I’m Off to the Big Easy!

Hey Everyone!

I’ll be spending the week in New Orleans so I wont be blogging or tweeting or facebooking or emailing (whew!) much this week.  Have a fabulous New Year and see you in 2010!

Allison

It’s My Two Year Blogoversary! Plus, a Reader Survey

I can’t believe another year has gone by—and what a year it has been!

• I was featured in the NY Daily News, Civic Engagement by Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration, and The Philadelphia Inquirer.
• Finally met Rosetta Thurman in person!  And Nancy Lublin, the CEO of DoSomething.org (among many other things; the woman is amazing!).
• Connected with some amazing social change rockstars like @jaywalker, @loryn24, and the many leaders I profiled in the Young Social Change Rockstars Series.
• Launched the Nonprofit Millenial Bloggers Alliance.  What a wonderful group of bloggers!
• Invited to be a WeVolunteer Ambassador for WeTV.
• Joined the board of Artistic New Directions,  Manhattan based nonprofit that provides professional development and rehearsal space to emerging artists.
• Got my feet wet in some leadership and social media consulting for non-profits—finally!

This year has been a blessing and I am sure 2010 will be even better.  I feel like 2009 has been about laying the foundation for my work.  But I have to admit that every time something good happens, I am completely blown away by it.  I blog because I love sharing my experiences so when other people notice, I’m always surprised.

Obviously, I wouldn’t have these opportunities if you all weren’t reading, commenting, tweeting, and carrying-on around the internets . So, to make next year even better I would love to know your opinion about this blog.   If possible, can you complete this brief reader survey? Or, sound off in the comments.

Thank you so much!  Here’s to another great year!

Social Media and Personal Branding: Link Roundup and Advice for Nonprofiteers

In the past week, a couple members of the Nonprofit Millenial Bloggers Alliance offered some insight on social media and personal branding for folks in the nonprofit sector.

Rosetta (@rosettathurman), 6 Ways to Use Twitter to Enhance Your Nonprofit Career
Colleen (@cdilly),  Personal Branding Makes You Better at Your Job
Me (@ajlovesya),  Misconceptions on Social Media and Personal Branding
Elizabeth (@eclawson),  Being a Brand versus Being Yourself

There are generally three concerns when it comes to social media and personal branding: content creation, usage, and real life application.  Fortunately, these challenges are easy to over come, but they do take some patience and practice.

Content Creation (I don’t have anything to write about!)

• Listen: Spend time reading blogs and following people on twitter to get a sense of what’s out there—trends, styles, and interesting topics.  Alltop.com is a great place to start searching for blogs to read.  WeFollow is good for people and organizations to follow on twitter and check out twitter lists of suggested people to follow.

• Reflect: Add to the conversation by reflecting on what you are learning. Write a response to a compelling article or do research on a topic that people are buzzing about.  Share your personal experiences in a way that offers insight and advice to others that may be in a similar situation.

• Plan: Keep a pen and pad around with you to jot down ideas as they come to you—sometimes your inspiration won’t come from the internet.  Also, plan your blog posts ahead of time and space them out so you have content to pull from.

Usage (I don’t want to seem like robot—I want to connect with people!)

• Focus on Others: Ask yourself how you can provide value to other people based your shared interests.   Link to people, retweet their content, share information you think others will find useful, and ask questions to start new conversations.

• Quality over Quantity: If you don’t have anything to share, don’t.  Don’t flood people’s feeds and inboxes with bland or mediocre content just because.

Real Life Impact (This social media stuff doesn’t matter in the real world!)

• Attend Events: If you are into social change, social media is a great way to find out about events as way of meeting people and learning more about social change.  Take it to the next level by not only attending events, but also speaking at events, helping publicize events, or coordinating your own.

• Meet People in Real Life: I have had the privilege of meeting so many wonderful people (Ami Dar, Rosetta Thurman, Nancy Lublin, to name a few) not to mention making new friends through social media.  While developing relationships online, don’t be afraid to take them off line, by meeting up.

• Connect to Work: Colleen and Rosetta brilliantly demonstrate how the skills you develop working on your social media presence can be applied to your job. What’s key is exposing your colleagues and organization to new ideas and opportunities through social media.  In using social media effectively, you are constantly learning—why not share your learning with others?

• Tell People: Add a link of your social media accounts to your email signature, join blog carnivals to spread the work about your work, and tweet/email your work.  More and more people are looking for talent online so getting the word out can lead to offline professional success.

Misconceptions about Social Media and Personal Branding

Whenever I recommend someone start a blog the first response I get is: “I don’t have anything to write about.” I also get a similar reaction when it comes to using other forms of social media: I have nothing to tweet about/I don’t get twitter; I only use facebook for friends/I don’t use facebook that much; what is LinkedIn?

Learning about the technical aspect of social media tools is easy; each major website features a handy “how-to.”  However, when it comes to using social media strategically to build a reputation for yourself, a big reason for reluctance is that there are many misconceptions about social media and personal branding:

• You have to have an incredibly interesting life or high powered job: No you don’t. Social media isn’t about sharing the ins and outs of your day. It’s about conversations, community, and building a positive reputation for yourself. What you need, more than anything, is to be inquisitive: asking questions, sharing ideas, and collaborating. Sharing personal information is fine as it adds a human touch and makes it easier for people to connect with you.  This goes beyond position.  And the “dear diary” way of communicating is not going to get you anywhere.

• You have to be a shameless self-promoter: Honestly, I’ve found people on social media to be extremely ANTI-self promoter. People who are constantly going on about their products/services without actually engaging people and NOT talking about themselves get put on blast all the time; they are blocked, de-friended, or simply called out for being annoying. So no, you don’t have to do that and for the sake of your reputation you shouldn’t.

• You have to post all of the time: This is partly true. Social media is about real time conversations so updating your twitter page once a week wont fly; it will get lost and forgotten too easily. However, your goal should be strategic use not just filling people’s feeds so you stay up to date. Therefore your best bet is to come up with rhythm of updating and engaging that makes sense for you.

What do all of these misconceptions have in common? You are thinking too much about yourself. This is understandable given that the issue is personal branding. However, when it comes to social media, the emphasis is social—there are other people to consider. So instead of asking “how can I look better?” ask “how can I help other people?”

• Focus on relationships: Whatever topic or issue you care about, remember there is probably a conversation taking place about it. Join those conversations, get to know people, and use the thoughts and resources of others to inform your own opinions. Sign up for people’s blogs, follow interesting people on twitter without worrying about them following you, and respond to people.

• Be Thoughtful: One thing I have found is that the more you engage with others (i.e. focus on relationships) the more you will have to share and think about. So take your time and create value instead of counting.

• Pay Attention: What kinds of questions or issues seem to be buzzing right now? What kind of information do people seem to be most interested in? If you have unique resources or ideas to share, do so and don’t be afraid to address the same topic but in different ways.

• Have Passion: Personal branding requires effort but should be made after you have figured out your passion. In other words, you have to have something to be branded about.

• Engage honestly and strategically: Share a little about yourself and don’t be afraid to admit when you are frustrated, confused, or struggling. Invite people to the table to share their views and ideas.   Also, it’s ok to focus on two or three social media tools. There are tons out there and you really do not need to use all of them. In addition to my blog, I’m on twitter, facebook, and linkedin. LinkedIn doesn’t require that much updating but the others I am pretty active on.

You want to build a reputation as a thought leader but remember that doing so is not a solo act. When using social media, you’ll be building on ideas and connecting with new people who can challenge and enhance your own thinking.  By focusing on community and harnessing your unique interests, personal branding not only comes naturally but can expose you to different people and opportunities.

Two Events to Celebrate and Connect with Young Social Change Leaders in NYC

Around this time of year the holiday parties start piling up (Next week I am attending FOUR holiday parties). But in the middle of wine, cheese, and cool company I wanted to highlight some events in NYC that are great opportunities to network, connect, and make a difference. These events are being led by young social change leaders so show your support!

TrickleUp’s Young Professionals Council Open House
Monday December 7th 7pm-10pm, The Suffolk, 107 Suffolk Street. No Cover $5 drinks

I know many of you—like myself—are interested in social entreprenurship as a means for social change, especially when it comes to alleviating poverty. You might be interested in Trickle Up which helps very poor people make their way out of poverty by providing training, seed capital grants and savings support to help people launch a microenterprise.

They are having an open house for people to learn more about their work and how to get involved. The event is sponsored by their Young Professional’s Council which raises awareness amongst New York City college students and young professionals about alleviating extreme poverty, while simultaneously providing social and networking opportunities.

If you want to attend please email Fennie Wang, fennie.n.wang [at] jpmchase [dot] com or Anush Ricci, anush.x.riccin [at] jpmchase [dot] com

United Way’s Young Leaders Council Second Annual Red Carpet Soiree
Saturday December 12th 7pm-11pm, The Renaissance Hotel at Two Times Square, tickets $85-$100

This year’s event will be honoring young philanthropist Beverly Bond who started BlackGirlsRock! A nonprofit that supports at risk girls of color and celebrates positive role models. I absolutely LOVE the work of Beverly Bond and the culture of giving she highlights among celebrities. If you are interested in attending please visit their website.

Have a great weekend!