I’ve  been producing YouTube videos for a few years now, and 2012 was another BIG YEAR. In addition to producing videos for the JMU612 MeetUp group which I’m a co-founder of, I also produced videos for my restaurant review series called “Land of 10,000 Eats“.  Additionally, in February of 2012, I launched a new video interview series called “Faces of MN“.  All of those videos, in addition to a few others, added up to a very productive and busy 2012 YouTube season.

So which videos of all of those videos made the Top 10 list for receiving the most views? Here’s the complete list.

10) Faces of MN – Rena Sarigianopoulos (Part 3)

9) Faces of MN – Natalie Kane (Part 2)

8) Faces of MN – Jen Sinkler (Part 1)

7) Faces of MN – Laura Schara (Part 1)

6) Faces of MN – Elizabeth Ries (Part 1)

5) Faces of MN – Cory Kampschroer & Jessica Miles  (Part 2)

4) Faces of MN – Rena Sarigianopoulos (Part 1)

3) Faces of MN – Rena Sarigianopoulos (Part 2)

2) Faces of MN – Cory Kampschroer & Jessica Miles (Part 1)

1) Faces of MN – Natalie Kane (Part 1)

March 3rd 2010 was the date of the very first Twitterview (an interview conducted on Twitter) that I conducted.  The guest was Aimee Cheek, and since then I’ve done nearly 350 in total. It’s been a who’s who list of people both locally and nationally. From Andrew Zimmern of “Bizarre Foods” to Elizabeth Ries and John Hanson of Twin Cities Live.  Frank Vascellaro of WCCO-TV to Genevieve Gorder of HGTV. Rebecca Jarvis and Jeff Glor of CBS’ This Morning to Rena Sarigianopoulos of KARE 11 . Also many people in the PR, marketing and Social Media worlds, both locally and nationally known.

It’s been a great networking experience in connecting with so many great people and being able to share their stories with you, all of my social friends and followers.  My 2.5 year anniversary is coming up, so how about a little celebration to mark the occasion?  Click on the video below for details!

Have looked at some of the job descriptions lately for Social Media jobs? If you want a good laugh, you should check some of them out some time. There have really become 3 distinctive groups when it comes to these listings.

1. Postings that are realistic in scope and compensation.
2. Postings that ask you to know PR, Social Media, E-Mail Marketing, HTML, etc. and have 6-8 years of experience.
3. Postings that compensate poorly.

The first group is the group that are the ideal job postings. The company has a proper grasp of what they are really looking for and understand the compensation required to get good and experienced talent for that role. They understand that social media is more than just posting “stuff” on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and so forth. Strategy, development and execution are required to handle this role properly. Some level of professionalism and prior experience is also required to help ensure good quality posts and responses to the public.

The second group is looking for someone that knows and does everything. There are no doubt some people that have ALL of these skill sets, though probably very few people, and the bigger question is, can they do each of them well?  Some of this type of job description can come from a business that doesn’t know if they can financially justify having one person handle all of their social media activities exclusively, and not have any other responsibilities.  Depending on the size of the company, that could be true, but if more and more responsibilities are added, that individual will be more divided in their thinking and may do many thing fairly well instead of being excellent at one specific role.  The lines of PR and Marketing are starting to blur, especially with Social Media. So these roles could be put together, but then to add HTML, webinars, blogging and so forth to the “mix”, that’s a lot of work for one person to be responsible for and be highly skilled at. Are they going to be allowed to go on vacations, sleep or ever leave the office?  It may be what the company needs, but is it realistic to have all of that on one person?

The third group are companies who may have heard about this “Social Media thing”, and are expecting someone who graduated out of High School or is currently in college, to come in and be an intern for next to nothing and do this for their company.  The postings can be like “Do you have a passion for Facebook and Twitter?”.  They want something, anything to be done so that they can say they have a Facebook or a Twitter account. So you’re an established, possibly a million dollar company, and you want someone that has never worked for you before, someone that has not had any professional working experience, be the “voice” of your company online? Really? You’re fine and comfortable with that?  Sadly, these companies probably don’t know the real value in getting good help in this area of their business.  So they’re probably in just a hurry to just get someone to do this “stuff” for them.  As the saying goes, you get what you pay for, and so they probably will not get good results, and will just then give up on Social Media because of that.

The Social Media job market is still a relatively new sector, and will eventually level out as to expectations and compensation.  So if you’re in that sector, patience and diligence is required.  Get what your worth and what you deserve.  What do you think of the current job listings for social media positions?

Look at the fabulous new shinny thing!  It’s a great new social media platform called Pinterest.  People go to their favorite blogs and websites and just “pin” images or video to their own “boards” which then allows them to automatically share those “pins” with their followers.  Dress designs, cupcakes, exotic locations, celebrities, favorite quotes and infographics. An endless amount of possibilities to share with others. Businesses got involved too and now Pinterest allows them to visually pull you in to what their brand is all about.

A corner has been turned though. What’s being “pinned” isn’t “favorite things”, it’s more like “everything”. As if someone went to a furniture website and “pinned” everything on the site, instead of just the main pieces that they love or appreciate.  You’ve seen those accounts haven’t you?  The ones where the person goes to a travel website and they don’t choose “A” or “L”, but instead choose to pin, “All of the above”.  Flooding their boards and thereby flooding the boards of everyone following them with their “I love everything and I hate nothing so that you notice me” Pinterest strategy.

A person can have a lot of passions and interests that catch their fancy. Instead of one color, they might love the entire spectrum of colors. That’s great! In social media though, we don’t need to or are we asking you to share EVERY idea, thought, image or video that comes to mind or to your attention.  Share the “choice” pieces of life. The highlights of life.  In sports there are 2 announcers, the play-by-play and the color commentator. If you treat your social media accounts as doing color commentary of your life, you’re going to have far more success than if you do play-by-play postings. Help make Pinterest less Pinful, or painful. Make it fun!

How do you see it?

So you’ve started your very own Twitter account. You’ve got a great Twitter handle. You’ve got your BIO all filled out and it describes you and your wonderful personality. You’ve got a URL link for your blog or your business posted. You’re ready to go and connect with people on Twitter now! So you get busy and start following people that you know. Following businesses and celebrities that you like, appreciate and want to stay connected to.  You want to hear what they’re saying and sharing with their followers.

You keep doing so, but then you when you get to following 2,000 Twitter account, you hit a road block. You’re following more people than are following you in return. You’ve been stopped in your tracks, but you want to keep going. What’s the deal?  It’s like this, Twitter has a limit set, and if you hit it and try to go over it, you’re stopped. You can’t be following more than 2,000 people and only have 100-1900 be following you in return. Why does Twitter have this “Golden 2,000″ rule? Here’s their explanation:  “Limits improve site performance by ensuring that when we send a person’s message to all of their followers, the sending of that message is meaningful. Follow limits cannot be lifted by Twitter, and everyone is subject to them, including verified and developer accounts. Based on current behavior in the Twitter community, we’ve concluded that this is both fair and reasonable.”

So Twitter has nothing against you as a user.  They’re just trying to set up some barriers so that spammers and “bots” don’t go crazy-wild when setting up a new account. The good news for you though is once you’ve  hit the “Golden 2,000″ mark of followers, have fun, and reach for the stars! Follow who and what you want.  You’re in control!

      For over 3 years for me, every Friday on my Twitter Feed, I’ve seen Tweets from people that have the #FF hashtag included in them, often then proceeded by a long list of Twitter handles. They were doing a good thing in showing appreciation for the people that have followed them, and giving a digital “shout out” to all of those people or businesses, but they weren’t giving any reason for it. Just a “Follow these people because I said to” mentality. Really though, if a person is going to say “Hey, you should follow this person and or that person”, provide a reason. Like “These people have inspired me” or “These people make me laugh”.  Even better, how about just doing a solo #FF for just one person, and then use the rest of the 140 characters in a Tweet to explain why people should follow that person or Twitter handle. What makes them great, good, special, inspiring, fabulous and the like. That person will be touched by your thoughtful reasons and it shows you as being a more authentic person and not just being a “follower of crowds”.

#FF or “Follow Friday” on Twitter does not seem to be done as much as it had been in the past.  It’s a great idea, but is Friday the only day we should think about someone that we appreciate? Is Friday the only day we should Tweet about someone that effected us in a small or large way? I don’t think so, and I don’t think you do either. So the next time someone that you’re connected to on Twitter does something great or awesome and you want them to be recognized for it, don’t wait until Friday to praise them. Tell them right away in a Tweet. Or better yet, tell them on the phone or in person. Being social is connecting with people, online, and face-to-face.

If a person only ever ate food with jalapeno or ghost peppers, would anything stand out? It would all be hot to the taste and touch, but isn’t it true that “variety is the spice of life” as the saying goes? Does everything need to be hot?

In today’s tech/social hungry world, people are constantly wondering, “what’s the latest…” this or that, “what’s the hottest in. . .” to make sure that they are on top of it all and aren’t missing out. While I’ll agree that it’s good to stay on top of things like trends, does everything that we do have to be the best or latest?  I still chuckle when I ask someone about their smartphone, and they feel bad about having the previous model, when that model that they have is a year or less old. Your smartphone didn’t even exist 2 years ago! It’s okay to have the one that’s in your hands right now!

While it’s good to stay caught up on reading what the latest social media platform is that’s taking off, or find out which App can save you the most time with a particular task, it’s also good to once an awhile take a breath, and be happy with the place that you’re at currently. It’s okay to be a trend watcher, but you don’t have to live as a trend. It’s good to know what lies ahead, but we also need to enjoy the now in life.