Newspaper column born from social network

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Today I helped launch the San Diego Union-Tribune's "Social Media Monday" column in its business section by authoring its first weekly installment. (I shared tips for local businesses trying to grow their following on Twitter.)

But how did I get such an opportunity? After all, authoring a social media column in the market's major news daily is pretty sweet.

The opportunity was all the result of my social network, and I thought it would be fun to show how that worked:

• June 2008: Get on Twitter. Figure out how it works. Make friends.


• March 2009: When Twitter friend @tawnypress in Orange County offers up her ticket to hear @chrisbrogan speak at @bryanelliott's SoCal Action Sports Network event, I go. I enjoy meeting and learning from Chris Brogan as well as hanging out IRL with another OC Twitter friend @kirstenwright. But I also meet @ronploof. Ron is an author, blogger, storyteller, and speaker who helps executives understand the business of new and social media. I stay connected with Ron through Twitter but also subscribe to his blog. Ron shares great insights and advice, which I often ReTweet or post to Facebook to share with my network. It's really good stuff.


• May 2010: Ron suggests I take his place on a social media panel at Cal State Long Beach's Journalism Day since he has a conflict. It's a fun experience, and I enjoy meeting the other folks on the panel including OC Tweeter and blogger @tednguyen. A former Orange County Register reporter, @mcdiana a.k.a. Diana McCabe, is auditing the panel, and we connect after the event on Twitter.


• June 2010: @mcdiana becomes a business editor at the San Diego Union-Tribune, with a focus on the interactive side of the paper's business reporting. We share advice and observations on running in San Diego, among other local tips.

When it's time to kick off her idea for a "Social Media Monday" column, I come to mind. Why? Because in 2009, @tawnypress Tweeted that she had an extra ticket to an event, and I went. Because @kirstenwright Tweeted that she would be there too so I wasn't going alone. Because @ronploof and I connected there and then stayed connected via our shared social networks. This led to a shared mutual respect which resulted in a speaking opportunity that led to a column opportunity.

See how that works? It might sound like a lot of work or a long time to work, but it's just one example of the many great connections and opportunities that social networking activities have produced for me and my business.

If you missed it, here's the column:

How to grow your Twitter network

Welcome to the San Diego Union-Tribune’s first installment of Social Media Monday, a new weekly feature that helps businesses and consumers understand how to use social media tools to their best advantage. This week's tips come from Julie Wright, president of (W)right On Communications, a San Diego public relations agency. She frequently speaks and consults on social media best practices. (Find her on Twitter at @juliewright).

SOCIAL MEDIA MONDAY: Building quality connections

The social networking site Twitter has allowed me to make new connections at a pace that I could not possibly have achieved in person or, as they say on Twitter, IRL (in real life).

This ability to connect with others so easily is a seductive feature of online social
networks, but they are not simply about collecting followers. It’s the quality of your connections that makes your social network valuable...: https://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/sep/26/quality-of-connections-content-can-help-grow-your/

Choice words from Chris Brogan

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I drove up to Orange County and attended my first meeting of the So Cal Action Sports Network tonight, having learned about it via Twitter from @kirstenwright (who referred me to @tawnypress who had an extra ticket). The organization is primarily San Diego-based and was started by Bryan Elliott after many years in the action sports industry.

Hosted at Oakley's formidable headquarters, the event featured a panel of experienced action sports and lifestyle brand marketers to talk about social media followed by blogger Chris Brogan who is social media lightning in a bottle.

The panelists shared a lot of industry wisdom. My favorite piece of advice was from one shoe and skateboard marketer who observed (and I can vouch for this) that parents won't skimp on their kids, though they might skimp on themselves. Therefore, as a mid-priced fashion shoe product, he targets a $45 to $75 retail price so that parents see it as the more affordable choice against other shoes priced at $100 and up.

Hansen's soda and Oakley representatives were both vocal about listening to their customers, being involved directly in the sports and activities their customers care about, and keeping the brand experience authentic despite the economy.

Chris Brogan batted clean up. His opening slide included a hashtag (Note to self: include your own hashtag on your intro slide) so attendees could 'live Tweet' the presentation and make sure all Tweets were aggregated into one feed. See it here.

Brogan queried his Twitter followers prior to his presentation, trying to get a handle on action sports from the 55K+ people who follow his Tweets. He said "I ask Twitter everything, because they're smarter than me and there's more of them." From a communications perspective, Brogan obeys the first commandment: know thy audience. And he makes an effort to speak directly to their interests and needs, despite being, he joked, more of an expert at wiping out and falling down than action sports awesomeness.

Whether it came from Twitter or his own personal insight (a little bit of both, I'm sure) he suggested to the audience that what all the action sports company execs had in common is that they all started out the same: finding something cool and wanting to share it with others.

Sharing, he noted, is at the heart of what social media is all about.

Don't focus on the tools of social media. Keep the focus on the story and enhancing its ability to be shared with others, he advised. An example he cited was touring Oakley and seeing a tester blast pellets into the lenses of a new pair of Oakleys. At first it looked fun, like playing at a shooting arcade for a living, but Brogan realized it would get monotonous fast, and he'd probably turn the pellets on himself. After Tweeting this, a response came from one of his followers: that person's son was wearing Oakleys on duty in Afghanistan and having glasses that could withstand pelting sand and protect him in a truly hostile environment was essential. That touched Brogan, and it became part of the Oakley story that was worth sharing.

On Facebook, "no one cares about your stupid product. Stop blurting it out," Brogan admonished. When brands handle their communications in this fashion, in social media circles, they are quickly unfollowed or unfriended. This is not broadcast media and people don't have to pay attention to unwanted messages. They just drop you from their network.

The metaphor Brogan applied was the difference between someone shaking your hand when you meet and someone sticking their tongue in your mouth. Some things that a company would never do in person they tend to feel they can do in a social network, apparently.

One of the common objections to participating in social media, Brogan observed, was the fear that negative feedback would be posted to a company's blog, but to Brogan, negative feedback is great when you treat it as a learning opportunity. And where better to have people bring their complaints but to your own doorstep where you can respond to them right away and directly.

All good points and choice words from one of the leading advocates and consultants in the social media space.