Shifting Trends In Blogging.

Last week I found some time to go to my reader. I read posts from friends Marya and Margie Clayman, back to back. Marya commented that the latest trend in blogging is to blow everything up. Margie questioned whether Margie had anything to blow up. Oh, crap.

Not "oh, crap" to their thoughts. More like "oh, crap" to concern for what the experts are/aren't doing now. Who cares what the experts say (thanks to friend  Pam for her post)?

Many of the bloggerazzi are going to convince you that you must do this or have to avoid that if you desire success. These bleating voices are trying to establish credibility by predicting a trend (that might come to fruition, or not) or creating a trend by sending followers in a certain direction. Take these suggestions with a grain of salt. One size never fits all. One size only fits the designer.

Social media (blogging is a form of social media) is merely another form of networking. Networking is nothing more (and nothing less) than engaging with others. Just because social media doesn't require deodorant, mouthwash or clothes doesn't mean the rules of engagement change. It is that simple. Don't make it complicated.

Is there anything you see in the world of social media that wouldn't work at a face to face get together?

My Worlds, Revisited.

It's time to check in on some previous posts:

It's A Small World.

The last day of November I posted about my 2 year anniversary on Twitter. I mentioned tribes I joined and tribes into which I was adopted. The first tribe that adopted me was Hollis Thomases #HTArmy (I've never seen the reference without the hashtag) and being new to Twitter at the time, I have a special fondness for the first group to include me. So, I'm reading Gary Vaynerchuk's "The Thank You Economy" (my plans for 2012 include reading and reviewing a book a month and this is my first selection) last night and on page 96 Vaynerchuk gives an example of social media influencing business, involving Rachel Levy, a Boston marketing and social media professional. I know Rachel as @bostonmarketer from the #HTArmy (yup, the hashtag is a must). I haven't connected with Rachel since last Movember when she was sporting a great Movember 'stache. I thought it was cool to see Rachel in the book. It also gave my a reminder to put her blog in my reader and say, Hi Rachel.

It's A Sick World.

I have posted twice about the morass of amorality that is the Penn State football program with a third post being drafted. That third post was questioning the lack of criticism from athletic officials of other universities because Penn State was enabling child rape. I understand "Those in glass houses shouldn't throw stones", but what is going on in a university glass house that stops officials from throwing stones at enablers of child rape? Sadly, I have my answer. Syracuse Univeristy has the same problem as Penn State. ESPN is also equally comfortable with abusers of children. ESPN sat on a phone call confession tape from the child abuser's wife for 9 years. As brought up by Chicago sports talkers Boers and Bernstein, ESPN is owned by Disney. My moral outrage amplifier is so far beyond eleven I can barely hear myself think.

It's A Wonderful World.

I posted in early November about social media go-getter Margie Clayman taking some time away from social media. Some really bad things had happened in Margie's SM world and the joy of SM had gone away for Margie. I haven't asked Margie, so what follows is merely conjecture: Margie appears to have found her response to the bad. Margie's posts on her blog and at 12 Most all center on the good that can be accomplished through social media. Margie seeks out the good in the world anyway, so that makes her recent series of posts double good. Take some time to read Margie's latest posts. It's time well spent.

Finally, thanks for spending a few minutes reading my little blog. Feel free to use the comment section as your personal podium. We're heading towards the winter holidays. Enjoy the beauty of the season.

To Everything, There Is a Season.

Once in a great while a blog post stands up and smacks a blogger in the face. Such is the case today.

A Little Help From A Friend.

On Saturday, I found an unexpected surprise in my Google Reader. Margie Clayman had posted and I had not expected to hear from Margie quite so soon. The essence of Margie's post on Saturday was finding a time, place and comfort level to call out when things aren't right. Picking a spot to criticize, complain or condemn can be challenging. Sometimes the best time to scream foul is right now.

In The News...

Jerry Sandusky, a former defensive coordinator for Penn State and coach Joe Paterno has been indicted for sexual abusing minors. Sandusky retired from coaching in 1999 but as a member of the Penn State "family" had access to all facilities. Sandusky also was involved with the Second Mile, a group home Sandusky founded for wayward boys. In 2002, a graduate assistant reported he found Sandusky assaulting a 10 year old boy in the locker room shower. The grad assistant reported the incident to Coach Paterno, who in turn passed the report along to the Penn State athletic director. Following a three year investigation by the Pennsylvania Attorney General, Sandusky was indicted on November 4, 2011 and subsequently arrested on November 5, 2011. The indictment includes 40 counts of sexual crimes committed against young boys. On Saturday when asked about Sandusky, Coach Paterno said "...I did what I was supposed to...".

Trust and Leadership.

College coaches and their assistant coaches go into homes across America and tell parents, "playing (fill in sport) at (fill in university) is more than just playing sports. It's about learning to lead and learning to be an adult. You can trust me with your child." So what do college coaches across the country say about Jerry Sandusky? So far nothing. To be honest, Paterno's quote talked about taking responsibility for being "fooled" along with scores of professionals. The lesson of leadership requires that Paterno quit today, either for being complicit in a cover up or being ignorant of what was going on in his (he's the HEAD COACH) locker room. More importantly,  college coaches across the country need to (back to the beginning of the post) call for Joe Paterno's resignation. College coaches need to reach beyond the fraternity/sorority/alliance of coaching and show leadership. College coaches need to show parents across the nation that their program is really about more than sports. College coaches now need to prove that they can be trusted. And the time to show leadership and earn trust is today.

What do you think? Don't tell me Sandusky is beyond a creep, that's obvious. How would you feel as a parent if your child is being recruited? How would you feel if your child played sports at Penn State or any other university in the last 15 years? How do you feel about the resounding silence from college athletics across the country?

ROL: Knowing When.

ROL is an abbreviation for Return on Life. Return on Life is all about making small incremental changes that yield large returns on life enjoyment. This week's ROL is about the courage to quit.

Hi, Margie.

I met Margie Clayman through a guest post she wrote about the Rolling Stones and Social Media. We exchanged comments and Margie encouraged me to post my presentation "Fab Four Networking". I subscribed to Margie's blog, often sharing and always enjoying her insight. Margie's post yesterday indicated I won't have the opportunity to appreciate Margie's musings for a while.

Bye, Margie.

Margie is taking some time away from social media. Her decision was driven (according to Margie) by many factors including: a collaborator's disloyalty, 2 e-contact suicides and the fact that social media had become a drain instead of a pleasure. Comments, including mine were all supportive. There is a quiet lesson beyond Margie's self-driven sabbatical.

Thank You, Margie.

Our society operates under the notion that quitting is always bad.

• "Winners never quit and quitters never win."-Vince Lombardi
• "Age wrinkles the body. Quitting wrinkles the soul."-Douglas MacArthur
• "Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever."-Lance Armstrong
• "Quitting doesn't enter my mind."-Jimmy Buffet (Jimmy Buffet?)

The stories of the athlete/entertainer/business person persevering through failure after failure after failure to ultimate massive success are repeated ad nauseum in a multitude of different packaging. Unfortunately the stories of those that lost spouses, families, years and/or lives by blindly charging ahead without taking a few quiet moments to evaluate efficacy, efficiency and enjoyment are never told. Strength lies not in forging ahead forever. Strength is admitting when it's time to stop.

Fab Four Networking.

This post comes from a presentation I gave to the Non-Working Networkers Group at
Westminster Presbyterian Church in Rockford, IL in January, 2011. This post also serves as both a love note and a thank you note to the aforementioned Non-Working Networkers and the church Deacons. The multi-tiered support they provide to those of all (or no) faiths is truly God's work.

Why post this today? Margie Clayman wrote a great guest post Monday on Danny Brown's blog. In the comments, Margie threw down on me. It was a kind, respectful throwdown, but a throwdown none the less. Back at ya, Margie.

Wow, a preamble and an introduction. I'm awfully self-important today. Without further adieu, Ladies and Gentleman, networking by
THE BEATLES!

What is the song about?
Listen to the words. It's two (unemployed) people networking.

Asked a girl what she wanted to be.
It's not hard to start. Introduce yourself and ask someone a question.

She said "Listen baby, can't you see? I'm gonna be famous, a star of the screen, but you can do something in between."
Early in the exchange offer help to the other if possible. Successful networking is based on what you give to the system, not on what you plan to get out of the system. The more value you can offer (the sooner the better) the more likely you are to receive value in return.

Baby you can drive my car. Yes, I'm gonna be a star. Baby you can drive my car, and maybe I love you.
When talking about what you do or what you're looking to do, specifics are vital. None of the nebulous "I want to put my people skills to use, I'm a great organizer, blah, blah, blah." People can't help when you want to do anything under the sun. The girl knows exactly what she wants. It's also obvious the girl knows how to network. She offers a very specific suggestion for her counterpart.

I told a girl that my prospects were good.
Obviously the speaker of the first part is a moron. A contact offers help on the 1st meeting and gets turned down out of hand.

She said "Listen baby it's understood. Workin' for peanuts is all very fine but I can show you a better time."
The girl asks the idiot, "Are you really going to turn down my offer, to my face, without at least taking some time to think it over? " Then, instead of turning negative with the moron meme, she remains positive. "Trust me, whatever you think you may have in front of you, I'm making a concrete offer."

I told that girl I could start right away.
The light goes on. Offer accepted.

She said "Listen baby I got something to say. I got no car and it's breaking my heart, but I found a driver and that's a start."
Opportunity rarely presents itself when we are looking for an opportunity. Opportunity arrives when least expected. Usually we are unprepared for opportunity. Unfortunately opportunity doesn't hang around until everything is in line to take advantage of the opportunity. The would be starlet required a driver. Her counterpart needed a position. A deal was struck, even lacking the requisite car.

"I'd like to say thank you on behalf of the group and ourselves, and I hope we passed the audition".

Aside from telling you what you already know about networking, what is the takeaway from today's post?

• The takeaway isn't about my smartest kid in class breakdown of "Drive My Car", even though I had a great time with the presentation.
• The takeaway isn't about the wonders of social media, even though I met Margie Clayman yesterday via a blogpost and here I am today posting in response to her.
• The takeaway isn't about the great work being done by Westminster Presbyterian Church, because that is for another day.

As adults, we should have identified our strengths and weaknesses by now. We know things we do well and areas where we perpetually under achieve. There are no new messages left to hear, it's merely the manner in which the messages we already know are presented to us. The takeaway is there are new presentations of known messages all around us. Inspirational speakers aren't if they say the same thing the same way every time, yet the message at the end doesn't vary. By finding known messages repackaged, we recommit to the path of success with new energy. Hopefully, next time "Drive My Car" comes on the radio, you'll remember my thoughts on networking rules of engagement.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with my premise? Do you have an instance of finding an old message in a new place?