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/

Beginning a Beautiful Relationship.

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I have to credit social media guru Brian Solis with a blog post that got me sufficiently motivated to discuss what happens when people confuse social media as an end and not a means.

Let me start by borrowing from the Jeff Foxworthy school of self-inquiry -- and, no, I am not referring to 'Are you smarter than a fifth grader?'

You know you're confused about social media if:

...The number of people you follow on Twitter outnumbers those following you 10:1.

...You have 1,000+ contacts on LinkedIn but only 1 in 10 are people you've actually met or worked with.

...You've uploaded hundreds of photos to Flickr, have Dugg dozens of articles or websites on Digg, etc. but have never commented on anyone else's photos or Diggs.

...You hide behind aliases like "Digital Pimp," "Ninja0539," or "XYZcoceo" and it's not clear from your profile who you are, where you live or what you do.

I think you get the idea. Social media is just like one big cocktail party, and there will always be people who think that just showing up is the measure of success. People who are more interested in how they're being perceived than in learning about others. Or who are more concerned with getting their message across than in receiving anyone else's.

Those who thrive on the cocktail circuit are those that know how to work the room, start conversations and make connections. In fact, before they showed up, these savvy people have researched who's attending the event and pinpointed the individuals or types of individuals they hope to meet. They then proceed to seek those people out at the event and leave the encounter with enough information and mutual interest to continue the dialogue.

Social media might initiallly depend on 'what you know,' but before long, your success with it turns on 'who you know.' And, of course, who knows you.

So if you are confused about social media and want to gain some insight on making more productive social connections -- in person or online -- before you read a bunch of thought-leadershippy talk on social media, check out the advice of Keith Ferrazzi in his best-seller "Never Eat Alone." It's a never-goes-out-of-style guide to relationship building in general. Ferrazzi borders on fanatical about networking best practices, so even if you only go for about 60% of what he recommends, you'll be vastly better off.

For Millennials and others who struggle with making the most from their social media connections, this is a recommended real-world read for better social-media-world results. And for the rest of us, it's a good reminder that the only thing really new about social media is the technology that makes it possible.

Twitter, Follow or Get out of the Way.

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Twitter.com lets you post 140 character mini-blogs from your computer or mobile device and monitor those of your friends, professional colleagues or thought leaders who tend to share what they're reading or working on.

Yes, there are some people who Twitter what they're eating for lunch. Don't do that (unless you're a foodie and then it's ok and expected).

Simple rule: If you wouldn't want to read it, don't post it. To follow what we're doing at (W)right On Communications, there is www.twitter.com/juliewright and www.twitter.com/betsybrottlund. You simply visit the page and click to follow the Tweets of people who share your interests (you'll have to join and become a Twitterer before you can be a follower).

We find Twitter extremely useful. We enjoy scanning the Tweets of the people we're connected with through Twitter. But, as with LinkedIn, we're not just connected to the people following our Tweets but to their followers as well. You see, if something we Tweet catches our followers' interests, it could be reTweeted, posted to their blogs, and shared in many other ways -- thanks to the beauty of social networks.

But don't take our word for it. Read this article from the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard, written by the chief political correspondent for Slate:

Don't Fear Twitter

Using moment-by-moment observations, 'Twitter entries
build a community of readers who find their way to longer articles ….'

By John Dickerson

If I were cleverer, this piece on Twitter and journalism would fit in Twitter's 140-character limitation. The beauty of Twitter when properly used — by both the reader and the writer — is that everyone knows what it is. No reader expects more from Twitter than it offers, and no one writing tries to shove more than necessary into a Twitter entry, which is sometimes called a Tweet, but not by me, thank you.

... For the rest, follow the link:

http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/08-2NRsummer/p05-dickerson.html