Comments by twitter.com/rebecatrautner
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetThis might be a little all over the place, so please forgive me.
I believe the aspiring newbies to the social media consultancy world (or any practice for that matter) would be best served to take their time, research, listen and learn before jumping in full force to what some (myself included) might consider a "pricey" certificate-producing experience. That doesn't mean the certification lacks merit or won't satisfy the immediate needs of another individual. If it's the kick in the pants they need to commit to a new career path, so be it. I would caution those individuals to seek out as many resources as possible to keep the fire burning, however.
Comparatively speaking, I feel that time and steady discipline will help some people reach their weight loss and fitness goals. Eating well, working off calories, strengthening muscles - this may take a year, two years, to pay off - but it can and will, and in a healthy way. Some people will spend their money on rapid weight loss products and magical fitness equipment - and it can definitely work for them. But you better believe if they go back to cupcakes and beer on a regular basis, they will be planning for the same old New Year's resolution again. How's that for a nice Twit2Fit analogy? ;) Mmmm cupcakes...
The point is, we all have the free will to select the method that we feel will pay off for us in whatever time frame makes us feel comfortable. But just like the Photoshop class, if you don't use those skills, you lose them. And in this space, if you don't stay on top of the conversations, and broaden your listening scope, you will be at a loss.
From someone who listens a lot and just tries to follow along and learn a thing or two, it's always disconcerting to me when people throw around lists of the Social Media heavyweights. Like Kevin Palmer mentioned in his guest post on SME earlier this year, " ...when composing these lists are the people constructing them even looking past the obvious? Are they actually exploring and listening? Or just repeating what has been told to them like a kid telling his friends the best team in a sport is the one his dad likes?" - like Beth replied on that post, there needs to be a starting point. But after a while we need to determine for ourselves where we can find MORE.
I am glad you pointed out Olivier's post, because I wouldn't have found it otherwise, and I think the concerns he raises have merit. I've never heard of him before, but I will follow him now because it's another point of view that might offer me some great nuggets of information, or at the very least, more entries with engaging commentary.
I'm actually surprised (though maybe I shouldn't be) that people took such issue with the assertion that they were acting in a "me-too" way. And lemmings was his word, not yours. Venomous was strong for my perception of the post, though I agree that there was a mean-spirited measure, like someone else had pointed out.
"Many of us are concerned about the welfare of people who might be led to believe that a $2,995 'certification' will somehow prepare them to be social media professionals and perhaps even get a job in the industry" - I wonder at what point we stop holding people accountable for the decisions they make for themselves and their careers?
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetIf I was a casual user who stumbled upon that resource and found the company's branding all over a page, I would question whether or not the site is truly presenting "fair, unfiltered conversations about (said) brands."
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetSoBe (@sobeworld) has made a fan out of me by directly engaging with me on Twitter - they found me by monitoring chatter during the Superbowl, and continue to be more responsive than some people I know offline! My appreciation for their efforts grew, and I gave their 0 calorie Lifewater beverages a try. Turns out I liked them a whole lot more than others I had tried. Complete and total WIN.
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetHey Chris -
I wish I had more insight into working with hosts at the very outset of creating a blog. There are a lot of options out there for hosting, and for people who have never gone down that road, it can be daunting to choose the host, let alone work within it, using CPanel for instance. Also - beginners need to know about upgrading. I made the mistake of upgrading Wordpress without backing up the site and I lost any work I had accomplished on my site. Those are some suggestions from my experience, hope it helps.
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetI too am so very sorry, Jason. I admire how brave you are to share these deeply personal sentiments with us. Thank you for doing so, and I will keep all involved in my thoughts that you all can find the strength you need to cope with such a terrible situation.
Reply | Original | Permalink | Tweethow about some other suggestions:
- step up to the plate
- on the same page
- team player
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetI’d let people DM each other, even if they are not following each other.
Reply | Original | Permalink | Tweethey shahi - is there a complete transcript somewhere? this was probably about the last 2-3 minutes of the entire chat session.
Reply | Original | Permalink | Tweetfunny enough, i just had to address this topic this morning when pitching the corporate blog to my company. one concern brought up was with comments that hype up competitive products. there’s a fear that some of our competitors will pose as unassuming readers and comment on our blog with information about their products. is there room to cover this in a comment policy so we can go ahead and deny those comments? if not, is there a way to publicly address those competitive product posts without shining more of a spotlight on them?
Reply | Original | Permalink | Tweet“The time it takes to craft sharp, witty blog prose is better spent expressing yourself on Flickr, Facebook, or Twitter.”
Suuuuure, let’s discourage traditional writing - because who needs THAT anymore? Granted, I have seen people do some pretty impressive things in 140 characters or less, but how could that ever substitute for the freedom of expression people have in publishing their blogs?
In any case, seems a little hypocritical for Wired to publish this when they recently feature Julia Allison on the cover, applauding her rise to D-list status by blogging. Go figure!
Reply | Original | Permalink | Tweetwow, looking at the complete list of presenters, there are at least 15 that already make this a can't-miss event for me personally. looking forward to this, thanks for the heads-up!
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetReally looking forward to this series, Jason. Good luck at the boot camp tomorrow!
Reply | Original | Permalink | TweetI had a great online experience on the NYC Gov website this morning. Silly me didn’t pay close enough attention to the signs in the Little Italy section of NYC so I parked in a commercial loading/unloading spot and was subsequently gifted with a $95 ticket. Granted, we had just finished enjoying my favorite cannolis on Mulberry Street and I was feeling pretty on top of the world, so it put a bit of a damper on an otherwise happy day.
I grudgingly logged onto the website today to pay the ticket and was surprised how easy it was to find my violation in the system, and how quickly I was able to pay it. It was such a swift transaction, I was pleasantly surprised.
I never thought I’d come out of paying a parking ticket feeling satisfied with the experience.
Reply | Original | Permalink | Tweeti can't imagine that ANYBODY could think less of you for sharing your story. i have a long way to go in getting to know you, but i admire your courage in opening yourself up to show us the beauty of humanity that is often overshadowed. thank you so much for the post.
Reply | Original | Permalink | Tweetthanks for this tamara - your posts continue to be consistently helpful