This document summarizes the speaker's experience with blogging and social media. Some key points: 1) The speaker discusses the "4A's" of social media - agenda, achieve, audience, and associate. Their initial agenda was to further their career and be seen as more "digital", but it has evolved to experimenting with ideas and topics. 2) Notable highlights included discovering writing techniques, being offered a job from their blog, and enjoying the writing process. Lowlights were dealing with writer's block and feeling pressure over visitor numbers. 3) The speaker recommends Seth Godin's blog for meaningful sound bites. Their Twitter experience focused on following funny celebrities initially but now aims to spark discussion

1. What I’ve learned from blogging & other social media forays nameless lunch & learn

2. Agenda Forget the 4P’s. In social media it’s the 4A’s. Some tips My experience blogging My Twitter thoughts

3. “ ” If you build it, they will come. (Maybe in Hollywood) n

4. Make love, not war …but rip-off some of the strategies of war, if you want results. [for results read audience]

5. metrics topics & authors plan The 4A’s agenda achieve audience associate listen & involve

6. What’s your agenda? Probably one of three: I want to be famous I want to further my career (or business) I just want to share Each one requires a different plan and level of effort, so be careful what you wish for…

7. Planning considerations #1 - time I want to be famous Have you got all day? I want to further my career (or business) Your going to have to plan and stick to it. I just want to share Your only pressure is what you put on yourself. Blog time Life time n

8. Planning checklist What’s your brand? your proposition : what people can expect your tone of voice : how you say what you say your look : a blog can be pictorial, but even a written blog needs to be presented in a considered way Where’s your inspiration? can you keep it going after the first week?

10. a large undertaking

11. reliant on others, risky

12. hosting?

13. what are you adding?

15. Achieve No matter your objective, the old adage: you get out what you put in is true here. # of updates n

16. There are a lot of dormant blogs first achievement is creating one and keeping it going Anything else is a bonus Achieve

17. Audience n How much do they matter?

18. Audience Are you aiming at a particular audience or anyone? technical or mass-market? Do you want interaction / feedback? polls start debate be contentious Do you owe your audience anything?

19. Associate Why? no blogger is an island (unless they want to be) What do you want to be associated with? back to your blogging brand Who do you want to be associated with? link up with others with similar views guest blogging

20. some things to remember

21. “ ” You watch your language! n

22. don’t copy n

23. credit & share

24. Research your platform n

25. my experience blogging

26. n

27. Vital statistics My platform – Wordpress no regrets here, hate Blogger, hear good things about Tumblr and have started playing with it. 52 posts (and slowly counting) Most used search keyword terms – “cognitive dissonance” and “BANKSY”

28. Vital statistics

30. Wanted people to associate it with a “fun few minutes read”

31. I wanted to be perceived as being more “digital”

32. I wanted to learn about social media

33. Was “obsessed” by visitor numbers

34. Anyone

36. Still want people to associate it with a “fun few minutes read”

37. Keep the blog going

38. Improve my writing and creativity

39. Not fussed by visitor numbers – but look at them as a feedback tool

40. People that are fed up with the mainstream ideology that because the platform is social media the discussion has to be about social media

42. My lowlights of blogging It is a thankless task Writer’s block Being the “marketing moaner” – means I have set an expectation and can’t just write about anything that takes my fancy. The period of time when the number of visitors and comments on my blog really mattered to me.

43. Biggest learning For me it is not about numbers It was for a bit, but that ruined the fun I’ve learned good SEO techniques how to get page #1 on Google even when you are just a blog I’ve learned what doesn’t interest me

44. I’ve learned it is an effort, but effort also equals rewards # of updates

45. My recommended daily blog http://sethgodin.typepad.com a master of meaningful sound bites n

46. twitter

47. Twitter in 140 characters Full of people talking about social media and their careers I didn’t get it Decided to follow funny famous types adds some diversionary fun to the day my aim was to get a reply from a famous person

48. Result! Okay, you might not have heard of him, but he co-wrote Father Ted, Black Books and wrote and directed The IT Crowd …and he’s got 106,345 followers on Twitter. So, I am one digital handshake from Osama Bin Laden, sort of. (he was a fan of the IT Crowd, or so the rumour goes)

49. Do you have Klout? You know where to come if you need info on any of these topics

50. questions? marketingmoaner.com@neilawatson