So here’s the deal. I’m an adrenaline junkie, rock climber, and I’d pretty much look for an excuse to bungee, BASE Jump, climb up, or in this case rappel off of the Wachovia Building in downtown Raleigh, NC.

The Special Olympics of North Carolina (SONC) has set up Over the Edge, and if I can raise $1000 I will get the opportunity to launch myself off the side of this building. Now, I’ll tell you what, I want to do this face-down as I rappel down.

Here is what I ask of you:

1. Follow SONC_BeAFan on Twitter.
2. Donate – Any bit will help!
3. Donate AGAIN!
4. Share this page using the Tweet, Likes & +1′s below!

Final Update – I have closed donations at a final total of $1,448.50 Thank you to the 40 of you who have contributed throughout the day. If you would still like to Donate please consider the local Red Cross who is still helping the local area.

Update 2 – As of 13:03 we now have $365!

Update – As of 13:01 we have raised $240 (24%) of the total $1000 Goal. Please repost this, ReTweet it, and if you can please donate!

Hello Everyone,

On Saturday April 16th, an EF-3 tornado swept through Raleigh, NC causing millions of dollars worth of damage. Leveling a Lowe’s, claiming lives and injuring many. Thankfully, only one of my friends was affected, Jeremy Smith (@jeremysaid). His home was irreparably damaged, and thus is being demolished today. To make matters worse, Nationwide insurance has dropped his coverage for not having an “Occupied Dwelling.”

See the damage to his home: http://twitpic.com/4lrztg http://twitpic.com/4ls0b8 http://twitpic.com/4ls1fw

This has been a major blow is something no one should have to endure.

In that light I would like to raise at least $1000 to help him get back on track whether we help put him up in a hotel or buy him tools and equipment to help rebuild. I will use this ChipIn widget to help raise money with the goal of getting him those $1000 by the end of May. I’ve also set up jeremyfundraise[at]gmail[dot]com if you would like to email me any questions. Any funds that get sent to me through this ChipIn will be sent straight to Jeremy via PayPal.

Please help and donate as much as you can, whether it’s $1 or $50 or $100.

Thank You,

Greg

In social CRM, Marketing, Community Management, or whatever aspect of online networking you are a part of there is always one thing that matters. The people that you interact with, the people you talk to, Retweet, however you decide to be “a part of the conversation” are all potentials. A potential client, a potential friend, really the potentials are huge.

Nurturing your online relationships is just like handling any other relationship. Online or offline the way we compose ourselves and handle situations is a genuine reflection of character. As someone who works mainly in maintaining these online relationships – even with people whom I have not met in person – is a trait that I take pride in. As many others can vouch, the relationships will build translate for business, long-term friends, or maybe even more.

The point that I’m hoping to drive home is that if you’re changing personas from what someone knows of you online into someone completely different (multiple personality disorder?) then whatever relationship you have built with that person online essentially gets shattered when the “IRL” meeting happens.

I Tweeted a few days back saying that I will do my best to never bullshit anyone. I do my best to be truthful, honest, and if that relates to sometimes coming across as hostile, for that I apologize.

The relationships that one manages every day, matter. As people connected in a social, online atmosphere we’re entrusted to be the same person wherever we are, whoever we interact with. One of the best, and possibly funniest examples I have come across recently is by my friend Phil Buckley (@1918). Read the comments on his post. As more people chimed in for the comments, the true reality of online relationships became more and more apparent.

As relationships get built, so does trust; what relationship ever works without trust? Build trust, build relationships, build social.

Image Credit – Bikingbettie

There are plenty of 2011 social media predictions coming out this time of year, but I, unlike many, only have one prediction and it’s for us Millennials. This prediction may not be anything special or exciting but I feel like it holds some form of truth and an honest reality that social media marketers may not be taking into account.

Millennials will start to use Social Media beyond our personal networking. Yeah, not exactly *shocking* news. But, let me dig into this a bit more.

Right now, the stats for Twitter in the millennial age range are quite different than the baby-boomers or Gen-X. In a study back in 2009, 99% of 18-24 year olds had a social media profile, and I doubt that has changed in the past year. Not long ago either, Read Write Web showed that Gen-Y was moving away from Facebook and towards Twitter. My point though, is that “we millennials” have a strong affiliation with Social Networks and Media because of its ability to let us interact with our friends. Now, finally though, Gen-Y is seeing the benefits of these platforms for our personal branding and professional networking.

As these networks keep aging, the same people who used them for a small personal benefit, are seeing the larger picture. We were focused too long on Twitter’s original message, which was, “What are you doing?” We got caught up in this message and didn’t see the benefit of Twitter, until it was able to populate into something that millennials could use for a personal benefit.

On the other hand, though, we want our networks to be our networks. Places for our friends, photos, etc. without the constant interruption of the “professional network”. Take this article TechCrunch wrote about Facebook taking over our Social Space. And to me it makes sense. We’ll use what we want for our benefit, but the more you push us, the more we will try to push back. We keep being shown all these new “opportunities” with social media, but someone always just wants to make a buck off of it. What happened to doing something just for the benefit of others…?

In the end, get ready to start seeing more college-aged or recent grads, using more social media more productively and definitely more targeted.

Thoughts? Comments? Leave them below, I’d love to know what you think!

Image Credit - Eustaquio Santimano

Do you remember the old Smash Mouth song, All Star? The lyrics at one point say, “Only shooting stars break the mold.” Do you have to be a shooting star though, or are you the guy who sits behind a desk 8hrs a day and gets home feeling unaccomplished? The problem remains that no one wants to create a stir, or be a cause for uproar or commotion.

Psychologists would call this groupthink.

When you get one person within a group, that person is simply going to conform to the group. That person does this so that they don’t bring about conflict or “dissonance” to the group. We generally don’t want to become the person that breaks the monotony of business, and create something new.

Chris Brogan in his book, Trust Agents, brings up a good point within the first few chapters; Tinkering or Programming. If and when our usual jobs get to the point that they become boring, or non challenging, that is when we need to learn to break this mold. In the book’s context, branching out and creating a challenge for yourself either within the context of your business or going outside of the business bounds and building your own “game”, of sorts.

Seth Godin, in Tribes, reiterates heretics. The people who have gotten out of the typical realm and established a following of their own. People with ideas, ambition and most importantly passion. These heretics become the people that we follow and look for to become our “Trust Agents”, people with whom you build relationships (business or friendship) for the long-term improvement.

If You Have Passion You Can Break Out

Often, we doubt our abilities. We doubt whether or not we can take off on our own and not be penalized for the actions we take. If you have passion for something that you want to do, what’s stopping you from taking off and reaching your escape velocity?

I want you to leave a comment and tell me, what is your passion and how are you thinking of expressing it?

Image Credit – Goosmurf

Wikipedia defines leadership as:

The “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task.”

My favorite part is the term social influence. This emphasis on social influence hasn’t changed with the rise of social media, marketing, and networking. We are simply using different tools to get to the same means.

I finally got around to reading Seth Godin’s Tribes. This book if you haven’t read it focuses on how leaders become leaders and why.

Ambition to make a change and be a part of a movement are prime aspects of a leader, or as Godin might say, a heretic. Are you willing to make the move to stand up to what you believe in? Are you willing to put forth the effort and become something much greater than yourself? Godin describes heretics as the people willing to leave the mold and do something for themselves. We often think of the heretic Martin Luther, who posted his 95 theses on the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Luther is a perfect example of a leader. Someone who believes truly in their changes and is willing to break out and become this social influence for others, is who we would call a leader.

Leaders know their people

A proper leader will understand the community he leads. Whether it’s an online community or a local community, the fact that these people are together is because of a common belief. Leaders understand how their “followers” think, act, and more importantly do. Not only by tapping into the thought process of the followers, but being able to reach out and find new members is a unique aspect of good leadership.

Most importantly, a leader will be able to use this knowledge to increase their influence, not just for their benefit but for the benefit of the people as a whole.

Leaders know themselves

This also sounds somewhat out of place. But truthfully, if the person who is influencing you seems to not know what they’re talking about, or they themselves sound insincere or dishonest, would you be following them? Probably not. A sense of self and confidence is crucial in a leader. These are the people that understand themselves and what they’re seeking above all else, otherwise they wouldn’t be leading.

Where do you fit in as a Leader? Tell me your role as a leader in the comments.

Image Credit – paul-simpson.org

Productivity is an amazing resource, and for those who know how to do it well, everyone can attest to getting more and better work done. These five tools and techniques will help you not only start to be productive put keep you there.

1. Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique stems from the Italian word for Tomato, pomodoro. The entire program starts with a kitchen timer, the one used when this technique developed looks like a tomato. This technique isn’t simply about seeing time as a constraint, but rather to see time as a multivariate resource. By being able to allocate, plan, and use the methods to change your perspective as a whole about time, lets you be more able to use time more efficiently.

2. Tackle Tasks One At A Time

Of course time here is your primary commodity. The more you get out of it, the better you use it, time becomes your friend. By multitasking, you reduce the ability to tackle efficiency. Your best bet to allocate time correctly is to take tasks one at a time.

Start by making a list of what is due for the day. Prioritize the tasks at hand, because the more time consuming or more important tasks should be the ones that require your most undivided attention. Once they are out of the way, you can sit back and tackle the tasks that “matter less”.

Use a note pad and write these lists out, scratch them off when done. The visual aspect of knowing what’s done and what is not is psychologically important, especially having a feeling of accomplishment. Chris Brogan and Mashable have both recently advocated not even checking email until later in the day.

3. Reevaluate Your Workspace

Lifehacker has made this a 10 point list. By using a new desk, taking pictures to find clutter spots, and many DIY tools let you find places where productivity is lost. Once you have found where productivity is lost you then have the ability to go back and change what’s necessary to improve.

4. Shut Off

If it’s not being used for your work, shut it off.  Get rid of it. Toss it aside. Any other way to say it, think of it. This one goes hand in hand with multitasking. Additional tabs open? Close them.

Cell phone texts? Turn it off.

5. Fina a Good Place To Work

Although, this can kind of go hand in hand with reevaluating your workspace, being able to have the right starting platform for work location is also key. This can mean working from home, coworking, Starbucks, wherever you feel fit the most. Wherever you decide to work from though, be sure to establish good habit patters. Once those are established, your productivity will be linked to your mind. Check out Mashable’s 37 Productivity Tips for Working From Anywhere.

What productivity resources do you use? Leave them in the comments!

Movember is a movement that challenges men every November to start clean shaven, and grow a mustache for the entirety of the month as a campaign to raise money for Prostate Cancer Research. Movember works through two charities, The Prostate Cancer Foundation and LiveSTRONG. Read more about Movember

This is where #TeamRDU comes in. As of this writing Team RDU is comprised of 29 Members, ranking #2 in the Nation. This is where you come in, as a team we’re committed to doing what we can whether through social networks or in person to have a team Digital Challenge of $958.

There are different ways to help donate either to my contribution part or directly to the team.

Click here to see my Movember page and Donate either to Me or TeamRDU(Donation Link).

See the TeamRDU Movember Website to see all members

After reading a post in the NY Times, it’s about time I told you about my job hunt this past summer, and why it’s not that 20-somethings don’t want to grow up, but why it’s damn-near impossible for us to do so.

I spent the entire 2010 summer passing out resumes, interviewing with companies large and small, and working my butt of to try to find just an internship. I can’t even begin to imagine what it must be like for people with entire careers under their belts trying to find new jobs.

A while back I came across this video by Max Radi at Ignite Portland 8.

The sticking point for this video is at the 4:25 mark. Max explains that our generation is in a bind because we’re looking for Jobs to give us experience, but we are often denied jobs because of a lack of experience. We’re caught in a place where expectations by companies are set in a way that college students seeking internships sometimes what we want to do isn’t necessarily our field of study.

I love social media, I’d love to work in marketing. My problem, I’m an International Business Major…It’s possible I might come out with a minor in marketing, but most people looking for social media people are looking for communications, or PR…That’s not me. But as Max mentions, why not hire someone and mold them, train them to be the person that you need them to be and from then on you have someone exactly qualified and right where you want them.

In today’s economy chances can’t be taken in hiring the wrong person, and that’s understandable. What we study in college doesn’t guarantee we’ll know what you want us to know when you hire us. The training you give us has little bearing on our past experience, or what you expect us to know.

Remember, we need the experience too. If you’re hiring someone for an internship, why not hire the person with the least experience, and give the person with more experience the opportunity for an entry-level position. This will let you mold the intern to the way you want them.

What do you think? How is your company hiring interns?

Note: This is my 200th post on GregdeLima.com (I’m throwing a party in my mind!)

When was the last time, during a work day, that you took an honest-to-goodness nap. Whether you went home and took one or sat in the break room for 20-30 minutes and just napped.

While this might go contrary to about 100% of businesses in the U.S., as a college student, like many, I am a firm believer in quality nap time. This 30-minute part of my day is one that increases productivity, mental awareness, and physical stamina. During my time in Spain this was only reinforced by the type of workday they had. Like the American schedule they would begin their workday at 9am and work until 2 or 3pm (most commonly 2). They would then take a two hour break, and come back to work at 4-5pm and work until 6-8pm. That two hour break is the reason that 5 Hour Energy only exists in the U.S.

In that two hour break time workers have time to go home, see their family, eat lunch, take a nap, and come back to work. They are still getting a full day’s work and in fact are more productive because of it. Now I’m not saying sit around your workplace and nap at your desk so you can increase productivity later, but go home, relax, take a load off your shoulders then worry about it when you get back to the office. You’ll have a clearer mind, a more focused mind, and you will be a hell of a lot better for it just because of a 30 minute nap.

Think about it, if you work from home give it a shot.

What do you think? Leave a comment and thanks for reading my 200th blog post!