Mar
15
I am off to the Social Media Tulsa Conference today and tomorrow. I drew this series originally right before going to Blog World in LA in 2011. They fit perfectly once again as I network here in Oklahoma.
I am not a blogging superstar. I am a blogger, and I do have plenty who read and follow the NDD but I am not a superstar in the national blogging community. But I am going to be at Social Media Tulsa and in Tulsa I get a fair amount of publicity for myself. Some people will know who I am and I won’t know who they are. But there are some bigger names who will be there whom I follow on twitter and Facebook, read their blog and generally think are pretty awesome. I will introduce myself to them and if I am lucky they might have noticed I like a lot of their photos or tend to say interesting things in their comment section. It’s just as likely they won’t know who I am at all.
In the world of networking it’s critical to realize that networking goes on about you even when you aren’t there. Do you say dopey or belligerent things on people’s blogs? Do you force transparent personal advertising on people? Do you have an agenda for every conversation, every interaction? Then guess what? People may indeed know you by knowing of you. And what they know, well before they meet you in person, will not be favorable.
If you want to have people know and care you in the networking world you have to care about knowing them, not just having them know you.
Drawing (originally posted Nov. 2012) and commentary by Marty Coleman
Mar
14
I drew the napkins I am going to post over the next few days back in October when I spoke at Blog World in Los Angeles. I thought they would be appropriate to post again for the people attending Social Media Tulsa this week, where I am speaking.
It’s such a well understood idea that it is a cliche: You must cultivate relationships in networking to get ahead. I agree with it, as far as it goes. The problem is it doesn’t go far enough. It is not enough to collect contacts like so many vegetables at harvest time. For me to feel and be successful at networking I want to transform my private garden into a community teaching garden.
I have many areas where I need the expertise of other gardeners in the Social Media world. Wordpress, twitter, publishing, database development, monetizing, you name it, I need help with it. But I also have some expertise as well; art, design, writing, content creation, If I want my fellow gardeners to help me in my areas of need then I need to be willing to help them in theirs.
But wait, isn’t that what I am doing by speaking at these conferences? Yes, it is what I am doing and I am very hopeful my session, Six Stop Signs on Creativity Road (Friday 2:15 pm) will be of great benefit to many. But my session is going to last an hour. With people talking to me after (if I am lucky), maybe another 45 minutes. The Social Media Tulsa conference lasts 2 days. Am I going to single-mindedly pursue harvesting from other people’s garden during the other 46 hours or am I going to set in my mind that I am in a community garden where I will look for opportunities to plant encouragement, motivation, inspiration, knowledge and friendship in at least equal portion to what I harvest for myself?
I like a community garden.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman, The Napkin Dad
Oct
27
If you had been networking with me you would know it is day #4 of Networking Week at the New and Improved NDD!
I am not a blogging superstar. I am a blogger, and I do have plenty who read and follow the NDD but I am not a superstar in the blogging community. I am, however, going to Blog World where many of those superstars will be. I will recognize some of them and introduce myself. They won’t know me from Adam (or Eve). But nonetheless I will let them know I admire their work and how they have helped me in whatever way they have. I promise I won’t stalk them. I might hover a bit, but no stalking.
Maybe someone might actually come up to me and say they know who I am but I won’t know them. It’s not an impossibility, but it is not likely either (at least not until after my presentation). I am cool with that. I am there to meet unknowns and knowns alike since both might need what I offer and both might have what I need, who knows. I hope most of the other people attending or speaking are there for the same reason.
After all, Fame is no guarantee of importance.
Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily
Quote by Aileen Katcher
