a place you’d want to hang out in.
So this week, I’m highlighting five of my Tweeps in the greater marketing communications community who aren’t just rock stars at what they do; but more importantly, they’re good, honest people whom I feel comfortable with.
1. Robin Lane (@robinhlane). I first came in contact with Robin a few years ago while she was still at Vocus, and have been a fan ever since. She’s an amazing PR professional but more than knowing the mechanics of the business inside out, she builds and maintains relationships.
2. Arik Hanson (@arikhanson). Arik and I started “talking” on Twitter, and finally met at BlogPotomac earlier this year. Boy, is he a nice guy! He knows who he is, but he won’t beat you over the head with it. And that’s saying a lot for someone of his caliber and standing in the community.
3. Leigh Fazzina (@leighfazzina). Will you look at this woman’s bio? My god, what a rock star! But what’s even more amazing about Leigh are her energy and generosity of spirit. Just looking at her avatar is a a pick-me-up.
4. Arun Rajagopal (@arun4). I don’t even remember how Arun and I came across each other, but he’s now one of my closest Twitter friends. He’s great at what he does – advertising – but he’s just FUN to talk to. And he cares; you can tell that from the minute you start talking to him.
5. Judy Gombita (@jgombita). As far as rock stars go, Judy’s at the stratospheric level. We could probably take everything the rest of us know and it would fit on her little finger. But the even greater thing about Judy is that she never lets you get lazy. She’ll challenge – and make you think – about everything you think you know.
There are many more Tweeps who give me immense value – these are just five of them. Even if you don’t work in the PR/MarComm areas, I believe you should get to know them. Because they’re like Graceland: imposing but oh so comfortable to be around.
Who’re your “Graceland” tweeps? I’d love to know.
Pinch Me. A “PR Readers’ Choice Blog Award”?
The one thing I never expected when I started this blog was for it to be nominated in an awards program. Blogging, in and of itself, is an adventure for me, and while I’m thrilled with the warm reception “Waxing UnLyrical” has received, I’m also humbled by it. After all, I don’t blog as regularly as all the gurus tell you you should; so the very fact that anyone reads this blog is quite a thrill.
One of the great advantages about being active on Twitter is the excellent PR and communications practitioners I’ve met through it. More than that, it exposes me to excellent blogs and posts and is truly a great learning experience.
One of the said practitioners is Arik Hanson, APR; so I’m really flattered that this teeny tiny blog has been nominated in the “most thought-provoking” category (there are four) in the PR Readers’ Choice Blog Awards. Several of the blogs I read on a daily basis, and whose authors I admire greatly, made the grade as well, such as Danny Brown, Shannon Paul, Bill Sledzik and Ryan Stephens. If birds of a feather flock together, I’m in great company.
So to whoever nominated me, thank you. While I personally think hell will freeze over before I win, I’d be tickled if you’d scoot over and vote for me. And if you’d rather vote for someone else – that’s fine too. Just vote!
Social Media, Social Karma
There’s an awful lot of social karma going around lately. 
JOTW: My First Experience With Social Karma
For the last few years, I’ve occasionally guest-edited the free “Ned’s Job of the Week” e-newsletter. If you don’t know about it, it’s a free weekly newsletter that lists job postings sent to Ned Lundquist, ABC, by subscribers (as well as many he finds himself) in the spirit of sharing.
For a couple of weeks every year, I experience what Ned goes through on a daily basis: sifting through job postings sent by readers, looking for them myself, telling people how to subscribe and unsubscribe (even though the instructions are clearly listed in the newsletter) and then compiling all the information, along with other announcements that would be relevant (such as communication/PR events) into a newsletter that’s sent out every Monday.
It’s a lot of work, and I’m exhausted and relieved when Ned returns; but I’m always grateful for the additional connections I make by filling in for him, as well as honored by his trust that I’ll keep JOTW rolling along.
And I always ask myself: how on earth does he keep doing it?
The answer is very simple: Ned believes in social karma. Or rather, as he puts it, JOTW is dedicated to the “positive, unanticipated consequences of nedworking.” And no, that’s not a typo.
Ned didn’t start publishing JOTW to get something out of it. He did it to help a few folk he knew, and figured he might – just might – help himself along the way. Since its inception with a handful of subscribers, JOTW has grown tremendously; at last count, there are more than 11,111 members of the JOTW network. It now has a home on the Web as well as advertisers and sponsors.
The WIIFM Factor
Is Ned getting something out of JOTW now? You bet. But that’s not why he started it, and not why he keeps it going, or why he keeps it free to subscribers. And that, in my opinion, is why he’s successful.
Mind you, all this started several years ago, way before “social media” became the “buzzphrase” it is today. But to me, Ned epitomizes the inherent karmic element of social media. If you send something good out to your world – with no expectation whatsoever – something good will come back to you.
Twitter and Social Karma
One of the reasons I love Twitter is that it’s a perfect platform for social karma. Want to know who can enrich your network? Head to #followfriday. Want to show someone some Twitter-love? Re-tweet something interesting they’ve shared.
And through Twitter, I’ve come across even more instances of social karma.
Mark Story, for example, has started #blogmonday, where he highlights bloggers who might not be very well known. Arik Hanson posts interviews with professionals he thinks are “PR Rockstars” on his blog. Heather Huhman provides a wealth of PR resources by tagging relevant posts with #PRadvice. And there are countless others.
As far as I know, Mark, Arik and Heather aren’t necessarily “getting” anything out of their efforts. But I’m pretty sure they are enhancing their reputations (don’t worry, I’m not going to get into the whole personal branding thing here), building their networks and sowing the seeds for “positive, unanticipated consequences” which will have a beneficial effect on their work.
What’s the Communications Angle?
The first thing that anyone – including the many “gurus” out there – will tell you about social media is that it’s about listening, connecting and sharing. Everything else comes later.
If you’re a professional communicator grappling with the amoebic nature of social media, try thinking of it as your path to social karma.
After all, our business is communication, right? Sharing information, educating and informing audiences and hopefully, at the end of the day, doing some good by using smart communications to help organizations (or clients) achieve their goals.
Listening, sharing, connecting – this is what we DO. Don’t get intimidated by the technology behind it, or the buzzwords that tend to change quicker than David and Dania.
Call me naïve, but I believe social karma is a large part of what we do for a living. Social media is just another way to get there.
What about you? Is social karma part of your approach to communications? Have you found social media has increased your social karma? If you want to give props to someone who does, a comment would be a lovely way to do so.
