Dec 30
According to my friend Mike, the follow friday craze on Twitter has slowed down. That's a good thing in some ways, but also a little bit sad.
I really liked seeing who people thought were worth following, especially when they explained why. I was never a big fan of the 17 people in one tweet variety, but the "Follow @so-and-so because they're really funny" or "#FF @this-guy because he knows all the css in the world".
During 2011 I've made some great friends that I would like to share with you that I think are worthy of an official #FollowFriday shout out.
Jenna Gengler: Jenna flew in from Nebraska in the summer of 2011 and started kicking ass and taking names. The day after touching down in Raleigh she was working it at the Raleigh Media Leader's event at Spy Raleigh! I love the can-do attitude that Jenna exudes. She has a plethora of design and development skills that enhance her top-notch personality. Although this is officially a Twitter follow recomendation, you should also put her on your list of "get to know personally". You can also check out her personal/professional website at JennaGengler.com.
Kestrel Lemen: I love me some Kestrel. One of the best things about being a friend of Kestrel (F.O.K.) is that once you're in the circle of trust, you get 100% pure, undiluted awesomesauce from Kestrel. She doesn't tweet out crap all day, like I do, she only tweets occasionally for mass-consumption. But, you get direct messages that normal people would pay big money for. Connecting with Kestrel was one of the smartest things I've done since moving to North Carolina 8 years ago.
Cord Silverstein: I've know Cord longer than a year, but I became friends with him when he hired me on at Capstrat this spring. I always knew Cord was smart and respected in the community, but working next to him was like a million dollar apprenticeship. Cord is an original thinker. I can't honestly say that about very many people I've met in my life. He can pace around in his office for a couple hours and come out with ideas that are like uncut diamonds just waiting to be polished. Although Cord is a self-described Facebook guy, he also shares much of his wisdom with his Twitter followers. If you're not following Cord on Twitter, you're not following one of the brightest marketing minds in the United States.
Oct 8
Every once in a while one of the all-time great players becomes available. Usually their teams are smart enough to keep them under contract, but sometimes they just can't, and the rest of the league gets a chance to bring greatness into their organization. Like when the Red Sox let Babe Ruth move to the Yankees.
Such an player has just been released into the free-agent market that fits that profile.
Meredith Morgan is someone who is rarely available. She has been a triple threat since leaving NCSU. Selling, marketing and teaching. Trusted enough to sell, persuasive enough to market, and engaging enough to teach. Keep in mind, when I say teach, I don't mean standing in front of a group of young minds eager to absorb wisdom. Meredith spend hours and hours helping area realtors come to grips with the changes that are buffeting their ship.
The last time I had the pleasure of hanging around with Meredith was at the RDU real estate bar camp. She organized the day-long event which brought in people from multiple states for a multi-path day of learning. She was seemingly calm and in total control, although I have no idea how. Hundereds of people, give-aways, technology snafus, lunch delivery and expectations of perfection. It went off without a hitch as far as I could tell.
If you wish your favorite team had grabbed Babe Ruth, Joe Montana or Michael Jordan, here's your chance to grab someone in that same class for your own business.
As an added bonus, I don't believe Meredith will be represented by Scott Boras.
Sep 24
I fell off the #FollowFriday bandwagon, but I'm climbing back today!
Rob Laughter: I used to get to see Rob all the time. He was a constant at social media functions and get togethers. Then he disappeared. I found out that he had made big changes in his life. Good changes. Smart changes. One thing that hasn't changed is the quality of his tweets and the insights that arrive alonside of them. Follow Rob to get good information shared with clarity and purpose. You can also check out his new & improved blog The Tao of Rob.
Kathy Hanrahan: I follow Kathy Hanrahan because she's a TV junkie just like me. I find that she is always watching the same stupid shows I am. If I tweet something about The Bachelor or Survivor, I always notice that RaleighWood is right there with me. She's funny and totally on top of pop culture. Follow RaleighWood is you watch a lot of television and want to know there's someone else out there who is even more distraught that her DVR can only record 2 shows at once!
The Pit BBQ: I'm not sure how I've gone this long without giving props to my favorite restaurant. Anyone who follows me knows I'm a huge fan of The Pit. The reason isn't only the great food, but more importantly they way they treat people. I recently had a chance to sit and have lunch with Eric Harris (who does all the social media heavy lifting for The Pit). We talked about the extrodinary lengths they go to so that social media is woven into the very fabric of the service there... it's an inspiring story for those of us involved in spreading the social media good word. DId I mention I'll be eating at The Pit tonight with the best wife in the world?
Let me know who I'm missing?
1918
Aug 6
Here's some suggestions of people I can personally endorse. I know it's not as magical as having Twitter show you people that seem like they could be a match for you, but it's the best I can do...
Welcome to this weeks "All Girl Review"
Sonja Jacob: If you aren't following Sonja, you are missing a consistant stream of good tweets. Although she doesn't tweet a lot, what she shares is always worth seeing. Make sure to include her profile in your "People I should actually pay attention to" stream. Sonja is an interactive artist working out of Boston at The Cultivated Word where she inspires me and many others every day. She will change what you think is possible. See her recent interview with Karl Sakas for a dose of smarts and insight.
Jess Commins: I follow Jess for 2 reasons. #1. She's a great friend who is always willing to stretch to help. #2. Her no bullshit energy saving advice makes me smile. She's not one of those people who just talks about a utopia of all living out in the midwest on wind farms. At her awesome energy,recycling,renewable resource blog she walks the walk of a practical leader in her field.
Janet Kennedy: If you've met Janet in person, you're already following her. There's no way you couldn't be. She is a volcano of positive energy and good ideas. She is currently the president of TIMA and is doing great things. TIMA was once the also ran of marketing groups in the Triangle, but over the last year or so the Triangle Interactive Marketing Association has become a fantastic place to meet and learn from really smart and accomplished people. She blogs occasionally, but her latest crusade is 5 Bucks is Change. 5 Bucks is Change came from a fleeting idea and is now raising money to help people in far-flung parts of the globe.
Let me know who I'm missing?
1918
Jul 30
I can't believe that July is coming to an end. August means 2 things - oppressive heat and the Red Sox take over 1st place in the AL East.
Let's get to the bucket and a half of awesomeness for this week:
Greg Ng: The Frozen Food Master! Sure Greg is super talented and an inspiration to pretty much everyone who has the good fortune to work with him, but there's more. When he's not helping create the best converting sites on the web at Brooks Bell or being a YouTube phenomenon sure to get his own Food Network show.
Anil Chawla: If you are a Twitter power user, Anil has made an app you need - TweetyMail. For me, the most awesome part of TweetyMail is the high quality notifications via email. If that was all it would be a cool app, but there's so much more. Follow Anil and you may become friends with a yet another super smart and super nice guy living in North Carolina.
Garrett French: No doubt Garrett is the smartest link builder working in the field today. When he's not working a zillion hours a week at the web's premier link building company - Ontolo, he's usually helping someone flesh out ideas or strategies. There's nobody sharing better link building tips that you can follow.
Let me know who I'm missing?
1918
Jul 2
Leading into the 4th of July weekend, here's some real firecrackers to follow - yes I really said that.
@djwaldow :: DJ Waldow - Director of Community out at Blue Sky Factory. Follow DJ if you value real conversations about stuff that matter more than just Twitter. DJ is a connector of the first magnitude and someone you'll want to find out more about. If you do by chance become friends, just be careful what photos you leave hanging around his scanner.
@ericboggs & @argylesocial :: Eric Boggs. Eric and I connected at the perfect time (well, at least for me). I was in the process of trying to sell social media as a viable tool to a new company, and Eic was looking for people to test a new tool he was building with Adam Covati (who you should also be following) that proves the value social media. Since day 1 of my introduction to Eric he has been one of the most responsive and helpful guys I've ever met. Follow Eric and his company Argyle Social for insights into the inner workings of the social networking world, analytics and general good business.
@danlondon :: Dan London. Dan was an original Raleigh Media Leader and one of the main reasons was his fantastic scope of knowledge of all things related to search. He's currently the Director of Search Engine Marketing at ShareFile. Follow Dan for great links and insights about search and the search industry.
@johnvlane :: John Lane. John is the creative guru for Centerline. That might be enough reason to follow him, but he's also plugged into the entire Raleigh social scene and a helluva nice guy. Follow John because he's always tweeting good stuff, shares his best ideas freely and might even buy you a beer at The Pit if you're lucky.
Who am I missing?
@1918
Jun 25
This week I connected to a few great people who are valuable in many ways.
Ok, ok, here's my list of last weeks awesomeness in no particular order:
- @ncsulilwolf :: Lisa Jeffries - First off, get her Twitter handle right, it's NCSU lil' wolf, not NC Sully Wolf. Follow Lisa if you want to be more plugged in to what's happening in the area and get some great marketing tips in the process.
- @KimBrame :: Kim Brame. Kim is in the process of moving herself and her video production business up here from Atlanta to compete with my next recommendation. Follow Kim to get a slew of interesting links about video and design.
- @cammicam & @honeyscroll :: Camden Watts. I met Camden early on in my social media life, and although I don't see her IRL very often she is constantly sharing pure awesomeness through Twitter and her blog page for Honeyscroll. Follow Camden for a plethora of life and business tips.
- @jefftippett :: Jeff Tippett. Outreach Strategist for Calvert Holdings. Don't just follow Jeff because he's smart, handsome and funny. Follow Jeff because he's always on the lookout to connect people who can be better together.
- @SeanNally :: Sean Nally. Geek in charge of the geeks at Coldwell Banker Howard Perry & Walston. Follow Sean if you tire easily of the bullshit and just want meaningful interaction between real people.
- @rockinrobync :: Robyn Cobb. Follow Robyn if your interested in social media and/or helping make the world a better place. During the day she's marketing Cliqset and every other moment she's saving the world one person at a time via Project Authenticity.
Who am I missing?
@1918
Jun 18
I stopped doing follow Friday on Twitter for a long time because I thought a big long list of people is hard to digest. So for a while I would just pick one.
This week I really want to call out a bunch of great people who are also great people to follow on Twitter - which isn't always the case. Some people add more value in person than on Twitter and some are the other way around.
Ok, ok, here's my list of last weeks awesomeness in no particular order:
- @morgansiem & @mediatwo_social :: Morgan Siem - aka my #internetfamily. Morgan is smart, energetic, insightful, fun, connected and a social media smarty-pants. Follow Morgan to get smarted and better conected.
- @bmcd67 :: Brian McDonald. Smart, sarcastic, marketing genius, AMA big shot and mayor of Golden Corral ;-) Follow Brian to get better marketing insights and stay on top of Triangle marketing events and read his Square Jaw Media blog to stay up-to-date.
- @Cord :: Cord Silverstein. Big shot at Capstrat who hasn't been killed by the paperwork (yet). Marketing guru who shares his great ideas at the drop of a hat. Don't just follow him, get to know him.
- @bruckmanj :: Jenni Bruckman. Marketing ninja at Coldwell Banker Howard Perry & Walston.Between her and Meredith they make sure their realtors understand and thrive in the always on, social media real estate space. Follow Jenni because she's one of the nicest people on Twitter, and she's always paying attention.
- @MMorganTriangle :: Meredith Morgan. Awesomely cool VP (and how often can you say that) at Coldwell Banker Howard Perry & Walston. Follow Meredith for true 1-1 interaction and great ideas. If you get a chance to brainstorm with her, take it!
- @KarlSakas :: Karl Sakas. Marketing energizer bunny. Karl is everywhere and connecting everyone. Follow Karl because he is constantly linking to great information and keeping everyone in the loop. A true connector.
Who am I missing?
@1918
Apr 17
The Garner Citizen is the best newspaper in Garner for a number of reasons.
- Locally owned by a long-time Garner citizen and former police officer
- Locally operated
- Local decisions made by people who care about getting Garner's citizens all the information they need
- Built by hand
- Reporters and editors that are not constrained by the normal machinery of the dying industry
