Social media experts are a dime a dozen. That's why I generally avoid writing about using social media. I'm making an exception this time, though, in order to proclaim once and for all that there is only one right way to use social media.

Ready? Here it is: Regardless of what you may have been told, the only right way to use social media is in what ever way works for you. If you want to use social media to stay in touch with people you know, then that's the right way to use it. Want to build a network of business contacts? Use it that way. Just don't fall into the trap of thinking that just because some self-proclaimed guru is doing something a certain way then that must be the right way for you to do it.

Here's an example. Not too very long ago, the very influential Guy Kawasaki put forth the idea that the correct way to use Twitter was to follow, and be followed by, as many people as possible. This led to a virtual army of Twitterers racing each other to have the largest community. It didn't take long, however, for many of those who adopted the Kawasaki model to realize that, while amassing sheer numbers might work for Kawasaki and a few others, it wasn't right for them. This has led a number of Twitterers to purge their lists and start building a community that works for them.

That's not to say that anything or everything you read or hear about using social media is wrong. Rather, the lesson is that you should consider what others are doing from the standpoint of whether or not a certain technique makes sense for you. If it does, adopt or adapt it. If it doesn't, ignore it.

It's the only right way.

You may know the Thomas Nelson company as a Christian Book publisher. But if that's all you think of when you hear the name then you're missing quite a bit of the story. Led by President and CEO Michael Hyatt, the folks at Thomas Nelson continue to think outside the box and develop unique and innovative programs.

The latest such program is Book Review Bloggers. What started as an experiment by the company has grown into an exciting opportunity for both the program participants and the company. Here's a bit of what Hyatt had to say when he announced the program on his blog -

If you are a blogger, this new site has at least three benefits:

1. Free copies of our best books. We will send you a free copy of the book you are interested in reviewing. In addition, after you have requested a review copy, we will email you a PDF of the first two chapters so you can immediately get started. Meanwhile, we will drop a physical copy of the book in the mail.
2. Content resources for your blog. We will provide you with free resources to use in your review. These include things like cover art, video or audio clips (when available), external links to other related items, etc. Frankly, this is the part of the site that we need to expand upon the most.
3. External links to your blog. We will provide a link back to the your actual review of the book. As you may know, external links are what drive up your blog’s ranking on Google. In general, the more links the better.

What do we require? Bloggers must agree to write a 200-word review—good, bad, or ugly—and post it on their blog and on any consumer detail page for that book (e.g., Amazon.com, BarnesAndNoble.com, BooksAMillion.com, Borders.com, ChristianBook.com, etc.). Obviously, the review can be longer, but we wanted to set the bar low in order to encourage participation. I think this is a case where if the products are WOW, they will generate enthusiasm and buzz. If not, then that will also help us create better products in the future.

Like I said -- an exciting opportunity for participant and company; a true win-win. Of course I signed up, and for my first book I've requested The Truth About You by Marcus Buckingham. I'm looking forward to reading it, I'm looking forward to reviewing it, and I'm looking forward to seeing just where Book Review Bloggers will lead me and Thomas Nelson.

So what are you waiting for? If you have a blog and like to read you should jump all over this opportunity. Sign up here.

I'll be spending most of today putting the finishing touches on the presentation I'll be giving tomorrow afternoon at Podcamp Ohio.  According to the most current draft of the day's schedule I'll take the stage at 4:00 PM to present "Dude, Your Podcast Sucks: Six Steps to a More Powerful Podcast." The focus of my discussion will be on how to use some of the tips, tricks and techniques of professional speakers in order to produce effective and entertaining podcasts. It should be a good time, especially since I'm trying out a new opening that, assuming it works as planned, should be a lot of fun for everyone.

Since I live about 4 hours from Columbus, and the event begins at 9:30 AM, I'm in for a very long day. But there are sessions I want to attend and plenty of people I want to meet so I'll be hitting the road before 5AM in order to not miss a beat. I've been following the planning of this one through both the Podcamp Ohio site and the Podcamp Ohio Twitter feed and it's certainly shaping up to be an excellent event. They've got everything covered - from schwag to eats to providing space to escape the insanity if you find the need. I definitely appreciate the work the organizers have put in up to this point and will be surprised if the event isn't a rousing success.

You may recall that I attended Podcamp Nashville back in February. For that matter, some of you may have even seen me at Podcamp Nashville back in February. It was great to get back to Nashville, and the event itself helped me focus in on the power of podcasting as a tool for building reputations, relationships and resumes. In fact, I enjoyed the event so much that I vowed that I would make a concerted effort to attend any podcamp that was held within a reasonable driving distance from the farm.

As luck would have it, Podcamp Ohio has been scheduled for June 28th in Columbus Ohio. It's a town I know well (having grown up in Ohio) and is well within reasonable driving distance. It looks like they already have some excellent sessions planned (I'm particularly interested in one in particular, but more on that in a future post....), and I'm sure there is even more goodness in the works. So yes, I'll be heading north to Podcamp Ohio at the end of June.

See you there?

I spent last evening in Louisville at the monthly Social Media Club event. The draw this month was an expert blogging panel featuring Rob May, Chris Pearson and Michelle Jones with moderation duties under the able hand of Jason Falls. I would love to share with you the many pearls of wisdom that the panel came up with, but sadly the venue was so loud that I was unable to hear anything they said. Not to worry, though, as the organizers swear that video will be posted on the SMC-Louisville website. (UPDATE:  Videos and photo links can be found here)

I've got to admit, though, that I was more interested in some of the sidebar conversations that I was involved in (isn't that usually the case?). The event was an excellent opportunity to spend time with some of my friends in the Louisville tech scene and to make new connections with quite a few talented and interesting people. One question I asked of many I talked with was whether quality or quantity should drive our web presence. To a person, the consensus was that quality is the key to success. I also asked a number of people whether they were familiar with Michael Gartenberg, since his post (see my previous entry) on the subject was the driver behind my first question. Most were unfamiliar with him (sorry, Michael), which just goes to prove that you don't have to be an A-lister to understand the basics of using these tools we call social media.

Now I just need to teach you to use these tools to bring out the full potential of you and your organization. Let's talk, shall we?

If you want to be successful in today's world it's becoming increasingly important that you wrap your mind around the social media revolution. What is social media, you ask? According to Wikipedia,

Social media use the “wisdom of crowds” to connect information in a collaborative manner. Social media can take many different forms, including Internet forums, message boards, weblogs, wikis, podcasts, pictures and video. Technologies such as blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, wall-postings, email, instant messaging, music-sharing, crowdsourcing, and voice over IP, to name a few. Examples of social media applications are Google (reference, social networking), Wikipedia (reference), MySpace (social networking), Facebook (social networking), Last.fm (personal music), YouTube (social networking and video sharing), Second Life (virtual reality), and Flickr (photo sharing).

More and more, the way information is shared, processed and understood is being driven by the interaction of individuals using these social media tools. Your success, then, will increasingly be tied directly to your harnessing the power and potential of social media. And the longer you wait, the harder it will be to catch up.

If you or your organization need help with integrating social media as part of your overall communication strategy I invite you to contact me to discuss how I can assist.