I REALLY LIKE SOCIAL MEDIA

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I really really like social media.  I know that this should come as no surprise, but I can’t quite get over how much Facebook, LinkedIn, & Twitter have enriched my life and broadened my friendships.

Recently I had a close friend take me aside and tell me she thought one of my posts on Facebook was a little too personal.  I thought about it and decided to ask my Facebook friends if they agreed.

I posted that I had received a massage at the Birmingham School of Massage.  I had lots of responses…more than you would ever imagine and thankfully everyone thought my post was okay.  Many of my friends were just darn right indignant that someone thought my post was too personal.  One friend wrote, “I am going to hear some static about this, but it is no more personal (and a lot more interesting) than hearing people go on and on about their religious beliefs or political views.”  Another wrote, “to those critics I say ‘bah hum bug,’ of course I’m keeping my language G-rated.”

I thought these and other responses were so funny and I really appreciated everyone taking up for me. Another post I made on Facebook was a poignant video showing an adult son losing patience and screaming at his father who was losing his memory. The video not only touched a nerve with me, but many of my friends.  I received several emotional comments, thanking me for the video, and suggesting that we as a society don’t treat our seniors with the respect they deserve.

I gain insights every day to my friends and feel closer to them thanks to social media.  This is David Sher, your e-networking guy saying its not what you know, but whOO you know.

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ARE FACEBOOK AND THE INTERNET GOOD OR BAD?

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She grimaced when she warned me of the risks of teenage girls being on Facebook.  I was attending a birthday party for my three year old grandson, Eric, in Atlanta.  The woman, who works with abused children, is a friend of my son.  She explained that older men get on Facebook, prepare a bogus profile pretending to be a teenage boy… gain the girl’s trust and make arrangements to meet…putting the girl at risk.  I guess this is what we see on Dateline NBC’s To Catch a Predator.  She said she would never allow her children on Facebook.

A few minutes earlier I had been talking with her husband.  He is a doctor who is currently doing some teaching at Emory Medical School.  He was telling me how the Internet has changed the teaching of medicine.  He said when students used to work in the emergency room; they would try to memorize the protocol for any given situation, but would have indexed pamphlets to look up information. 

 Now he says, the students whip out their cell phone, Google a question and are able to begin the treatment of the patient in less than five seconds. 

 So are Facebook and the Internet good or bad?  Well, the answer is obviously some of each. 

 Here I was visiting with friends and family 150 miles from home.  Much of my interactions and conversations were the result of us following one another on Facebook.  I’ve known my son’s friend, the doctor, since he was a little boy.  But only seeing him on occasion, what did we have in common? His first comment to me when we shook hands was, “I notice you are active in social media”…setting up our discussion. 

 I follow the pictures and postings of my daughter-in-law in Atlanta and her Mom who lives in Tampa.  I feel closer to both of them because of Facebook—and I imagine they feel a stronger connection to me.  That’s not a bad feeling.

 This is David Sher, your e-networking guy, saying it’s not what you know, but whOO you know.

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SOCIAL MEDIA–IT’S ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE

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I stepped into the shower at the YMCA after my morning swim.  There was an older gentleman there, probably in his early eighties, who I had seen at the Y from time to time.

He saw me walk in & said, “There’s this woman I see regularly in the pool.  She’s always so sad and wants to talk.  She tells me how lonely she is…that she lost her husband and has no one to speak with.  She then starts crying.  You can’t walk away.  You have to talk with her.”

Then he went on to tell me how important people are.  He said there’s nothing worse in life than being alone.  It was a sad conversation, but it reminded me the importance of making new friends and building relationships.

That is probably the primary reason I enjoy & appreciate social media.  I have friends I never would have had without LinkedIn, Facebook, & Twitter.    I share their joys, their disappointments, & their minor day to day problems.  I see pictures of their birthday parties, grandchildren, & happy occasions.

Many people tell me social media relationships are trivial & not relevant.  I disagree.  My partner, Phyllis Neill, found me on Twitter.  Last week I had lunch with a casual friend that had been strengthened through Facebook to try to help him work through his divorce.

Here are some amazing numbers.  It took radio 12 years to reach 50 million people; TV twelve years; the Internet five; the iPod 3 years.  And it took Facebook 9 months to reach 100 million people.

Facebook at the time of this post has more than 350 million members & is growing at the rate of five million members a week.  If it were a country, it would be the 3^rd largest in the world behind China & India.

Don’t underestimate the power of people.  And social media is all about people.  This is David Sher, your WeMentor guy, saying it’s not what you know, but whOO you know.

SOCIAL MEDIA–YOUR SURVIVAL DEPENDS ON IT

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I had lunch recently with a life long friend.  We hadn’t talked in a good while so it was great catching up. 

He asked what I was doing and I told him I was working with a partner, Phyllis Neill, to help companies make money using social media.  He didn’t have the foggiest idea what I was talking about.  So I set about explaining LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Blogs, you know, all the usual suspects.

I told him about writing a profile on LinkedIn, building up your connections, joining groups, answering questions.  I explained how he could make & build new relationships with Facebook, Twitter & blogs.  I was having the best time…when he stopped me in mid sentence.

 He said, “I know this sounds negative, but this looks like a lot of work & I don’t really don’t want to learn all this new stuff.” 

I had a quick flashback to my wife’s Mom who passed away a couple of years ago.  She lived in Florida & we’re in Birmingham.  My wife & I did everything in our power to try to educate her on using the computer & e-mail, but she resisted.  She kept saying, “I’m just too old.”

 Now, here I am, sitting across from a close friend who is actually a few years younger than me & he’s basically telling me the same thing.   

 My friend is a seasoned business person.  He has always learned & grown as times have changed.  Now here we are at the dawn of the biggest communications & business revolution since the introduction of the Internet, & he’s decided to give up.

 Social Media is not optional.  No one in business will survive without it.

 We will be invisible without the Internet.  No one will be able to find us on the Internet without social media.  This is David Sher your WeMentor Guy saying it’s not what you know, but whOO you know.

TWITTER ON LINKEDIN – A GOOD IDEA GONE BAD

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What a great idea.  Now you can automatically post your Tweets to LinkedIn & vice versa.  But this upgrade has made a real mess of viewing status updates on LinkedIn.

I get great value from LinkedIn.  I enjoy Facebook & play around with Twitter, but LinkedIn is the one social media platform that helps me every day in business. 

LinkedIn lets me tell my business contacts what’s going on with AmSher & WeMentor.  My LinkedIn posts talk about our company honors, successes, and achievements.

The LinkedIn status updates allow me quickly & easily to review my first line business connections to find out what’s going on with them.  I learn about contracts they’ve signed, speeches they are giving, & other significant business moments in their lives. 

Now, because LinkedIn allows you to send your Twitter updates automatically to LinkedIn, the LinkedIn status updates are composed of random Tweets that may or may not have anything to do with business.  Posts such as, “Don’t like your Facebook friends, blow them up with Star Wars Death Star,” or “My neighbor is giving away cute cuddly kittens, but John won’t let me get one.”  Or how about, “I woke up this morning with a hangover.”

These posts may be okay for Facebook & Twitter, but are a real nuisance on LinkedIn.

Everyone seems to want to make one single entry & post to all their social media sites.  But this is a terrible idea.  What is appropriate for one platform will make you look like a fool on the other.  This change certainly has watered down the value of LinkedIn. 

There are occasions when one post works everywhere, but not always.  Try to use good judgment when making your posts.  Remember, the idea is to make a good impression.  This is David Sher, your WeMentor guy, saying it’s not what you know, but whOO you know

THE BEST NETWORKING PLATFORM…NOT WHAT YOU THINK

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I walked into the board meeting of Operation New Birmingham…looked around the room and saw the usual suspects.  I’ve been on the ONB Board for a really long time so I know most everyone.  However, when I glanced towards the front of the room, I saw a man I’ve never met talking to the ONB President.

 I walked up and introduced myself.  He told me he was a banker who works for a large bank that had just taken over a bank headquartered in Alabama.   He told me about his banking career and the other banks he had worked.  We then exchanged business cards and sat down together.

 At the end of the meeting, he asked me about AmSher…he had obviously scanned my business card.  I told him about our company and then mentioned that we are currently doing work for the bank that his bank had taken over and hoped that his bank would continue to do business with us.

 He asked me to contact him so that we could discuss further.  I sent him an e-mail and we scheduled lunch.

 I’ve had so many good things happen for me and AmSher because of my community service.  When I review my current list of clients and prospects, most of them came from relationships that were developed through my volunteerism.  Our largest client came from someone I met at a Chamber of Commerce meeting.  Last week I got some business from a fellow board member of the City Action Partnership.

 This all makes sense.  You and other volunteers have a lot in common.  For sure, you have a passion for the same cause or organization.  People respect and appreciate your efforts, just like you appreciate and respect theirs.

 I love social media and I enjoy going to networking events, but community involvement, without doubt, gives you the best results.

 This is David Sher, your e-Networking guy, saying it’s not what you know, but whOO you know.

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DON’T BE A JERK

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He sat down next to me at lunch at the convention…a young fellow in his mid to late 20’s.  He pulled out two cell phones…one was an IPhone…and some other small high tech contraption.  I had never seen anything like it before, so I asked him, “What is that?”  He said it was a recorder that shoots videos and uploads them straight to YouTube.

 He asked me if I had an IPhone.  I said no, and showed him my Blackberry.  He asked if I texted.  I told him I didn’t text…that I thought it was a generational thing.  He said, and I quote, “the problem with you OLD people is you just don’t want to learn anything new.”  Then things got worse.  I told him I trained professionals & business owners on social media like LinkedIn & Facebook.  He told me no one is interested in that stuff because young folks like him were onto other things.  The speaker at the luncheon began his talk, so we didn’t talk further. 

 Compare my ill mannered table companion with the fellow who sat next to me at lunch the next day.  We introduced ourselves and had a wonderful time learning about each others businesses and families.  He told me he worked with financial consulting firms to build their practices.  This was a great coincidence since I serve on an advisory board of a financial consulting firm.  I was impressed with what he had to say and I promised I would put him in touch with the owner. 

 When I arrived home, I received an e-mail from someone I didn’t know.  He was friends with Bill, the financial guy I met earlier in the week.  Bill had recommended he contact me.  He was interested in hiring me for some training.

 Wow!  What a different outcome.  A condescending kid versus a really nice guy who knows how to build his business network.

 The lesson is you don’t know where your next customer is coming from…and it sure doesn’t pay to be a jerk. 

 This is David Sher, your eNetworking guy, saying it’s not what you know, but whoo you know.

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ARRIVE TEN MINUTES EARLY & STAY TEN MINUTES LATE

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I got to the meeting about ten minutes early and the first person I saw was a LinkedIn friend of mine. The reason I say a “LinkedIn friend” is he is a person I only sort of knew before I asked him to join my network on LinkedIn.   

 I talked to him for a few minutes and then he  introduced me to the fellow sitting next to him.

 We shook hands and he mentioned he was a practice administrator at a gastroenterology group located here in Birmingham. I wished he had worked in a different type of medical practice because I can never pronounce gastroenterology.

 At the end of the meeting, we had an opportunity to talk.  I told him I was with AmSher Collection Services, and I asked for permission to contact him about possibly doing some collection work.

 When I got back to my office, I sent him an e-mail and he responded saying it was okay for me to stay in touch.  By the way, this is how I have made most of my sales at AmSher—through introductions.

 My point is I never would have met the practice administrator if I hadn’t gotten to the meeting early and stayed a few minutes afterwards.   

 People oftentimes go to a meeting thinking that the purpose is the speaker or the information they’re going to get, when the purpose often is to meet other people.  So it’s a good idea to get to your meeting a little early and stay a few minutes late.

 This is David Sher your e-Networking guy saying it’s not what you know, but whOO you know.

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ETIQUETTE IS IMPORTANT ON LINKEDIN, FACEBOOK, & OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA

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I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was viewing an e-mail I received on LinkedIn. It’s the kind of LinkedIn e-mail I get on a regular basis, where one of my connections asks for an introduction.  I really enjoy helping people so making introductions is something I do regularly. I also ask for introductions myself—so it is something everyone expects.

 In any event, I was surprised to see that the request wasn’t for one introduction…it was for a lengthy list of introductions. Evidently, my friend had reviewed all his prospects and matched them against my LinkedIn connections.

 I think that’s a bit aggressive and over-the-line. It’s reasonable to ask someone to make an introduction every now and again, but certainly not to ask for a long list of introductions.

 The same individual, by the way, had run a status update on LinkedIn the previous day specifically asking for business. These are examples of bad etiquette.

 I also see people regularly breaking conventional etiquette on Facebook.  Facebook is primarily a social platform.  People mistakenly try to turn Facebook into a business generator.  Now, I feel its okay to do some business on Facebook if your postings are mainly social.  It’s also okay to do business on your business or fan page…since your friends can opt in or out.  Have you ever been to a Saturday night party and someone followed you around trying to do business with you?  Didn’t make you like them, did it?

 If you want to be successful with your social media relationships, it’s important to follow the appropriate etiquette.

 This is David Sher your e-Networking guy saying it’s not what you know, but whOO you know.

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LOVE AT FIRST TWEET

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This is not your typical love story because I have been happily married for 43 years.  It started in July with a notice from Twitter that I was being followed by Phyllis Neill, a woman I didn’t know…which certainly is not unusual for Twitter.

I quickly reviewed her profile and saw she was a business person living here in Birmingham, so I clicked to follow her.  Being curious, I then searched her LinkedIn profile & invited her into my network.

She quickly accepted & asked to meet for coffee.  The plot thickens. 

I met Phyllis at Starbucks in Vestavia & liked her instantly.  She was smart, aggressive, had a great deal of high level marketing experience, & was a social media wonder.  It dawned on me we could make a great team…so I popped the big question:  “How about becoming business partners?”

Now you may be asking how on our first date I could ask a stranger to consider a partnership.  Well, this is not as far fetched as it might seem.  By the time we met, I had done a great deal of Internet & social media due diligence on her.  I reviewed her LinkedIn profile; examined her work history, recommendations, connections—including our common connections; read her blog & I had Googled her.  I was not surprised she dominated her Google search pages. This woman was a find.

It didn’t happen that day, but Phyllis & I are now partners at WeMentor Social Media Marketing.  We help companies make money with social media. We wouldn’t have met without Twitter.  We wouldn’t have known each other without LinkedIn.  This is the true value of Social Media.  This is David Sher, your e-Networking guy saying it’s not what you know, but whOO you know.