Hi…yeah – is Bullshit in? No, It’s okay. I’ll hold.

Bullshit always keeps you on hold, doesn’t it?

The lines of communication propriety have become inarguably blurred by technology. I addressed this awhile back in a diatribe/personal memoir on online stalking, but think it bears repeating in a slappier tone. So let me rack my Bitch Slapping hand like a shotgun and say this:

Our audacity is blinding.

The social web is a brilliant tool. If used wisely, it offers greater insight into those people who matter to us most. Friends, family, colleagues, customers and clients all now have the opportunity to share their lives to any degree they see fit – from conspicuous absence to annoying overshare and every iteration in between. But here’s the rub: just because you can see someone online doesn’t mean you know them. And it certainly doesn’t mean you have access to them.

I don’t know about you, but the level of faux-social intimacy bullshit I deal with every day is astronomical. There’s nothing I adore more than a personal note from a reader or having the opportunity to answer a question for anyone who asks, but my social networks are becoming overrun with people who think they know me. Well, ya don’t. Here’s what you know about Erika: the persona. There are a select group of people in the Inner Sanctum, the ‘hood. But the rest? You’re standing outside singing “How Much is That Doggie in the Window?” and looking at an Irish Setter.

I know I’m not the only one who deals with this, so before I go from Erika to see-you-next-Tuesday in five paragraphs flat, let’s get to some common sense rules for the social web. These are my rules and perhaps not yours, but I think much of it is common sense. Let’s take a spin on the Train to Communication Propriety and stop this epically fucked devolutionary process back to knuckle dragging Neanderthals that club Jane on the head and drag her back into the cave so we can sneak a look at her Facebook profile when no one’s looking.

Text Messaging

If you get someone’s phone number, that’s a pretty coveted thing these days. Don’t blow up their phone with multi-part text messages. If it takes more than two texts to get your point across, pick up the goddamn phone and have a 30-second conversation. For fuck sake, if your fingers work to text, they work to dial. And yes, I am occasionally just as guilty of this as anyone else. Texts are great for where are you, what time, which brand of ketchup do you want? queries, but they suck ass for dialogue. Dial. The. Phone.

Facebook Profiles

I’ve been pretty lax with this but that’s about to change. My personal Facebook profile is for my family and friends. If I haven’t met you IRL (In Real Life), do you really need to see the pics of me and my girlfriends having dinner? No. Because that’s personal and requires a certain level of intimacy. I love connecting with my readers and hearing their stories and truly respect anyone who sends me a friend request with a clarification on how I know them. Just ask one of my besties, Merredith – I’d met her at a conference and was knee deep in shit, couldn’t remember and even denied HER friend request on Facebook. Alas, I’ve also now spent last Thanksgiving and Christmas at her family’s house. I also know quite a few people who use their personal Facebook profiles for their business colleagues and communications as well. That’s fine. That’s your decision.

But the moral is this: understand what you’re doing. Think about what you’re asking when you click “Add to Friends” on Facebook. It’s a pretty big level of ask. It’s not just a button. I built a Facebook Fan Page so people could reach Erika without seeing the things that really aren’t quite their business. And the same goes for you – you probably don’t think I need to see the pictures of your daughter’s birthday party or your brand of political rants. If someone you see online offers a link to their Fan Page on their blog, but not a link to their personal profile (ahem…coughs…points), maybe there’s a reason. It’s pretty audacious to ask to be let into someone’s personal life. Just think of who you’d let inside the front door of your house – any yahoo selling magazines or the person you share three yoga classes and carpools with each week? Methinks yoga person wins out.

Relationships Are Earned

This digital access we enjoy – it makes things way too easy. With a Google search, we can find most anyone and the only way to avoid being found is to stop putting it out there. But we should never forget that relationships are earned. Just as flinging a business card at someone doesn’t mean you’ll get them as a client, seeing someone online doesn’t mean you know them. Relationships built over the social web take time and nurturing, just as with any in-person relationship. Why should anyone “be your friend” after exchanging a few blog comments or tweets? After shaking your hand at a conference? I think a good rule of thumb is this: if you’d invite the person to a dinner party where you could only have 20 guests, would you invite them? Granted, the parties are different for both business and your personal life – you have to be the one who decides the boundaries – but we only have so much bandwidth.

Use your bandwidth wisely. Take the time to bask in deeper relationships instead of skipping rock after rock across the surface of human interaction. Stop collecting people in your personal life. In my eyes, I need a select group of incredible relationships, not a plethora of mediocre ones that detract from the time I can spend on the ones I truly want to nurture.

The Desire to Connect – Go Forth and Don’t Be a Douche

We want to feel connected and now we have all of these buttons (Like, Digg, Stumble, Reddit, Add to Friends, Follow, Buy) that give the illusion of connection – but how are we truly connected? When the shit goes down (as it has on this blog), who’s going to be there and have your back? Who’s going to notice if you’re gone?

More importantly – who will YOU notice when they’re gone and reach out to help when needs must?

My readers – you – you’re the reason I get to do what I love. You make me laugh, you’ve been there when all hell’s broken loose. And many of you have come to be my friends and I hope I get to meet each of you one day. I never expected to be invited to your weddings and I don’t know your parents. I only know the persona – what you choose to share with me. And I respect that. How can we change the culture of People Collecting into one where we keep building relationships, but on different levels? I treasure that I’ve earned each of you coming back, post after post. I wouldn’t trade that for the world. But no offense – I don’t really need you to listen in while I chat with my mom, y’know?

So, you’ve been slapped. And I have, too. Enough with the over-asking and false senses of familiarity because a button says we can have it with a click. It’s time for me to rethink just clicking a button and consider what those clicks mean. I tell my clients all the time: it’s not how many fans you have on the boat – it’s how many who would jump in to save you when the shit goes down. Even the Titanic had a max capacity, y’know?

My points of contention? Let’s see:

• Random population of anyone’s “title” into the email. Total fail. Kinda like a Twitter auto DM.
• The assumption that anyone requesting a connection with me would have an answer for any question of mine.
• The assumption that their answers would be “high-quality.”
• The fact that I’m going to show you your erroneous thinking in one image.

Sometimes fields that are auto-populated are not such a good idea. After all – if Old Spice can make it personal, so can LinkedIn.

Special thanks to @jodiontheweb for her quick hand at Photoshop today.

Such is the way with asshats and defending your honor. I run into the same situation repeatedly, and this week, I’m taking aim.

I spend an inordinate amount of time hanging out and chatting with folks just like me – consultants. Small business owners. The fact that we’re not of epic proportion doesn’t mean we don’t bring value – it just means we foot the bill for our own health insurance. But there are people in my own backyard that ooze their smarm and I’m sick of it.

Check out this dude. According to his LinkedIn profile, he’s been an “expert” on LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter since 1990.

Ummm…Yeah. Here’s the thing: YouTube was launched in 2005, LinkedIn launched in 2003 and Twitter in 2006.

He’s keyword stuffing, obviously, but it reeks of douche-tastic overtones.

This guy is in my own backyard here in Denver, Colorado. Ew, ew, ew. If you’re going to put yourself out there as a LinkedIn and social media expert, Mike – can I give you a few tips?

• Do your research and don’t establish yourself as an expert in a field before the field or platform…even existed.
• Don’t have a Twitter stream that filled with 90% broadcast-only messaging. Twitter and social media are places for conversations. Or do you charge people for that tasty nugget of knowledge?
• It’s awesome you’ve “figured out” LinkedIn and self-published a book on the subject. After reading your profile, I”m tempted to self-publish a book on the top 10 worst LinkedIn profiles with yours at the top as an example of self-indulgent keyword stuffing in bogus job fields. Fail, my good man. Fail.
• Really – you charge between $1,500 and $10,000 to show folks how to set up social media profiles, a basic WordPress blog (kinda like yours here, hosted ON WordPress.com?), and create Twitter & Facebook pages? Holy hell. Remind me to raise my prices, m’kay?

The reality is this: these people exist. How do you defend your honor against the asshats? Here are a few tips:

• References. If you’re like me and the identity of your clients is often confidential, let your prospective clients know that and offer to connect them with your clients confidentially.
• Best Practices. Follow them. Don’t be an expert – be a continual and willing student. Social media is a slippery slope and the best you can do is develop a solid knowledge base that’s going to morph (and delightfully so) with every footstep.
• Know Who You Are. You’re not going to be everything to everyone. Align yourself with those who cook what you can’t.
• Know Your Shit. In the end, only you can win a client. Clients will buy what they’re willing to be sold. I get clients day in, day out who were sold a bill of goods and then realize things aren’t working. I understand. It’s then we get to work setting them in the right direction.

There is no business that’s purely a number game. Twitter followers, Facebook fans, LinkedIn connections…they’re numbers, pure and simple. What you choose to DO with your network is one thing. How you choose to BUILD it is another. And here’s a hint – if you don’t do one of them properly, then the time you spent on the other is worth…well, jack.

PS: Check out an excellent read about competitors by @ShellyKramer – because really, Mike – I don’t want you to change a thing.

Have an outrageous Monday!

I'm keeping it separated...more sage advice from The Offspring

The circle of life is complete. LinkedIn and Twitter struck a deal this week to offer LinkedIn users the ability to have their status updates on that network tweeted. How you say? If you haven’t visited your LinkedIn profile lately, click on Edit My Profile and right under Websites, you’ll see a section where you can now add a Twitter Profile.

It’s a relationship that swings both ways.

Twitter to LinkedIn

• Include all updates from Twitter on your LinkedIn profile
• Include only those tweets with the tag #in

LinkedIn to Twitter

• Check the Twitter icon box next to your status update each time you update your LinkedIn status
• Read this FAQ from LinkedIn for more details

It sounds dirty, but I’m keeping my LinkedIn out of my Twitter.

While I don’t argue that there’s value in linking your social networks, my LinkedIn is a separate animal from any of my other social networks. It is my resume, my legacy and my history. It is my clients, past colleagues and nitpicky details. While is it laden with my snarky personality (as that is my professional persona as well), I have built it solely as a landing page for potential clients and professional connections. While some of those connections cross over into other networks, I never wanted that to be the case.

If you’re considering using LinkedIn and Twitter for cross-sharing of status updates, consider this: there are no two social networks that should be used in exactly the same way.

If you treat your LinkedIn like your Facebook, that’s not making optimal use of either platform’s potential to grow your sphere of influence.

If you treat your Twitter account like your LinkedIn profile, you’re missing the boat as well.

I’ve always felt that Twitter, when used properly, is an ongoing dialogue. It’s a conversation that changes every day yet with an overwhelming sense of familiarity if you do it right. LinkedIn isn’t built for “conversing.” It’s built for sharing professional knowledge. Aside from the Q&A sections (on which I frequently participate) and messaging/introduction features, it’s a “broadcast-only” network. Sure, you can use any number of “plugins” to share your blogs and SlideShare shows, but I’ll hold fast that it’s not really an outlet I’ll use to enhance my Twitter stream or vice versa.

I’m curious about your thoughts. Twitter’s been digging forever for monetization opportunities and it appears that partnerships and data access are the path they’ve chosen. Does the LinkedIn addition just add to the keyword-drenched spam potential through status updates? Will every tweet and status update become yet another billboard for someone’s affiliate or blog network? Hit me below with your perspective. But for now, my Twitter will be LinkedIn-free. (hallelujah, less money spent on ointment)

I see you…yes, you. You’ve followed me on Twitter, tried to friend me on Facebook, tripped across my StumbleUpon profile and pleaded us “colleagues” on LinkedIn. You’ve emailed me through both of my blogs and – to your credit – tracked down my company’s website and sent me an email at that address as well.

With an inbox full of your disjointed prose professing admiration for my wordsmithing and laced, without fail, with your enchantment by my fiery mane, you’ve poured out your heart and said that you want nothing more than to learn from me … communicate with me … emulate me … and you want to make one thing clear:

you’re not a stalker.

Of course you’re not a stalker. Why on earth would I think so? It’s merely your way of showing me how much you admire my work is all. I get that. You’ve just sought me out in every single virtual presence I maintain and attached yourself like a barnacle to my social media underside, clinging to me with an affection that’s generally reserved for small children and ponies at petting zoos and a teenager with their first set of car keys.

It’s perfectly natural for one to spew paragraphs of prose upon initiation of a virtual connection, one whose words you’ve most likely read out of context or even worse, one whose words you’ve poured through in their entirety and thus you think you “know” the writer, this object of your virtual and literary affection. I understand the strength it takes for one to sit down and craft that heartfelt masterpiece and am puzzled why I don’t quite rate a Beethovenish signature on the scale of Immortal Beloved. It seems only natural, considering you have me cornered … figured out … pegged.

You see my every word, every bookmark, and if I’ve erred, each picture posted for friends, families and the familiar to share. A single haphazard slip of the mouse and I’ve brought you into my inner sanctum, bestowing upon you the power to comment, peruse, rifle, and ultimately demand my engagement in your professed zealotry for my life and that which is “me.”

Each morning, I’m afraid to check my various electronic outlets as I know they’ll be filled by your comments, DMs, @ replies, messages and emails through my blog comment forms. You’ve scared me, fan, and I’ve no recourse except to put my foot down, reclaim my independence and push your social media stalker ass into the vat alongside Glenn Close’s bunny.

While I accept that having an online persona opens me up to people like you trying to gain access to my life, it doesn’t mean I have to allow it. Let me give you a rundown on why you are, indeed, a stalker (though you vehemently profess you’re just a fan/admirer):

Dictionary.com
stalker
(1) to go through an area(s) in search of prey or quarry
(2) to pursue obsessively and to the point of harassment

Social media has a beautiful safeguard built into it: permission. While you may follow, me I needn’t follow you. You may ask to be my friend, yet I need not reciprocate.  When someone such as yourself takes the liberties of imagined familiarity and grants yourself permission to contact me any ‘ol fucking way you please, at any hour and by any means…

you’re a stalker.

This also applies to your cousin, The Perv.

While my language is foul and ridiculous hash tags are of questionable taste to many, they are not implications of permission for you to speak to me in any way that’s less than respectful. You don’t know me, you’ve never met me, and I will block your ass and report you for abuse to any network I can faster than the epic fucktards who profess to help me make money on Twitter.

You are *not* my friend, my colleague nor even a mere acquaintance.

You are an unknown. Just as I am to you. And you freak my shit out.

Yet by your exhaustive process of “latching on,” you feel like you know me. My friends. My inner circle.

And you don’t.

You’ve gone straight from “fan” to dumbass by assuming that I appreciate your fanaticism and by thinking that, since I didn’t reply to your first 3 Facebook messages, it must be something wrong with Facebook.

But there’s not.

There’s something wrong with you.

Me? I’m a chick residing somewhere in the Rocky Mountain Region with a few thousand followers on Twitter, a couple hundred friends on Facebook and two blogs that beg debate on a variety of topics. I’m by no means all that and a bag of Boulder Sea Salt and Balsamic Vinegar potato chips. If you were remotely in the same fucking time zone as me, I’d slap a restraining order on you. But you assume that, based on the anonymity of the Internet, you’re entitled to horn your way into my life and force your desire to communicate on me.

Well, that’s horsehit.

As this blog is being written, I am parsing my Facebook friends and unfriending anyone whom does not “fit the bill.” I’m sure there will be more purging to come. I used to connect indiscriminately and I’ve learned my lesson. Those who ask me to connect now must indicate how they know me and I don’t give  a shit if they get pissed by my asking. It’s my life circus and if I want you to jump through hoops and sing Yankee-fucking-Doodle-Dandy, you’ll sing it.

It’s a challenge, I tell you — the process of trying to decide what to make public and what to keep private. Each day, I get better at the process and I have the pushy stalkers like yourself to thank. In an Internet age where newborns seem shat from the womb with a pre-programmed knowledge of the iPhone, it’s easy to find anyone through the wonders of technology.

Anywhere.

Anytime.

But I don’t have to communicate with you when you *do* find me.

Social media is permission-based interaction. I don’t give you permission to communicate with me.

When you take sex without permission, it’s called rape.

When you take belongings without permission, it’s called theft.

When you force yourself and/or your ideas onto an unwilling party, it’s called harassment.

If I were a celebrity (and thank all that’s chocolate I’m not), I’d have a publicist to deal with the jackassery that is you. Until I make my millions and I’m the flavor of the week on a Perez Hilton rant, I’ll continue to block you, delete your messages and keep you away from all that’s dear to me.

Why?

Because my life is my circus. I don’t need three-headed midgets like you running around and ass-raping the clowns.

They’re my goddamn clowns. Stay the fuck away from them, stalker (see part 2 of the definition above).

Sincerely,

The Redhead

girl geeks like social media

When I was 16, I called the phone company and ordered a phone line to be installed in my bedroom. Following a successful installation, I enjoyed a good 3 or 4 days of teen-girl-gab until mom (who wasn’t privy to the installation transaction—whoops) pulled the plug. When the standard one week grounding expired, I was once again relegated to calls during “permitted” hours and notes passed in homeroom.

It was those days of my youth where I could spend hours on the phone, talking about everything and nothing at all, that prepped me for my current geekish life as a social media addict. I never thought I’d be a geek, but since Mike Volpe can admit he’s a Twitter crack whore, I feel it’s time I admitted I’m a social media geek girl. Though I’ve graduated to a cell phone, I’ve plugged-into conversations in ways I never anticipated.

Mother of pearl, pass the gravy. I do love me some social media.

I Tweet, I Stumble, and I do a ton of other stuff,

oh-so-privately yet oh-so-publicly.

It’s akin to that episode of Sex in the City where Miranda dates the guy who’s gets a rise (literally) out of the thrill of being “caught doing it.” Deep inside, there are days it feels a bit dirty…like I’m going to get caught.

all these private conversations with strangers

the little giggles, smiles from the jokes

Should I truly, as a 35-year old woman, derive this much pleasure from electronic communications?

Yes. I should.

And now, you can, too!

See, social media isn’t just for teenagers or fans of rock bands. It’s not merely about online dating or posting stupid emoticons on someone’s “bulletin board.” It’s about connecting with people and investing in information.

This weeks blog is dedicated to YOU, the social media newbie. Perhaps your teenage daughter has a MySpace page and you have no bleeping idea what that is. Maybe you have to listen to your colleague talk about how he keeps connecting with friends from college on Facebook (when you harbored serious doubts he ever graduated high school). Whatever your situation, I’m going to show you 3 easy social media sites to feed your inner child, connect you with the world, and enjoy a new level of communication you never thought possible. I’ll also review both the personal and business applications of each site. Always helps to know what’s in it for YOU, right?  Let’s roll!

Facebook

Facebook is an easy-to-use online social media application that was initially designed to be an online “yearbook” to connect school alumni. However, its applications and capabilities have morphed into a cool tool that not only lets you connect with old friends but make new introductions and see who’s updating what and when in their Facebook profile.  You never know with whom you’re going to get back in touch, and for that matter THROUGH whom. If you’re completely new to social media, start with Facebook.  Their registration process will guide you completely thorugh filling out your information, uploading photos and how to find people you might know thorugh your existing address books.

Personal benefits:

• Connect with old school friends and business acquaintences, easily accomplished by searching by email or name. Everyone on Facebook uses their REAL NAME (which -gasp- might freak some of you out).
• The cool feeling that stems from seeing what happened to the class bully, valedictorian and the pain in the ass secretary at your first job out of college. Satisfy your “inner snicker.”
• A forum with a grown-up texture that’s, for the most part, free of bullshit, hookers and spam.
• Your profile can only be viewed by those whom you’ve given permission. Otherwise, all folks can see is a thumbnail pic, a school name and perhaps a city of residence. Privacy that provides access is nice sometimes.

Business benefits:

• Facebook is an excellent place for your business to establish an online presence and build a following. You can establish a “group” for customers or fans of the services you provide and send messages to them advising of new services, capabilities and developments.
• Another backlink to your company’s website. Backlinks are great for search engine rankings boosts, and a quality link like one on Facebook is nothing but net.
• Facebook helps you stay in touch with other professionals and maintain valuable business relationships. Whether you’re on the move or a long-timer with your current employer, it can never hurt to consolidate your contacts in an application other than Outlook!

LinkedIn

Perhaps THE most powerful social networking/social media tool for professionals, LinkedIn’s platform is tops. More like an online resume and self-contained microsite, your LinkedIn profile includes such key business stats as your employers (past & present), what you’re working on, what you’re looking for in business relationships and your key qualifications. Though the personal, purely social applications for LinkedIn are limited (it’s not a “chatty” site) I simply cannot imagine a single business professional who would not benefit from a LinkedIn account, and here’s why:

Business benefits:

• Your profile acts as a perpetual online resume. You never know who needs you, for when and for how much!
• Reviews & Recommendations: As we’re well into the age of endorsement-based marketing, what better way to let your customers, clients, patients or prospective employers know that you know your shizzat than through having your colleagues and business partners give you a recommendation that’s attached to your profile? Powerful stuff.
• Introductions: No matter what your industry, there’s always someone whom you’d like or need to meet. Through LinkedIn, you can identify which of your Connections may be connected with the person you seek and request an introduction from that person. If you can’t see how this is useful, then I highly recommend a job in public sanitation.
• Groups: From marketing professionals to C-level execs to work-at-home moms, stay in touch with like-minded folks through a myriad of Groups. If you’re hosting a webinar, conference, get together or something of the sort, don’t miss a valuable opportunity to stay connected. If you’re a business, consider establishing a Group to bring together your contacts and build your marketing database.  For example, HubSpot (a company whose webinars and blogs I follow closely – also hosts of the upcoming Inbound Marketing Summit) has two groups – one on Facebook and one on LinkedIn.
• Built-in Email & Communications Platform: Need to have an offline, yet online, conversation? Most social media/social networking applications have email and messaging systems as a part of their features and LinkedIn is no exception. Whether you’re gauging interest of a candidate to join your company who currently works for a competitor or just want to dish about the details of a recent conference, the messaging capabilities are confidential and can, if you’d like, copy your email address on file.

Twitter

First of all, you’ve gotta see the cool “Twitter in Plain English” video, available on their home page by clicking the big red “watch a video” button.

Simply stated, Twitter is a micro-blogging tool that limits your entries to 140 characters. Messages are called “Tweets.” Whatever your whimsy, type it in! At first glance, it may seem unclear or useless to you, but I’m on Twitter at least 10 hours a day for both personal and professional reasons. Todd Defren of  SHIFT Communications published an interesting article Get Into Twitter or Get Out of Public Relations and Jeremiah Owyang recently wrote on FriendFeed & Twitter.  While the platform itself has it’s…ahem…ongoing technical issues, there are those of us not unlike Mike Volpe that are crack whores for the daily candy dished-out on this awesome site.

Personal benefits:

• Connect with new and random people – read snippets of lives far and near. What they find funny, love and hate. I enjoy whoelheartedly my communications with tech professionals in the Denver area and rock climbing attorneys in the Pacific Northwest…and I’ve never met them.
• Welcome to Short Attention-Span Theatre! Honestly, it’s why I love text messaging. I sometimes don’t have the tolerance for a full-blown and rambling conversation. Gimme the nuts & bolts and get the hell out of my face. I’m busy over here (but genuinely value what you have to say!).
• A pleasant diversion – Twitter can go mobile with you, and there are several applications out there from TwitterBerry and beyond.

Professional Benefits:

• People find YOU. Over time, you’ll accumulate a following of like-minded or complimentary professionals that want to hear what you have to say. For example, I post links to blogs about SEO, technology and social media that I find interesting. People who follow me know that I post content of substance and come to respect the fact I’m not going to waste their time with crap. So they follow me, and that in and of itself is a wonderful compliment.
• Who knows – your future employer may be lurking in the Twittersphere! Every day I read about firms that are hiring, people who know of firms hiring…and these aren’t idle Tweets. They’re ones sent out with contact info of who to call, the company name and all that good stuff.
• Be Your Own Brand - When you’re establishing virtual relationships like those on Twitter, you’re building a personal brand. The content you Tweet, reTweet (when you repost someone else’s Tweet) and the conversations you carry in 140 characters or less speak to who you are and, I think, how you value other people’s time. I know that when I see a Tweet from certain folks, it’s “funny stuff.” From others, it’s “holy shit, I need to read this now” stuff. Others get so annoying over time that I just unfollow. The old saying still stands: you only get one chance to make a first impression.

So, I hope the information above has been useful to the newbies in the social mediasphere. Perhaps the old hands have found an interesting tidbit or two as well. Social media and social networking are really nothing new, but their growing popularity has a lot of people asking “WTF is up with it?” The moral being, you can dish like a schoolgirl behind the bleachers and still keep it 100% professional, all with a little help from a few sites to get you started in your virtual, social world.

PS: Mom still reminds me about that damned phone line prank every year.  I get her back by voting Democrat.

This blog is dedicated to old friend, incredible woman and new Tweeter @cara19. Stop by her profile on Twitter and see what she has to say!

And at the risk of repeating myself, here’s a no-holds-barred explanation of social media. Funny, yet spot-on.

[slideshare id=496437&doc=whatthefissocialmedia070208-1215026815612657-8&w=425]

Email questions to erika [at] redheadwriting.com

Connect with me on LinkedIn

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Visit RedheadWriting online

Simply put, social media is endorsement-based marketing. If you join a social media site like LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, or StumbleUpon, it’s likely someone told you about the site.

(“he said I should check this site out”)

You join, you tell others. It’s kinda the way you talk about a cool new restaurant in your area that has kickass dim sum on Sundays – you tell everyone you know.

Welcome to the reason for Search Engine Optimization Copywriting (SEO Copywriting).

See, search engines are really no more than the National Enquirerer for the web-based conversations of the world.  They’re the tabloids of what’s hot and what’s not. They send their little ears (aka web crawlers or spiders) out into the sidewalk cafes of the internet and find out who’s talking about what sites.

How many sites are talking (linking back) to a particular site?

Who’s blogging about a site?

How many people are talking about a site and what PARTS of the site are they talking about?

So think of it this way: the hot little teen ingenue in the latest summer slasher flick will never grace the covers of US Weekly or People if she’s got a crappy publicist.

Translated to web-speak:

If your website is the hottest thing next to Amazon.com, but the search engine spiders/crawlers can’t see your site or find pertinent information on it, you’re never going to have coveted first page results on the search engines.

To the Googler, your site appearing on the first page of search results is an endorsement from Google

(“Google says this site is good! I should click on it!”)

and all of the other surfers out there who think your site is “da schnizzle.”

Hence, SEO copywriting is an essential piece of the social media and SEO pie:

We write so spiders can find you, index you and help you rank among the keywords most pertinent to your business.

After all, no one cares that Geena Davis is an expert archer. They cared that she starred in “A League of Their Own” and “Beetlejuice.”

An SEO copywriter is only a slice of the pie, however. To take full advantage of the potential impact of social media and the inherent social qualities of search engine results, the value in SEM (search engine marketing) firms, PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns, web analytics, and solid website design can’t be ignored.

So, there are some thoughts as to why social media and the concept of endorsement-based marketing surrounds us at every turn, as well as my perspective on why search engines are the most social of all the media tools currently on the web. Essentially, this is a “she said” on why you can’t ignore the current and future impact of social media, search engine results and the power of the endorsement.

Still unsure of what social media REALLY is? Check out this awesomely frank slide show by Marta Kagan and thanks to Todd Defren of PR Squared for Tweeting on this yesterday.

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