Divide? What Divide?

You may have heard the term “digital divide” before, in fact, you may be quite familiar with it. For those who are not, it is the concept that there are certain generations and age groups who are more familiar with things like cell phones, texting, Twitter, Facebook, etc, and there are some who are not familiar with them at all. Hence, there is a “divide” of sorts between the two groups who are using to vastly different methods of communication, with a variety of things potentially getting lost in the process.

It Really Exists

It is in a many ways hard to understand that this exists. After all, texting is the preferred form of communication for almost everyone now. Twitter is being used so actively on major outlets such as ESPN that it is almost mind boggling, and everyone has a Facebook. We all have the dad or perhaps uncle who has a Facebook profile, but has absolutely no idea how to use it. The most their friends on Facebook can expect out of them is a post once in a while that is probably in all capital letters. For some of us, that is our parents.

For people who aren’t on Twitter, they don’t get it at all. Popular culture doesn’t seem to help these cases, as well…

While Jon Stewart’s sketch might be funny, this is unfortunately how many people view Twitter, and in fact, many new, social, communicative services. The fact is, these services in many ways wind up deciding for themselves whether they are, or will remain the “next big thing.” Ask anyone under 30 to recall a social network or profile-type service of some sort that they’re no longer on, or no longer active on, and I assure you, they will be able to recall at least one. At the rate they die out, the new concepts are studied, and new services and features are added.

The Divide; Coming to a City Near You

The fact is, while my generation feels more connected than it ever has, the divide is coming for us. Rest assured, Gen X, there will be a day that Twitter integrates something that we don’t get, or a new product does something we don’t understand. If you need an example, just take a look at the number of people that still don’t have Facebook’s new Timeline feature, or watch how many people gripe when Facebook changes the slightest thing. Rest assured, we won’t always be as connected and understanding of society and culture as we are today.

Be Honest

Be Yourself

This might seem a little (or a lot) like the first post in this series. This concept is so important that it deserves mentioning here. This is the fundamental concept that will make (and keep) you a communicator. The bottom line when it comes to communication is this; no one wants to be lied to. That is as simple as it gets. People want what you genuinely have to say, and that is what they will come back for.

Stop Talking

Stop Talking

The reality of any form of communication is that we all want to say something. There is nothing wrong with this per se, but it is crucial that we take time out of the talking routine in order to listen. Communication is a two-way street, and oftentimes we only want to travel the one way. It’s simple; everyone wants to be heard. But to truly communicate, you have to listen, and cooperatively share ideas.

Interact

Do not be afraid to interact with people. Beyond simple talking/listening, communication consists of many facets. Take for example a dating relationship. If a guy finds out that a girl likes a particular sports team, or genre of movie that they happen to share in common, he takes her to the movie. They interact, and ultimately communicate on that subject. It’s not as simple as verbally communicated thoughts and ideas, but it is not much more complex. Interacting is taking the next step beyond just verbal communication.

That extra touch can add another layer of your personality to your communication

Break the Touch Barrier

This might sound like an awkward bit of advice to some, especially in a professional sense. This is simpler than it seems, however. A simple gesture beyond the common handshake can add another level of interactivity to your communication that will ensure you are remembered as a personable, interactive person. Sometimes something as simple as gently touching someone’s elbow during a handshake, or even just using two hands to shake someone’s hand can make a world of difference in how you come across.

Be Real

While this might seem synonymous with being honest, it is not in a lot of ways. One can be honest without being real. Being real is the true challenge that most people face. Generally speaking, people do not go through life lying to people day in and day out. However, rarely is anyone themselves. When you are real with your audience no matter who it might be, your words, thoughts, and ideas are in some ways automatically validated as a result. One’s actions when lined up with one’s words are many times more effective than the “do as I do, not as I say” routine that people so often tread.

Photo: Boondock Saints Veritas Tattoo - Vertias: Latin for "truth"

Truth

The definition of Truth that I have always let hold the most importance to me is the following;

“

conformity with fact or reality;
verity: the truth of a statement.

“

The thing about truth is that as much as it is disputed, argued over, etc, it does not change. For those who are Christians, there is a Truth that is an all encompassing Truth that extends beyond the human interactions and interpretations of truth. If truth is subject, as so many people seem to think and act like they believe it is, then it does not exist. The concrete unchanging truth, again, is that which conforms to reality. Calling the sky green or the sun dark is no more truth than one’s wanting it to be so. Statements do not give truth the nature very nature of itself. It’s conformity to reality gives truth it’s…truth.

Integrity in Communication

Have you ever been in a relationship where there was no honesty? One can usually tell from the very beginning whether a relationship will be honest. That is not to say that over time, people might make mistakes, and information between one another might be withheld or falsified at some point. We all make mistakes. When one is in a relationship that is dishonest, it is fairly clear from the beginning. There is a pain in communication that is not based in honesty and openness. I am of the mindset that one should be honest at all costs, and let the “chips fall where they may” as the saying goes. My foundational belief system that I adhere to tells me the following:

“and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 8:32

Truth in Society

The ironic thing is that people cannot escape the truth. In a society where a plethora of moral viewpoints spot our intellectual fields on a daily basis, this one thing remains constant. People have opinions, politically or philosophically speaking, but everyone at some point admits the truth. There is always that moment where the “rubber meets the road” and people only seek the truth. When celebrities cheat on their spouses or businessmen make crooked decisions, the inevitable event that almost always occurs is an apology. That moment when a teary-eyed sports superstar or indicted business high roller stumbles through a speech admitting that he or she was wrong, and owns up to the facts. Hurt though the parties involved might be, they all seek that moment, when someone is faced with the truth of situation, and is confronted by their lack of integrity.

Without honesty and integrity in communication, everything else is lost. The most brilliant liars are still just that; liars. Speaking creatively and beautifully loses all it’s show when there is not integrity.

Tools

My personal brand is not built around the Android community, although it partially is. My personal brand reflects me, and my message. I have loads to communicate, and it’s centered around my website, my Twitter (@AddisonTodd) and my Facebook profile. My online persona centers around me, and what I can offer in a professional community with my given area of expertise. I also occasionally blog about a number of other random topics. This makes me a real individual who is also passionate about the things that he cares about.

My Role

My role in communication is based on my personality, and my passion. I could try my hand at sports writer if I wanted to. I might succeed in the interim, until my lack of knowledge in that area was apparent. Any readers I had gained would quickly move on realizing that I had nothing valuable to say on the topic. My strong points are my personality traits that connect me with people, and my expertise.

People Like Me

People with the same drive and passions as me are people like Chris Reimer, (@RizzoTees) Gary Vaynerchuk, (@garyvee) Craig Gross, (@craigxxxchurch) Amy Jo Martin, (@AmyJoMartin) Derek Mabie, (@DerekMabie) and Sarah Evans. (@PRSarahEvans)

Questions?

@AddisonTodd

Facebook.com/AddisonTodd

Andy the Android

Android is a mobile operating system comparable (if later developed) to Apple’s popular iOS software. It has many of the same features, and many different features. It is a Linux based file system developed by the Open Handset Alliance led by Google. Google purchased the initial developer of the software, Android Inc., in 2005. As a way of codenaming the releases of Android, Google uses dessert names such as Gingerbread, Froyo, etc; with the latest build being Ice Cream Sandwich, currently available on the Galaxy Nexus, by Samsung.

The principle factor with in deciding between Android and iOS is customization. As an avid Android user myself, this is the key factor that nailed down my decision between the two popular platforms. I have owned an iPhone, and have more recently owned Android phones, with my current phone being the Samsung Droid Charge.

To be blatantly honest, there is only one way to get even close to the customization on an iOS device that you can get on an Android phone, and that’s by jailbreaking, or “unlocking” the software of device in question. Long rumored illegal, jailbreaking gives a form of administrative access to an iOS device by allowing the user to install third party non-vendor developed applications, instead of just the usually install approved applications from Apple’s appstore.

Closed Development

Every application currently available for Apple’s iOS is subject to Apple’s scrutiny, their demands for change, etc. However, when it comes to Android, applications are open to developer’s creativity. Google monitors the Android Market for spam and illegal content, but other

Example: Google+

Android phones had a Google+ app before it was a public service and openly available. Quite literally, the app was available on user’s phones before they could even access the service via their Google accounts. Granted, the product is a Google product. But hey, let’s look at it logically here. Is there another software or conceptual developer that could somehow rival Google? Short of an actual Apple product, who could be more trustworthy than Google? But, Apple users had to wait until Apple took their typically long review process into consideration to finally release the product to the appstore for download.

Customization

Widgets on Ice Cream Sandwich

Why has Apple not considered the functionality of widgets? Android has a functionality built in for users to add widgets from a variety of default applications, as well as third-party developer applications. This allows some functionality available within an application to be used outside of the application on the homescreen. This functionality is not matched by any features in iOS. To access application features, the closest thing to widgets that iOS has to offer is the push notifications.

Case Study: Default Launcher(s)

The default homescreen functionality on an iPhone is a format with horizontally tiled screens with the applications listed (by default) in an order that Apple specifies. The remaining customization available with no extra steps is reorganizing applications in a manner preferred, and the ability to created and name folders for applications to reside in.

Android users can go to the Android Market and use many different homescreen launchers, providing endless customization for the style of application drawer, horizontally and vertically styled application listings, etc. Many of these applications are available to users free of charge from the Android Market.

As an avid Android user, the topics I’ve listed here are my main reasons for choosing Android over iOS. I have owned an iPhone, and I own an iPod Touch with the latest version of iOS on it as well, but I have chosen Android as my preferred platform.

After a few days of deliberation at the beginning of the week, we decided (much to my chagrin, actually) on the tag #PBandJterm. It represents “Personal Branding”, the topic of our class, and January Term, the pre-semester “semester” of classes here at Lindenwood, with a cute poke at the “PB&J” moniker. If you notice my Twitter feed, I reluctantly began to use the tag around Wednesday (Jan 4th) of last week. We had presentations in class on Thursday about ourselves, which generated a lot of chatter about one another, but not a lot of chatter much further out of our own (albeit small) community of students.

On Friday (Jan. 6th) we had presentations in class about a brand personality of our choice, with some key facts about what we should know about them. Mine was about the personality Chris Reimer. (@RizzoTees) He had a lot of insight to offer in terms of personal branding, social media implementation, etc. As of that day #PBandJterm really took off. As a result of all the presentations in class, our personal branding personalities began to interact with us on Twitter. These included Reimer, as well as others like David Armano, (@Armano) Tara Joyce, (@ElasticMind) Nick Gilham, (@NickGilham) and others.

Once this began to happen, it was only a matter of time before someone considered the possibility of us trending; which we checked, to find out that our conversation had become number one in St. Louis. Where that left us in the global list, or United States trends is anyone’s guess. However, it’s still pretty cool that a group of twenty-somethings that attend school in the Midwest can talk about their class, and personal branding, and land their conversation as a number one trend in a giant metropolitan area.

The key here, is that the hashtag went beyond just a few friends in class discussing something. This is also key to understanding how hashtags work. Tags such as “#talkaboutawkward” or “#ifitwasuptome” indicate a mediocre knowledge and understanding of how Twitter works. The hashtag was designed to track a given topic of conversation. Not all momentary hashtags are bad. For example, a friend and I used to always tag conversations about food with “#FoodTweet” or “#Hungry.” Hence, for curiosity’s sake, we could then easily search Twitter for other people talking about food.

I encourage you to interact with #PBandJterm over the next few weeks to see the things we learn about personal branding, and track the content we publish.

Where Can You Find Him?

@RizzoTees on Twitter

rizzotees.com

Facbook.com/therealrizzotees

Numerous speaking engagements like #GetDigital, etc.

What Does Chris Tweet About?

As you can see from the wordle in the slideshow, Chris tweets about a variety of things. The graphic displays items that are more frequently mentioned in larger type. It’s interesting to note that two of the words that Chris uses most frequently are “thank” and “thanks.” This is another example of Chris engaging with people in a practical way on Twitter. There’s nothing wrong with saying a quick “thank you” to someone who followed, retweeted, or mentioned you.

Conclusion

My concluding point is that Chris is a suave professional who is approachable, both online and in person. He is a self-made social media expert, who learned by doing. His knowledge comes from his practice, and his wisdom on the subjects of social media, new media, and personal branding are worth delving into.

objective
I am about connecting people, and I plan to do that throughout my career by working in the public relations field and helping people manage their lives and persona’s effectively. I want to work for a PR firm and learn the basics of public relations and the guts of interacting with people within a public forum before taking this knowledge to my own work.

Oh. And here’s one for my Twitter.

When I Google my name, I am four of the top five results. Apparently beyond that, combinations of “addison” and “todd” are fairly popular. However, the fact that I have secured the top spot with my Google Profile is somewhat of a personal accomplishment. However, I would like to change that so my personal website is the first thing that shows up. While my Google profile is by no means a loss, I would rather my website serve as a central hub for all my social networks and the content I publish.

Over the next few years leading up to graduation, I would like to market myself and my personal brand as a social media and online marketing professional. Whether that ultimately winds up to be for individual clients on a freelance style or basis, or on a professional level for a large corporate conglomerate.

My expertise currently lies with people. I love connecting people, communicating with people, and making people happy. As cheesy as that sounds, that’s what I’m into. I live for the smile that can be put on people’s faces. When it comes to marketing, I love seeing people connect over what might perhaps be something corporate or professional in nature in a real personal way. Marketers forget that the masses aren’t just masses, but they are souls; living beings with hearts that are attached to their “decision makers.” There is so much more to marketing and connecting people than a catchy slogan and a color product or service. People are going to be persuaded to do or be something because something in their heart wants them to be.

Sure; there are the products that everyone will always buy, and services they will always use. But the business of connecting people to people, is not something that rests in a product or a service. People are what matter when it comes to building not only a brand, but a company, a business, and a life.

Goals for me include building a business that is built around helping people manage their own online brands, whether corporately for their businesses or personally for themselves.

A company I admire immensely is Digital Royalty. Spearheaded by Amy Jo Martin, (@AmyJoMartin on Twitter) the CEO, the company by their own admission, they “digital integration and social media strategies for corporate and entertainment brands, professional athletes, sports teams and leagues.” With high profile clients like Shaq, Fox Sports, UFC and Dwayne Johnson, they have taken their clients from entities that had little or no social media presence, to accounts with millions of followers and interactions that have defined industries.

Digital Royalty is a company that I admire, for how do business, as well as how they have done their social media integration. My plan is work for, and one day own a company like Digital Royalty.