Jeannette Marshall : Twitter

Showing posts with label Twitter. Show all posts

Thrilled with Twitter's new MAJORITY shareholder: Elon Musk of SPACEX and TESLA fame

FOCUS on building a tribe online on all social media, not merely a following

#CalgaryBlogger
(c) Jeannette Marshall
@optioneerJM on Instagram
@postingfromedge on Twitter
Original ART
#aPaintingFool hashtag capturing posts

FOCUS is the arrow that
shoots you to the moon!

Tackle one day at a time,
one task a day, scoped out,
scaled, cost analysis,
homework done.

THAT FOCUS can make or break you
trying to juggle too many priorities at once It is 100% contributor of any ONE downfall or failure.

Whether it is a personal life speed bump ~something that takes you out to left field, completely takes you off your game.

Or a slap in the ass from the making of income to support yourself, your family and significant others.

It could be at FULL WARP speed coming right at you and even Captain Kirk or Mr. Spock could avert disaster from.

Watching a family member go through the struggles of survival, chronic pain tempered with oxicotin medication that evolved into dependency, then frozen so they turned to "street drugs" to soften the excruciating pain and diabetes side effects.

They ended up dying in the care of a medical facility in B.C. whose medical team had written off as an addict. Not receiving the same care as what society deems acceptable.

Everything kept coming at em: financial struggles where things became sources of money, compounded by multiple health infliction that were increasingly attacking mental wellness.

"WORRY stems from the lack of focus."

~ Jeannette Marshall

#CalgaryBlogger

#QUOTE

EVERYONE struggles to COPE

Nobody gets a pass.

One woman's agony is another person's mother or sister.

A new job, nerves, insecurity, lack of confidence from it taking years to find employment. ~It's just another struggle someone else is trying to conquer.

WHEN YOU do too much at once
Something is going to cave. No one is Wonder Woman or Superman or lives in a bat cave with extraordinary wealth.

For every PROBLEM there's a SOLUTION
How you tackle it is dependent on FOCUS. Getting out the paper, with a pencil and drawing it out. What is in front of you? What is preventing you from realizing your dreams?

You can't get without steps
Identical to pigs can't fly.
You have to break it down.
Once you see what is in front of you: it could be three columns or two.
You have to be able to break it down by steps, you can't leap over tall buildings, nor can you get to the final finish with that.

Let's keep it to three to maximize formula

COLUMN A ; PLAN A; PLAN B
For example: Accept new job
PROs and CONs on scale of 1-10, 10 best
Financial implications: Income -expenses less> living costs (mortgage/rent+utilities
+phone/cell) = leftover for gas, smokes, drinks, groceries

OR, you can define COLUMN A and B to be simply on financial metrics

Then you start to focus on one item at a time. What step allows you to move to the next step towards the final accomplishment?

IF it is a new job, use my "30-60-90 day Plan" to map it out so that you can hit the day running. BONUS if you hand it to your boss before you're even hired - showing you can break it down to steps and timelines.

Just starting this off, you will discover how much you have been scrambling to accomplishment way too many things at once. Naively thinking that you can finish in all quick swoop, while distractions from the other important matters that are falling behind too.

By setting a FOCUS, you can teach yourself discipline. You force yourself to realize that in order to get this over with, you have things you may not want to do, perhaps someone can give you advice?

Sidebars and unfocused activities, deviate from finishing anything, missing deadlines, mentally scattered. It can give the impression that you are indecisive or a stumbling buffoon when you are anything but.

I see people who are in leadership who can be like this. It is from the inability to divide and conquer tasks.

When you start to draw the plans out, follow the steps, adding new steps you discover on the quest, adjust timelines, deduct costs or delays.

That is really no different that what a Project Manager does:

1) Determine the project scope: What the completed result will be, what is required to finish it, who will be required to work on it, how the decision making process works, what the budget is, how overruns on costs will be reported? Who and how will third party resources be determined and/or accounted for by cost or by delays or time improvements.

In this, you are drawing out what your focus should be based on what the pros and cons dictated should be the highest priority. The more honest and detailed you are, the easier it is going to assess and debrief on how it went.

This is discipline.

That is focus.

Who is the influence?

It doesn't matter whether you are an individual, an identity (music), or brand, you can carefully craft your audience based on who resonates the most with you.

Something I discovered lately: the masters of algorithms like GOOGLE, TWITTER, LINKED IN are identifying content creators as the next big influence wave.

Maybe I had that hunch 10 years ago. I recognized how important it was to establish an identity that could be synonymous with brand. There was no question who was behind the brand. It would develop a following because of integrity and authenticity.

I wrote early on, that I was putting a lot of my apples on the GOOGLE cart. It seemed logical that the super power of information > GOOGLE SEARCH > was going to lead the pack.

If you compare that to TESLA and ELON MUSK, then we're missing the point.

The strongest voice, the most authentic voice, and the voice that resonates with the majority of people online are going to be the most powerful disruptions.

These entities are corporations with investors and shareholders that demand a return on their investment. Fast. No hassle.

I've watched both Facebook and Twitter evolve as they tried to drift away from a social network to becoming a viable tech stock.

The secret to longevity is going to be who lasts.

What has happened with these two startups with imposter's syndrome is they forgot the main course.

In launching any new venture, you have to be able to answer, unequivocally, succinctly, resolutely

Who is your customer?
The ship can sail once you've anchored that

Most companies mistakenly steer the ship towards shareholders and miss the wind for their sails.

Okay, then let me ask:

Who did you have in mind when you created it?

We should all be well-versed on Steve Jobs' and Bill Gates philosophies, however, the main opportunity they uncovered was looking at who their customers were and what was available to them, and make something better, easier.

My point is that Twitter and Facebook did exactly that:

Forgot who the customers is

The idea that resonated to allow either to grow was the adopters, users, and spreaders of word-of-mouth (still the most effective way of spreading good ... or bad news). Social Media just trumped it up on steroids and removed barriers by beliefs, geographic location, race, culture, love interests.

As a consumer and marketing intern, it is not surprising to see the numbers.

They tell the story.

Once Facebook and Twitter tried to become corporations, they fell down the rabbit hole because they forgot who got them there to begin with.

One just has to watch not even 5 minutes of Facebook's Zuckenberg interviews in the US, and you just can't help but get the sense of a really lucky genius idea run by someone still in High School. Someone who ignores advice or heeds wisdom from others.

The baby shoes is starting something.

The first steps is becoming an economical climate or environment with a loyal following who have trust that they have your best interests at heart.

FACEBOOK abuse of trust is a story of "how to get away with privacy infiltration".

I'm still there: it is still one of the best homes to my loyal tribe. I haven't cut off my nose to spite my face by deleting myself there. I did remove the side, personal one as I wanted to focus the energy on only a few areas.

TWITTER abuse of power is a story where they are now trying to dictate who and who cannot be on their platform. What is acceptable in their terms are not necessarily good for its users. PURGING, SUSPENDING accounts would be an example.

ONCE users start to lose the glimmer then the answer to who the customer is becomes realized: the users, members, audience and clicks determine the outcomes now. What is becoming more suspect is the usual technology trick of try me, test me, but if you want this or that THAT IS better it will cost you.

That's a failed business plan
The one where shareholder price or value is where they determine the executive board's ROI return on investment of the CEO and whether they stand behind mostly him (less than 10% of executives on Fortune 500 are women).

FACEBOOK friends

Research
If you really want to start to categorize and ultimately decide which is your favorite platform, you need to take a look at your surroundings. I reached out to my Facebook Friends to ask them that earlier this evening.

Engagement
If you really want to ensure you have engagement with your friends on Facebook, use the "TAG" feature. Don't worry, it is completely fine and acceptable. Except if you have a giHUGE list of friends.

Scale
You can scale back on TAGging those friends who express displeasure at being among your TAGs. Yes it generates a lot of notifications, that would be for sure.

Climb
You can't possibly know whether your numbers are increasing or decreasing without examining your stats. Each soME provider, from Twitter to Google to Facebook, offer free stats to decipher and relate to those numbers in a way in which they communicate.

Communicate
I started this blog 6 years ago, diving into sales and talking about some of the habits, outlook, observations I had while enjoying the acclaim, compensation and recognition with awards and rewards. You're right, I love(d) sales. I enjoyed the strategy and the figuring out "what will it take?" I've realized now, past tense times 10 that the real secret was being able to communicate: in written form, in presentation pizzazz or bellowing oration injected with enthusiasm.

Enthusiasm
Is far more contagious than a positive attitude. Someone can have a fantastic, positive attitude. However, it takes communication to make an impact. Some managers feel threatened by a gregarious nature. Heck, they should embrace it. Discover how easier it makes their life when the team spirit is channeled collaboratively in such a fashion that nobody really knows who is creating it. Except a few, perhaps. Maybe ....

Friends
My Facebook Friends are the most engaged in all the networks that I belong to. If I share a post or an image or a quote, I can always guarantee of an acknowledgement of some kind. In fact, Google's kind analytics show me that Facebook referrals are the highest. I've yet to figure out who my champion from Brazil is because Brazil likes the most, if the traffic audience data shows me the where, I just wish I knew who the who was?

Gratitude
Is an easy thing to express. It reaches all ages, income bracket, age group, interest or demographic. It is the first thing you learn to say when learning a new language. If it falls after yes (oui) or no (non) that's okay. However, MERCI I learned after danke, truth be told. If you only post once in a while or once a week, at minimum, you can express thanks for nice service from a particular brand or provider.

Champion
The cause of championship is by leading by example. Demonstrate how nice and peaceful and easy it is to be a person who consistently gives thanks.

Language
Barriers are minimized or eliminated with gratitude because most people across the globe can say thank you in more than one language.

English
Is the most common language in our world. But for that to be true, I will have to detour for a fact check. After all, it could be Chinese by now or even surpassed by Spanish. Latin is a forgotten art. Does anyone study it anymore?

Quotes
Are a great way to motivate oneself, but it has far more reaching benefits when it is shared. Finding an image to accompany it can POP for attention. People love to share great images with craftily, gracefully embedded text within them. Art. Photography. Chicken scratch. All accepted.

Colors
Can portray moods. Seriousness, somberness, sadness, moodiness, depressive aura is often considered with black and white images with a strong grey force. Yet so is high fashion. We can define our moods or our interpretation of a meaning by the colors we choose to accompany them.

Thanks for stopping in *^* jm xo

PERSISTENCE pays .....

I think that overall, in general, and in sales ::.... persistence pays:

I'm going to have to go digging in my blog-mess ...... why didn't i label them better or could i create folders within folders like i can on many #MICROSOFT user-friendly clicks;

If that doesn't stink, then imagine me trying to create a website with GODADDY.com .... i swear this is the third time i've gone there and they are the worst user friendly, and full of glitches. How many times do we have to hear or read about something that we have to register the fact that somebody is doing a major MAJOR push on advertising spend: GODADDY.com.

Or, alternatively thinking::..... who is being BIG BROTHER and becoming so in tune with my habits: would that be GOOGLE or APPLE (i have a #MicroSoft PC, Apple iPAD, Apple iPhone6x64gb) where my every thought is surrounded by them, ready to pounce on my click to immediately float out the ads thought to be of interest to me. Then again, MicroSoft is getting pretty intuitive these days. I keep getting that steady circle next to the ever-loving "START" button on high alert::.... do i or don't i start being lazy? Yet, that could mean that i could be blogging at breakneck speed from so much knowledge, and data paraded in front of me.

TISSUE

KLEENEX

There's some nifty maneuvering going on out there with these content Kings like BUFFER, POCKET, PINTEREST who have partnered up with GOOGLE's Chrome (old habits die hard, i will be like tissue paper never succumbing to the pressure of calling itself a KLEENEX). Google can rename itself to fall under Alphabet as it is scrambling to the top of the heap for being a 'data' company. Just you watch. While everyone else starts turning around and looking across the floor, wondering how they could have lost the race even though they couldn't find the light at the end of the finish line.

I've shared before (and here I go looking again to insert otherwise my blogs would be shorter, quicker and not encumbered by fact checking or research (perhaps enter content captures like the every incredible IFTTT).

@ifttt knows how to jump hoops around data. Where Facebook and Google are faced off in the ring together, to win the "data champion of the world" platinum ring, Google leading because its grasp of the "obvious" still continues to astound everyone else. Remember on G+ [ googlePLUS GOOGLEplus Google+ google+ ] you don't "follow" people, you have them in your circles. How more ZEN can you get? It sure would resonate with the other big jump in the information world: MINDFULNESS. There, I've written a bit more about it while meanderingsABOUT blogging.

Write a book, film a documentary Michael Moore (it would be right up your alley to mock what is considered general belief to knock everyone's socks off with your seriously talented eye and creativity. The epitome of what I want to be like when I grow up: insightful, creative, honest and real. Except, right now, I am looking to create that by writing words.

I can only write words when I am aware of what is going on around me. Absorbing and gulping down an array of words, poems, quotes, quips clashing in conflict with the creative eye drawn to things of beauty. There is so much of that out there. Huh, I guess I can really take this "Mindfulness" and wrap my own head around it better.

Like a snake or octopus (that i've referred to myself affectionately a few times on INBETWEENERS that I've recently named: YUPPYdom ..... realizing, through writing, that as I sift through the years, totally opposite of what MINDFULNESS is all about ::.... staying in the PRESENT time, moment, second. That is a very very very hard thing to do.

As an assignment, try following along with me as I check it all out and just reiterate in my own words founded by my own presumptions, just interpreting what I see, hear, watch but mostly READ what is going on around me. NOW and put a HALT to thinking about tomorrow's appointments or yesterday's regret.

Sorry, sidebar (URCH, SCREECHhhhhh) Why is it that we only "dwell" in the past. Or we "recall" the mishaps, segmented down to seconds of instant swayed reaction which would have better ramifications. That's a screenplay idea isn't it? Well, that's an area I haven't tried. LOL, I haven't even got near to writing a book. In the back of my mind, I'm writing it. I started organizing it by blogs of different topics that interest me: commentary | publishing | life+love+lifestyle (including beauty and fashion, underscored by admitting I stumble around on POLYVORE ::... to design and test my DIVA worthiness.

In sales, as in life, you have to have a level of persistence. Think of it as being graceful ballerina compared to INDY race. You just don't have time for a bucket list ::.... or do you? Why not? Something that could be further investigated and written about on YUPPYdom with Word Press.

I promised a comparison between Google's Blogspot and Word Press and I've been dragging my fingers. I guess the jury isn't in yet. My knuckles and main readership derived and arrived by creating this blog, with Google, when my instincts told me to write about how sacred Google would become. Heroic of "only in Game of Thrones" masterful proportions.

It isn't fair either on user-friendliness because I was fumbling around when I first created this Blog back in 2010 (yes, soooooooo or sewwwwwwwwwwww many years ago). To being more comfortable and confident in searching for something and which partnership is supporting others the most.

Under that note, I have to say that I started out supporting SocialFave out of admiration and respect for +Philippe since we connected on Linked In when I was a brand-spanking-newbie on social media. Linked In is where I dipped my toes in. As I answer people's question in person all the time: do I really need to be on Twitter? Geez whiz kidz YEsBIZ ::... defining it as a way of casting your personalized net across the universe and seeing what stays in that web you are pulling ashore. I like how Twitter enables me to reach deeper and deeper inside of myself to experiment, discover new information channels, build better awareness for the NOW (still massively, almost impossible, tough).

As what often happens in any clique or popularity group, a few start to get bored and maybe even roll their eyes at each other before slowly creeping out of the room before anyone notices. Many of the YUPPY folks of my youth were amassed under the umbrella of LINKED IN, with the Millennials pushing us from behind, the genX totally crushed in between. A few went exploring new and intriguing ways to communicate and amass even more information, across every mile possible (even space if you paid attention to the Canadian Astronaut who was teaching science to kids from space, as the Space Commander).

By then, I'd carefully placed my basket of goodies: knowledge, experience, character, fashionista style, gregarious personality in with Google, while I left to explore places like Twitter and much later on Facebook and glimmer from Pinterest. There were no user manuals. Which seems ridiculously odd for the YUPPY ~hood who were in the thick of the 80s when Bible/Quaran-thick manuals were dumped on us from everywhere! You couldn't buy anything without being indebted to all the plastic, books, booklets and encyclopedias came with it. Enter my era of the 90s. The persistent patience presented an opportunity to be interested in something, be savvy about it, and then sell it.

Yes, I have been lucky. Or, does success fall upon those at the right place and right time? Busted, I know. That is NOT a MINDFUL thought. Then again, like space explorers now or sea travelers back then, pushing all us to move beyond our own squared, boxed in thinking. So narrow in views that peace is less of an option. As long as two opposing parties believe that they have the ONLY answer, we will struggle to move beyond so much turmoil around us today. Then again, lucky if you were born when I was. I am more familiar with sifting through hype and reality, think about the short shelf of the disco era? If it were up to the Yuppy generation, it would be right up there as a sub-culture of rock and roll.

Gratitude
Right now, I am mindful and thankful for +SocialFave and the team. What a great tool for customizing one's Twitter relationship. More like an extension for the Twitter devotee than a tool. A great example of perseverance, persistence by the founder. I'm too polite to ask whether it has paid off yet. I'm going to guess not, because I want to sprinkle back that business savvy gained from sales hiccups. The pay off is ultimately the longest wait. As my dad would always ask me, sidetracking me quickly and surprisingly or more nurturing and understanding: "What is the pay off?". Great idea to keep that question close at hand, to assist with the struggle of not dwelling on the past or hurry to quickly towards the future. A nice way to say, hey, I like it NOW.

20K and 200K and GROWING

This is where it all started.

On this blog: optioneerJM. Now my memory is murky after spending a good four months longer at Linked In. This was in 2010 of March. That's one thing I like most of the social media platforms I use: to have some sort of reference to the date you initially joined.

Back then, sounding so ancient of times, there weren't many analytics out there. Except for Google, who knew they had uncovered a secret power by gathering the information for each user into data that could be divisible by quadrants or eighths. I instinctively went with Google. Thinking, if they are (this was 2010, I know, eons ago) the key central place that people turn to right off, without hesitation people look to Google and use Google as much as they do their email server.

I think I started this blog in 2011. Just thinking off the cuff. I was a dedicated Linked In user. Just gobbling up information and storing it away. As a natural communicator, story teller (some say that is long winded, tell that to so many of the others that can process information so quickly and then exude it in a calm, poised, professional manner. Yes, I'm very fortunate.

So, there I am. The keener of keeners. When or if WIKIpedia has the word keener, they must surely have me as an example. i.e. Jeannette is such a keener about ..... trying something new, gathering information while sifting out the garbage, when she's onto something she in the gung in gungho (I'm cringing a little because I'm afraid it is some swear word in a different language).

I'm on Linked In with fascination. WOW, you just see people you know from your career filter across your path or you stumble upon them yourself. I so DID become an evangelist of Linked In. Even if I worked longer hours (could be up to 16) I could come home, be challenged, think more curiously, learn new information by logging on there.

Tres coolio when I was able to reconnect with the Exec VP and marketing manager and my main ad agent in Toronto. To my horror, he told me that he'd been screwed out of (for emphasis) most of the amounts owed him for his ad sales. I know. Terrible. Especially since I hired him. Again, you have to be trust worthy in order to give off the vibe you are trustworthy.

Exchanging updates with former colleagues became the order of the day. Then Recommendations, Endorsements, then reading only premiere influencer blogs back in the day.

While at the same time, you could join groups, around topics you felt comfortable around. For me, it was digital printing and sales. There was only one digital printing group 6 years ago, but oodles of sales groups with different names.

As a self-described knowledge junkie, I started to read a lot of the questions in those few groups. Right, climate change was the third. See how little has changed? The part of the questions that was brilliant was you could read others answers. Some just knew were blowhards, while some were quite quite smart. I would reach out and connect with those that were talented, many entrepreneurs launching new business ventures, was a natural curiosity to satisfy.

Gregarious by nature, I jumped in to the fray by answering questions based on my own experience. I would have to say, sales by far with a hang out for Digital Printing who are really smart people. They were back then what app developers or mobility are to us now, smart phones. Look up!! (Someone should invent a headband that prevents you from bowing your head to read your smartphone to look importantly scanning before you run into a mailbox or a street post).

This week, so a week after the Notification, Quora notified me that I was the MOST VIEWED BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT WRITER .... can you believe that? Aint that amazing? Well, pat yourself on your own back. If you are here, reading this, you had some part in it in some way.

If you want to try something as you get older, ref. MEANDERINGSabout.blogspot.ca (see sidebar) you may read up on it first instead of just going and doing it or buying the gear first. Anyone in their 40s and beyond, will take more time to buy something by reading up about it, looking for reviews.

Well, I seem to have really enjoyed writing. The little nudges like hitting over 200,000 page views in 6 years. That's one of the disadvantages of not owning your own website and history of analytics. I can see what the most popular posts or trending posts are. That has been a cool development. Don't get me started on my annoyance that they goofed up majorly on the sidebar layouts ... that has been down a good month and I've even went to their resources, looked for help, and still notta.

After folks in LinkedIN SALES group kept asking me: Do you have a Blog? I was kinda guffawed, honoured, humbled. Then got on it. Not fearful of what lay ahead, not overly confident with technology, but a KEANER to the core. To this day, two of my most read blogs were created in the first few. So here we are.

Together from 0 to 20,000
are my Twitter followers. Thank you. And props to Twitter for helping cast out a very wide net to filter out garbage and only fall upon refined, intelligent, humour writers, artists, cartoonist, imagineers.

So, if you really want my advice on how to sell or use social media, it falls upon similar statistics in all sorts of real life examples, except the top 10% are the best with the 90% being the masses. Typically, the 80/20 rule is a principle used by default: in my case it is 90% of my followers are just that while the 10% are actively engaged. We exchange information, and have developed a virtual friendship, lending each other support and assistance. Strengthening the 90/10 bond.

While the numbers over 200K amaze me, I come up with a few more questions. How did others get over 20 million page views? I guess I'm on track for more experiments, more self serving investigation of facts, with written observances that I write on optioneerJM.

Sometimes we can be so data focus that we can lose sight of what is important. I noticed that there was a lot of traction when I wrote about social media so I detoured and muddied the waters by writing blogs on social media.

Linked In has other uses. As a blogger, a specific post can inspire me to comment, and then want to comment some more, resulting in a blog post on the very same topic. Possibly others use Linked In conversations gained by posts to inspire a dedicated blog. Every once in a while, you may even find a more popular writer, take the morsel of an idea and expand on it with their own perspective. It can mean a larger conversation because of that person's notoriety and reach numbers. Most times, they won't acknowledge where they got the idea to write from.

Integrity
is important to me. Without those around me to inspire me to write more and who's trust I value. It's important to me to acknowledge where I got the idea to write, if it is a Linked In post and by whom. Or expanded upon a comment from an article I read. That is the right thing to do. The biggies could claim that they're too busy or not acknowledge where they got the idea on their post from.

Nugget
An idea begins with a nugget of an idea that bursts forth. Or, one just decides that they have something more to say. That's fine. That's a personal decision whether you share some of the glory. To me, it reinforces the fact that I am surrounded by a great number of talented people who inspire me and encourage me to stretch myself to reach new heights.

Quora
If you like to test your acumen on any number of topics, this is where you may want to consider signing up for. You can be narrow in scope or wide in interests. Quora, too, has evolved over the past 6 years to provide more value to its subscribers. You can post blogs there. There aren't any rules that it can't be blogged elsewhere. What is magnificent is that you can carve a niche on a specific topic that interests you.

Engagement
The value of any social media platform is determined by the engagement you encounter. For example, if someone likes your answers, you may find that they follow you. That means, any time you post an answer, it can fall into the radar of your followers.

Rewards
Quora rewards your answers by allowing others to UPVOTE your answer. This symbol of solidarity is now common elsewhere: think REDDIT. You could go on and on and comment or answer a multitude of questions. However, others will shift over to you based on your answers taking it further by following you on Quora, and then reaching out to connect on the other networks. That's where I term engagement.

Engagement
On social media can mean that what you've written or posted has peaked the interest of someone else, they may be compelled to UPVOTE you, but the charm is when they want to follow you or even better get to know you better by seeing what you are saying elsewhere like Facebook or Twitter.

Expertise
Is an irritant for a lot of people. So many cloud the word with self-proclaimed 'expert' on any number of topics. Expert is something others call your or use to describe you. It isn't something anyone should take on themselves.

Credibility
can be reinforced when your name crops up on lists. What you will discover often is that it is a CLUB or circle of people who constantly recognize each other, share each other's content. That's great. It can help build your credibility online because others determine what topics they like to hear from you on. Any assignment of "expertise" is best referenced to i.e. KLOUT gives credence by cleverly using its algorithm to show what topics people tend to click on from your posts. After a while, they will give recognition to you after a reasonable amount of time. I miss their invitations to answer questions which you can leverage to show your knowledge. Instead, they evolved into sharing content.

Invitation to Answer Questions
Thankfully Quota has enhanced this area. I was tickled pink when asked a specific question on sales. What snowballed is that people liked the answers and invited you to answer a specific question.

Evolution
Every social media platform is a service to its members. There is a lot of competition out there for grabbing audience share. They've had to stop the razzle dazzle of technological antics and redirect to finding ways to bring value to its subscribers. In other words, return again and again.

Revenue
The most challenging part about social media platforms is generating cash. Now they have to be accountable for bringing in money to cover their costs. As they mushroom in size, it means adding more talented people. They have to solve the problem of how not only do they entice the most talented, but also how to retain them, avoiding any exodus to a competitor.

Shareholders
are a finicky bunch. What is popular today may be last week's news tomorrow. The challenge, in my opinion, to social media sites is creating revenue streams. By default they resort to inserting adver- tising, that are annoying and distracting to their end users. Have you ever left using a site because you were irritated enough that these distractions inhibited any momentum you had by stopping everything to show you an ad.

Advertisements
are becoming more and more invasive. Along with giving others control of your interests by where or how you click, they are now pushing ads in your face midstream.

Value proposition
To decrease the disruption of advertisements which is usually needed to create cash, social media networks are challenged to increase value to its audience.

Level playing field
Back in the day of magazine advertising sales, I was taught the basics of analytics. Forcing organizations to provide the burden of proof that they have the audience they say they have.

Treasure for others
The burden of proof to satisfy or really justify why you charge this much for that thing. Very few organizations arrive on the scene being able to charge high end prices. What magically seems to appear on the scene, takes years to evolve.

Justification
Back in media, you have to prove how many viewers you have, then be able to provide finite detail based on the time of day, the geographical location, the topic interest. Then it becomes more complicated.

Audience size
is the basic starting point for any offering online. The burden of proof to substantiate and back up your claims is more lenient. However, as more services emerge to solve this dilemma, creating opportunity.

KLOUT
was the subject of a lot of debate five years ago when it went through adjusting people's numbers, usually be at least 25 points. Looking back now, it is reasonable to think that it was based on discovering that they had to distinguish the top echelon that was becoming crowded. Lots of people became disgruntled when their number decline, which is normal in a results driven world. Likely, they noticed that it was the biggest brands and Lady Gaga crowding the top spots. Hardly fair, if you were Joe Everybody. How could you differentiate yourself from others who called themselves an expert in a field?

Because I said so
was not an answer we ever liked when it came from a parent or authority. Our logic rebelled at such a blank statement. The same has become of anyone wanting to claim superiority in anything. Only Steve Jobs is recognized for getting away with that. Even Mark Zuckenberg cannot get away with that statement.

Proof
The burden of proof is bestowed upon anyone claiming any one thing. The days of believing everything that is posted are gone. People have become skeptical on the reliability of what they read online. They want to know why a brand can claim they have the best taste, the biggest network, the answer to a major problem. Case in point with the US Elections. Trump has to keep demonstrating that he's not a scoundrel while Clinton has to show why you should trust her.

Cool things
are emerging now as the burden of proof more relevant. Twitter went public and shareholders bought in to the value of their traffic and audience.

Return on investment
ROI is return on investment. Social media, readership, viewers all want to feel justify in investing their money or time on a specific item.

Value
is the name of the game. In sales, in sophisticated environments, you have to be able to justify that in exchange for this dollar (or dollars), I can expect a reasonable return on the investment. Twitter is the subject of debate: was the cost justified by value? The onus is on brands to provide value added services or knowledge in order for consumers or sophisticated buyers need backup to reinforce their decision.

Innovation
seems to be what drives value. Google is a favorite example of mine. They constantly evolve, are never static and stretch themselves to innovate while using the information at their disposal.

Data
the race is on. We hear about cloud, data, all the time. The average audience member doesn't understand what the fuss is all about and most don't care. I've predicted that the race for data is a fierce and competitive one. Organizations have to prove that they have reliable data and the burden to show that it is authentic has become more important. People will not waste their time nor their dollars on falsehoods. Audiences, whether by clicks or purchase, are wiser. They try to dodge the tricks and pitfalls of falling prey to being a number that represents their opinions.

Brand Ambassadors
surface. The easy ones are celebrities like Katy Perry endorsing beauty products. She is paid a fee not only for being in ads, but also for her tweets to promote the product. Not fair to the average Joe or Josephine.

Influencer
has become an identity that many claim. However, like KLOUT, if you're not Katy Perry, you need proof. There are services and software and APPS that are driven to solve this problem: to distinguish the average person from a celebrity who is paid based on their image or talent?

Actions
drive proof. You can implode on the scene when you make a statement or observation that resonates with a large audience. The actions they take are:

They follow you (whether it be on Twitter or Facebook)
They subscribe to your blog
They add your website to their favorites in acknowledgement that you are a source of information that others trust.
They click on what you share. They like it and the very few are compelled to comment.

Followers
can be a decoy. You'd think that shear numbers would satisfy proof. That is not always so. That is because others have claimed the opportunity to sell followers to boost your numbers and increase your followers. That can be misleading because someone who has a large following, does not necessarily mean that they are influential.

Interactions
with people are a strong indication that you've at least gained others' curiosity. Making false or objectionable comments or tweets can rile people up. That can certainly increase interaction and create viral conversations, camaraderie with others who agree with your stand.

Controversy
sells or creates more interaction or instigates more clicks. Compare Peirs Morgan with Donald Trump and it should demonstrate that although taking a stand on a sensitive topic can increase clicks or comments, it shows that it can also be detrimental to your career and reputation. The Donald fuels controversy for more views, draws people and media to look to see what crazy thing he is Tweeting. Discussion unfold on the credibility. Piers Morgan used his position on CNN to create a platform to increase Twitter followers based on the very controversial "gun control" debate. Sure, he was able to provide proof and even substantiate his statements with examples.

EGO
can also be destructive. Using Morgan as an example, he cared too much about how many Twitter followers he had. That was his measurement stick.

Popularity
in a topic whether controversial or inspirational is the divisible factor. Morgan started to believe his own hype and influence as his Twitter audience grew. He misunderstood the power CNN gave him.

Power
is wielded the same way online as in real life. Power goes to those that others believe more willingly and then like a lost sheep. Morgan misread his numbers to signify power. He soon found out that his stand gave him a wide berth to an audience. What he failed to recognize was that it was the path to his demise.

Don't believe your own press
is a caution to be applied. Take each bright light or positive sign to inspire and motivate you to continue to thrive in the spotlight, which is more lasting if it is full of optimism or positive messaging or authority.

Authority
is a fine line between expertise. Only others can distinguish you by being an authority on something. Where you are, what you say, is reinforced by the power you wield that inspires people to click or share.

Finish Line
There is no finish line or ending on social media. You have to continually reinforce your knowledge, justify that reward.

Lists
are great. I love lists. I click on links from lists because I am driven by curiosity. Only things like "Black's Worst Dressed" lists or People's "Most Beautiful People" have been around for years. Not everyone agrees with the selection, sometimes it creates controversy and rebuff. Yet by their longevity they are awarded recognition on being an authority. Others like to create lists that include their fanbase or connections to increase clicks.

Click bait
Is a term I only became familiar with only recently. How wise that someone figured out a way to decry those who are adept at posting or sharing something that generates clicks. When it fails on authenticity or creates doubt, it fails quickly. Smart people intuitively recognize click bait when they see it.

Skeptics
surface everywhere these days on social media. Intelligent people are not fooled by others easily. I'm trusting by nature. Yet I don't believe everything anyone says, I like back up. I hate seeing lists whereby the listee is a means to attract more viewers, creates an false sense of expertise that they don't possess.

Scratch my back
and I'll scratch your's is a reasonable exchange. If you help others and support what you believe are worthwhile, you can acknowledge others' accomplishments. Like real life, if you do it expecting something in return, then social media can be disappointing.

There are no rules
except the rules established today or in the moment. That is the cool part of social media. You can see what is going on by looking at what is trending.

Paid versus organic
In the quest to create revenue streams, companies will pay to place themselves on your radar. Conveniently placed based on your clicks or views. That's fair. It is the world you create. Companies need results fast.

Justification
of how money is spent is important. Patience is not a thing that someone or some company needs to have when their very survival depends on audience size.

Twitter
is continuously evolving to justify the value they bring those who will pay to be placed on TRENDING topics. Skeptics or realists can distinguish paid for click from organic clicks.

Organic
is how I've gone. Learning as I go along, attracting talent to interact with, click on their information because I've decided they are authentic and have a certain amount of expertise. For example, I was tickled pink when the weatherman from our local CTV television followed me, even exchanging messages on Twitter (he's who taught me the term click bait). Except, I don't go to David Spense for what is going on in Calgary, my home city. I will seek him out if I'm looking for the weather forecast, not wanting to wait or be bothered to wait for the news to see what he has to say.

On target
Like I don't go to a weather expert about what is going on with Calgary, I go to look for it from someone I've decided seems to have their finger on the pulse.

Viral versus organic
One is fast, the other slow. Lots try to play with it. Trying to create something viral is a goal for a brand or ad agency, using sophisticated means and endless resources. The average person does not have a bottomless money pit (neither do Brands, they just have a better way to justify the ROI for the use of that investment). The average person has to grow organically.

Tricks
abound. Without the drive to increase an audience or generate sales revenue streams, with the support of shear numbers, cause others to try tricks to attract clicks or increase audience size. They are usually short sighted and short term. The intelligence of people is disregarded and can have averse impact when it is uncovered.

Why be on Twitter?
Was a question I was invited to answer on Quora. As Quora evolves to become more authentic and provide value, they initially allowed members to invite others to answer questions.

One entity's junk can be another's treasure
Quora scooped up a thing that Klout had a while back: asking those they recognized as having expertise on a topic to answer questions. Quora has improved its information to zero in on authenticity and credibility. Now they do the inviting to ANSWER questions that their members ask, to boost the return to their value added service. Just because Klout decided to shelf this area, Quora had the ideal environment to use it.

Live streaming
Twitter is on the news today because of the buzz surrounding the streaming of live NFL games. Skeptics would respond that YouTube has been providing that for forever. Media outlets have created specialized APPS: think the Rio Olympic coverage. They wanted to create and capture viewers interested in watching the Olympics.

Convenience
is a readiness to provide people with the information they may be looking for before they even realize they will be looking for it. Those are the clever ones.

Destination
Organizations that can be credited with and recognized as a destination source for information is what distinguishes the greats from the good enoughs. There are many examples out there of brain childs that fell to the wayside while others scooped up those morsels, adopted it as their own, and expanded and IMPROVED what the forefathers missed.

Specialization
becomes distinct whether you want to be a central source for information that allows you to provide information for free, credibility reinforced by facts and objective in the presentation of information.

Fact checking
was only something I experienced with magazines. They employ people to review an article and source the quotes, cross-referenceable by facts.

Authenticity
is not something you can trust or develop over night. It grows organically or is fast tracked depending on your resources. Sometimes it needs BETA testers and other times leverage influencers authority to speed it up. Authenticity begets the authentic. Trust and specialization develops. Think MASHABLE. They are the evolution of information and news and being a source for what is cool, unique, entertaining, informative.

Quora asked me to answer
a question a user asked: why should you be on Twitter? I'm sure that a lot of people and brands ask this very question. Quora hasn't recognized me as a voice on social media, but they did ask me anyhow. Probably buried somewhere was some analytics that test the authenticity of the voice or the person they ask having some sort of authority based on what people click on or whom. This was my answer:

Q: Why do people get interested in Twitter?
A: Imagine casting a net and catching followers who mirror your interests or provide knowledge on Twitter. It compliments any personal or corporate branding by providing messaging, quotes, images that allow one to gain audience from others you would not ordinarily attract.

Here are some more questions
I've been asked on Quora. I have the sense that I am being asked more and more for my opinion of a variety of answers to questions. Certainly, from my answers, upvotes, clicks is showing Quora more areas for me to answer that may encourage others to view the questions and answers, encourage asking more questions, increase the value to their members.

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Jeannette Marshall, Avid social media evangelist, blogger, 20K Followers on Twitter, 72 KLOUT