Break The Rules
With the economy the way it is, the employment rate slowly rising again, and social media being a mainstream way of finding jobs, rules for personal branding and how to behave yourself online have become somewhat of a staple. For some that care they watch their mouths on Twitter. You could go back and find not a single four letter curse word or malediction to be seen since the inception of their account.
Now for those of you who know me understand that my mouth tends to get away from me, on a very frequent basis. But rules like: “Don’t cuss on Twitter”, “Don’t show yourself drinking”, “Build productive relationships”, for the most part are just there to cover your ass. The best and most productive relationships I’ve built on Twitter have been because I have been “myself”. No bars hold, it has been pure, simple honesty and opinion. Which, isn’t that what social media has been about? Building these relationships? No one wants to engage in nonversations as my friend Morgan Siem (@morgansiem) would put it.
So if you’re Blogging, Tweeting, Facebooking or linking on LinkedIn but you’re becoming a simple square only reTweeting obvious content (say the same links 5Million people Tweet a day by Mashable), where’s your originality? Breaking the rules and breaking the mold makes you stand out. Am I advocating that you go out and berate everyone who says something you disagree with, absolutely not. But proving your knowledge by aptly advocating your position and opinions with well thought out discourse, never hurts.
Breaking the rules doesn’t mean go against the grain. I will never advocate someone to do something against the law or their company/university disciplines. But many of the so-called rules that have been established for social media have become a way for everyone to fit in a mold of uniformity. Social media gives everyone a voice, and if you’re not creating your own, whose are you miming? Take the time to develop the same personality you have offline into the same persona online. There isn’t a difference.
Stand out, and make yourself memorable. You won’t do that by following the same rules as everyone else.
Image by – Whologwhy
Find Me at Internet Summit ’10
For anyone going to Internet Summit 10 in Raleigh, NC, here is your invitation to connect with me!
Here are the best ways to find me:
- Mobile – Call me or Text! – 919.442.8194
- Twitter – @gregdelima
- LinkedIn – Greg de Lima
- Foursquare – Find where I’ll be!
Here is my “Route” through IS 10:
- PreCon – I’ll be in the Social Media workshops for the pre-conference.
- 3:50-5: Integrated Social Media Marketing
- 5:20-6:30: Advanced Email Marketing Practice
- Next Day – 8am – Enterprise in 2011
- 9:40 – Maximizing Email Marketing
- 11a – Delivering Social Media ROI
- 2pm – Search Marketing
- 4pm – Reputation Management.
After Internet Summit I will be going to the TIMA Summit After Party at least for a while.
Keep an eye out for my Live blogging updates, on this blog, and also on eWayDirect who has been kind enough to sponsor this broke college kid to attend his first conference.