Oh My Words…Where Have They Been?


What kind of blogger goes into hibernation for too long? Well apparently me. And now I am back…intentionally and pre-emptively before the end of the year to reclaim being a stand for ACTIVE engagement, creative writing, and to initiate a set of themes for 2011 writings:

Fiercer Authenticity

Gentle Consistency

Dashes of Spontaneity

Promoting Collaboration

Building Community

And having fun while working!

What prompts this inventory of mine this morning? Well I was asked by a colleague and friend I have thanks to a blog comment that got responded to, to please come back and be the moderator I invited you to be because we know you like it Deb, and being busy is no longer a good excuse…your comments are missed and we seek your re-engagement.

Message received and digested. I am back! Feeling creative and prolific again.

So I rambled on in a reintroduction of myself to the group I am part of that is now over 400 members strong and an active group on Xing.com saying things like:

Greetings from Deborah Drake, who KNOWS Urs as I do via a blog comment that got taken to an offline conversation very quickly and here we are nearly a year and a half later still discussing the evolving world of Social Media Marketing, Metrics, Monitoring and I love it all.

I for one think ALL marketing is best when social.

And I realize yet AGAIN, I never liked being talked at much.

I prefer a dialogue and the BEAUTY of Social Networks is that they allow for dialogue in real time too.

And What I Notice IS Important where Social Media Monitoring is concerned.

A great user of Facebook, for more business than only personal am I.

I tend to blend my work and life more than some I know–who compartmentalize more and so they do the same with how they show up on LinkedIn vs Facebook vs Biznik vs Xing vs other niche communities.

Twitter honestly still alludes me or rather I have decided I am not a match for Twitter as I need more that 140 characters (apparently, as I laugh at myself and try to end this sentence.)

My intention is to be actively engaged daily if only a little bit, as the fan of Urs that I am and this Xing group.

These days what is keeping me busy is being the “Catalyst” championing as always Authentic Self-Promotion via the many channels of Self-Publishing.

There are new clients with great projects and I’m supporting the cultivation of blogs people look forward to writing for, producing books that are ready to be “born”, and championing balanced attempts at an authentic and timely online presence.

This is the juicy stuff that I coach my clients through with the vision this attracts them the right clients, partners and ambassadors.

A trio of writing revelations revisited:

Writing as ourselves is simply less work and flows from us more freely.

Writing for our audience requires us to contemplate what might be of interest to them.

Writing for the search engines and “bots” requires that we apply a strategic filter to our writing before we “self-publish” and refine here and there to please the equally non-human reader.

A smattering of random thoughts about Social Media as the AMAZING OPPORTUNITY it is:

I remain amazed and humored by how many people (some of them younger than me!) resist the communication technology platforms that literally open up the world to us all.

And I realize that everyone evolves at their pace, not mine AND embraces new paradigms at their pace, again not mine.  You won’t start that blog (or maintain it) because I say so. It is when you see the value in doing so.

And,  avid reader and writer that I am: if ever there was a year I would invest in a Kindle or a Nook or a Digital Reader…it has come…the luddite in me is squirming and yet I see that I must accept (and choose to) that changing platforms for sharing and communicating (and reading) is here and now and good for us at the end of the day (when all is said and done.)

We can be more connected than ever and we can choose to do it in a way that cultivates that feeling of a great face to face meeting. Or so I believe.

If I know me, my opinions and observations in 2011 will continue to be a blend of the soft and the hard sciences of this “animal” called social media marketing and the monitoring of it.

I can be a “numbers” person and yet I always look for what is also at the heart of the marketing efforts made by me and others (e.g. I  truly and authentically write to promote an event I am producing or promoting because I want to see a “full house” BECAUSE I know the content of the event will be so good for those who get it. And so, I will embrace doing what it takes to engage, enroll, convert and yes, make the sale–BUT not WHATEVER it takes!

Get my drift?

I’m looking forward to being an active blogger and role model in 2011. And I will forever remain an Enthusiast about all things “Social” and “Media” and its evolving state.

My big question of the day is when will FB get that it might be nice to survey their customers before changing things as they do deciding for me how I want things to be? (smile…LOL)

Happy Holidays to you all…

Deborah Drake – Writing Coach, Business & Marketing Consultant

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Gratitude…Gratitude…Gratitude


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