This week I am leading the small business panel at the 140 Characters Conference in Los Angeles, California on behalf of my employer, America’s Best Companies. This is pretty significant in that I will be sharing how small business is being effected by the real-time internet. Basically, I’m going to talk about how Facebook and Twitter (social media) are helping your business in the current state of the world, even in this economy.

This panel and conference isn’t all about me. I’ll be sharing the stage with some fantastic co-panelists: Scott Townsend of United Linen and Neal Rohrbach of Idea Anglers. Together we hope to give you a rounded view of how small business works with these medias from beginning to end. We’re calling our panel Small as a Tweet. We’re taking a few questions up front. If there’s anything specific that you’d like any of us to answer, you can ask at our website or on our Twitter account.

The entire conference will be broadcast live on the internet via the conference website. If you’d like to tune in live for my panel, you can visit http://lax.140conf.com/ on Wednesday, October 28, 2009 at 1:55pm PST. Once the video is gathered afterwards, I’ll share it here on the ABC site as well. There are many other layers to the conference and a lot of big names going to appear and speak. I encourage you to check out the other panels and see if there are specific speakers that would pertain to your niche.

On a more personal note, I’m really looking forward to meeting so many of the fabulous people that I usually only interact with on the social networks. Along with my co-panelists I’m hoping to meet Anita Campbell, Jeff Pulver, CC Chapman and lots of other equally amazing individuals. If you’re going to be there please track me down!

Can’t find me in the crowd? Catch me any number of ways: my mobile (text or call) is 937-757-1331, Twitter via DM or @message me! I’d love to talk with you! Seriously.

Southwest Airlines announced a new campaign today that offers a set of round-trip tickets as an incentive for subscribers, new or old, to open emails. In email marketing today one of the biggest struggles is getting people to actually open the email. Obviously, subscribers know there’s something of value from a company they’re already getting a newsletter from otherwise they wouldn’t have subscribed in the first place. It’s just sometimes life, and even an overabundance of other email, can detract from getting to (and reading) some subscriptions. I fall victim to that time and time again.

So, as an email marketer I know how big of a struggle it can be to reach out to people like me and get them to even notice the newsletter I’ve sent out. One of the most successful ways of getting people to open emails has always been through a creative or compelling subject line. When I saw “Click and Win Free Travel” I was all over it.

Southwest has stepped it up a notch above a great subject line. Each time a subscriber opens up their Click ‘n Save email then the subscriber will be entered into a monthly drawing for a chance to win 2 round trip tickets. Nothing more. No need to click through. No need to shout their praises. No need to fill out a form. You open? You enter.

This is a genius strategy. They’re offering some serious value. Now, they’re getting more people to open the email due to this incentive. What that does is it creates a higher likelihood that people will actually read their content. That, in turn, increases the chances of the subscriber carrying out whatever call to action exists within it.

Incentives are always a great way to encourage an action out of your target audience. If you’re able to offer something free then you should do it. The ROI will prove the campaign’s effectiveness each and every time.

It’s all about incentive. Way to go Southwest!

Subscribe to the Southwest Click ‘n Save email newsletter here.

Someone asked me the following question today:

Sometimes I see people making a little celebratory announcement on Twitter. Like being listed on the Top 20 Twitterers for this or that, for instance. Is that something where it’s OK for the influencer types to do it but not really the rest of us [average users]?

This is a great question to ask. I don’t think tooting your own horn or celebrating something you’ve done well applies only to the people on the “A List”. In my opinion it’s all in how you do it.

Don’t Celebrate Like This
“I was just told I’m amazing! I am amazing! Look at me! How could you deny it?”

Your approach should be more suave and celebratory.

Do Something Like This
“I was just called “amazing” by John. Gosh that makes me feel great! THANK YOU!”

There’s nothing wrong with saying that someone recognizes you as having done something good. Just don’t be one of those people who comes across as a pompous self-centered know-it-all.

It was around 2005 when I first started getting into this new age of social media. I found podcasts first. I liked the podcast hosts and wanted to get to know them further. I found them through their online forums that they’d talked about on their shows and then the initial group of us all discovered Twitter in 2006. This was a time where everything was fresh, new and exciting. The possibilities were endless for social media and what it could leverage for each of us! I made some amazing friends. We shared our lives, our thoughts and stances on all different subjects.

That was 2006 and this is now 2009, where much has changed. I still see people giving of themselves, though not nearly as much. What I see more of is people promoting whatever it is that they’re into: their jobs, their new money-making scheme, but even more-so I see links. They’re everywhere and I have to tell you, I’m tired of it.

I miss the days where the value that you brought to the table was shown openly in the social network. Someone would make a statement and everyone cheered or responded right there. I didn’t have to see your “call to action”, click the link and then read it on your blog. The value was clearly right there. Instead, so much of what’s out there feels like email: spam. I realize that junk mail fills the mailboxes outside of our homes and spam fills our email inboxes. I really don’t enjoy seeing so much of it in my communication stream.

One example of value are the small business tips I post on my Twitter account Monday – Friday. I decide what I want to write about (sometimes with a little help from my friends), figure out how in the heck I’m going to condense it into 130 characters (10 of the 140 characters are consumed by the hash tag and what number tip it is for the day) and then just post the tips to Twitter. I don’t require anyone to go to my blog or my company’s blog to consume the data. I give easy and actionable advice that you can take right from that message and use for your business. That’s the value I try to bring to the table.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking you having a blog or the promotion of it. Obviously, I have one myself and I know that not everything can be said in 140 characters or less. My point is that I don’t feel social networks should be used solely as a way to promote a person, a product or a brand. If you’re going to be on a social network then you should be there adding to the the value and not the noise. Bring something to the table that I can actually use, something that will mean something to me. That right there is what proves you’re valuable and as a result promotes your brand, product or service that you’ve associated yourself to.

You’re right, it’s not traditional media but what about this medium is traditional? We’re here to reach out to consumers, business owners and each other in ways that haven’t been explored. So why should we continue to do it in the same way that’s always been done? Let’s break free of the traditional mold and get back to actually communicating!

Let’s make Twitter and all of social media become a culmination of solid thought, communication and value. When it comes down to it, isn’t that what we want when we’re being social in social media?

What do you want social media to be?

On Monday, August 4, 2008 a tornado touched down in Griffith, Indiana just two blocks from where I currently live in Highland, Indiana. I started Plurking and Tweeting (on my personal accounts) as soon as I saw the National Weather Service alert that the tornado would be to me within five minutes; of course that was after I got my family safe. Here’s my Twitter time line and what the folks who follow me there got to see from when it began through to the next morning:

08:21 PM August 04, 2008  from Ping.fm
So [name] sent [their] tornado to me. In the basement now.

08:25 PM August 04, 2008  from Ping.fm
OMG neon blue sky.. Neon green.. Sirens!

08:30 PM August 04, 2008  from Ping.fm
The sound is terrifying! We’re in the crawl space.

08:37 PM August 04, 2008  from txt
House is moving and creaking. Jacob is freaking out. No power obviously. Cramped in here.

08:52 PM August 04, 2008  from txt
Outside with my father because he’s freaking INSANE! It’s a mess out here. Emergency vehicles all over.

09:15 PM August 04, 2008  from Ping.fm
The tornado ran along the next block. Lightening struck, we lost a ton of electronics. Things are smoking…

09:22 PM August 04, 2008  from Ping.fm
Houses are gone…

09:26 PM August 04, 2008  from txt
Turning off my updates from u people.. Phone juice running low.. No way to power phone for now. Will keep updating.

11:41 PM August 04, 2008  from Ping.fm
It’s around midnight and the people out walking the streets to see th damage reminds me of a parade.

08:03 AM August 05, 2008  from Ping.fm
http://ping.fm/p/ogle4 – Never seen anything like this.. Looks like a hurricane came thru & mangled all the towns around here. It’s hard to find words for this…

08:14 AM August 05, 2008  from Ping.fm
We have power back. A lot of things are fried. AC is dead. DSL dead. Headed out now to buy new surge protectors.

09:09 AM August 05, 2008  from Ping.fm
The storage unit I put all my apartment and life in is demolished. I’m balling my eyes out. WHY AGAIN?!

10:55 AM August 05, 2008  from Ping.fm
Aaaand to top it all off: my computer is fried despite the surge protector.

As soon as I said that a tornado was on the way, a flood of reply messages started coming in. People expressed concern for our safety, asked if we were ok and extended prayers. The responses coming to me on Twitter via text message were comforting to me while my family and I huddled together in the crawl space of the house. I may have been alone in taking care of my family, but my social media family was with me in spirit. I was amazed at the compassion and immediate response from the people that I’ve simply formed relationships with online.

In the time line above, you read that I found out that I’d lost my storage unit (again) to the tornado. I’ll elaborate on the again part of that statement. Two years ago in September I was living in a basement apartment that was flooded so bad that they had to gut the building to its foundation. My son and I lost our home and everything but my dining room table, my computer and a duffel bag of clothing.

Just a few months ago I had moved in with my parents while I began my search for a full time job (didn’t want to sign another year-long lease since I planned on moving) and also to help out since my father and grandmother need daily assistance. I took everything from my home and placed it into storage with the exception of my clothing and my computer.

The tornado touched down two blocks from me, made it’s way across the the parking lot of a Kmart, took out a strip mall, demolished the residential neighborhood behind it, went straight through my storage building and then down through another neighborhood.

My storage area was an afterthought and I’d only stumbled upon it the next day because I was on the way to pick up new surge protectors for the house. I saw just the edge of the warehouses and they looked as though they’d gone through a shredder. I broke down into tears immediately. I am still questioning how two different natural disasters can affect one person in two years.

My social media friends extended their thoughts, love and prayers immediately yet again. I received phone calls, emails, text messages and word through friends concerned about me. They wanted me to know I wasn’t alone, that I was cared for and that they would help in any way they could. Just having their words was a huge help.

I have my friend Jim of With a Voice Like This to thank for his support and help in the clean-up, but also my family from Reunion Church. As soon as Pastor Chuck found out about this, he sent word out via email to the church community. People started calling immediately offering to come and help, which many did. Also a result of the Reunion family, I even received a text message of support from someone in New York that I didn’t know. The physical was covered.

The social media friends certainly couldn’t be there physically to help me sort through what was and wasn’t salvageable (china cabinet, kitchen items, sentimental things in Rubbermaid totes were saved; lost all furniture and beds), but they found their own way to help out. Friday evening my friend Andrea of Geek is Chic sent me a text message saying that she had a question for me and asked that I call her. She was bubbling with excitement while she told me that she had organized a group of people who had together pooled over $400 to put towards helping us get back on our feet. Of course, I began crying again. This time it wasn’t in sadness but because I had such amazing and wonderful people who cared so very much.

Thank you to Mark Tafoya, Rachel, Krissy, Alison L, Flick, Amy Osborn, Winnie, Bleu, Cliff and Stephanie Ravenscraft, Kim Thompson and FrancR for your generosity and your compassion. I love you people. Thank you so much.

–

New and social media is here to stay. I talk about it all the time, but this example here is something that shows how strongly it can take hold of you, how it can truly affect lives. I’m a testament to that. Social Media is helping me start fresh. I’m one person. Now think for a moment, on a bigger scale, how social media could affect the world. What are you doing to be a part of it?

Additional Media re: Tornado

1. Here’s a YouTube video that I shot of a neighborhood along Arbogast.
2. This is another YouTube video that someone else put together. At around 4 minutes into this one, there’s actually additional footage beyond just sights and sounds from the storm. You may want to skip ahead.
3. Photos of the destruction
   

I’ve been engaged in Social Media and the internet since before it received its title. In the early 90s I began by teaching myself how to code HTML using Notepad and created my own graphics using MS Paint. I created websites that defined who I was and was among the first to display my contact information publicly.

Shortly after that I started working in an online gaming community that was in it’s infancy. This was a time where internet communities hadn’t yet figured out how to identify themselves. By 1997 I attended my first community meet-up where people from all over the USA met in person for the first time. Here I am today, just over a week out of a meet-up that I personally organized and ran for a podcast that I created in May of 2007.

I have formal training in graphic design and multimedia: an associates degree. That training has further encouraged me to display my communications in an attractive way; a nice, net package if you will. This is far beyond what many designers and/or social media artists are capable of. It’s this vast array of capabilities that make what I can do so very marketable.

I know what it is to communicate and create meaningful relationships that last. I know how to market myself, a business or a brand with a communication strategy that involves the written word, spoken word or graphic appeal. Relationship building, brand building, marketing: it’s all the same. We’re just learning new and innovative ways to make it more efficient.

I wonder how the rest of you came to be social on the internet and what you made of it if anything. Care to share?

It is no secret that I am looking for a job right now. One of the most frequently asked questions I’ve received since I’ve started looking again is, “Why do you want to stop doing the self-employment bit to get back out into the corporate world?” My answer to that is pretty simple. My work has taken over my life. I need a healthier balance between personal and business. I often find that I have so much to do that I’m unable to find the time to update many of my blogs or social networks. If you’ve paid any attention to the dates on this blog, you’ll see that I’ve neglected it as well.

Why did I choose to pursue self-employment in the first place? Many of my reasons are personal and for those, my plan worked out fantastically for a time. The other natural desire of self-employment is to be your own boss. That was great too, but the reality is that you’re never your own boss if you have clients. Each job comes with its own job description and someone on the other end who will approve your work; I’d call that a boss. Bosses are good for all of us because they give you goals and something to strive for, even if sometimes they are a bit warped. Let’s face it though, who isn’t? I’ll wait for comments from the peanut gallery on that one.

Aside from the reasons I’ve already mentioned, self employment is lonely. Sure a lot of what I do is in new and social media so I get a lot of opportunity to talk to people every day. The difference with that is my interaction is on a computer, not always verbal and usually not in person. I’ve found that I really miss the personal interaction with others, even if it’s just a few people a day. Who would have thought working alone would be lonely? Bring on the office politics I say!

Seriously though, it’s just time for me to get back out into the world and take on someone else’s new and social media desires or their requests of graphical goodness. I’m good at marketing for others and making it look fantastic. Let me work someone else’s projects so that maybe I can get back to my new and social medias being just for fun. Don’t get me wrong, I still have fun in what I do. It’s all the requirements of what I’ve taken on that have eaten away my desire to continue the personal consulting full time. I’ll continue to do some freelance consulting, of course. When I work for someone else, their priorities will come before those of my own, as I feel that it should be.

I spent much of a whole day playing within Plurk. Yes, it has quite the peculiar name. When I first registered and began using the service I found it to be rather buggy. I got a lot of “File Not Found” errors and even the style sheets wouldn’t load properly. After a bit of clicking around and fidgeting with the browser, all things became right in the world.

What is Plurk?
Well it’s similar to Twitter in that it’s a micro-blogging social network. You can send out messages that are 140 characters or less. It’s your choice if you want to use a qualifier “kimfenolio IS writing about Plurk” or choose not to “kimfenolio: I’m writing a post to encourage others to micro blog.” Using the @ function like you do in Twitter works the same in Plurk only it creates a direct link without the @ sign having to appear in the final message. They’ve even supplied you with a list of safe Plurking habits.

How is it Different?
There are a number of things that set it aside from Twitter. First is the interactivity. You and your friends have the ability to comment directly on a message that you Plurk. The really neat thing is that if you have that message open while someone else responds you can see their reply appear right before your eyes.

Alerts
You are continually appraised of new Plurks and new updates with an alert box in the bottom left-hand corner of your timeline. It is unobtrusive, no sounds and no pop-up windows for it. It will simply appear when there’s something new for you to check up on. I will admit that with multiple people responding to Plurks, it certainly gets old after you have to keep going back to each message time after time. I suppose that’s why on the alert’s menu there’s a “Mark all as read” option.

Visual Timeline
While I’m talking about the timeline, let’s expand on that for a bit. The timeline runs from right to left. Updates appear as if they’re almost floating in the sky based on time. If you hover your mouse over an update it’ll highlight the time at the bottom of your timeline. Clicking on an update will expand it so that you can read the entire update as well as any responses. You can also view the mobile timeline if the visual timeline is too conspicuous for you. Either I don’t like this visual timeline or it takes a lot of getting used to.

Friend Filtering
I can create “Cliques” and add people. Once I do this I can send out a Plurk to just the users in that specific group. Apparently there’s a way to filter incoming messages from just those in that group but I haven’t found it available to me just yet. The only thing I don’t like about adding folks to the clique is that you have to type their names rather than selecting people with check boxes in a list.

Friend, No Need to Follow
Friends can be friends but you don’t have to follow their timeline. I really like this feature. Someone asked me why I would want to be friends with someone but not read what they have to say. There are folks that I’m friends with where I want to see what they have to say some of the time, not all of the time. It allows me a certain amount of discretion by letting me hit a button to turn timeline updates on or off.

Drawbacks
I was in at least 35 different conversations today and I can’t remember where I said what. I want to be able to search for things that I said. Make “me” searchable. I still can’t find out how to view just people in my clique. I want that to be an option and if it is, I want that to be more intuitive. Due to the instant interaction and the instant alerts I’ve found the use of this network to occupy a lot of my time. It’s hard to just walk away from a conversation. This is by no means the fault of Plurk, but a human trait we all possess.

I wonder how Plurk will do with scalability? Twitter has experienced a lot of trouble and downtime lately and it doesn’t have the type of interaction or interface that Plurk does. I wonder what kind of plans the creators of Plurk have to combat the inevitable?

–

I think Plurk has some real potential though I don’t know that I’m ready to migrate from the familiarity that is Twitter just yet. What makes it different and sets it aside from Twitter are all huge advantages for me; aside from the timeline view. I can see using Plurk as a means by which to have more personal interaction. It’s like interactive polling. Twitter is much easier to just output and walk away. Plurk, however, is a more like instant messaging in groups at your friends’ leisure.

Have some fun. Play around. What do you think about Plurk? What drawbacks, bonuses or other features (or lack there of) should we talk about?

This entry has be Dugg!

Recently I was talking to my brother. I asked him if he had a Facebook account. His response was as follows:

Social Networking.. Blahhhh. I like meeting people the old fashion way. “Hey you, come over here. I wanna talk to you.”

I guess I’m not doing my sisterly job very well. I’ll work on that. The whole point behind social networking is to be more social. You get the opportunity to connect and network with people that you likely may not have stumbled across in the physical realm. Once you make those connections through social networking, it provides an easier means of which to make the connection in your personal space.

Heck, you may not even need to meet face-to-face. I have a number of clients that I have never physically met. I’ve communicated with them through the social networking sites, chat programs and video sites. Some of my connections aren’t necessarily clients, but are colleagues and even friends. I’ve had the opportunity to meet a number of them in person as a result of the relationship we’ve formed through the social networking that my brother blahed at earlier.

I have made some great friends, connected with old friends, networked with connections of my connections, created business relationships, negotiated ideas, have held and been the subject of interviews and meetings all as a result of this social networking.

What has social networking done for you?

Today is the day I unleash my new site here to the masses. I want to explain a bit about what it is that I want to do here and why I’m doing it.

The Finger Trail
I’m a graphic artist. It’s what I went to school for. It’s the degree that I graduated with. It’s why I was the president of my school’s graphic design club. It’s the title that I’ve held professionally for the past five years. I love graphic design and I love being creative. Over the past year I’ve felt like there’s been something missing within the realm of my career. I haven’t really been able to put my finger on it. Finally I decided to stop running around in circles and put my whole hand down on what I want; not just that finger.

Final Destination
Playing around in new and social media is something I’ve been doing for about four years now. I say playing because it’s something that’s merely been a hobby of mine. Help is something that I have offered freely and likely will continue to do. Today I focus and make it a part of my career.

I say a part of my career because I’ve proven that I am a good graphic artist but that I’m also good at producing and consulting in new and social medias. I am creating a workable relationship between design and new media. I have no doubt in my mind that this can and will be a good thing. The next step is application and follow-through, which we all know is the key to any relationship.

The Key
I look forward to using this key to open doors not only for myself but also for those people whose paths I will cross. There are people who will benefit from the skills that I have to offer. I love to help out wherever I can, and if it’s something I don’t know how to do then it’s something I’m going to learn how to do. I love a good challenge. What’ve you got?

Welcome to the Kim Fenolio redesign and rebrand. The goal is to embark upon a career path that will not just be monetarily rewarding but also enjoyable. The concept is quite simple, the road however is a bit more rugged.

As I design, tweak, code and create myself again (did I mention again?) on the interwebs I’m finding new and different things that I can do and also enjoy doing. I don’t just put my mind to something. I put my mind to something and I finish it. If I don’t have the answer, I will find someone who does.

I’ve built this great network of people by means of social networking. Some of these folks I’ve met through podcasting, through Twitter, through Facebook and other forums. The point is that I have a large pool of talent and knowledge available to me. All I have to do is ask a question and so many people are willing to share and give of themselves and their knowledge. It’s actually quite amazing. Without my having met and spending some time to create a relationship with each of these people, I wouldn’t be the talent that I am today.

The point is that when you get me, you also get connections. I have strings attached, but they’re not in the conventional way that you would think strings are attached. It’s the idea that you get more bang for your buck.

Welcome to my personal brand. Welcome to my life. Welcome to Kim Fenolio.