I like you. Do you like me? …

For some people growing up, making friends could have been challenging. Honestly, it kinda was for me. I went to a small, Christian school that pretty much sucked because of hypocritical parents and politics. I tried to fit in as best I could, but my parents wouldn’t always buy me the newest charms for those charm necklaces that all the kids were wearing. (Do any of you remember those cheap plastic things?) They also wouldn’t spend a bunch of money on “hip” clothes, which my friends had. I guess I could say I never really fit in…in a superficial social way. (Plus I was a kid that questioned things…which was a no no for kids to do, so most adults would say I had an “attitude” problem.)

Then we grow up. We get to make our own decisions on how we want to be, drop all the lame friends who didn’t accept us for who we WERE, and move on to bigger and better if we so choose.

When I think about then and now, I have no choice but to tie social media into who I am TODAY…both personally and professionally.  I know I’ve written in previous posts how important the people who are in my social circles are to me. We’ve all been able to encourage AND empower one another through our posts, tweets, and friendships on and off line. INFLUENCE. PERIOD.

Now think about this on a bigger scale. Think about all the awareness of non-profits that social media has contributed to.  Think of all the money that has been raised on a local, national and international level due to the efforts of those who want to help make a difference in the world.  Could this influence have taken place without social media? Perhaps to a degree…but I honestly don’t believe it would have been the same.

Back in December, one of my favorite marketing companies, Firebelly Marketing, was working with one of their clients, United Way of Central Indiana. They decided to do a little social media experiment. They took some of us local social media folks to help them out with a little video to spread the word about Live United Give United. Ch-Ch-Check it!

The response was great! It raised awareness for the cause and also increased the number of $15-$100 donations between October and December immensely. (Note, it was difficult to pinpoint the ACTUAL amount, but they did feel their efforts pay off.) Not only did it increase donations, UWCI also saw a big increase in Twitter followers and Facebook fans. That’s not to say it was ALL social media…but overall, there was a huge impact on this amazing organization.

On a personal note, I’m not a news watcher. I rarely turn my television on, so all of my news comes from the web….more specifically, Twitter. That’s how I heard about the devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. I saw so many efforts from thousands of people who helped raise awareness and funds for these countries.

Social media as a whole has proven it has the power to be a game-changer…perhaps THE most influential game-changer of our time. It has taken all of YOU to be a part of that change…to be a part of each other’s lives…to be a part of mine.  Yeah…that makes me feel good.  How does it make you feel?

I wanted to post the following post. My dear friends, Daniel Herndon and Darren Heil, have vowed to stay in a van until they raise money for a cause. With a press release, a bit of local news initiative, and an entire community of social media advocates, we intend to get them home straitaway. Please read the following post and understand how we take giving and social media to a whole new level. I donated. Will you?

At Redwall LIVE we are always trying to support a good cause, in our personal lives it is no different, but we were looking for really creative ways to do a focused campaign for Non Profit’s whose campaigns we could really connect with. In an effort to give our talents to the community I approached CFI (Community First Initiative) about serving them and putting together an experiential campaign to raise money and awareness for their program that makes a lifelong impact on high school students. They Partner with Schools to provide their 40 developmental assets mentoring program. They welcomed us and we put together the following event. The campaign is  Experiential, Interactive and Involves Social Media in a major way. I’d like to especially thanks Pet Supplies Plus Stores and Deep Ripples: an Organic Search Marketing company for supporting this cause as sponsors.

Darren Heil (Director of CFI) and I (Owner of Redwall LIVE) will be living in a van starting this Wednesday (December 9th 2009)… that is an old 70s chevy van that has nothing but an old couch and a couple bucket seats in it. We’ll be bringing a web cam and a couple laptops with air cards so we can still work, and so we can tweet!

Above us will be a digital billboard that will be displaying frequent updates and directing drive by traffic to take notice of us in the van and donate at www.forkout.org. Forkout.org is “the giving engine of Redwall LIVE”. We created forkout.org merely so we could create experiential events just to support a cause. CFI is the first.

Local Media is covering the event including an article in the IndyStar. Even Mcallisters Deli Restaurants in the Indianapolis area are participating by collecting donations at the counter.

This is really made possible by social media to spread the story virally through pier to pier communication. Social media is a must with Experiential Marketing. We will be interacting with donors and viewers all over the world via twitter and the hashtag #forkout (some tweets will even make it to the billboard). Many will watch the event unfold via webcast at forkout.org. Thanks to bloggers like Kyle Lacy, Lindsay Manfredi and myself the story is finding its way to several popular blog sites and tweeted by many. Twitter Enables us to have real time conversation from people at their desks, in their cars, with their families or at work and connect to thousands of people all over the world. Simultaneously the webcast will invite people at work to watch frequent 9 minute webisodes as well as “a day in the life” through the whole procedure. Blogging shares the story of our cause and our campaign with the world in detail. With all the support and integrated social media, we estimate we will be connecting to over 150,000 people over the course of the 10 day experience.

Our goal is $25,000 in 10 days… we only need 1000 people to donate $25. But consider this. $25,000 is 10% of the annual budget of CFI, so how can we carry this on beyond the 10 days to help students?

Daniel Herndon

I need to open this up by saying how humbled I was yesterday by the amount of emails, direct messages, phone calls, and texts that came in to see how I was doing in light of some things that were said about my profession and business.  I want to thank you all for your support and love. My community lifted me up and for that, I am entirely grateful.

When I decided to write about what I do for a living last week in my blog, there were no defenses up. It was not a post defending my profession at all; it was simply one to inform you on how I run my particular business. It was to inform you of how I work one-on-one with my clients to package THEIR message. This was a direct-result post following a national magazine interview on the subject of ghost blogging. This, however, has not been the beginning of the debate. A few months back, Jason Falls interviewed me for an article he was doing on the same subject entitled, The Ethics, or Lack Thereof, of Ghost blogging. I would like to mention a few things from this article as well as a quote by me.

“Doug Karr, an outstanding Internet marketing consultant and social media thinker in his own right, wrote in reaction to my aforementioned talk, “Ghostblogging isn’t a dirty word nor is it a dirty profession, it’s an incredible one. A great ghostblogger investigates the source and accurately writes the posts on behalf of them.” He continues, “As long as the premise of those blog posts are your message, why would anyone care that someone else typed it up?”

Jason goes onto say,

“I know what Doug is shooting for here, but there’s a big difference in someone who takes dictation and writes for you. I would stipulate that if the named author is actively involved in writing the piece — dictating outlines, emphasizing points to cover and actively editing the document — I have much less of an issue and would consider the writer a copywriter/editor rather than a ghost writer.”

Similarly, Lindsay Manfredi of Linzstar, who blogs for several clients and bills herself as a ghost blogger, told me this:

“I don’t encourage my clients to hide, I am simply assisting in the bigger picture. Ultimately, it’s their ideas that are being blogged. And I also have clients who write their own, give it to me to edit and expand on, and then post away to the community they are marketing. Everyone is different, and everyone has a say. At least that is how I operate my business.”

Back to Jason:

“Still, there are some fantastic and talented writers out there not only writing materials for companies and their executives, but selling their wares as “ghost blogging,” or “ghost writing.” They are honest, ethical, genuine people earning a living loaning their talents to those who don’t have the aforementioned time, acumen or intelligence to compose pieces for their audiences.”

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, as a ghost writer, I work with my clients. I always will. I am not just handed someone’s blog admin and told to “go for it.” I hold my clients accountable to sending me ideas and points, and I create the content around it. Once again, THEIR content.

Chris Brogan wrote a piece today in his newsletter about authenticity. He says the following:

“Authenticity and transparency mean being clear about what matters to you, being clear about your intentions, being open about what you’re asking of your clients, your employees, everyone in the circle around you. There are times when matters are meant to be handled in private.

There are many circumstances that don’t belong in the bright light of the public, not least of all on the internet. Examples can be anything from helping an employee find drug treatment solutions, to loaning money to a struggling entrepreneur. There are many situations that deserve to be kept between the parties that matter.

Authenticity isn’t about raw, open exposure. In my mind, it’s about presenting the story the way it is. It’s about being clear about goals. It’s about sharing all sides of the equation, and it’s about trying to be consistent.”

I have always been, and will always be clear in what it is I do. I built my business brand around me and my passion of music. Kyle Lacy and his company, Brandswag, helped me with branding and web design. When I came into corporate Indianapolis over two years ago, I was completely freaked out on whether or not folks would accept me because of my nearly full sleeves. Here I am, this tattooed girl, who plays in a rock band, and has this grand idea to incorporate rock n’ roll into business. Hence, social media rock star.  Indianapolis…the people and the businesses here have been amazing, accepting, and so gracious. I love this city.

At the end of the day, I have a beautiful, 5-year-old daughter to support, a community to lift up, a business to run, and music to create. I will not stop doing what I do because I am extremely passionate about it. After all, “all we have are our love and our guts, baby.”

Opening title credited to “Traffic,” by the band Bitch and Animal

  This is my friend, Clint. Clint is a superstar in my book.

I’ve known Clint since I was a teenager. We grew up in the same town. We never really hung out intensively, but I always knew he was a cool guy. Clint is super artistic and is currently a tattoo apprentice, plus kind of looking for something to do while he perfects his craft. His life revolves around finding deeper meaning to art and life. He is a huge supporter of his friends (I know this because he has always been to my shows, and supports other local musicians.) He doesn’t just talk about doing things. He does them.

The other day, we were having lunch at Yats in Broadripple to catch up on life. Clint was telling me about this homeless guy here in Indianapolis. Clint has struck up a relationship with this guy. He told me he felt like he needed to “sponsor” this man. All I could do was smile. Clint has given him some money, has sought him out to give him things he needs such as long underwear, and is just making an effort. He knows a bit about what this man is into, and has taken TIME to do this. In turn, this homeless man knows that someone out there is thinking about him and cares about his well-being. Now, THAT is contribution.

I know that I can get so caught up in my life and daily drama…and I have lots of it right now. And Clint, he has his own issues too. But at the end of the day, he knows there’s a bigger picture.

Are you counting your blessings? Are you giving back? Are you lifting others up…strangers even? I feel we have not only a responsibility to ourselves and our families. We have a responsibility to our community. I know often blog about supporting our artists, businesses, musicians, and not-for-profits. I never thought about just seeing someone who needs help, and making sure on a continual basis, that they’re okay.  It really made me think.

So, anyway…thanks Clint for caring for this guy who needs love. After all, we all need love. Give a little today. That is how you can make this world better.

So, today is my birthday. This past year has brought about so many changes in my life. I am now a business owner, I am blessed to have more people in my life than I ever could have asked for, and my 5 and half year old daughter grows sweeter and sweeter each day (well, except for this morning… )
I think it’s fair to say that my year one of being 30 was a success. What now? Linzstar Inc. is brand new. I love it. I am so excited to see where it goes. However, as a blogger, I have been so caught up in working for everyone else, that I have let my own blogs go to the wayside. Not cool. I am vowing today to let that nonsense go, and get to doing what I love to do: Be real, be real authentic, and be real cool. (just had to throw that in there…)
I would like to take this time to thank every single person in my life for making it what it is today. And I mean it when I say EVERYONE!
In this balance of life….for me it’s a family, a business, a band, and the sacred couple of hours a week I get to work out, I find that it’s easy to take things for granted. Today, tell someone close to you that you love them. Take a whole 60 seconds and hug them like you mean it! I’ve heard before, and I don’t remember where, that hugging for a mere 30 seconds can release a chemical that enhances closeness. So, do it. Do it daily.
Cheers to a new year of making a difference!

Okay, I’m stoked to be eating pancakes for charity in a couple of weeks. I feel honored to be a part of the amazing people behind Carb Day For A Cause.

You know, I’ve been thinking about what it means to be hungry. I never really thought about it much until I jumped on board with Carb Day For A Cause. I mean, how often do we exaggerate ourselves by using the common phrases, “I’m STARVING,” or “I’m so hungry I could die.” I mean, seriously…are we really? …Uh, no. I honestly am thankful and blessed to have never known what it means to have to go without food. There is a world full of folks out there however, who can’t say the same thing. It’s quite humbling. Okay, I’m stoked to be eating pancakes for charity in a couple of weeks. I feel honored to be a part of the amazing people behind Carb Day For A Cause.

You know, I’ve been thinking about what it means to be hungry. I never really thought about it much until I jumped on board with Carb Day For A Cause. I mean, how often do we exaggerate ourselves by using the common phrases, “I’m STARVING,” or “I’m so hungry I could die.” I mean, seriously…are we really? …Uh, no. I honestly am thankful and blessed to have never known what it means to have to go without food. There is a world full of folks out there however, who can’t say the same thing. It’s quite humbling. Continue…