<p></p> <p>First and foremost - I am not a social media expert.&nbsp; Not even close! I'm just a business person trying to learn how to communicate across an evolving medium.&nbsp;&nbsp; Lucky for me, I am surrounded by people who know a lot more about it than I do.&nbsp; I won't call them experts.&nbsp; They'd shoot me if I did.&nbsp; You see, social media is changing too fast .&nbsp; No one is really an expert.&nbsp; Some just know more than others and have been at it longer.</p> <p>I got some good pointers from Twitter friends this weekend.&nbsp; </p> <p>The first was from Tyler Hurst.&nbsp; </p> <p><a href="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/a-bit-of-books.jpg"><img style="border-width:0;" height="437" alt="A Bit of Books from my personal collection" src="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/a-bit-of-books_thumb.jpg" width="273" align="right" border="0"></a></p> <p><a href="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image2.png"><img style="border-width:0;margin:5px;" height="47" alt="image" src="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image_thumb2.png" width="47" align="left" border="0"></a><a href="http://twitter.com/tdhurst" target="_blank">tdhurst</a> @joankw NO RECYCLED QUOTES. YOU ARE BETTER THAN THAT </p> <p>I obviously over did it Saturday night.</p> <p>The second was from an article posted by Brian Solis about authenticity and authority in social media.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.briansolis.com/2009/06/a-soliloquy-the-universal-language-of-social-media/">A Soliloquy: The Language of Social Media</a> by Brian Solis <a href="http://twitter.com/briansolis" target="_blank">(@BrianSolis</a>)</p> <p>I loved Brian's article and sent it out as a RT.&nbsp; The feedback I've been getting back all day is that&nbsp; authenticity should be the goal every time.</p> <p>Now, I tweet quite a bit, and across multiple profiles as you can see on this <a href="http://jkw.typepad.com/corepurpose_joan_koerberw/my-profiles-on-twitter.html">page</a>.&nbsp; My personal profile description is 'an eclectic mix of ideas' while the other four are focused on innovation, leadership, growth, and business success.</p> <p>So perhaps I should take another look&nbsp; at those quotes I tweeted... </p> <p><a href="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image3.png"><img style="border-width:0;margin:5px;" height="50" alt="image" src="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image_thumb3.png" width="50" align="left" border="0"></a> <a href="http://twitter.com/joankw" target="_blank">joankw</a> “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.” ~&nbsp; Dr. Seuss </p> <p>Hmmm.&nbsp; Perhaps I need to think a bit more about what I am doing?</p> <p><a href="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image4.png"><a href="http://twitter.com/JKWgrowth"><a href="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image5.png"><img style="border-width:0;margin:5px;" height="52" alt="image" src="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image_thumb4.png" width="52" align="left" border="0"></a></a></p> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/JKWgrowth">JKWgrowth</a></a> “Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple.” ~ Dr. <b>Seuss</b> </p> <p>So taking a page from Dr. Seuss - I looked around my twitterverse to see what I could see.&nbsp; Since the twitterverse is huge, I took a note from the Beatles and got a little help from my friends... by looking at what they do.</p> <p><a href="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image6.png"><img style="border-width:0;margin:5px;" height="55" alt="image" src="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image_thumb5.png" width="55" align="left" border="0"></a> </p> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/markismusing">@MarkIsMusing</a> is one of the tweeters I have followed from day one.&nbsp; Yes, he tweets everyday stuff, but when he starts musing he'll treat the 26,000+ people who follow him to a string of quotes he is 'musing' about.&nbsp; He also has a great newsletter and a blog I now subscribe to. Plus he splits his time between Calgary and Maui AND remodels his own bathroom.&nbsp; What's not to like?</p> <p><a href="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image7.png"><img style="border-width:0;margin:5px;" height="53" alt="image" src="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image_thumb6.png" width="53" align="left" border="0"></a> </p> <p>&nbsp;<a href="http://twitter.com/StartupPro">@StartupPro</a> is a friend and favorite.&nbsp; No quotes from Marty Zwilling.&nbsp; An entrepreneur and investor, he's a blogger who posts every day!&nbsp; Not only does his blog have a great following but he has almost twice Mark's Twitter following with nary a quotation in sight.&nbsp; Great content, predictability (count on a new blog post EVERY morning), and sharing business insights is his secret to success. </p> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/wbaustin"><a href="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image8.png"><img style="border-width:0;margin:5px;" height="54" alt="image" src="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image_thumb7.png" width="54" align="left" border="0"></a>@WBAustin</a> is a running news stream of ideas and articles.&nbsp; It works for him and his close to 100,000 followers.&nbsp; Bill's wife <a href="http://twitter.com/katheesue">@KatheeSue</a> handles the local beat with <a href="http://twitter.com/evliving">@EVLIving</a> while chatting with friends as KatheeSue.</p> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/hardaway" target="_blank"><a href="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image9.png"><img style="border-width:0;margin:5px;" height="56" alt="image" src="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image_thumb8.png" width="56" align="left" border="0"></a>@Hardaway</a> (Francine Hardaway) Co-founder, Stealthmode Partners, helping entrepreneurs succeed.&nbsp; I won't be showing her 'recycled quotes' she rarely if ever does that. Her tweets are as authentic as they get as she reports on her life, ideas, and activities throughout the day.&nbsp; As my friend and mentor, she always tries to keep me out of trouble.&nbsp; Sometimes I even listen.&nbsp; </p> <p><a href="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image10.png"><img style="border-width:0;margin:5px;" height="56" alt="image" src="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image_thumb9.png" width="56" align="left" border="0"></a> @Amilya (Amilya Antonetti) an award winning entrepreneur,Green Pioneer Bestselling Author, Media Personality, Advocate and Mom is a conversationalist on Twitter.&nbsp; She loves to twitter chat with <a href="http://twitter.com/tomvmorris" target="_blank">@TomVMorris</a> who is one of the best.&nbsp; I've never had the pleasure of tweeting with Dr. Morris on Twitter, but I love to read his occasional quotes from the great philosophers as well as his own insightful quips.&nbsp; Who knows, maybe some day.&nbsp; ;o)&nbsp; </p> <p>The funny thing is, Twitter asks "What are YOU doing?"&nbsp; When I was pulling those quotes - I WAS reading&nbsp; <em>Oh, the Places You'll Go</em> by Dr. Seuss.&nbsp; It's the tall skinny volume in my bookshelf between <em>Norton's Anthology of Poetry</em> and <em>The Holy Bible</em>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I love books and read a lot more than I tweet.&nbsp; The picture above is of the bookshelf my playroom that stands next to the pool cues.&nbsp; My library/office is filled with business books, and in my bedroom closet, hundreds of novels.&nbsp; (I may have more novels than Amilya has shoes!) </p> <p><a href="http://twitter.com/JKWleadership"><a href="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image11.png"><img style="border-width:0;margin:5px;" height="50" alt="image" src="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image_thumb10.png" width="50" align="left" border="0"></a>JKWleadership</a> My Favorite Leadership Books - Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss~ Read it to your kids... Read it for yourself. </p> <p>I had pulled that book out after a long day of struggling through business plans, financial models, and other stuff that the Twitterati would probably find a bit boring - not to mention, the stuff is all under NDA and I can't talk about it anyway.&nbsp; And why, you might ask, did I make such a switch in reading material just then.&nbsp; Simple. I saw the quote on Twitter from Robert Baines that read:</p> <p><a href="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image12.png"><img style="border-width:0;margin:5px;" height="50" alt="image" src="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image_thumb11.png" width="50" align="left" border="0"></a> "<a href="http://twitter.com/screamingeagle1">screamingeagle1</a> "I like <b>nonsense</b>, it wakes up the brain cells." ~ Dr. <b>Seuss.&nbsp; </b></p> <p><b>I</b>t reminded me of just what I needed to clear my brain. </p> <p><img style="border-width:0;margin:5px;" height="67" alt="image" src="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image_thumb12.png" width="54" align="left" border="0"> “Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!” ~ Dr. Seuss </p> <p>So, as my friend Amilya says, "it's time to 'noodle."&nbsp; </p> <p>Here's my lesson learned this weekend.&nbsp; If authenticity is important,&nbsp; then you just have to be who you are.&nbsp; I am just what my personal profile says... an eclectic mix.&nbsp; Not to say that I can't learn to be better.&nbsp; I'll follow Tyler's advice and perhaps use some more of my own quotes more frequently rather than quoting someone else.&nbsp; Francine and Marty have encouraged me to write/blog more.&nbsp; (Francine even told me that my writing has improved.&nbsp; But that's for you to decide.)&nbsp; I'll keep reading and sharing the articles, news stories, and bits that I think have value because that is what I authentically do.&nbsp; Share things of value with others is what I do everyday. I'll chat more, broadcast less,&nbsp; AND - I'll try to mix it up a bit more so as not to be annoying.&nbsp; Oh, and I am suspending my auto link for @joankw from Seesmic to Facebook.&nbsp; According to my husband, my in-laws have hidden me because I send out too much stuff!</p> <p>So, is this the right strategy?&nbsp; Well, we'll see. There was a great quote this weekend by Victoria Holt - my favorite author during my teen years.&nbsp; (No laughing - love, adventure, suspense AND a happy ending.&nbsp; What's not to like.&nbsp; I still own every single one of her books in paperback.) </p> <p><a href="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image13.png"><img style="border-width:0;margin:5px;" height="63" alt="image" src="http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/image_thumb13.png" width="54" align="left" border="0"></a>"Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience." Victoria Holt (1906-1993) British writer (via <a href="http://twitter.com/successsecret" target="_blank">@successsecret</a>) AKA: Mike Hanes <a href="http://twitter.com/mikehanes" target="_blank">(@MikeHanes)</a></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Thanks for stopping by - and reading to the end.&nbsp; Stay tuned...</p> <blockquote> <p>Joan Koerber-Walker</p> <p></p> <div class="wlWriterSmartContent" id="scid:0767317B-992E-4b12-91E0-4F059A8CECA8:a675ebe5-107e-48bb-b4ef-091dedac2568" style="display:inline;margin:0;padding:0;">Technorati Tags: <a href="http://technorati.com/tags/Joan%20Koerber-Walker" rel="tag">Joan Koerber-Walker</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/CorePurpose" rel="tag">CorePurpose</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/social%20media" rel="tag">social media</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/communications" rel="tag">communications</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/lessons%20learned" rel="tag">lessons learned</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/business%20tips" rel="tag">business tips</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/#quotes" rel="tag">#quotes</a>,<a href="http://technorati.com/tags/authenticity" rel="tag">authenticity</a></div> <p></p></blockquote> <p>Credits:&nbsp; Photo - Joan Koerber-Walker - If you don't believe me, you can come check in my play room.&nbsp; Tweets - as of this writing at 5:48 PM (pacific) on June 14,2009 - everything shown here was visible via the public feeds on Twitter.</p>