Social Media Is Social

You may or may not know that I am a social media professional. Do I think I am an expert? Absolutely not! I don’t actually think anyone is an expert because there is always something new to learn. Just like the web (my other professional side) social media is constantly changing and evolving. However, I do think there are some REALLY smart people out there that are doing social media right and you can learn from each and every one of them!

A Year A Go

About a year a go I volunteered as the WordCamp Portland Social Media Manager. Through my volunteering I experienced a whole new level of what social media really means and what you can do with it. As the person communicating out to the masses for WCPDX I found people that like to be social on social media. It was GREAT! I discovered you could build relationships online that were more than just liking someone’s post or retweeting their tweet.

One of these people happens to be You Too Can Be A Guru – Bridgette Willard through Twitter. She did more than retweet or like a post. She interacted with me. Asked questions, gave kuddos, and really engaged. It was amazing. She was not the only one that I met but she sure was integral in helping me learn more about building relationships and finding new resources to help me on my journey.

DigiBlogChat

Once WordCamp Portland was over I stayed in contact with Bridgette who introduced me to DigiBlogChat and Carol Stephen. Carol holds a weekly tweetchat that discusses a variety of topics for marketing, social media, small business, and the list goes on. I started attending the tweetchat on Tuesday’s at 1 and through this weekly gathering I have learned so much. I have also built online relationships with people I may not have ever met if I hadn’t joined in on the tweetchat.

Who Are The Smart People

The smart people are the people out there that know:

• Social media is social
• You have to give in order to receive
• You build relationships by having conversations
• To be genuine and authentic

Who I Am Learning From

Bridgette Willard (A.K.A. You Too Can Be A Guru)

Bridgette has a knack for taking the practical every day life events and show you how it relates to social media. I wrote a blog post about her influence on me and what a genius she is. You can also check out her blog at BridgetteWillard.com.

Carol Stephen

Carol is able to tackle the tough topics and break them down with fantastic examples that you can use for your own business. Check out her blog Your Social Media Works for her latest blog posts.

Her tweetchat DigiBlogChat is certainly one of the best resources out there to have a group of people learn from one another in hour and be able to take what they’ve learned and use it in the real world.

Robert Nissenbaum

I met Robert through the DigiBlogChat and he is amazing. He takes a tactical approach to social media and has great advice and ideas on how to use them. His blog Tactical Social Media is a great resource for his latest posts.

Social Media Is Social

I always knew that social media was social but never really felt that others knew it was or were able to get to that level. It’s inspiring to me that I have found other like minded people who know how to use social media and are teaching others.