How To Create Community Using Social Media
December 3, 2009
Alright I’m the first to admit that I thought Twitter was the most ridiculous thing in the world and completely irrelevant for my business. I remember saying to my colleagues, “Don’t even tell me about it!” I wrote it off as one of those Hollywood fads that was made for those who enjoy silly snippets of conversation.
But much to my complete surprise, social media forums like Twitter and Facebook have become a central pillar of my business communications. Who knew!
What I love about Twitter and Facebook is that we can now have conversations with just about anyone in the world, about anything. Personally I don’t write those posts that tell people what I’m having for breakfast or the fact that my dog just went out and “did potty.” But those aren’t things that I talk about anyway, so why would I post them on Twitter!
Many people get put off by these kinds of conversations but what I say to you is if you don’t enjoy those kinds of conversations, then find ones that you do enjoy. Seek out what is relevant and interesting to you and then start to connect. Now how do you do that?
Well if you’re like me I get overwhelmed easily by too much data and there is no way that I want to be reading 9 million status updates a day. So I just trust that wherever I land is where I’m meant to connect, or I search out certain types of people and start to follow them. But my personal secret to fulfillment in social media is that I make all of my connections very personal, or at least as much as I can.
I’m not an anonymous type person, so why should I want thousands of people following me that I don’t care about? I wouldn’t. As much as I can, I try to connect with people individually because that alone makes me feel like I’m building community.
Personal, individual contact is the key to feeling like you’re part of something. We all want to feel connected and we need to be part of the bigger human family, so I make that my personal goal rather than just racking up the numbers.
And I’ve had great success at this. I have a wonderful following both on Twitter and Facebook but more than that, I have built connections with interesting people from all over the world.
I’ve spoken on the phone to several that I met on Twitter and in a few weeks I will be hosting a special Radio Show with two wonderful storytelling colleagues from Barcelona, Spain whom I met on Twitter. Who would have ever thought!
So can you have fun and fulfillment on social media? The answer is yes. No it’s never as good as in person contact and obviously I don’t want to be dating this way or having all of my social life online, but hey, the bigger the global family the better.
Try it today and see if you aren’t Tweeting a Happy Tune sooner than you thought and if you need any tips, feel free to contact me!
Yours in building community connections,
Annie
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You Can Have Fun Tweeting on Twitter
October 10, 2009
You Can Have Fun Tweeting On Twitter!
Several times in the last few days a friend has contacted me and asked, “How are you using Twitter? You seem to be having so much fun.”
The answer is - I am having fun. Who knew this would be the case only 6 months ago when I began my foray into the world of social networking.
Last spring I took a marketing course for independent professionals. In the room with me were 25 cool folks who knew so much more than me in just about every area. I was intimidated. I have alot of expertise in certain areas, but marketing isn’t one of them. So I was feeling pretty overwhelmed.
I heard them all talking about the latest tools of technology I remember thinking, “That just not for me.”
But when the conversation got around to Twitter I just couldn’t hold back anymore and I burst out saying, “That is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. I will never ever be using Twitter.” I would be eating those words less than six months later.
I began using it because the people that I had made friends with in the course were using it with great success. Since they were all credible people, I got curious and decided to try it for myself.
I began slowly at first, not really having any idea what I was doing. I decided to just foray on my own instead of asking anyone how to do. I wanted to brave the wilds of Twitter by myself and discover how it could work for me.
It took me awhile to figure out what the heck I was doing but strangely I developed a good following within only a few months and they were really interesting and relevant people. How cool!
I didn’t let any porn stars follow me or any of the over-the-top-super-mega- marketers that aren’t providing anything useful. I decided that I wanted to build a network of people that I would be happy to know. That was a good decision on my part. I have enjoyed connecting with quite a few people in the Twitterverse.
I posted all my blog posts and even my Radio Show on Twitter and got a lot of traffic and many nice comments. People even wanted to talk to me and I got interviewed as a Story Expert from someone I met on Twitter!I was starting to have fun now.
My favorite moment came when I met two really special Storytellers from Barcelona - Eva and Carlos. We were kindred spirits for sure. Eva is a storyteller and fellow NLP trainer and Carlos is a filmmaker.
They are working on one of the first books for storytelling in Spain and we plan to see about collaborating. The funniest part of it is that when I built my blog I decided that I wanted to be available to work in Europe and I forgot that I had even put this out there but Eva noticed it and commented on that.
So here is my personal strategy, never before revealed, for having fun and making friends on Twitter:
- seek out and follow relevant people that you’d enjoy
- if someone follows you that looks interesting, check out their website and info and then send them a nice DM (direct message) and say hello
- be friendly and think of what you can do for others, rather than trying to push yourself or anything on them.
I like to treat people in the Twitterverse like real friends and community, not like potential sales targets. I think this has contributed most to my fun, enjoyment and fulfilling connections on Twitter.
This week I got the nicest message from Carlos. It said, “a special tweet to Anniesheart (my twitter name) for her sweetness and insight.” That took the Twitter cake!
If you should want to find my friends Carlos and Eva on Twitter, they’re at @imastranger (Carlos) and @ evasnijders (Eva). Tell them I sent you.
So my secret ingredient to happiness and success in the Twitterverse is to be yourself, reach out to others and have fun. See you on Twitter, @anniesheart.
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Living in A Loving World: Part 2
October 8, 2009
If you read my featured story this week, Living in a Loving World, you learned about my wonderful neighbor Dolores and how she looks out for me, my dog Miss Sweetie, my tomatoes and stops crime in our neighborhood. What a woman!
But here’s the news flash. This week Dolores protected my long-awaited yellow tomato from harm! I have been waiting all summer for the arrival of a single tomato from my plant. It has been a long wait.
And suddenly this past week my tomato was finally coming into readiness. I was eager to eat it for sure.
But yesterday we had a really big wind storm and it blew my tomato plant over and knocked my almost ripe tomato off the vine. Since it happened in the night, I wasn’t even aware of it.
But when I arrived home today, my wonderful neighbor peeked her head out of the window and told me that she had gone and saved my tomato and had it sitting on the bench in the sun, just waiting for me.
So thanks to my wonderful neighbor Dolores, my tomato was saved and I happily ate it for dinner! It was worth the wait.
It’s nice to live in loving and tomato filled world. Today see who you can bring a last summer tomato to for dinner.
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Featured Story: Living in a Loving World
October 4, 2009
Too often in this world we can feel alone and isolated. We need the power of connection in our lives to keep life feeling meaningful and alive.
This week I am highlighting the story of a person who truly makes a difference in my life; that is my wonderful neighbor Dolores.
Dolores doesn’t know that I am writing about her. She is in her eighties and has just gotten her first computer, so hopefully she can read this. She wouldn’t necessarily want me to write about her. She doesn’t really think that she’s doing anything special. But the love and caring that she contributes to my life makes a huge difference, especially because my family lives far away.
Dolores has taken it upon herself to look out for me. She doesn’t do that because she has to. She does it because it’s in her bones. She and I are both of Italian ancestry and we feel like “paisaini”.
S
he sits by her front widow alot and keeps an eye on the world. I want to make clear that Dolores is not nosy in the traditional sense, but she is interested. She keeps an eye on things and knows everyone in the neighborhood and their comings and goings.
I personally love this because it makes me feel safe in my home and looked out for. She calls me every few days if she hasn’t heard from me and says, “Are you ok, I haven’t heard you recently.” I love that. Too many people live alone and isolated and Dolores is always listening for me and my little dog Miss Sweetie to make sure we’re ok.
Now get this, Dolores doesn’t just look out for me and Miss Sweetie, but she also looks out for my tomatoes. That’s right she makes sure that no one steals my ripening tomatoes! I have been cultivating these darned tomatoes all summer and as a fellow Italian, she knows how important they are. So while I was away, she made sure that my tomatoes were intact. Gotta love that!
But speaking of stealing, here’s another amazing fact about my neighbor Dolores - she actually caught some robbers by looking out her window! Yes she did.
Several years ago, Dolores was sitting at where window when she saw a car pull up. Two young men got out with a big gym bag. They took out hard hats and put them on. Dolores thought that was suspicious so she got her little pad and paper that is always at the window with her, and wrote down the license number.
I too would have thought this suspicious, but I doubt I would have taken the smart steps that she did. But here’s the best part - when she later found out that there had been a bank robbery in town, she was able to provide police with the detailed information that let them catch the criminals. Isn’t that amazing!
Listen, if you’re lucky enough to have a neighbor like Dolores, you’re not only completely safe, but you’re also in the family. I wanted to offer her this tribute for all the ways that she looks out for me.
Today, think about someone who loves you in the background of your life, someone who is looking out for you. Go take them a tomato or have a conversation or in some way appreciate that this world is made of loving people - people like my neighbor Dolores.
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My Story Raw & Real: How My Friends Stood By Me
September 13, 2009
As I am nearing the end of this week committed to writing my stories raw and real, I am reflecting on all of the loving actions and words of people in my life and people that I’ve never even met. It has been very touching and inspiring and I thought that I’d share some of the highlights with you.
One of my favorite moments was a few days after this happened. My friend Jim called from church, but then he called again the next day to check up on me. Jim is like a brother to me and he was really concerned.
He said, “Annie, do you want me to take care of this for you?” I asked him what he meant. He said, “If you want we can go down to 37th and Haverford and find Ray Ray, Snooky and Lil’B.” I’ll tell them, ‘Hey you guys there’s this dude that messed with my sister and that’s not ok. NO ONE messes with my sister!”
I asked him where 37th and Haverford was and he said North Philly. But then I got curious. “Jim,” I said, “Is there really a Ray Ray, Snooky and Lil’ B?”
“There is now,” he said.
That got me laughing so hard that I nearly peed myself! I think that was the point. Jim knew that I wouldn’t really believe he had these three characters in his life, but it was his way of saying that he loves me, feels me as a sister and would do just about anything for me, including making up this ludicrous story. What a friend!
I also told you about my dear friend Leslie, the one who body hugged me. What I didn’t tell you was the story of how we got to that point. It was a near miracle. I went to Yoga that morning fearing that I would break down and cry the whole time. I didn’t but strangely when I came out of class, the receptionist said that she had a message for me.
My friend Leslie, who had been away the whole summer, had left a message saying, “Tell Annie I want her to come for tea.” But here’s the thing that’s mysterious about this. One - I never go to that Yoga class, so how did Leslie know I was there? Two - I didn’t even know she was back from her trip and three she never invites me just for tea!
So I knew it was a sign from God and within minutes of arriving at her house, I had told her the truth and she immediately jumped towards me and gave me a full body hug. It was amazing. I crumpled into her arms.
Right before that I had actually experienced someone backing away when I had told her my story. Sometimes people get really afraid of your pain, they fear they can’t handle it, like it’s too big for them and they back away. But Leslie stepped forward and embodied the care that I so desperately needed. That was the beginning of the healing. I needed to cry and I needed the physical support.
Last but not least I had wonderful emails from loving friends - some that I know and some that I’ve never met. A young woman, Anna from Facebook wrote and told me that she felt my stories were like the best cliffhanger that she had ever read and she was on the edge of her seat, waiting to know what was going to happen next. I loved that!
Others wrote to tell me that they admired my courage to tell the truth raw and real. I heard from Kristina, Elizabeth and Brian all of whom are wonderful people that I met on Twitter of all places. They’ve become friends through my blog and have shown me what a wonderful loving world it can be. :>)
And love came from Bea, Corey, Amy, David, Trish and Sue - friends from my professional network and my long-time buddy Dean who wrote to say that he felt my triumph of overcoming through my blog posts and admired my courage.
Of course my family supported me - my mother, sister, niece and all of my many friends who always believe in me no matter what.
I love you all. You’ve been amazing. You’ve taught me that a world of loving people exists and that even if I fall, I will be caught and held. I will hold you too. If you ever need me, I’m there for you too.
But be careful, should you cross me, I am going to send Ray Ray, Snooky and Lil’ B out to find you. Just kidding. I thought you’d enjoy knowing that my fiesty spirit is alive and intact.
I hope you’ve enjoyed sharing the journey. I will do one more post tomorrow and then lay this particular story to rest for now.
Love and peace my friends. Yours in story,
Annie
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