I spent several hours this morning catching my breath after returning from our nine days in beautiful Minnesota lake country. I caught up on the emails, blog posts, and voicemails that I wasn’t able to quickly filter via my phone while I was away from home. In doing so, I ended up making a massive list for this afternoon. I gave it a header of Connect With: and went to town. I wrote down name after name after name.

Some of them were folks on Twitter that I hadn’t said hello to in a few weeks. Others were Vemma team members that I should have called before I left, but didn’t, and now the amount of time that had passed since I last communicated with them was setting off my Uncomfortable Alarm. A few were local friends, a few were out of town friends. Several were business contacts it was just about darn time I reminded I was thinking about them. Many were online friends that had replied to or mentioned me and I hadn’t said, Hey! Thanks!, yet.

I spent the afternoon connecting, and within a matter of a couple hours I touched several dozen people via phone, email, text, Twitter, and Facebook.

And you know what? I made more progress and sparked more awesome things in all aspects of my businesses and networking efforts in those couple hours this afternoon than I felt like I had in ages. AGES.

Logically, I know that is not the case, as I connect with people all the time. But there’s something to be said for bunching a boatload of it together in a short period of time. It creates a buzz, an energy. It builds momentum.

That momentum? It’s powerful stuff, man.

Connecting isn’t complicated. It doesn’t take a lot of work. You just have to do it.

You don’t need a business reason to call someone. You don’t need a personal reason to call someone. You just have to do it.

Do it to say hello. Or thank you.
Do it to remind them that you’re thinking about them.
Do it to let them know that you haven’t forgotten.

That’s it. Connecting. Or even better, unnecessarily connecting. As it’s never required, right? But those that do it will be so much further ahead than those that don’t.

I recorded a video over a year ago related to this topic. It’s posted below if you’d like to take a look at it.

“You cannot succeed by yourself. It’s hard to find a rich hermit.” – Jim Rohn

And on that note, if you’re reading this right now, high-five to you! Sending you much love and appreciation.

Couldn’t be here withoutcha,
Annie

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I was sitting in the salon chatting with my hair stylist the other day, and we got to talking about business and learning and self-education. Without really thinking about it, I quickly mentioned several books that I assumed everyone was familiar with – the most important of which was Rich Dad Poor Dad.

She had never heard of it and grew more and more excited about the recommendation. How it could help her husband with the launch of his new business, how it could help her business, how it could affect them personally, etc. She even made plans to run to the bookstore that afternoon.

The entire exchange surprised me. I mean, what? Doesn’t everyone know about Robert Kiyosaki’s work? And how it could change their mindset and assumptions about wealth and business? At the very least, how it’s the #1 bestselling business book?

Be Careful With Assumptions

I shouldn’t have made such an assumption. I had added the specific book titles into the conversation without a thought. If I was in a lazy mood that day or tired of talking I might not have even brought them up. And all of it really got me thinking about sharing. Specifically, sharing with a purpose.

How often do we not share a passion or interest of ours, a piece of our knowledge with others? Are we assuming that they won’t care about it or that it won’t make a difference? Are we assuming that they are already aware? Why?

Value Your Knowledge

Life is often about surrounding yourself with likeminded individuals, those that have similar ideals, similar goals, similar lifestyles. However, I think that in doing so we’re often lead to assume that everyone shares our knowledge and experiences. Yes, everyone in your circle might know, but everyone else? Probably not.

Don’t pre-judge people. Place a higher value on your knowledge and experiences in regards to their benefits to others. Lean towards assuming that your knowledge could be helpful, versus the opposite. Be polite, of course. But place importance on what you have to offer. A book, a company looking to hire, your Mom’s famous stuffing recipe, the best hotel in Rome, your favorite blogger. You never know when what you share could land on needy ears.

In Summary? Share!

I joked with my stylist that I expected a full book report the next time I came in. She practically jumped up and said that she would gladly write down and share her thoughts. Her thoughts, mind you, on a book I selfishly assumed everyone knew was out there. So exciting.

Thoughts? What have you shared lately? What knowledge do you have – big or little – that you’d like more people to know about?

Poor blog comments. They’re old school, unsexy, and rarely discussed. But do you realize how powerful they are?

Thoughts? Is regularly commenting on blogs an important piece of your social media day? If it’s not, should it be?

Spending a weekend connecting, talking business, and taking intentional action with like-minded friends drums up a lot of powerful thoughts. Here’s one:

Look around at your friends, at the folks you spend most of your precious time with – are they bringing you up, or are they bringing you down?

If we’re connected on Twitter or DailyBooth, you’ve might caught me mention recently that I have turned in my two-week notice at my nine-to-five jobby job and am counting down the days until I’m 100% self-employed. Am I getting a fast start on my 2010 goals or what?! LOOK AT ME GO.

One of the many, MANY things I will be doing to move my business – more accurately, my brand – forward once these two weeks are over is to review and expand on the length and strength of my reach online. I’ve liked the concept Chris Brogan has been talking about lately regarding your online spaces and how outposts can improve your strategy with social media. There, Chris talks about your ‘home base,’ ‘outposts,’ and ‘passports’ online. AnnieSorensen.com is obviously my home base, and one that I have many plans to expand.

I currently consider Twitter, DailyBooth, Facebook, and Corkd as my outposts; those areas online where I consistently spend time conversing and connecting. The purpose of these outposts is to have fun, network, and eventually filter folks back to my home base.

Passports, however, represent a huge growth area for me. I think of passports as areas online where I’m reserving and representing my brand, yet not actively playing in the space. And the work I could do on my passports is massive. I mean, LinkedIn? Ugh, let’s not even get into how much I’m leaving on the table in that space. That’s a current passport I DESPERATELY need to turn into a solid outpost.

Then there my other passports; Tumblr, Flickr, Ustream, Amazon, YouTube, TubeMogul, StumbleUpon, and…hmm, I’m sure I’m missing others. I will soon have much more time to develop my brand, which items from this list do I want to dedicate more time to and develop into outposts? Which would I prefer to keep as passports? What passports have I not yet even secured? Very important questions that I need to figure out how to answer.

Lots of work to do!

What say you – how do you decide what spaces to develop into strong, beneficial outposts of your home base? What spaces do you think are important in 2010 to, at the very least, secure a passport?

A really cool thing happened to me a few weeks ago that represents the core purpose of what Twitter, and really networking online of any kind, is all about. Here’s why:

You can find Inbound Marketing here.

What Twitter Wins have you experienced? Share.

I just read a fantastic, thought-provoking article this morning on creating content in the online media space that I couldn’t wait to share. In the blogging, podcasting, online video, etc world you constantly hear that “content is king.” Meaning, nothing else matters unless you are consistently producing quality content. If you ARE consistently producing quality content, then everything else can and will fall into place if you keep pumping it out.

But is that really the case? Is it TRULY the content that’s king online? The thoughts of the brilliant Chris Brogan:

“I’ve been thinking about this a lot. Content is not king. You are. (or Queen.) Content is currency. You’re the king.

What do you say?”

Part of one of his last sentences made me smile…”focus on relationships.” That’s been the number-one, driving factor for why I have been blogging, networking online, and posting videos throughout the past year – I want to meet new people and develop quality relationships. The kind that, whenever the future need might arise, connect two people who have the potential to, together, create greater good than they could have individually.

Awesome to see what I’ve been doing stated so concisely by an online media maven.

Thoughts?

I went out of town this past weekend – a float trip with a good couple-friend of ours. We had a great time and very much succeeded in clearing our minds and relaxing our bodies. Yay! Upon ‘plugging’ back in this morning I reconnected with all of the industry news, my favorite Twitterers, and updates on the blogs of successful authors, motivators, networkers, and businesspeople that I follow. I love doing that, sitting down in front of my computer with the knowledge that I have all sort of fun catching-up reading to do. It’s not just the feeling before I dig in that’s exciting, though, it’s what I’m left with a couple hours later. For me, there is nothing more motivating, thought-provoking, inspiring, and energizing than really plugging in.

It doesn’t just apply to networking via the big, bad Internet, either.

No matter your business, getting connected and staying connected is the key to success. The key to SURVIVAL. It’s the driving force behind staying ahead of the curve, fueling creativity and innovation, keeping inspired, and stregthening relationships. Lose touch with your network and you lose touch with your business. Lose touch with your business and you can kiss profits and growth goodbye. You’ve gotta attend those motivational meetings, fly out to the big convention, read the news, participate in discussions online related to your field, and call or email a dozen people every day to keep the relationships and contacts going, to keep them positive.

After a few hours of plugging back into the world this morning, I’m connected into my team and leadership, I’ve made a game plan for AnnieSorensen.com for the week, I’m up-to-date on the buzz around Twitter and Facebook, I know which networking and team events I’m attending the new few days, I’ve read or skimmed a dozen blog and news posts, and I am motivated, inspired, and ready for the week.

And by ready for the week I really mean WOOHOOOO I’m READY(!!) for the WEEK!

Hehee.

Something I’ve heard many times from newbies (and honestly, many not-so-newbies) on Twitter is, “How do you decide who to Follow?” The answer to this question is easy…

…it depends.

What do you want out of Twitter? Upon reviewing your tweets, what updates would you have seen, what information gathered, conversations contributed to, or relationships sparked would make the time you just spent in front of your feed feel productive upon walking away? For me, the answer is: a little bit of everything. Answer the question for yourself, then determine who you follow from there.

I’m on Twitter to to network and build new relationships, to build my brand, to learn, to stay up-to-date, to be inspired, and to catch up with friends and family.

Therefore, I follow people on Twitter who:
- are my close friends, family
- make me laugh, smile
- regularily provide links to new, informative articles on topics I find interesting (everything from outer space and wine and interior decorating to personal branding and blogging and thinking positively)
- are local to my area
- provide breaking news or updates about the world
- are businessmen and women who have achieved a level of success for which I strive
- spark discussion topics and routinely engage in conversation with their ‘tweeps’
- are authors of books I’ve read or would like to read

Some Twitterers I follow fall neatly into one, specific category. Others span several or all categories. It doesn’t matter. If you find their tweets interesting, informative, and worthy of your precious time, follow away. On the flip side, if you’ve gone several days or weeks and have regularily NOT found a user’s tweets worthwhile, it might be time to unfollow (gasp!). Don’t be afraid to drop a follower or two. It’s YOUR time – don’t waste it.

So you’re on Twitter, now what? Have you thought about the reason you spend part of your day (or many parts!) reading and posting tweets? Does that purpose match up with your Following list? What category or categories of Twitterers do you care to follow? Do you find your Twitter-time worthwhile?

P.S. While you’re perfecting your Following list, come say hello.

I had an unplanned opportunity the other evening to sit down and chat with a fellow entrepreneur and had the most fantastic conversation. I love it when that happens. You’re networking away, just like any other day, introducing yourself to those you’ve never met, and saying hello to those you’ve chatted with before when all of a sudden you and a fellow networker run into a specific topic that you’re both passionate about. And after you’ve come out of your conversational cocoon two hours later and re-joined the party you remember, wow, THAT’s why I spend so much time networking! For entrepreneurs and small business owners, researching new topics, keeping up with the latest news, and educating yourself are constants. There’s always some thing that’s occupying the thing-I’m-most-excited-about corner of your brain. Run into someone who’s corner occupant currently matches yours and you’re off to the races. Conversations like that can not only educate, but inspire, too. Our topic happened to have been 20-somethings using social media to build their personal brands alongside their websites, and I walked away from that conversation so motivated and jazzed that my mind was spinning. You know when you have have HAVE to find your computer and get to work or else you might start twitching? Yeah, like that. The motivation you wish you could bottle up and pour out on demand.

Find a networking opportunity with like-minded people. Engage in conversations. It might just provide the spark – or, inferno – of inspiration you need.

Oh, and while you’re there, pay attention to Zach. He knows what he’s talking about.