This year has been a pretty big one for me personally…and it’s not stopping. As if it wasn’t exciting enough, I’m honored to have been chosen to speak at this year’s Blog Indiana on Saturday, August 21 at 4pm. (IT building in room 162…IUPUI’s campus in Indianapolis.)

That’s right. Bring it.

My presentation is on ghosting aka ghost blogging. I’ve entitled it “The Art of the Ghost” because that’s what I do, and that’s what I know. Now I want to share. Despite the controversy over the subject matter…the unauthenticated accusations (missed those rules again), I’ve been blessed, having made a great business, Linzstar Inc., by writing for other people and managing their social media. My clients are all over the world, in very different industries, the best of the best in those industries, and I love all of them. No, I mean, I REALLY do. This is one of the most satisfying occupations for someone who loves to blog and loves social media.

This will be my first time presenting at a blogging conference. I’m kinda nervous, yes, but I’ve got some great speaking gigs under my belt, which include undergraduate classes, graduate classes, and a high school. The presentation will be super laid back and conversational…as most of you know, that’s how I do it. A couple of things that will be discussed:

• How I got into ghost blogging
• Industries that are grateful for what I do
• Questions to ask / Conversations to have with clients to really tell their story
• The editing clipboard
• Ethics / Honesty
• How I use blogging and social media platforms to market online
• Having the confidence to be a social media rock star

I think this is going to be great. I’d love to see you there. So, here’s the deal: I get to give my readers and the people who are attending the conference a 10% discount off the tickets. They can be purchased on the Blog Indiana 2010 website…HERE. Just enter in the code “SPEAKTOME10” to get the 10% off!

Sweet. Okay. Questions? Comments? Looking forward to seeing you if I know you, and meeting you if we’ve not yet met. Cheers!

Photo credits to the talented peeps over at Metromix Indy, Michelle Pemberton, Jonathan Boho, and Frank Espich

Don’t you ever get tired of seeing the typical “social media” blog?

• 5 things every social media marketer needs to know…
• 10 things to make you rock on Twitter…
• 8 social media rules to live by…

Blah, blah, blah…

It’s all the same. What happened to the real reason why we love social media in the first place? Because there ARE NO RULES! Sure, we all learned some type of etiquette (hopefully) as we grew up…please, thank you, excuse me…all of which are part of being human and communicating in a way that makes other people feel that you’re not all about you. (Some are better at this than others, would you agree?)

I mean, social media isn’t some grand, “need to know the rules” kinda thing, is it? Did I miss that 101 course somewhere? Did I miss THAT blog? Everyone has their own style and take on things. Social media is just another way to get it all out there. It’s like one big conference call that everyone’s involved with…some are paying attention, others are wondering what they’re going to have for lunch.

I don’t like rules. I like real. I’ve been that way my whole life (just ask my parents). I feel like if you get stuck in the social media “rule book,” you just discount every single thing that Seth Godin and Hugh MacLeod are teaching us. Communication is an art. Most everyone in the world is gifted with this art.

You can put whatever message you want out there and either people will listen or they won’t. I’m all about reading blogs. I’m much more inclined to read something that’s going to tell me about the new tech stuff (thank you tech crunch and wired). I’m all about reading about the new haps in business and social media stuff (thank you mashable). I’m just tired of all the rules.

In my humble opinion, I want to know what people are feeling, what they’re experiencing and learning. Now THAT is the stuff that makes something worth reading. Experience is where the true lessons are. And sharing?…well, that’s what makes me love you even more.

So, I am just going to do a little rant here. Last week, my posts were focused on the non-verbal communication of people who are leaders. Okay, so what about verbal communication? Or how about just communication PERIOD? As business people, isn’t there, or shouldn’t there be a standard for a time frame in which you get back with someone? I mean, if you’ve had a meeting, you follow-up, leave messages, and no one gets back with you….that’s just rude.

I think, in my world, that you should attempt to call someone back, who leaves you a message, within 24 hours. 48 at the latest (unless they call you on a Friday and you’re out for the weekend.) Even if it’s not communicating great news, at least call someone back and let them know. It’s so not cool to just leave people out there hanging.

**I do understand that sometimes people are busy and can let things slip from their mind. I am talking about the people who just ignore and make no attempt to connect after agreeing that there would be a follow-up.

So, my question to the Smaller Indiana community: What are some other business etiquette issues have you had to deal with? I think we would all like to know so we could try to avoid the madness.