Click the options/image below to take the poll on Facebook.

All too often I hear people say that they are afraid to get involved with Social Media both personally and professionally because they feel that they will be opening their lives up. They think that people will find out everything about them and this scares them. Heck, this might even be you. I used to be afraid to use my real name on social sites. Remember AOL chat rooms? Yeah, I think my first screen name was ThatGirlSTL80 or something like that. I didn’t want people to know who I was. Obviously as soon as they knew my name they would find out everything about me, right?

Let me tell you, you are better off having a presence Online because YOU get to control your content. If someone is looking to track you down they are going to find you no matter what you do, but wouldn’t you like to control what they see? I control my content by posting on Twitter, Facebook, this blog and of course my ridiculous DailyBooth addiction.

Yeah, I posted this. It was a super early morning!

If someone is searching for pictures of me, I have them. I took them. Go ahead and use them. I approve them. I may look absolutely insane in most, but I control it! When people post images of me Online, the pictures that I have pushed out overpower the others. It’s quite genius if you ask me.

I'm not all business!!!

At least I approved this LOL

What’s my point?

You can control what people find Online about you by using the wonderful platforms available.

Google me (Kim Randall). I guarantee that you wont find anything that I didn’t want you to find in the first 5 pages

Look any deeper and you must be stalking me, but maybe these pictures can stop that.

Getting to know my fellow Facebook friends was something that I chose to do because I do not believe in throwing advertisements, promotions and sales in front of my connections. I believe in forming real relationships with people that share similar interests whether it be in the city I live in or the sports team I root for. I always knew that this was important, but never realized how important it was until Tuesday afternoon/evening I received a phone call from a friend after literally walking in the front door telling me that my Facebook account had been hacked. I’m thinking that there was just a few spamalicious posts out there and was speechless to see that there were a few alright, A FEW HUNDRED POSTS!

First step: Change password

Second Step: Warn all of my connections with a a Facebook post letting everyone know.

Third Step: Begin the clean up process. Yes I have chosen to try and delete as much of the spam as I possibly can so that my connections do not get hacked.

While I was doing all of this I noticed that there were a few conversations going on with my connections on my wall. One of them started with trying to get my attention that I had been hacked that led to several people letting everyone know that it isn’t something I would do and that I had to, just had to have been hacked. Another comment was that because I only choose to provide content I know my connections can use, they thought that it was for real and almost clicked it (thankfully they didn’t, huh?)

I had private messages, emails, voice mails and Tweets all from people that knew I would never spam people because I have built that reputation.

I realized that Tuesday I was more happy than ever that I chose to go with my gut and get to know and connect with nearly 2,300 individuals and that they in return got to know me. These spam posts reached over 300 of my friends Facebook walls and oddly enough I only lost 5 friends (who I personally messaged, apologized and then left alone).

Moral of this story: Being hacked sucks, but building a community that will stick up for you when you are hacked is priceless (and rocks too!)

Thanks so much everyone that tried to reach me and let me know about the hacking, you guys ROCK!

I love my DVR because I am able to fast forward through commercials. I flip through the ads in magazines to get to the articles. I also skip (when given the option) pop up ads Online. I hate being “sold” to and I bet you do too. I hate when companies directly @reply me on Twitter thanking me for following them when clearly I am not and this is supposed to be some weird way to get me to follow. I hate when businesses post their advertisements on my Facebook wall and pages I manage. I hate seeing businesses not thinking creatively.

All of the above mentioned ‘hates’ are the reasons that I think like the consumer when I am strategizing any Social Media campaign. I know exactly what I will respond to so why would I do the complete opposite when marketing my own business or someone else’s?

You already know what you want so take your own advice!

I can guarantee that by NOT thinking like your competition and taking some of this advice, you will begin to be noticed more Online with your Social Media campaign as long as you stay focused and consistent!

Let’s Connect!

Epic Thanks is a global celebration that seeks to change the world through the power of gratitude. Founded in 2008, the original TweetsGiving celebration was imagined and implemented by six volunteers in six days, and quickly became the #1 trending topic on Twitter as thousands of grateful tweets from across the globe filled the stream.

But the truth is TweetsGiving was never about twitter or social media. It’s about the gratitude in our hearts, and the transformative power our thankfulness can have when we share it with one another. It’s about cultivating a deep sense of for those remarkable souls who create hope in our world. That’s why this year, TweetsGiving becomes Epic Thanks.

Over the past two years, from the gratitude of thousands, this global event has built two classrooms and a library in Arusha, Tanzania, where the twitterkids, led by local changemaker Mama Lucy Kamptoni, learn and grow at one of the best primary schools in their country.

This year, the celebration will spread to honor even more changemakers in other parts of the world. Stay tuned here to be the first to find out whose hopeful dreams we’ll invest in this year.

- Via EpicThanks.com

I personally was able to work with one of the Changemakers here in Tampa, FL; Mike Halley. Mike is a disabled Marine Veteran that selflessly gives his time, resources and own funds to train dogs for disabled Vets with PTSD around the country (Halley’s K9′s for Vets). We held out Epic Thanks celebration just this past Friday and I can honestly say that it felt amazing to know that I had a part of something that great and that epic. I was brought in from the very first meeting along with a few others where our mission and/or goal wasn’t clear other than we needed to bring awareness to epicchange.org which is just one other bit of awesomeness we were able to accomplish.

EpicThanks.org is raising funds to help out not only Mike Halley, but two other changemakers around the world and I am asking you to give, if you can and give from your heart just as selflessly as they have from theirs. We have found proof that there are still good people in the world that are focusing on making a difference in their communities and for that I also want to ask for you to share the word. Tweet, blog, Facebook, Myspace if you so choose to (hehe) or even do a YouTube video. What are you thankful for?

Please let your connections Online know about what EpicChange.org is doing and what EpicThanks.org is looking to change. There are trending topics that never make any sense, but lets get this one trending because that DOES make sense!

As an added bonus if you donate and are one of the first 100 to DM (on Twitter) myself (@_KimRandall) or Cate Colgan (@CateTV) with your home addy we will send you a very special DailyStickers EpicThanks.com sticker.

Don’t forget the hashtags #epicthanks #tweetsgiving

Today the United States Postal Service announced that they took a loss of $8.5 billion in 2010! That’s an awful lot of money to be losing considering they already made cuts that totaled around $9 billion. Why is the USPS losing so much money? Is it because people are emailing more? Maybe it is easier to connect via Twitter than a personal hand written letter.

Even sending party invitations can be taken care of and managed more efficiently Online with the use of Facebook or Meetup rather than dropping $50.00 into stamps for your child’s birthday party. The Internet has provided many ways to bypass any need to use the USPS. We can pay most bills Online and I do with the exception of my rent. That is the only thing I mail each month.

I am hearing rumors that the USPS might stop collecting and delivering mail on Saturday’s. Do you think that would make any difference. Do you think that this is all the Internet’s fault or that companies like FEDx, UPS and DHL are also partly to blame and how come the Government isn’t bailing out our Postal Service like they did scam artists and crooks in the past few years? (ignore that last sentence, just my frustrations Lol).

Do you think that the USPS will be completely bankrupt as predicted by the end of 2011?

How often do you mail letters, bills or packages with the USPS?

Next week (Monday November 15, 2010) I will be educating kids on Social Media. My main topics and

focuses will be on the obvious, staying safe while having fun. I also want to talk about how kids have a one up on adults as they can easily begin to build their personal brands in their teens. They can research and learn so much more. They don’t have to only rely on the

local library, newspaper and news to learn new things. The sky is totally the limit for these kids. With all of this said there is so much more room for mistakes. Things that we do and say Online can stay with us for a very long time and that’s scary. Post the wrong picture and your future employer might see it.

I want to know what parents are concerned about with their children being Online. I am not a parent, I only taught Preschool for 9 1/2 years and am now seeing the kids I first started out teaching joining these sites. I cringe when they request to be friends on Facebook. Not because of what I post, but because of the other people I see them connecting with and the things that they post, how they post it and how others comment. They know no better though. Let’s face it, we are their role models and I know one too many adults that post horrible updates, pictures and do things that could in turn harm them.

So parents, please share with me some of your concerns about your children being Online. I would love to hear them!

Let’s Connect!

365 Days of Blogging Challenge | Day 60

Not everyone is using Social Media so don’t forget your Offline Marketing!

Let’s Connect!

If you know me even just a little bit you know that I HATE HATE HATE people that automate every single Tweet, advertise all the time on Facebook and comment on my blog with advertisements to their own business. This seriously makes me mad. I do a lot of speaking in Tampa and in Sarasota and I tell people all the time “It isn’t SOCIAL Media for nothing”.

Social Media is the way in todays world that we find new friends, date, network and stay connected. If you are a business then you need to know this. We are not using Twitter because we love seeing your spammy crap!. I use Twitter to meet new people. Did you know that 95% of the friends I have here in Florida are all from Twitter? That’s true.

If you own a business then this question is for you and you only.

Do you fast forward through the TV program to go straight to the commercials?

If you answered yes, leave this blog now because you are full of it. If you answered no, remember that when you are using the Social Web.

Here are three ways you can draw attention to you and your company while still being Social and not pissing anyone off Online.

1. Share information that you found Online that you know your followers and friends would get value out of.
2. Talk about your hobbies.
3. Communicate with others. Say “Good Morning”. We like this!

You have a profile that should have your weblink on it and if it does people that are interested will visit your site. Remember that there is a happy balance between promoting and being social just like there is a difference between automated Tweeting and Scheduled Tweeting!

Have a great Saturday!

365 Days of Blogging Challenge | Day 44

We are so lucky to have the Internet. I say this because 5-10 years ago it was impossible to be heard by so many people without the use of radio or television. We could write for a local newspaper, but that job wasn’t available to just anyone that wanted to have their thoughts, opinions and knowledge heard. It was given to a select few that wrote daily or weekly. It was tough to be heard.

Today with the Internet we have so many platforms to be heard on. You can vlog, blog, microblog, network, photoblog or answer questions. There are SO many ways to connect with people. So many ways to influence people and to help others out. If you know something, I mean REALLY know about something like let’s say…. Cars. Let’s say you know all about cars. You know how to change the oil, flat tires take apart an engine and more. You know your car stuff. Other people aren’t quite as fortunate as you are with your vast knowledge when it comes to automobiles, but you can share some of this with others.

Strategy:

If I was an auto mechanic and I was pretty darn good at what I do, I would leverage Social Media to stand out in the crowd. First things first though.

1. Create a blog/website platform of your own.

2. Get a Twitter account and start connecting.

3. Set up a Facebook Fanpage. Invite friends and family to start because let’s face it, you’re just getting the hang of all this Social Media stuff.

4. Create a YouTube account. Trust me, you can use this and not just to comment on other videos.

5. Don’t forget the FlickR or other photo sharing site (DailyBooth?).

OK now that you have the first steps in place you need to start making a list of everything that you could help or teach others when it comes to automobiles.

Some ideas could be:

* How to change a tire

* Oil Changing tutorial

* Replacing a water pump

* Checking your oil

Remember that even though it probably sounds easy to you, other people have no idea at all when it comes to vehicles. Another thing to think about since we are talking about cars, let’s say that my tire went flat on the highway and I am too far for anyone I know to come and help out. I have an iphone or some other form of smartphone where I can access YouTube and where people like you, the auto mechanic, would be putting those tutorials on how to change my flat tire. I typed in “How to change a flat tire” and came across your tutorial video. I was able to change my tire with your help and when I am done I send a Tweet saying “Thanks Mr. Mechanic for your flat tire tutorial on YouTube, you totally saved me $$$ *****Link****”

That video could also be placed onto your website where you would need to type out step by step instructions on what you did in your video so that all of us that have a “semi-smart” phone that can access the mobile web can still get the content even though our phone wasn’t able to play the video.

This is just one scenario on how your knowledge can help others, but I’m guessing by now you are wondering why you would do this.

Am I right???

You would do this because people are going to remember that mechanic that helped them with his video or blog post. They are going to remember and hopefully talk about how you saved them a towing fee and you are going to see this on Twitter, Facebook, your sites comments, YouTube and wherever else you are. This helps you because people from all over are able to see just how knowledgeable you are and people in your own geographical location will also connect with you allowing for  some of your Online connections could turn into Offline sales. All of this could happen if you chose to speak up, be the leader and share some knowledge.

Be that guy that we can see as the leader and the go to guy when it comes to auto repairs!

Connect With Me!