Gathan D. Borden

“They Go’n Love Me For My Ambition: Three ways your ambition can shape your life”

They go’n love me for my ambition
Easy to dream a dream, though it’s harder to live it

Shout-out to Wale for the lyrics, as this is one of my favorite songs on his “Ambition” album. How easy is it to dream, but in the same breath, how hard is to make your dreams a reality? To me, ambition is what separates the two. If we look into this “double-duty” word, we’ll see that it can be defined in two ways: a noun and a verb. It is an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, and the willingness to strive for its attainment - it means to seek after earnestly; to aspire to.

So what do you aspire to? What do you want to be? What do you want your legacy to be? Some of us may be able to answer these questions, but for those of us who can’t, here are three ways that your ambition will help shape your life.

Ambition precedes elevation. Former basketball great and United States Senator, Bill Bradley once said, “Ambition is the path to success”. So many of us want to be successful in our careers, but we lack the drive and willingness to work hard at developing and preparing ourselves to be elevated to career heights unknown. There’s nothing wrong with chasing success - it’s the ingredient used to develop the world’s most successful people. However, if you’re going to be successful, you need to put action into your plans and either write them down or share them with someone close, that way you hold yourself accountable.  

Ambition is a contagion. Ever been around someone whose energy and persona always lift you up? Someone whose laugh always makes you laugh, even though it’s not that funny? Ambitious people breed ambitious people, because it is contagious. Frank Tyger said, “Ambition is enthusiasm with purpose”. Surround yourself with people who are doing something with a purpose - people who are going somewhere. Allow your ambitions and enthusiasm to rub off one another, and watch your personal and professional relationships soar to new heights.

Ambition comes with hateration. One of the territories that come with being ambitious is the haters. People full of you-can’t-do-that syndrome. But those types of people are what you should use for motivation. Pearl Bailey once said, “A man without ambition is dead”. Don’t allow the haters to kill your dreams and goals. Matter of fact, most hating is the result of envy, because they see you doing or going after something they wish they could do themselves. Tell ‘em to keep hatin’ as that’s your motivation.

They go’n love me for my ambition
Easy to dream a dream, though it’s harder to live it

THREE THINGS I LEARNED FROM THE TRAYVON MARTIN CASE

QUALIFIER: This post isn’t meant to display my thoughts or feelings on the Trayvon Martin/George Zimmerman case, but rather a broader look into what this case has meant to me in terms of race relations and equal justice.

It’s been 30+ days since Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman (February 26 to be exact). And in the days since his tragic death, the world has been turned upside down in terms of race and justice. While I was in Chicago 2 weeks ago, I witnessed a rally march for Trayon Martin. [You can watch the video here.]

As I’m watching them march, shout and show their signs of support, it really opened my eyes to a lot of things. I’m one of those people that always looks a little deeper into issues to find a message that I can either use in my everyday life, or share with others. This case has showed me three things, and I want to share with them with you.

1. RACISM STILL EXISTS. It’s not as in-your-face today as it was for my parents, grandparents and ancestors…but it’s still there. To think that Trayvon Martin could be seen as a “threat” simply by having on a hoodie is ridiculous. Hell, I wear hoodies all the time! But it’s not limited to hoodies in our society, as you can subsitute hoodies for tattoos, baggy pants, etc. I think that because, we as minorities, have come a long way and are seen in successful positions that sometimes we forget about what our fellow brothers and sisters of less fortune are facing. As an African-American male, I picture myself in Trayvon’s shoes, and I have those ”that could have been me” moments. Let’s not be blind to the fact that racism and prejudice are very prevalent today, it’s just not always in your face.

2. INJUSTICE BREEDS INSEPARABILITY. Anytime we bear witness to an injustice in this society, it always brings us together as a community. In the wake of the Trayvon Martin case, we’ve seen people of all races - black, brown, yellow and white, bound together to fight for justice. We as a nation demand that justice be served at all times, and cases like this tend to bring us all together, as we can see ourselves or our loved ones in similar situations. So if there is a silver lining to this case and similar injustices across the world, it’s that these types of instances bring us closer together as a community to help fight the ills and negative stereotypes of this world in order to make it a better place for those that come after us.

3. IF YOU DON’T STAND FOR SOMETHING, THEN YOU’LL FALL FOR ANYTHING. We’ve all heard this line right? And it’s true. I applaud not only the families of Trayvon Martin and Geroge Zimmerman, but the numerous cities, communities and activist groups who are staging protests and rallies to take a stand to fight for what they believe is an injustice. Trayvon Martin’s family and allies are fighting for his name and honor; George Zimmerman’s family and allies (yes there are some) are fighting for the same thing on his side. No matter what side of the fence you are on, these types of acts show strength, faith and hope that justice will one day be served.

12 WAYS TO CHANGE YOUR SOCIAL STRATEGY IN 2012

We’re two months into the new year, and many of us are two months into our social media strategies, or we are two months into planning our social media strategies. Whatever side you are working on, I’ve got 12 tips that may help you in changing, organizing and planning your social media strategies. I like to call it my “12 for 12” plan, 12 things you can do to improve your social media in 2012.

DEVELOP A SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY. If you or your company are in the social space, and do not have a social media policy, you are setting yourself and your brand up for a whole heap of trouble. Your policy should provide guidelines on how to use the various social media networks, how to interact on these networks and address the use of what you should share on these networks. The policy protects you and anyone else who uses social media on your brand’s behalf.

DO NOT LINK FACEBOOK TO TWITTER. I see many people who make the mistake of linking what they share on Facebook to Twitter, or vice versa. While both of these communities are the most popular, the audiences are totally different, the way you interact on these sites is totally different, so your messaging should be totally different. The activity stream on Twitter is very active, and the average tweet lasts about 30 seconds. Utilize shorter and concise messages here, and save your richer content for Facebook.

START USING FACEBOOK INSIGHTS. Most people have heard of Facebook Insights, but most of us are not using it right. There is a wealth of information at your fingertips, and it is FREE. Use the insights to gain an understanding of the engagement of your posts to see what works and what doesn’t work, and adjust your strategies accordingly.

DO NOT TWEET LONGER THAN 140 CHARACTERS. Twitter has a limit of 140 characters for a reason…don’t go beyond that. Matter of fact, try and keep your tweets to about 100 characters if you can. This will allow for someone to share your tweets with something more than the normal RT. Nothing drives me more crazy than to see the that “tl” at the end of a tweet, I never click on that link to finish reading a tweet.

DEVELOP A CONTENT SCHEDULE. Ever been sitting at your desk twiddling your thumbs wondering about what earth-shattering news you can share to drive up likes or RTs? STOP DOING THAT! Take some time and plan out a content schedule. Look at three months out and break it down month by month, then week by week and then day by day. This schedule will allow you to post relevant content and keep you from wasting time trying to find irrelevant things to post.

HIRE A COMMUNITY MANAGER. If your brand is really struggling on tackling social media, then you should explore hiring a community manager. Having a knowledgeable person to take the lead on the social media efforts for your brand is pivotal to its success. Don’t put the fate of your brand in the hands of the IT department or an intern.

DEVELOP A SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM. No one person can do it all. Create a social media team from colleagues across various departments. The social media team can help “divide and conquer” on various tasks to implement in the social media plan. This type of team will also aid in the company buy-in process to using social media.

START A BLOG. Because of the popularity of Facebook and Twitter and other social media networks, blogging can sometimes take a back seat. If you don’t have one, develop a blog. It will allow you to develop some very rich content, while also creating web traffic for your brand website and social media sites. Your blog allows for long-form content that cannot be expressed correctly on social media sites.

PROVE THE ROI TO MANAGEMENT. Everybody wants to know what the ROI is on social media. And my answer is always the same, “I don’t know”. What I do know is that if we’ve got a social presence, then we’ve got followers/fans that represent potential buyers. If I engage with them, and get them to view my content and drive them to my website, odds are, I have a shot at making a conversion. Management loves e-mail, but probably doesn’t question its ROI. Social media should be viewed the same way, as they are both electronic messages that give content and provide links back to your website. What’s the ROI on that e-mail you sent out last month?

TIE IN YOUR OFFLINE MARKETING EFFORTS. Bridging your online and offline marketing efforts is essential to the success of any overall marketing campaign. It extends the life of your message and provides other avenues in which to share content and drive web traffic. Use your social sites to deliver behind-the-scenes content as an extension of your print, radio or TV advertising.

STAY RELEVANT AND ON TOPIC. Nothing is more of a turn-off than when the brand or person you are following drifts on topic and doesn’t focus on the core message. I’m not saying that you cannot talk about current affairs, but find a way to tie them back into your brand so that your followers are consistently hit with your message.

DON’T BE EVERYWHERE. New social media sites are popping up all the time, but just because it’s there, doesn’t mean you need to go sign-up. When new sites arise, sign-up with a dummy account and test it out before you put your brand on there. If the new site doesn’t bring any additional value to your brand that your other sites are already delivering, then don’t wast your time.

4 Leadership Lessons From My Newborn Son

On December 29, 2011, my wife and I welcomed into the world our 2nd child and 1st son, Christian Gathan Daniel Borden. It’s life-changing moments like this that we begin to analyze things and put our lives into perspective. As I’m watching my son sleep, I began to see a message that correlated between being a baby and being a leader. So I’ve come up with four things that you can learn about leadership from babies…here goes:

GET SOME SLEEP. One thing that I think we can all agree about babies, is that they always sleep - at least up to a certain age. But it’s amazing how something so simple as sleep can be misused. When I say sleep, I don’t mean physically sleeping, I’m referring to just plain relaxation and meditation. Give your brain and body time to heal, so that you can perform at your best. Ever tried to operate on not enough sleep? Yea, the results are not good.

ASK FOR HELP. Show me a great leader, and I’ll show you a great support system. Babies can’t walk, so they need people in their lives for support to help them learn how to eat, talk and walk. In order for you to be the best leader you want to be, you need to be around people who can teach you things you don’t know. Network with people who can take you places you’ve never been, and show you things you’ve never seen. The G.O.A.T, Michael Jordan once said, “Talent wins games. Teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” Be smart and surround yourself with greatness.

ALLOW OTHERS TO CARRY YOU. Before babies learn to walk, they rely on others to help transport them around. And sometimes we need help in getting from point A to point B in our careers. Successful people surround themselves with others of the same successful mindset in order to achieve goals. Being a leader doesn’t mean you get to tell everyone what to do. Being a leader affords you the opportunity to put people in position to be successful so that the entire team can win. And if you’ve been in the business world long enough, you’ll soon realize it takes a lot to win, even when you’re not at your best. That’s when your valuable team members come in to play. If you empower people correctly, they can come to your rescue without the team ever missing a beat.

TAKE A DUMP AND FORGET ABOUT IT. How many times a day do you have to deal with the foolishness of colleagues, friends and family? Sometimes you just need to cleanse your system of all that nonsense and start over. When babies use the bathroom in their diapers, they get irritated when they sit in it. Then they get irritated as you try and clean them up and change them. But once they are clean with a new diaper, they have a new attitude and then act as if nothing happened at all! The same applies to our lives. Rid yourself of the people who bring nothing but mounds of sh*t into your life, you’ll be amazed at the attitude change.

One of my favorite quotes is “success occurs when preparation meets opportunity”. Prepare yourself to be a leader by utilizing these actions and you’ll soar above the competition.

4 THINGS TO DO IN LOUISVILLE OVER THE HOLIDAYS

‘Tis the season to be jolly, fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!

There’s nothing like the holidays to bring joy into our hearts and put our lives into perspective. It’s that time of the year where family comes home, college friends whom you haven’t seen in years stop in to pay a visit, and gifts are given…in abundance. While most of us take time off during the holidays, we tend to get stuck with the “what-to-do” syndrome. Luckily for you, Louisville is chock-full of things to do over the holiday season, and if you need some family fun, or just a night out, I’ve got a quick list to help guide you along the way.

Do the Urban Bourbon Trail. Yea, so I started with bourbon…you knew it was coming! In Kentucky, we are responsible for producing 95% of the world’s bourbon supply, and in Louisville, we make about one-third of the world’s bourbon supply! That alone gives us reason to celebrate America’s Native Spirit by raising a glass at some of Louisville’s world-famous bourbon bars. The Urban Bourbon Trail is a cocktail and culinary experience that takes you to 14 (and growing) bars and restaurants across the city that embrace bourbon as a lifestyle. All of these places have 50+ bourbons and cook bourbon-inspired cuisine. It comes with a Bourbon Country passport (that is free and can be picked up at any of the 14 participating locations or the Louisville Visitors Center), in which each stop will stamp your passport. Once you get 6 stamps, all you have to do is turn in your passport, and you get a free t-shirt along with your Official Citizen of Bourbon Country certificate. So if you’ve got bourbon fans in the house, it’s definitely worth a sip. MORE INFO.

Visit “Christmas at the Galt”. If you’re like me, and you’ve got kids, doing the Urban Bourbon Trail with your 4 year-old might be frowned upon. In that case, check out the Galt House. They’ve got a holiday experience there for all ages, and it features KaLightoscope Christmas as the main attraction. You can go see the world’s largest Gingerbread Village, catch the “Colors of the Season” dinner show filled with songs and dancing or check out some arts, crafts and other Christmas souvenirs in the Mistletoe Marketplace. It’s definitely an enjoyable time to spend with the kids - and bring the grandparents too. MORE INFO.

Take in the arts scene. One of the things I appreciate about Louisville is its love for the arts. For a city our size, we are blessed to have so many performing arts venues and museums at our disposal. The Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory has the “Merry Christmas Charlie Brown” exhibit on display that pays tribute to the classic television special. You get a behind-the-scenes history of the show, artifacts used in the production, and a look at all the winter sports that Charlie Brown and the gang played. You also can have some fun with the hands-on activities. Across the street, you can see some multi-cultural holiday celebrations at both the Frazier History Museum (where kids 17 & under are free until January 1, 2012) and the Muhammad Ali Center. Their displays highlight how different communities celebrate their holiday traditions. Actors Theatre and some other museums have activity going on too, so throw in a nice lunch or dinner and your day is set.

Dine at a new restaurant. And speaking of dining, restaurants just seem to be popping up every day in Louisville. I recently heard a statistic that for every 3 restaurants that close, there are another 5 that will open up! That is a staggering number for a city the size of Louisville. Most of us probably do the family dinner thing, but maybe you might want to switch it up this year and do something different. There really are too many restaurants for me to recommend; nevertheless, I’ve got a list of 6 spots for you to try. They are not on here by any other measurement than my “I think you should try it” scale. So here they are:

Doc Crow’s Southern Smokehouse & Raw Bar: Southern/BBQ style coupled with classic seafood favorites.

Eddie Merlot’s: One of the best steakhouses around.

Hillbilly Tea: The trendy cafe in downtown.

 Troll Pub Under The Bridge: Classic pub food, located under the 2nd street bridge.

Garage Bar: Wood-fired pizzas and craft beer.

Ghyslain: A french-style bistro filled with chocolates, pasteries and breads.

And with that said, HAPPY HOLIDAYS people. Whatever religion you are, or however you celebrate the holidays, remember the most important thing is family and love, so be sure that you are spreading nothing but peace and positivity in Possibility City.

WHAT IS MORE IMPORTANT, THE “SOCIAL” OR THE “MEDIA”?

We are now in the times where the social space has taken over our daily lives, everybody is doing it! But not all of us are doing it right. Now before you read any further, I am no social media guru, I simply like to share my honest view and opinions on the subject.

So back to what I was saying – I see many companies, organizations and people not utilizing their social spaces effectively. Let’s talk about these athletes for a second. I’m a huge sports fan, but I am blown away by the amount of information that athletes wish to share on their social pages. Taking videos of themselves saying inappropriate things or tweeting out “secret” or proprietary information? Where Dey Do Dat At? Most people are quick to blame Facebook, Twitter or any other social site for the downfall, but I don’t think that’s the issue. People have been doing and saying dumb things for years; however, our mediums have changed and expanded across the years, thus making it easier and more accessible to publish information.

So to answer the question, what is more important, the “social” or the “media”?

Well, my profound answer is, they are both equal. Some people may say one is bigger than the other, but I say they have to live together. I think everyone knows what it means to be social, although most of us don’t use it correctly in our social media plans and strategies. I think we tend to downplay the word media and not fully understand its importance. I count all media, i.e. TV, radio, print, social networking, etc. as equals.  Now granted each of these forms has a different reach, but they are all still forms of media available to the public. Treat your social media pages just as you would an advertisement and/or news interview. If you wouldn’t put it in an advertisement or say it in an interview, then don’t publish it to the world.

Four Ways To Be An Entrepreneur In Your Current Position

Now I will confess….I AM NOT AN ENTREPRENEUR. I even have trouble trying to spell the word! But I know several entrepreneurs and read about the industry so I can stay abreast of what is soon to come. Entrepreneurs are creative and inspirational, but most of us won’t venture down that path for a variety of personal or professional reasons. However, we can all become entrepreneurs in our own right, in our current jobs. A term referred to as “intrapreneur”. And yes, I am one of these!

So here’s what I’ve done. I’ve listed four attributes of entrepreneurs that will help you become an intrapreneur in your company. I guarantee if you use these, it will help you add value to your current role, your co-workers and your company…and possibly lead you to the most coveted prize of them all, a promotion.

1. MAKE YOUR WORK A NECESSITY, SO THAT YOU BECOME NECESSARY.

One of the key attributes of an entrepreneur is that they develop products and services out of necessity through market demands. And once a product has enough demand, it becomes a necessity. Don’t take your workload for granted! When developing or producing whatever it is you do, take it one step further to give it that extra oomph. If you run reports and take meeting notes, organize them in the most efficient manner possible, while delivering them before the deadline. If you do customer service, make notes of what you hear your customers talking about in regards to their experiences with your company, and share those with co-workers and management. No matter what role you are in, you can always make yourself necessary. Use the old adage of “under-promise and over-deliver”. Be Necessary.

2. SEE IT FOR WHAT IS, BUT USE IT FOR IT WHAT IT CAN BE.

Some of the best things in this world have been developed by average everyday human beings who have the distinct ability to take a product and/or service for what is, and see improvements for what it can be. Just because the company has always done something a certain way doesn’t mean it has to remain that way. But you have to be careful to not step outside of your boundaries and buck the system. As an employee, you have firsthand experience with your products and services, so share your ideas for improvement that will benefit the company as a whole. Be Resourceful.

3. DO WHAT OTHERS WON’T DO.

No task should be labeled as “too small” for you. Ever heard someone say, ”it’s a dirty job, but someone’s gotta do it.” Well, they are right! Think of all the tasks that are done on a daily basis in your company, and then think of all the manpower/womanpower put in to make things happen. To get noticed in a crowded workplace, you have to differentiate yourself from others, so what better way to do that, than to do the work that others won’t do. Be it small tasks, “roll up your sleeves” tasks or administrative tasks, it’s these smaller tasks that contribute heavily to the accomplishment of deals being done. Be Proactive.

4. THINK OUTSIDE THE OFFICE BOX

Just because you’ve left work for the day and physically clocked out, doesn’t mean you have to mentally clock out. Some of my best ideas are born in my car ride home, in the shower, or just taking in my surroundings. Don’t allow yourself to get bogged down with the 9 to 5 mentality, because that is exactly how you’ll perform on the job. Always think of your job in the holistic sense. Don’t just think about your role in the company, but think about the other departments who could benefit from your creative thinking. Employers look for people who can bring in innovative ideas and don’t mind doing a few things out of normal office hours. Innovation comes from education, education increases your communication and your communication can lead to a promotion. Be innovative.

I hope you find value in this post and put these ideas to use in your current position in your company. Feel free to share with me any ideas or thoughts I may have missed that you would include to help people be an entrepreneur in their current position.

Is Foursquare the New Travel Guide?

So I’m in on vacation this week in Destin, FL, experiencing sunshine, the beach, the family and a little sunburn. One of my biggest joys about vacation and traveling, is getting out and exploring my surroundings. So when I was looking for places to eat and things to do, I ditched the visitors guide, and went straight to Foursquare!

Because I work in marketing at a tourism organization, my goal of introducing Foursquare to our social media mix was to be an extension of our visitors guide. Being able to connect and communicate with people exploring our city in real time is key, and being able to give them recommendations and tips makes the experience even better.

So back to Destin… I’ve been to several new restaurants and attractions in my week here all based solely on what I found through Foursquare. I will admit that I used Twitter and Urbanspoon to reinforce my decisions, but Foursquare is where it all began.

The new updates in Foursquare, under the ‘explore’ tab have a wealth of information. From places offering specials to food and nightlife, Foursquare became my mobile visitors guide. And to make the experience even better, when I checked in to places and posted it via Twitter, surrounding businesses decided to strike up a conversation with me.

So I guess to answer my own question, yes, Foursquare is the new visitors guide…at least that’s my opinion, what do you think?

A Letter to my Mom…Five Years Later

Dear Mom,

It’s been 5 years ago today that you’ve been gone, but yet it seems like a lifetime. I can still picture the last big moment that we shared together as mother and son. It was on my wedding day, during our mother/son dance, and who knew that just 6 weeks later God would call you home to be at rest. I know you’ve been looking down and watching over me these past years, and there have been moments in my life that I wish I would have had the opportunity to share with you. As I cleaned off your grave site this morning, I decided to write you and reflect on the 5 most important things in my life, over the past 5 years that you may have missed.

June 2007.

Given all of your involvement in church, the community and your sorority, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., we decided to honor you by awarding two scholarships in your name, to qualified high school students pursuing secondary education. One scholarship is given at First Baptist Church of Jeffersontown and the other scholarship is given out at the “Men Who Cook” event produced by Pi Lambda Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Remember how, you used to work so tirelessly for this event and your sorority? The scholarships are a tradition that we continue to this day, and given the importance you placed on me and Jerold about education, it was only fitting. I thank you for the ambitious drive you placed in me, to always strive to do my best in school, work and life.

November 15, 2007.

Shannon and I welcomed your grand-daughter into the world. With the impact that you made on my life and Shannon’s life, we decided to carry on your legacy and give her your maiden name, and call her Sydney Berry Borden. In her early years, she looked a lot like me, but as she continues to grow up and become a big girl, she is looking more and more like Shannon. But one thing she does have is your smile! Your smile and bubbly laugh could captivate anyone and make us feel so warm, and Sydney has that. We keep two pictures of you in our house, and the other day I placed Sydney’s photo next to yours, and I was shocked at how much she has your smile. I thank you for the smiles and laughter you brought into my life and many other lives you touched.

December 2007.

You always told me that I would go on to do great things in my professional life, and this month was when I was hired as the Marketing Manager for the city of Louisville to handle advertising and marketing duties. In my short time here, I’ve made huge strides in not only helping my company and co-workers succeed, but also in developing myself as a community and business leader. I’ve received numerous awards and accolades for things I had no idea I had the ability to do. But because of your words of encouragement in my life, it gave me that extra push to achieve greatness. Thank you for your kind heart and warm words of love in my life.

December 9, 2010.

On this day, your turned 60!!! OMG, you are getting old J I spent this day, just reflecting on you what you would actually look like if you were in my face. I wanted to come down to gravesite, but it was a wee-bit cold then, so I sang “Happy Birthday” to you in my mind. Birthdays always bring up good memories, as you would always make me my special birthday day cake. Yellow cake with chocolate icing or chocolate cake with chocolate icing and you called the recipe “Mama’s Chocolate Cake”! Thank you for the special attention you gave me as a son. I carry on the love and attention you gave me in my relationship with your grand-daughter Sydney.

July 5, 2011.

Shannon and I have been praying for a 2nd child, and we were so thrilled to be expecting another baby in this world. I told Shannon that I felt I would be “cursed” with having all girls! However, on this day, Shannon and I found out that we are having a baby boy, and he is due January 5, 2012…which just so happens to be the exact birth date of your nephew, my cousin/little brother John. Amazing to think of the correlation between you having a twin sister with a son born on this day, and then I come around years later and have a son born on this day! Although he may come early :)

Thank you mom, for just being a mom. I thank you for the spankings in public places and the hugs & kisses behind closed doors. I thank you for teaching me housework and how to cook. I thank you for instilling the values of love and family. I thank you for watching over me and my family as I try and be the best husband and father that I can be.

Missing you,

Gathan

WHY I PREFER TWITTER OVER LINKEDIN

Most recently, I read that LinkedIn reports having over 100 million registered users! In that same article, I read that Twitter reports having over 200 million registered users!

So I got to thinking and asked the question, ”Why is it that most business professionals will choose a LinkedIn account over a Twitter account?”Do they think it’s pointless, useless and a waste of time? Do they just not want to learn about it? What is it?

I have both an active  LinkedIn and Twitter account, along with other social networking accounts, and I have my own personal issues with all of these services. However, I strongly believe that in this day of open-communication, my time spent on Twitter is more valuable than my time spent on LinkedIn. 

Let me show you what I’m talking about:

The three cardinal rules of social networking are to (1) Be open, (2) Be personal and (3) Be social. When I’m using a particular social networking site, I want to get conversation as well as information. With so much information being spewed out, and so many brands talking “at” us instead of “with” us, I enjoy hearing and reading personal points of view on a variety of subjects.

I talked to a handful of my professional friends about this, and what I learned (which is what I already assumed and thought) was most people just use LinkedIn as an electronic resume, and gather as many connections as possible. Once those connections are made, rarely do people re-connect with you via comments and messages. While they do join groups of interest, their participation levels in those group conversations are minimal. Are these actions our own faults, the faults of LinkedIn or a combination of both?

In my opinion, the environment of LinkedIn, says nothing about being open, personal or social. It reminds me of those dreaded pre-luncheon 30-minute networking sessions, in which you see people and say, “How’s everything going over at your job?” or “What are you guys working on for the new fiscal year?” – stuff like that. Now because LinkedIn has this stigma of being very corporate and professional, users are not as likely to post information or share their views on current affairs, thus taking away the fun aspects of social networking.

Now Twitter on the other hand, has its flaws too. But what I love about Twitter is the ability to search categories and conversations, create lists of influential users and the wealth of information sharing - and the fact that the information-sharing is real-time is a huge plus. Organized online chats within Twitter are great for networking and discussions, and are all real-time too. When connections are made on Twitter, I’ve noticed that people are more likely to connect with you, share information and introduce you to others in the Twitterverse!

Now, I’m in no way suggesting that you leave LinkedIn for Twitter, I encourage people to have both. I’m merely stating reasons why I prefer Twitter, and maybe my reasons will make you think about giving it a chance and not be so quick to label it as “stupid” or “dumb” or “it’s only for Millennials”. After all, we heard that same argument when the Internet came around, but now look how far we’ve come!

I’d love to hear your thoughts about LinkedIn too. REMEMBER, the key to social networking is exercise and execution. What works for some, doesn’t work for others. Happy Tweeting!