Saturday, October 10, 2009

Day 56 - Homecoming Tent City

The parade has passed by... rows of tents sit empty ... the football game is nearly ended. Yes, it's homecoming weekend at Murray State University - Go Racers!

Today, I volunteered at the West Kentucky Citizens for Health Care Reform booth. It was a lot soggier than I would have liked but also quite an enjoyable day. Amid the crowd were so many friends - from political committee co-members to yoga teachers, classmates to cast members, family friends to ex-coworkers and students. Yep. Everyone who is anyone was on hand today, braving some way-too-cool temperatures and an incredibly muddy fairground in support of the university. With my nose buried so deep in the books, I very nearly forgot how great the Murray/MSU community can be when it comes together.

In a fortuitous twist, I also made a fascinating new acquaintance. I enjoyed the distinct pleasure of speaking at length with a 2010 candidate for the US Senate
- Darlene Price. Enlightening. Check her out at: www.Darlene4Senate.com.

The Art of Blogging
Speaking of people with a purpose, I mentioned yesterday that I really wanted to use this blog to inform, entertain and motivate. Reasonable goals, don't you think? Yet, I have sometimes "chickened out" when it came to sharing anything too specific (or funny) that happened in a class (like the time a pregnant classmate went into labor in the middle of our Media Theory seminar). The same is true of many hilarious snippets of conversation I have overheard on campus. They would be fun to share here, yet I refrain from repeating gossip or taking anything out of context. (It's amazing how vocal some students are about their sex lives though. Sheesh!)

A little reticence is understandable. As a new blogger, I quickly became aware that whatever I do here will be available in the blogosphere - possibly forever. (Once you click publish, you can't take it back.) But maybe I could stand to loosen the reins a little.

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In social networking, it pays to be a rule breaker
Following all the rules is for sissies! So, don't be a social networking pansy. Have an opinion (in fact, have lots of opinions on everything) and voice them loud and often. People admire people with opinions even if they don't agree with them. They will often stick around just to see what happens. Social networking "experts" are quick to dispense a lot of rules (heck, I'm giving you one now), but the fact is that all this new media is so new that the best ways of blogging or networking or being on Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn, etc., have yet to be discovered. The only way to master the new social media is to take part in it - all of it. So go ahead. You can do it. Try the NEW stuff - and break a few rules. Step on a few toes. Try a number of different approaches. We're all in this media melee together. What works for one isn't necessarily going to work for everyone. But who says it has to?

How to Build a Following Using On-line Social Networks

Do you or your company have a blog or website? Are you trying to develop some sort of a following? The best way to do this is to 1) give your opinions, 2) entertain where possible and 3) always, always educate!

Network-Building Strategies:
- POLARIZE. Whether you anger people or make them love you, they will pay attention. If they are indifferent, they will leave!
- ENTERTAIN. People will always choose fun over education. However, when people laugh - they can also learn!
- TEACH. Your friends, co-workers, customers or other "peeps" always appreciate a good tip they can use right away. Share some of what you know. And, everyone knows something worth sharing!

"It's not what you gather in life, but what you
scatter in life that tells the kind of life
you've lived and the kind of person you are."
-Helen Walton


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2 comments:

  1. Loved the post. Do you have a twitter? Mine can be somewhat scandalous at times.

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  2. I am on Twitter - Follow me: @wordsmithetc
    I'll be sure to look you up!

    I don't have an iPhone so I only use Twitter on the desktop computer, which is not as much fun as far as I can tell. Tweet me sometime! The more scandalous the better!

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