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)

How many followers do you have? How many “Likes” does your Facebook page have? How many pageviews does your blog get?

It seems like people are putting more and more emphasis on what your “numbers” are then what the real purpose of Social Media is, making connections with people.  These just aren’t any people. These are people that either already know you or your brand, or want to know more.  These people aren’t being forced to follow or “Like” you, unless it’s a part of some contest or coupon deal.  So why is it that if Company A has 10,000 “Likes” and Company B has 1,000 “Likes” that many people think, Company A must be the better company.  Maybe Company B has better quality of products or services. Maybe it has better customer service and/or support.  Maybe it gets more work done with less employees.

While it’s important to build up a good following on Social Media, you want and need your followers to really be loyalists to your brand.  So if you have less followers than another company that does similar work, it doesn’t mean your company is a lesser company.  It may just mean that they were earlier to joining Social Media or that a Social Media campaign they had lured a lot of people to follow them. It doesn’t mean though that their customers are more loyal or that their company is better.  You want real and genunine connections, not just big numbers of followers.

Hello everybody! Welcome to today’s Twitterview with @ProfessorShayla of the #UofMN. After the delay, it’s time to roll!

Share a little background about yourself. Where did you grow up and what kinds of things interested you?

Shayla:    I grew up in eastern Iowa, near the Quad Cities. Interests: Music (rock). I like playing, listening, seeing shows.

And I’ve always loved to read, and now I’m kind of addicted to the Internet. I started working on the Web in 1995.

Now I enjoy eating out and in (my spouse is great cook), and fortunately for my line of work, I like to write.

1995 huh? What drew you to the internet? What were some of the 1st websites that you frequented?

Shayla:    If you were a journalist willing to work online in ’95, you could move up quickly. My 1st real job was at http://washingtonpost.com .

As for websites back in ’95, I love the amateurishness of all of them. Lots of flashing gifs. I loved http://superbad.com . Still do.

I was so excited when I learned HTML and could make text blink. I think that’s been outlawed since 1997.

No problem. :)  So how did you transition from using it for work to becoming a professor of digital media & culture?

Shayla:    I went back to school (got an MA at Georgetown and Ph.D. at Iowa) and learned to think more critically about the web ‪

Few people were having critical classroom discussions about what was happening online back then. Originally, I thought

(con’t) that I’d concentrate on teaching online journalism specifically. But my scholarly interests expanded.

Now I look broadly at questions of digital media and culture, sociology, production, and audiences. Esp. teen girls.

I see. Why the special interest in teen girls and digital media/culture?

Shayla:    A feminist choice: Adolescent girls weren’t even studied until the 1980s. And they are avid users of digital media 1/1

Girls are also producers of digital media, a fact that isn’t well represented in the MSM. There’s a lot of fear (con’t)

Fear that they will be victimized online or that they will show excessive sexual agency themselves. Victim v. vixen.

How girls actually use digital media vs. how they are represented using it is fascinating to me.

Do many men sign up for this class?

Shayla:    I don’t actually teach classes focusing mainly on gender at the U of M. My most popular class is “New Media & Culture.”

Having said that, I’ve found the guys in my classes have few issues with talking about gender and identity online!

How much of your class discussion in the “New Media & Culture” class, focuses on Social Media?

Shayla:    Most of it focuses on s.m. because it’s such a major part of all of our lives. And we have a class Twitter.

The class Twitter allows students to communicate with each other, share class-related links, comment on the discussion.

It’s been surprising to me how hard it can be to get students to use Twitter, by the way. My PR students get the value.

What kind of feedback to do get from the students about Social Media: fears, confusion, usability, value?

Shayla:    Most (not all) do not see social media as a way to enhance personal brand or make professional connections.

Others are afraid of their digital footprint as a result of s.m. use, and they opt out of all but Facebook as a result.

Rarely discuss usability but I think that’s the issue w. students’ resistance to Twitter. You have to use it to get it.

I think I need to talk to your class some time. :) Before we end, what books have you found useful to use?

Shayla:    Consider yourself booked as a guest speaker! ;-) “The Shallows” by N. Carr, “Alone Together” by @STurkle, “Googled”…

And much can be learned from “old” media & “old” theory — James Carey and Marshall McLuhan still have much to tell us.

Joel:    Good thinking on learning from previous methods of media as well! Thanks for your time today, have a good weekend!

Shayla:    Thanks to you for an enjoyable Twitter conversation.

Good morning everybody! Welcome to the Twitterview of @simasays (Sima Dahl)! How are things in Chicago today Sima?

Sima:    Today is classic early summer Chicago… sunny, mild breeze off the lake, just stunning!

We’re supposed to see high’s in the 90′s this weekend. As we always say in Chi-town, “it’s cooler by the lake.”

Glad to hear it! So to start off with, where did you grow up and attend school? What interests did you have growing up?

Sima:    I grew up in the NW suburbs of Chicago. We moved to a town called Barrington when I was 10 and I went to HS there.

Growing up I loved to read, watch movies (sci-fi, fantasy, suspense) & ride my bike. I still do all those things now!

I also loved going to see live music and musicals. My very first concert was the Jackson 5 feat. Michael himself.

My parents were divorced and my dad would have me on weekends. Saw a ton of theatre, sports and more.

Growing up near a world class city like Chicago has its advantages to be sure. And we haven’t even talked about food!

Alright then. What kinds of places did you enjoy eating at when you were growing up? Deep dish or thin crust?

Sima:    Oh the classic pizza debate! I myself prefer thin but every blue moon a deep dish pizza hits the spot.

Chicago is really a melting pot of ethnicities and you can find any kind of food in the world here.

Growing up I was a picky eater, now I’ll try anything. My husband and I, along with 2 couples, have “Ethnic Night.”

We take turns picking different ethnic experiences – here’s where we’ve been: http://simasays.com/dining/

So how did you get interested and involved with social media, marketing and networking? What kind of schooling helped you?

Sima:    I did my undergrad at U of I in Champaign, and my MBA part-time evenings at DePaul.

At U of I, I studied marketing and communications and I fell in love with all things “messaging.” I am a word-geek.

I did my MBA in Management to round out my liberal arts undergrad. Helped me gain perspective beyond the marcom role.

I have always been in marketing but my career took lots of twists and turns. I used social networking to market myself

I am a B2B and professional services marketer – it’s all about relationships… slow and complex. #SM amplifies that.

None of us is an expert. The smartest #SM marketers still think of themselves as students – we are all still learning

Agreed! Many people and companies find B2B Social Media more challenging than say B2C. Do you feel that way?

Sima:    The #B2B #SM marketer has to know their audience well, find them, and then edu-tain them. No easy feat

What I find is that just because the #b2b buyer is less vocal doesn’t mean they’re not social. Content is king.

Much of the work we do is identifying the greatest #SM opportunity, packaging the content, and training the team

Good points! How did you get to be a columnist, author and keynote speaker? Did they come easy to you?

Sima:    When I set out to reinvent my career and rebrand myself 4 years ago, I met a woman who gave me some sage advice.

She simply said, “You have to name it to claim it.” And so I started telling the universe exactly what I wanted…

I rebranded myself as a consultant, speaker, trainer, author… like advertising, consistent messaging is key.

I’ve always loved writing & have no fear of public speaking. I had raw talent but had much to learn and still do.

My earliest opportunities all came from my network. A friend invited me to blog, another to speak… so grateful!

Good planning! With today’s economy, MANY people are having to re-brand themselves. What are some hurdles to overcome?

Sima:    Rebranding takes consistency, repetition, patience. Also clarity of message. And passion.

I tell ppl, “If you’re not excited about what you do, how can you expect me to be?”

Everyone needs a personal positioning statement… be able to articulate who you are, what you do, why you’re special

I wrote a column about positioning statements for @SMMmagazine that #JECTV followers might enjoy. http://ow.ly/bs9lR

The good news is, you can always change your mind. Personal brands evolve, just like people :)

Excellent advice! So put your “in the future” Google goggles on! :) What do you see happening with #SM in the future?

Sima:    I don’t have a crystal ball by any means but I see “integration” becoming sexy again. #SM can’t stand alone for long

Also tighter partnerships between client and agency – you can’t outsource #SM entirely, but most do need help!

I see we’re almost out of time, how’d I do? Any last questions for me? If not, I’ve got one for you :)

What’s that?

Sima:    It’s Jan 1st, 2013. What happened in the last 6 months that you are most proud of? Tell the universe, make it happen!

That’s a great way to make a goal! To close Sima, where will you be speaking in the next few months?

Sima:    You’re not going to answer? Darn :(

Upcoming engagements at @LFGSM, Fed. Reserve Bank Chg, USG, HTSA, UBA, JAMA and loads of training.

I plan to pilot a web-based training program for sales pro’s and biz owners later this summer.

This has been a real pleasure Joel! A very happy #FF to you. And thanks for not asking me to do math :)

Joel:    I plan to do more writing about social media, hopefully for some publications. More involved with food writing too.

Thanks for your time and helpful tips today. Have a great weekend!

Sima:    Awesome – now that it’s out there – it’ll be far easier to achieve, and I look forward to reading your work!

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?

Mike Rynchek is an entrepreneur and the company that he started, Spyder Trap, has continued to grow year after year. Mike is the President and CEO of his company that offers online marketing to a growing number of companies. Though his company had primarily focused on the the healthcare industry in the beginning, it has since expanded into other fields. Get to know what makes Mike tick and what he hopes to do, along with his company, in the near future. In Part 1 of Mike interview, he shares why he decided to create Spyder Trap and what it’s niche is. He talks about how Social Media has changed things for Spyder Trap and his strong interest in Foursquare.  (Come back to see Part 2 on WED and Part 3 on THU.)

In Part 2 of Mike Rynchek’s interview, he talks about his vision for the future of his company, Spyder Trap. Mike shares his view of the marketing industry in Minnesota and answers some questions from Twitter and Facebook. He ends with talking about what he does in his spare time and his view of how rural areas are using technology.

In Part 3 of Mike’s interview. Get a guided tour of the expanded Spyder Trap headquarters, located in Minneapolis.