Be a Dick: The Secret of Social Media Success

Marc Ensign spoke to our Florida Chapter of MWA today, explaining how he became a success in social media. Shortly after the Ensign family (Marc, his wife Amy, their two kids Bella and Zak, and their Bichon mix pup Gracie) moved to Florida, Marc had a life-changing encounter with a new neighbor, a man named Dick.

Dick's genuine concern and interest in the young family made the Ensigns feel instantly at home in their new surroundings. Consequently, Marc realized that if he could emulate Dick--if he could adapt Dick's generosity of spirit to his online world--that he could be just as much of an asset to his blog followers.

Here are the precepts that Marc learned from Dick: 

Be engaged

Be valuable

Be first

Be welcoming

Be humble

Be authentic

Be generous

Be transparent

Be perceptive

Be awesome 

These are great concepts. My pledge to each of you is that I'll do my best to follow Dick and Marc's examples. I'll do everything I can to reach out to each and every one of you in my social media family.(That's what you are, my extended family.)  I'll try to offer you valuable information and insights. I'll try to be the first to share interesting information with you. I promise to honor your opinions even if they differ from mine. I'll try to stay humble, and never get a big head. I'll be honest with you, and let you know the real me. As much as possible, I'll be generous, with my time, talents, and expertise. When there's a conflict or when I have a motive, I'll be upfront with you. And all the while, I'll try to be perceptive, putting myself in your place, trying to suss out what you need that I can provide. If I do all that, I have no doubt that we'll have an awesome relationship.

So tell me, how can I provide value to you?

What Type Is Your Blog?

Have you ever taken a "personality" test? Was it accurate? The Myers-Briggs tests and the Personal Styles quiz were developed after WWII when people all over the world, reeling from the horror of the Nazi regime, wondered, "What kind of person can do such things?" Various scientists and sociologists scrambled for answers.

Now Myers-Briggs offers a new twist--they are analyzing blogs at http://www.typealyzer.com/

As I understand it, this is a project dedicated to the research about how the language reflects our psychological type, and thus our motivations and interests. The fundamental idea is that everyone of us use different personas or social roles at different moments. The major research aim of this project is to find and describe patterns in what interests different personas in terms of opinions, brands, media content etc.

So I decided to run the various blogs I'm part of through the gaunlet. Here's what I found:

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Joanna Campbell Slan http://JoannaSlan.blogspot.com (My "personal" blog which is geared to writing, marketing and promotion tips.)

ISTP - The Mechanics

The independent and problem-solving type. They are especially attuned to the demands of the moment and are highly skilled at seeing and fixing what needs to be fixed. They generally prefer to think things out for themselves and often avoid inter-personal conflicts. The Mechanics enjoy working together with other independent and highly skilled people and often like seek fun and action both in their work and personal life. They enjoy adventure and risk such as in driving race cars or working as policemen and firefighters.

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Killer Hobbies Blog http://killerhobbies.blogspot.com (The blog I started with Deb Baker and now share with five other mystery writers--Camille Minichino/Margaret Grace, Monica Ferris, Linda O. Johnston, Terri Thayer, and Betty Hechtman--who focus on hobbies and pastimes.)

ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves. The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

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Inkspot http://midnightwriters.blogspot.com (The blog shared by Midnight Ink authors.)

ESTP - The Doers

The active and playful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical out-door activities. The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.
window.

** Okay, don't be shy! Run your blog through the analyzer and tell me--what's your Type? Does your online persona or blog truly reflect who you are? If you comment and include your blog address, I'll list you in my blog links at http://joannaslan.blogspot.com

Cogblogo Ergo Sum

Okay, I'm already writing for three other blogs, (http://killerhobbies.blogspot.com http://forustl.blogspot.com http://midnightwriters.blogspot.com ) plus notes on Crimespace. What the heck am I doing here?

It's simple: I don't want anyone to take my name.

Why? Well, it's happened to me before (a long, ugly story), and I'm a tad paranoid about it happening again.

Cogblogo ergo sum. (I blog, therefore I am. I had to make up a new word in Latin to cover this, but hey, language should be flexible, and if you are grabbing your Latin primer to check me out, well, get a life!)

And what shall I blog about?

That remains to be seen.

Probably:
1. What I'm reading.
2. How my career is coming.
3. Whatever strikes my fancy from the NYT. (Love the NYT, love it. It's my link to other thinking people.)
4. My author friends.

I'll try to have contests along the way. It's fun for you and it keeps me busy as well.

Next Sunday, I'll report to you about Gone with the Windsors by Laurie Graham. I'm reading it for my online bookclub. I'm very curious about what they'll say since the group is all authors, and authors tend to be very picky about what they read.

Ta-ta for now!