A business is like a person

A beautiful day ~ photo by FNM

I want to share with you a quoted sentence from my guest blog for Peter Sterlacci on Believe. Become. Be Your Brand. because I feel it is truly meaningful for the business owner and entrepreneur:

“A business is like a person; and self, ethics, and your social circle are what tell people who you are.” ~FNM

If you want to grow your brand and business so that it reflects you and your passion(s), the above statement is exactly how you should be thinking.  A business has a purpose that goes beyond being a currency collector or a way to make a living; it is your dream come to life, the mark you want to leave, it is you.

Actually perfect for a second quote, wouldn’t you say

“A business has a purpose that goes beyond being a currency collector or a way to make a living; it is your dream come to life, the mark you want to leave, it is you.” ~ FNM

I would love to hear your thoughts or share entrepreneur struggles and experiences.  Connect with me on any of my social media channels or leave me a comment with your contacts. It would truly be an honor!

The box issue in social media

The box issue in social media – photo by FNM

As social media grows in importance and usage, so does a standardization of it.  However, placing social media in a box can go against its core value, relationship building.  Since relationships are not built through set standards, but through interaction and understanding; these need to remain the main focus for anyone doing social media.

Structure helps to set a course and is necessary when social media is used in a business scenario.  The need for a fixed start and end point help to know what direction is being taken and how to measure; in fact, the intent of the social media box is just this.

The social media box can include:

• Solely organizing social media sharing (according to the outlined scheme one has learned through verified sources in the field).  Some of these set standards include tweeting and posting a certain number of times a day and the percentage of social versus lifestyle content to share.

• Next is being told to engage so often throughout the day, to increase following and keep an eye out for scores that give you status, such as the renowned Klout score.

The above items are great to apply, but too often they are considered doing social media.  Automating shares, providing the necessary content and increasing numbers (whether followers, likes or Klout score) are components of the efforts social media entail.  These need to be used alongside the genuinely caring and building a relationship part of what doing social media is really made up of.

Some of the ways to show genuine interest and maintain the relationship building factor are:

• Don’t only retweet, like or reshare content; but also read, comment, and initiate an actual dialogue on topics of interest.
• Consistent contact and wishing a good day can show ‘I care’ (and not only with influential contacts for the sole purpose of growing popularity).

Although defining is inevitable, it is necessary to avoid getting lost within the lines and making what was meant as guidelines the end objective.  An effective fix to this inclination is to simply remember that all the social media boxes out there are a means to gauge a business’ social media efforts, but that doing social media and succeeding in it lie within the human component.

The Reason of Man

The Reason of Man – photo by FNM

“It is man’s reason that lifts him to the stars.”  ~ Apollo and Dionysus by Ayn Rand

A true leader

A true leader – photo by FNM

 

“A true leader will always succeed because they know what life is all about!” – FNM

Liberty does not walk with force

Liberty does not walk with force – photo FNM

 

“To force liberty upon anyone is a contradiction in itself.” – FNM

Shape your life bubble

Life Bubble – photo by FNM

 

 

“Life is but a bubble we shape and fit around our perspective and expectations…it can become anything we wish it to be!” – FNM

Human potential and social media are partners

Today on Twitter I came across a post by @socialmedia2day that touched the very essence of what I feel the internet and social media is for humanity and the world:

“Human potential and social media make a great partnership in bringing the world together.” ~ FNM

If we think about all the great things we can do thanks to being connected through different social media networks and the other tools we have to communicate with, it just touches your soul (well, it touches mine, that’s for sure).

I can think of at least 5 ways this method of communication and connecting has a huge impact on a person’s personal life and the world:

1. Closer to loved ones spread around the world: You get to talk and see family and friends thanks to Skype, Gchat, and MSN Messenger (my favorite although it’s lost popularity).  Do you know how close and involved in their lives you’re able to be by making a video call? A lot closer, it’s as if you were next door. The only thing you can’t do is hug them.

2. Real time responses/Immediate communication: When people wanted to send each other letters, invitations, important information it could only be done through snail mail. Depending on where you lived and where the letter was coming from you didn’t know how many days/weeks/months it would take for you to get that letter (even the possibility of it getting lost). Now we send an e-mail and the receiver gets it right away (or as soon as they check their inbox), they can even send a response immediately.  This makes it so easy for everyone to      stay up to date with daily activities, emergencies, needed information exchange and sharing documents or pictures. This is fantastic!

3. Up-to-date on personal and worldly events: Social media networks allow us to participate in each other’s lives daily, to be up-to-date on world events and to share things that happen to us. It’s incredible that I can find out what’s happening in the Olympics via a Tweet or Facebook post, go to the link and possibly stream a live feed of whatever was going on that day in London.

4. Sharing information, expanding horizons: Thanks to this new means of communication we are able to share thoughts, articles, and information across borders, countries and oceans; all of this takes place in real time, sometimes even as it is happening. Sure, sometimes it can be a problem with misinformation (like the erroneous rumor that took place a couple days ago about the Iron Lady passing away), but when used well and thoughtfully, as well as people not blindly believing every word they read, it’s a good thing. People from different cultures can be immersed in each other’s trends, ideas and projects; this brings me to number five.

5. Learning different cultures and interacting with them: Thanks to social media and the internet the world is closer; we can interact amongst each other (even if in a virtual manner) and learn about one another.  Now we can talk to a person who is in their own country while before being able to talk to a person who lives in and is from France, China or Bulgaria was not possible, unless they left their country and came to yours or vice versa. By connecting with people across countries we can see our similarities, differences, passions and why sometimes we do the things we do.

To these 5 social media and internet communication impacts on our lives, add the fact that humanity is looking to grow, come closer together and live a peaceful existence enjoying life, the earth and each other, and we’ve got a great partnership, don’t you think?

[My answer: Yes, I do. As long as I focus on the positive uses of social media and the positive people who wish to make good changes. The ones who misuse this tool of closeness (that’s what I define it as since it brings us closer together) shouldn’t be allowed to penalize the efforts and possibilities it brings to the humanity and the world.]