Successful Blog

Responsible Social Media … Respecting Real People One at a Time

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I've been thinking . . .

about responsible social media.

Sounds like safe sex, doesn’t it? I know you can get past that.

What I’ve been thinking about is a conversation I had with a dear friend, Jon Swanson, about 3 weeks ago. I had called Jon because I didn’t understand changes I saw happening among my friends. Jon, in his wisdom, pointed out something that keeps returning to me still.

What Jon said recalled this image to my mind and sounded something like this …

What makes social media business different is it’s twofold nature. We have to manage for the business and the brand, but we can’t lose sight that we make personal relationships with real human beings.

That’s the difference, isn’t it?

Most customer relationships stay in the head. Good ones make us feel smart, but the personal touch of a social media champion gets us to invest with more than our thoughts. Isn’t that what makes social media so powerful, so collaborative? Isn’t that what gets us to think we can change the world or at least how business works?

Folks looking on might think that starting out in social media is the hardest part.

But the longer I watch the more I know that holding dear the investments that people make in us as we grow is the tough nut to crack. Anyone who’s gone from ten friends to a hundred knows that time doesn’t stretch to accommodate the same level of giving back.

It’s the choices we make as we grow that determine whether social media stays centered on personal relationships or turns into a “Hollywood” sort of community of friends.

Real people understand that as we grow we have less time to sit with them. Who doesn’t get that? Who doesn’t wish the best for their friends? They want to enjoy the ride with us, not be left behind and wondering where we went.

Responsible social media respects that real people are investing back one at time.

Real people want to know that a good “friend” doesn’t change when “he, she, or the business” gets bigger than life. It’s not hard to show that. Just keep acting the same to real individuals one at a time and core fans will know that when it’s their turn again, you’ll still be there for them.

The key understanding is that real people come in ones.

Could you add your ideas about responsible social media and would you pass this on, please?

Liz's Signature

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Image: WendyPiersall photo: SOBCon08
Want to be successful in social media? Work with Liz.

What I Remembered after a Rocky Day

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Some Days Last Longer Than Others

Ever had a day that seemed rockier than others?
Ever feel like everything you touched turned to stone?
Ever figured that no one would notice if you disappeared?
Ever been felt so weird that you didn’t want them to see you anyway.

I have too.

I looked for a photo to explain this feeling and found this picture of rocks.

I remembered I made a rock walk a few years ago leading up to garden behind my house. I wanted a walk that was pleasing and natural. It hunted rocks for weeks and days. Then I arranged them in the mud path for weeks, days, and hours. The last spaced needed an individual rock of weird shape and color. It took me even more weeks, days, and hours to find one that fit. When I did, whoa, it was something to see and to celebrate.

And to this day, if I ever go back to that house, it’s that rock that I’ll look for. That’s the rock that made that little four-foot path into rock art.

So now when I look out over the Internet and everyone seems shinier and more colorful than I am, I pick up a rock that a dear friend gave me. I hold it in my open hand, and I think that the universe is like a rock path, weird rocks would be missed if they disappeared.

Ever had a rocky day? It helps to hold a rock in your hand.

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

Beach Notes: Take Time

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Beach Notes by Guest Writer Suzie Cheel


Friday saw me driving 600 kilometers (372 Miles) returning home after a great week of creative inspiration.

Instead of staying on the highway I took one of the byways and stopped to view a spectacular waterfall, lunch by a river under a jacaranda and take photos along the way.

Driving from A to B

usually focussed

on the time to arrive

does not allow

for meandering

along a country road.

Time to take in

the beauty of nature,

a field of daisies

a powerful waterfall

time to chat to locals

at the Fusspots Cafe.

Time to stop,

enjoy a view

take some photos

have a coffee

watch the passing parade.

Be in the moment.

-Suzie Cheel

Do you sometimes take time to be in the moment and maybe even take that fork in the road?

You can view photos from my meanderings at Take Time gallery.

Will You Tell Me About Being Brilliant?

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It’s not being smart.

Brilliant is far beyond smart. A brilliant person is so because of character, intelligence, wit, wisdom, creativity, ethics. With me it is the same as being in the presence of beauty. Your mind knows you have witnessed something great.Your heart reacts.
SashaKane told me that.

Brilliant is bright beyond belief. So bright in fact, the glare can hurt your eyes if you stare at it directly. Brilliant is sooooo sexy. . . . brilliant, awesome, overwhelming, intense: words that are often used too frequently away from the power of what they mean.
Elizabeth Grattan knows brilliant obviously.

Stopping to savor each word, I squint and can’t help smiling.

Rose said, Brilliant means the ability to see things in new ways and to find relations between seemingly unrelated ideas.

The connecting is brilliant. We know.

Human Folly said, Brilliance means something spontaneous & beautiful with a slice of genius.

I’m thinking every 8-year-old has a slice of that. Right?

Randy added this bit, far enough ahead of the curve that it shines for all to gaze at in bewilderment.

We gaze in bewilderment . . . awe.

A single drop of water doesn’t seem much.
Then it freezes and holds the light while it thaws.
Brilliant.

It’s a second. It’s a glimpse.
It’s a momentary catching of the light.

Ever been brilliant? Bet you have.
Will you tell me about being brilliant?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Work with Liz!!

What Glenda Watson Hyatt Said … About a Smile

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A community isn’t built or befriended,
it’s connected by offering and accepting.
Community is affinity, identity, and kinship
that make room for ideas, thoughts, and solutions.
Wherever a community gathers, we aspire and inspire each other intentionally . . . And our words shine with authenticity.

A Smile Is a Powerful Tool

If only positive things happened, we have no worries about what other people were thinking, what could go wrong, or what the future might be bringing. We’d also never learn about strength of purpose or facing down adversity. No one has courage every minute, but when we need courage, a smile can be a powerful tool.

Here’s what Glenda said . . .

“What do you do when people are looking at you?” Being in a wheelchair with an obvious physical disability, people look or stare most times I head out my front door. Generally, I take deep breath, hold my head up, slap on a smile and carry on! Most times it works. . . .
Glenda Watson Hyatt from a comment on April 22, 2008

I so believe in the power of positive thinking. Sometimes it does take some effort, like slapping on a smile when I don’t really feel like it. But, when I am truly in the zone of positive thinking and being grateful, amazing things happen!

Glenda Watson Hyatt from a comment on April 20, 2008

A successful and outstanding blogger said that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

Sorting Is a Breeze, a Day at the Beach

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Thoughts that Say Easy . . .

I love those idiomatic phrases that mean things are easy …
Easy as pie …
It’s a piece of cake.

My most favorite of them are …
It’s a breeze. . . .
a day at the beach.

I use them when things get stressful or hard, especially when my head gets too filled with details and options.

When I have too many options, those last two idioms help me sort them. A breeze and beach conjure up images that let me sit back for a thought, no matter how busy or anxious for answer the world is.

I imagine a day at the beach where the sand and the sky are big and open. No clocks or buildings interrupt a chance to spread out my thoughts. I need to see the spaces between the options to know what I’ve got and sort them.

A few well-spaced thoughts and I remember that my life is my creation. I’m in charge of valuing the options. I choose the path, the curves, and the interactions. When I listen to what I know, seeing where I am and I’m going is easy. It’s a day at the beach drawing possibilities in the sand.

How do you sort too many thoughts and options?

–ME “Liz” Strauss
Image: sxc.hu
Image: sxc.hu
Work with Liz!!