Be jealous: I went to Las Vegas a week and a half ago. 

But even when I am on a short (but awesome) vacay, a part of my brain doesn’t leave work/writing mode. Well, I’m not a gambler and I have much more interest in partaking in spa services than any of the other “activities” that “sin city” has to offer. But the one thing that continually impresses me about Las Vegas is their use of social media and the way they use it to engage residents, visitors, and potential travelers.

Everywhere you go in The Vegas, social media follows. Almost every resort, spa, casino, and store has some sort of “get connected” signage encouraging people to… well, get connected. (Example to the right).

Even a mention of Vegas on Twitter and you’re going to be followed and @replied by a few casinos and/or shows that might want to help you out.

When I checked into Planet Hollywood on @FourSquare (a location-based social media application), a nearby special popped up. Just for checking in on FourSquare, I got a free drink from the bar at KOI, an uber-nice Japanese restaurant inside Planet Hollywood. (Screenshot to the left.)

If you have Vegas-related questions about discount show tickets, hotel reservations, restaurants, whatever, there is going to be someone in the social media space to answer it for you.

I had a huge breakfast mishap the first morning I was there. I tweeted to them about it, I was taken care of, and @PHVegas checked in with me on Twitter about it.

It was nice to know that if I had a problem or a question, there was going to be an answer, in real time, no matter where I was.

Vegas does social media right.

I know Vegas isn’t the ONLY city that uses social media to such heights, but it sure is a great example of how it should be done.

Need more examples? Look at some of the MANY Vegas venues on Twitter:

• @VegasConcierge
• @zappos (BTW: if you ever go to Vegas, DEFINITELY do the Zappos tour. It’s awesome.)
• @LasVegasHilton
• @PHVegas
• @CaesarsPalace
• @PalmsLasVegas
• @PalazzoLasVegas
• @HardRockHotelLV
• @EverythingVegas
• @VegasCom
• @WeddingsLV
• @HootersCasinoLV
• @MyVegasScene
• @Cirque
• @Vegas_Hotel

By using these tools, Las Vegas is able to reach out to an international audience. People come from all corners of the world to The Vegas and Vegas needs a way to connect with those people. And they do.

Question(s): What other cities do you think utilize social media tools as effectively as Las Vegas? Have you have a negative experience with Vegas social media? Do you think they could improve? What do you think engages you the most when a city uses social media? I would love to hear your thoughts and/or other examples.

Word.

I came down with a pretty bad case of the flu this weekend, so my thoughts have been a little more difficult to organize. But as I was lying in bed, drinking 30+ cups of orange juice, and watching yet another Audrey Hepburn movie, my mind wandered to the people in my life. Of course I began thinking about my family and close friends, but then I started thinking about this whole idea of a personal “network.” In my humble opinion, your personal network is really consisted of those meaningful, professional relationships that you have developed in which you can call on those people for references, advice, career opportunities, support, etc.

In the “old days” your personal network was developed solely in person. By attending leads groups, BNI groups, networking events, churches, PTA meetings, school, whathaveyou… for the most part, your network was built by one-on-one, in-person contact – or with a personal introduction from/through someone else.

Now today, with the onslaught of social and online networks (i.e. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter), the development of a personal network has evolved and how we meet people and foster relationships has completely changed.

Within our social networks, there are those we communicate with often. We know them by name, we comment on their content, we engage on a regular basis. We have developed a working rapport with these people.

Then, in our networks, we have the “lurkers.” The “lurkers” are those whom we are friends with, or follow, or are connected to, that we never, ever, ever, engage with. (I’m 100% guilty of this, too. We all are. So let’s not go pointing fingers.) These are people we ran into or had a brief conversation with way back when, and since then, we have dropped that connection. We don’t chat, talk, or connect at all.

SO, my social media tip of the week this week is: Make Better Connections (and renew old ones).

Find those people that you follow on Twitter, are friends with on Facebook, or are connected to on LinkedIn and spark a conversation with them. Renew that relationship. Make that connection worthwhile. You never know when you might need that person!

And the next time you follow someone, friend someone, or make a connection with someone, make it personal. Find a common interest, share a personal story, ask a question. Whatever! But make it substantial.

Rid your network (and your life) of those “lurkers.” Lurkers are creepy, anyway.

What do you think? Do you think those “lurkers” are always going to be there? Have you found a way to make your network more worthwhile?

Word.

These people are awesome and I am sorry that I haven’t given them a shoutout sooner. They are rockstars in my eyes and you should totally check them out. Not in that way, well, maybe in that way. If you want it to be in that way. I’m sure some of these people are single and could use a good checking out. Maybe? I don’t know. I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore. I’m going to move on from this point and get to the #FollowFridaying. (By the way, that is totally a verb).

@jakrose: Bio: Where we’re going, we don’t need roads… - Website: http://jasonkeath.com/

Jason Keath is such a rockstar that the level of his rockstarness should almost be illegal. He is a social media man, entrepreneur, community engager, blogger, speaker, and creator of SOCIAL FRESH (http://socialfresh.com/). Social Fresh (and Jason) brings amazing speakers, facilitates incredible conversations, and gets people together to collaborate and learn from each other. His content is solid and consistent. Oh, and he works his butt off.

*

@sarkatbur: Bio: My joys of southern living as a PR/marketing professional include family, friends, music, laughter, fashion, sports and a black lab. - Website: http://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahburris

I first met Sarah Burris at a #TLWT (Triangle Ladies Who Tweetup) and she was such a great person to talk to. I didn’t know very many people when I first arrived and she immediately started talking to me and we got along really well. Since then I have been following her on Twitter and she is one of the most engaged people I follow. She retweets awesome content, is a conversationalist, engages in the space, and creates great stuff of her own. She adds a personal touch to everything which I think is awesome.

*

@ElizabethPW: Bio: Elizabeth Potts Weinstein: Speaker of Truth. Lover of Passion. Video Blogging Addict. Tweetup Connoisseur. People Loving Introvert. Truth Evangelist. – Website: http://elizabethpottsweinstein.com/

This woman is easily one of the most inspirational women on Twitter (and, arguably, in the social media space). I read her blog regularly and she is no bullsh*t, in your face, honest, and transparent (even when she doesn’t want to be). She video blogs, she writes, she inspires. This woman rocks and I really hope to meet her someday.

*

Tell me: Who are YOU #FollowFriday’ing this week?

Word.

Creepy phisherman.

My social media tip of the week this week SHOULD be common sense, but apparently, and alas, for some people, it is not.

STOP CLICKING THAT LINK!

You know the link I’m talking about. The link in your Facebook inbox, the tagged photo meme, your Twitter DM’s, etcetera, etcetera…

Here are some examples of what I am referring to and these are cut and paste DIRECTLY from my Twitter and Facebook inboxes (No worries, I have broken the links so that they don’t infect you):

• Hey, I just added you to my Mafia family. You should accept my invitation! Click here:http://www.playmobsterworld.com/?refuid=32617401&source=friends_
• We Only Have Space for 1000 Participants and Each Week We Are At Full Capacity So Don’t Delay and Register Right NOW! http://bit.ly/27vX3V
• If Guy likes it, I will try it! RT @Guykawasaki I just tried this service… and it works! http://bit.ly/315yHe
• Thanks for following me. Start making more money in 15 minutes: http://bit.ly/19nQze
• “Hi, this you on here?”
• “Your friend’s booty looks gooood in this video.”
• “I found your old pictures from high school!”

No, you’re booty doesn’t look good in that video. No, your friend did NOT find your pictures from high school. And if they did, they wouldn’t just DM you a creepy link. These are what is known as PHISHING scams. No, not ploys to get you to listen to old Phish albums. Phishing scams are defined as (via Wikipedia):

In the field of computer security, phishing is the criminally fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Communications purporting to be from popular social web sites, auction sites, online payment processors or IT administrators are commonly used to lure the unsuspecting public. Phishing is typically carried out by e-mail or instant messaging,^[1] and it often directs users to enter details at a fake website whose look and feel are almost identical to the legitimate one.

Essentially, when you click that link that you SHOULD NOT CLICK, a tiny virus gets into your computer system and spreads that virus to all of your contacts (or sends a similar link out to people in your network hoping THEY, too, will click the link). And so on and so forth. That virus can steal ALL of your vital information, logins, usernames, passwords, and even credit card and personal information (like addresses, etc.)

Also, if you get an email or a direct message that asks you to change you password, put in your information, or update something, DON’T DO IT through that link. Some links sent to us look VERY real using real graphics, correct information, etc.

The FIRST thing you should do is manually access the website in question – meaning, click out of whatever window you are in, shut down your browser all the way, open up a new browser window, then type in the web address manually. Once you have accessed the site in question, if you REALLY do need to change something, it should say it when you login legitimately.

Also, the FTC has a great site on ways to protect yourself from confusing phishing scams.

So, EVEN IF you trust the person who has sent you the link, double check with them to make sure it is legit. I question my friends all the time just to be sure.

But seriously, stop clicking that link that says, “ROFL, is this you?! [insert spammy link here].” OF COURSE IT IS NOT YOU. Seriously, people? Who is clicking these links.

So, for the sake of all of us. Stop clicking that phishing link. You know the one I’m talking about.

Question: What examples have YOU seen of “good” phishing scams? And by “good,” I mean, they seem legitimate, but end up getting you. Why do YOU think people are clicking the links? What’s your opinion?

Word.

photo credit: pyromarketing

I was at the Wootini Gallery Holiday Show opening on Friday night and was doing a healthy combination of working and schmoozing. I was talking with one of the artists, David Lanham (@dlanham), an artist I had actually interviewed a couple weeks ago. As we got to talking he showed me his newest work… and I geeked out.

David is the designer and mastermind behind OLLIE the Twitterrific bird/mascot. He works for Iconfactory in Greensboro, NC and they have developed a vinyl figure of Ollie. Ollie hasn’t been released yet, but he will be soon. I’m going to try and get some and hook you guys up. Because Ollie is SAWEEET. He was even featured as a great holiday gift for techies on @Mashable!

Admittedly, getting so excited about meeting David and seeing Ollie in person was TOTALLY my geek moment of the week… and maybe the year. But I’m not ashamed. It is totally fine to have those little things you geek out over. Right?! Right.

I want to know: What do YOU geek out over? It can be totally silly or totally serious. I don’t judge.

Word.

Me with Ollie the bird.

David Lanham with both versions of Ollie!

I like to write. A lot. And sometimes 140-characters are just not enough characters for me to describe why these rockstars are so rockstary that you should follow them.

@ChuckHester – Chuck is the Communications Director for an e-mail marketing company, iContact. He is a ROCKSTAR on LinkedIn and facilitates an awesome meetup called LinkedIn Live! He provides great content, great commentary, and great insight.

@wellsonemedia - Steve Wells is a local sales and marketing specialist located in the Triangle region of North Carolina. He is awesome because he really engages in the community. He provides quality content, promotes the hell out of other people, and is hilarious. I really appreciate everything he says.

@thepitbbq - I have never even been to The Pit BBQ, but I am planning a trip out to Raleigh just so I can put a “face” to a “name.” I have been following them on Twitter and watching how they are totally owning the social space. They engage their customers, they engage their audience, and they do it right. @1918, Phil Buckley (no relation), wrote a great case study about how The Pit is using social media in a positive way. Businesses can learn a thing or two from The Pit BBQ.

@glowbird - Lisa is a speaker, writer, and awesome mom. I first met her at a #Triangle Ladies Who Tweetup. Since then I have been reading her blog and following her tweets and this woman is the bomb dot com. She really knows how to balance between sharing, generating, and commenting. She rules.

@Seiden – I just got an uber exclusive (well, I don’t know about uber exclusive, but I like to think it is) copy of Jason Seiden’s new book “How to Self-Destruct.” He is a speaker, author, coach, and awesome dude. I’m pretty pumped to learn how to self-destruct.

*

Who are you #FollowFridaying this week?

Word.

One of the BIGGEST questions I get from people I meet, clients, and anyone I talk to about social media is:

“Well, what does social media do for ME? What is the return on my investment? (or ROI?)“

I’m SURE that if you are involved in social media at all, that is probably a common question for you, too. Especially from social media “skeptics” – or people who think this whole social media thing is just a “fad.”

Now, some of you have probably already seen this video… but if you haven’t, you should. (Link included in case you can’t see the video). And if you meet a skeptic who wants to know their ROI immediately, share this video with them, too. Of course it’s flashy and makes everything really pretty, but it definitely points out specifically a lot of the great things that social media is doing for businesses and for people.

What do YOU think of Socialnomics? Do you think their points are valid or do you think it’s all just a bunch of BS? I want to hear your thoughts.

Word.

Maybe because it’s the day before Thanksgiving. Maybe because I’m in grateful mode. Maybe it’s because I just ran 2.5 miles. Maybe it’s because I’m craving a Chipotle burrito. I don’t know. But I’m feeling Thankful today.

Therefore, this week’s Social Media Tip of the Week is: Give Thanks.

Now, what exactly do I mean by that, other than the obvious literal meaning of “give thanks”? We all know, well hopefully most of us know, social media is all about community. It’s all about making personal connections, networking, sharing, supporting, engaging, and giving. However, I feel like sometimes well (yes, all of us) tend to forget what the big point of social media is all about. Of course this is not on purpose – we just get jaded by the things life throws at us and subsequently we lose sight of what is in front of us.

Sure, social media has many purposes – to connect with old friends, make new friends, market a business or product, whathaveyou. But to me, what makes social media so awesome, is how we’re taking away that traditional approach of “I-could-care-less-about-you-I-just-want-to-market-my-product” and we’re replacing it with “I-do-care-about-you-and-I-want-to-get-to-know-you-and-then-maybe-you’ll-buy-my-stuff.” Social media is different. It’s awesome. And it’s honest. It’s hard to be a good BS’er through social media – because very quickly you’ll be exposed… and not in a good way.

So what I want you to do this week is take a second to step back and think about your networks. Are you doing a lot of talking and not a lot of listening? Are you doing a lot of talking and not a lot of engaging? Are you recognizing those people in the space, “your space” for their great content, approachable personality, engaging persona, or overall awesomeness?

If you answered “yes” or “no” to any of those aforementioned questions – then you need to give thanks to the people who are awesome in your life, in your networking, at your job, anyone. Who or what are you grateful for? Thank them. Today. Don’t wait until tomorrow. Do it today.

Make someone feel awesome. They deserve it.

And while I’m thinking about it, I want to thank YOU. Yeah, you reading this. Right now.  Without you, I’d be talking to myself. And that would be awkward.

I also want to go ahead and preemptively thank my sister, Bridgid for the awesome Thanksgiving dinner that I know she is going to make tomorrow (with of course, my B-I-L and family helping). She’s a rockstar baker, cook, friend, and sister.

Tell me, who do YOU want to give thanks to?

Word.

I. Was. Tired.

Well, I’m not training for a full marathon, but yes, I AM training for a half-marathon. And I AM building a business.

I give you this disclaimer: I am neither an expert in building a business nor am I an expert in running or training for a marathon… but I can speak from my personal experiences.

They (I have no idea who “they” are) say that the first two years of starting a business are the hardest. I’ve heard some people say one year, some even say three years. And of course, there are the anomalies who build their business successfully in less than a year. Sometimes less than six months – I am jealous of those people.

I have been a freelance writer and consultant for over 3 years, and I have tried to turn my freelance work into a full-time business for a year. It’s hard. Really hard.

Seemingly-Unrelated-But-I-Have-A-Point: I am training for my first half-marathon. I don’t like to run and in fact, I’m a horrible runner. In high school I played golf, in part so I would never have to run suicides. But running is something that I have always wanted to be good at.

One of my goals for 2010 is to run and complete a half-marathon. That’s 13.1 miles. At first I told myself I would just run and complete a 10K (6.2 miles). But I knew that wasn’t good enough for me. I need to buck up and do it. So I, in 2010, WILL run and complete a half-marathon.

I have been doing short distance runs for a while, but I officially started my training a week ago. Yesterday, I ran the longest I have ever run in my entire life, 3.38 miles in 49:24 minutes. (It was a run/walk tempo run – that’s why it took that long). I pushed through when I didn’t want to and I did it. Now, I only have 17 more weeks of training and about 10 more miles to run.

Back to the topic at hand. Why would I compare building my business to that of training for a marathon? Here’s my rationale.

Building a business is hard work. Training for a marathon is hard work.

No one wakes up one morning and has a successful business that runs itself and makes them the big bucks. No one wakes up one morning and says, “You know, I think I’ll run 13.1 or 26.2 miles today.” People who run a successful business and people who run a successful marathon work hard to achieve those things. Neither of these things come easy.

When I’m working to build my business I work long hours or I work when I really don’t want to. I’ll work when I’m sick, I’ll work when I’d rather be spending the night out with my friends. But I am working to eventually make my business rock.

I hate running. And I hate the cold. Well, it’s almost winter, and I’m going to have to get used to running in the cold. I am sticking to my schedule and running even if I don’t want to. Why? Because nothing is going to get in the way of me achieving my goals.

Both of these things take resources. As I build my business I decide what’s an important resource and what isn’t. I knew I wanted to re-do my blog, and I knew that would cost me money. But I did it because it was important.

BIG UPS and huge thanks to Greg Lee and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA, I have a gym membership now. I have set myself up with a mobile training program and I am using their facilities to help me along the way. It’s all about using the resources and just asking when something is needed.

The key here is, whether you’re building a business or you’re training for a marathon, you have a process and the key is to stick to that process. Whether you have to blog every day, run every day, go to networking events twice a week, spend money on an important resource – whatever. Find a schedule, find a pattern, and COMMIT.

All of these things take hard work and dedication, but above all, COMMITMENT. If you don’t commit to your goal, you’ll never achieve it. Nothing is going to just “happen” for you.

What do YOU think? Do you have a different analogy you want to throw at me?

Word.

Sure, no one REALLY likes change, especially when change isn’t wanted or welcome. The status quo is comfortable, safe, and just “works” for us. Why fix it if it isn’t broken? There’s been some gripe lately about a few changes that are abound or have abounded… I’m not sure if that is the right use of that word there… and I used to be an English teacher, but I don’t really care because it sounds right to me and I like it. So deal.

But let’s face it, when stuff changes that we don’t want to change, we gripe. We complain, we rant, we throw up our arms and say, “TO HELL WIT ‘EM!” Granted, I do this too, sometimes. However, there are just some things that we are going to get used to. We will cry a river, but eventually, we will build that bridge and get over it. Now, of course, there are probably a few exceptions to that rule – and when we know that something is morally wrong or hurts someone, then of course we should gripe until it’s changed… but what I am referring to is not that serious.

Twitter’s New Retweet Feature

Yes, Twitter’s new retweet feature SUCKS. But, let’s be honest, it is not that serious. Some of the biggest complaints are that we can’t add our own 2 cents, that it doesn’t allow for additional commentary. Well, sure, not with the one-click retweet. But guess what you still CAN do? Copy and paste, add your 2 cents, and then type RT in front of it. Sure, it takes longer, but we can do it. Assuming our fingers still work.

And people are griping about seeing people they don’t follow in their timeline. Sure, it’s annoying. Sure, we don’t like strangers in our space, but guess what? In about 3-5 minutes, those people will be gone. More tweets will have come through replacing those of the ones we didn’t know. Phew. Problem averted. It just takes a little patience.

Or, if you use a web client like Tweetie or HootSuite, you don’t have to worry about any of the aforementioned problems.

Facebook’s Change of the News Feed

Facebook changed the user interface again. Now, this is a little bit of old news for most of us. The biggest gripe is coming from businesses who are trying to market themselves using Facebook. Their information is no longer showing up in the News Feed – it is only showing up in the Live Feed, which a user has to CHOOSE to see.

Well, businesses… I guess that means you are going to have to start working harder to engage your customers. The more you engage them, the more involved they become, the more your business will show up on customer’s News Feeds. It actually sounds like a positive problem to me.

I’m just saying.

Twitter’s Trending Topics Being Useless

Yes, 13-year-olds, spammers, and people who have nothing better to do (for the most part) have turned Twitter’s trending topics into something completely useless and borderline inappropriate.

There’s been a lot of talk as to whether or not to do away with trending topics until they provide more value.

I’m going to be honest and say, this is going to be difficult. Twitter has over 33 million users – and I will say that less than half of those users are on Twitter to engage, connect, and relate to people. Many users are on there simply to connect with friends, shoot the sh*t, and tell people what they are eating.

Now, of course, there is a VERY LARGE percentage of Twitter users that use Twitter in a positive, meaningful, and extremely valuable way. I like to think that I am one of those people. We can’t discount those users. At all.

But, I think it’s going to be hard to control the craziness of the trending topics. And seeing as how Twitter exec’s have been handling a lot of Twitter’s issues lately, I will be surprised if they handle this one any better.

But it’s okay, we can search for what we need and what we think is important. We’ll get over it.

The Cleveland Browns on Monday Night Football

It is no secret that I am a CLEVELAND BROWNS FAN. No, I’m not from Cleveland. I was born actually in Redskins territory. My dad’s from Cleveland, and therefore, when I exited the womb, I was to be a CLEVELAND fan. It is genetic. I can’t choose who I love, I just do.

And it is no secret that this season, we suck. The Cleveland Browns are a horrible football team right now. No doubt about it. Well, this past Monday, the Cleveland Browns were on Monday Night Football. And it seemed like everyone and their great-aunt’s mother was complaining about it.

Things I read on Twitter (all found from http://search.twitter.com):

• “Watching the Browns on MNF is like watching paint dry.”
• “So who’s bright idea was it to put the Browns on Monday Night Football yesterday? Whoever it was should be fired. Pronto”
• “New Rule…. No more Browns on Monday Night Football!!”
• “Why would they even schedule the Cleveland Browns for a Monday Night Football game??”
• “If you thought the Redskins were NFL’s worst team, you must have missed seeing the Browns on Monday Night Football.”
• “Sunday Night Football ha sido mucho mejor que los MondayNight Football.. Sigo si entender porque Browns en MNF???”

THEY EVEN COMPLAINED IN SPANISH!!

Look people, you think it’s tough watching the Browns on Monday Night Football? Try being a Browns fan your ENTIRE life. The only years we were good (the Kosar years), I was wearing a diaper and being fed mashed squash like it was an airplane.

If you don’t want to watch, then turn on something else. Quit complaining, because no one wants to hear it.

LOST is in it’s FINAL season and it doesn’t come on until FEBRUARY 2nd

Okay, maybe not everyone is complaining… maybe it’s more sadness from the Fans. I know I’m sad and I know I’m impatient. But let’s be honest, LOST fans have needed answers for six long years now. We’ve waited for a long time and we can wait a little longer. But all in all, it’s time.

I saw the FINAL SEASON trailer today. It’s going to be a good final season. At least it won’t have a crappy ending like SEINFELD or The SOPRANOS. Or, at least, let’s hope the ending isn’t like that.

——–

Okay, enough out of me. I’m feeling yucky talking about all this negativity. I need to go pet my dog, drink a Diet Coke, and watch this video at least seven times (NSFW – language).

I want to know, what do YOU think we will eventually get over?

Word.