One of the things I’ve been toying with over the last few months is adding video posts. Well, today sees me jumping in (though I don’t think Chris Brogan, Gary Vaynerchuk or Amber MacArthur have anything to worry about). It’s scary – hopefully I don’t scare you too much! Two things:
- Yes, I have bad teeth. What can I say? I’m British and I had a bad accident when I was young – great combination!
- Yes, that is my cat sat above me – he’s a media whore…
So, taking social media back to basics. Yes? No? Maybe?
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LOL I'd like to answer in the form of a video. But alas, I haven't figured that out yet either.
to be honest even the words "social media" scare me
Twitter: jasontryfon
HAHAHA funniest post ever. Teeth are over rated anyway.
Great job – it let's your community know who the real you is, and it's authentic.
Good call for stepping into videos Danny, it does take quite a bit more bravery than some people actually expect.
One thought: stop rocking your chair back & forth LOL. It's the same as stage performance: pick a spot and stick to it, only move when you have purpose. Otherwise, it becomes distracting (not to mention you don't want make your viewers seasick!). Other than that, keep it up!
Funnily enough, that was the one thing that I was thinking about watching playback. It is a bit rocky, huh? God bless comfy chairs!
I thought you did quite well Danny- and you've got the longest eyelashes!
I agree with your vid ( as a newbie myself) we are searching for teachers/mentors who speak OUR language until we catch on to the tech stuff. Thanks for taking the leap into video.
Danny,
Great to see you! Literally. I admire your courage crossing to video blogging (I almost said vlogging:)). I have to admit that I love all these new social media terms and often use them but it does take a long time to fully grasp their meaning. I can see how that possibly make others feel alienated.
Keren
As a geek I know I love talking to other geeks about the newest big deal and that usually involves a lot of verbal shorthand. But as a writer I know the importance of remembering that not everyone knows the jargon. Maybe part of it is a passive-aggressive revenge of the nerds thing: the "cool" kids shut us out when we were young and now that we're the cool kids, we use terminology to shut them out. Anyway, I always invite people to stop me during conversation if I mention something that needs definition and I try to remember to check faces to make sure there's comprehension.
PS: nice hat, and – speaking as someone who grew up without access to dentists or orthodontists – people don't usually notice unless you bring it to their attention.
I think I'm like you in that respect, Robyn. Writing so many press releases as part of my job, you get to the point where you have to filter out a lot of the tech or business speak many clients ask for. Simpler just seems to flow better. (Though I like your idea of just stopping you if you get into a particularly wordy area).
Point taken about the teeth – my Achilles heel, but good point
Right on, Danny.
We do live in a small echo chamber that we've all grown accustom to. Evolution and acceptance of social media isn't going to happen instantly. We have to remain vigilant in how we communicate with others if we're looking to get them to join Twitter, start a blog, or get clients.
1. Great post.
2. Like that you used video. I've entertained it too, but have yet to be brave enough to do it.
3. Introducing SM to those who have not heard of it, or know very little of it, can be challenging. I think you're exactly right. We need to go back to some of the basics.
4. Is that a cat behind your head? I'm pretty sure it is.
5. I'm not sure why I just numbered my comments.
Hey there Drew.
1. Thank you.
2. It was definitely not as easy as everyone makes it look.
3. I agree – it's easy to forget that we use sayings and phrases every day of the week. Others don't, and that's what we need to keep in mind.
4. Yes it is – my little movie star, Ajax. Next time he might get a starring role.
5. Not sure, but it was fun
Thanks for stopping by, always a pleasure.
Danny, congrats on the move to video. Completely agree with you. Video makes the message pop so much more compared to the written word, in my opinion. And the beauty of it is, the shorter the better – almost like the value add for Twitter. Just get to the point and deliver the message, much like you did here. Look forward to more videos. Maybe I'll one day venture in to videos as well.
@sternalpr
It's true that less is often more and if you can get a message across in a page, why use a chapter?
Thanks John, hope to keep seeing you here and growing the conversation together.
Now you're really making me look bad. I can't even get around to doing a blog and you're getting in to video! Nice job, Danny, and point well taken. Like the folks now that are all about Web 3.0. What is it? Learned a long time ago in PR, people appreicate when you dumb things down for them. They don't want to have to ask what something means. The more they don't know the more they're afraid of looking foolish. I appreciate the video a lot, especially tonight when I'm tired. Much easier to absorb. And as other may have said, if you hadn't said anything, I wouldn't have tried so hard to look at your teeth darn it! You're the best, my friend.
Maybe it was a cunning ploy to get you into blogging in '09?
It's the age-old rule – don't fluff when you can flow. We get so wrapped up at times at what we feel we should say as opposed to what we actually want to say that we forget we're basic creatures at heart. Can I eat it and is it good? It worked for the cavemen, no need to make it all difficult now.
Thanks Lizz, always a pleasure having you here.
Twitter: kwbridge
I liked the video post – it makes me feel like I "know" you better
The point about language is true in so many areas. When I write articles about WordPress code or talk to clients about customizations, I try to tailor the language to their skill level. If someone doesn't know what I'm talking about, I'm unable to help them.
Your kitty isn't that much of a whore – she wouldn't even show her face
I actually tried panning round to him (he's a boy) but then he jumped off, so you could be right
It is a matter of tailoring to the audience. I guess the main problem online is that we don't always know what audience there is. There's no guarantee that a blog reader is up-to-speed with niche words, or a new subscriber is interested in the technical side of things, more the theory.
As Lizz mentioned, keeping it simpler often reaps the better rewards – then your whole audience is involved.
Fine line, for sure.
Way to step out there and take a risk. I think its nice to see what a person looks like and talks like outside of their writing.
Your cat is, in fact, a media monger… all the same, I enjoyed the approach. Good job, and interesting new blog design, by the way.