The Power of Community in Social Media ~via @GenFabulous

by Chloe Jeffreys on July 11, 2013 in Coffee with Chloe, GenFabTV, Social Media – VIDEO interview below

Last year at BlogHer I had the chance to meet Ted Rubin, co-author of Return on Relationship, in person, but didn’t take it.

Ted Rubin is the Chief Social Marketing Officer of Collective Bias, a Social Shopper Media Company that drives retail sales through the coordinated creation of social media stories. That makes him a big fish in the big pond of social media.

So I was too shy to walk right up to him at a party we were both at and say hello. Sometimes I must admit that large social gatherings do bring out the nervous little girl in me who worries about what other people will think of her. I consider this a serious personal flaw since I really ought to be more concerned with the other person’s feelings than worrying about my own.

A few months later, Ted and I friended each other on Facebook, and he wrote me the nicest little note. I realized then that my reticence to introduce myself was silly. Ted is entirely approachable, and it wouldn’t have been awkward at all.

Lesson learned.

Social media will teach you many lessons about people and yourself if you’re open to learning (which I hope you are!). The lesson I took away from my near-miss encounter with Ted last August was to not be shy when it’s unnecessary.

Large conferences like BlogHer are the perfect place to meet the people you follow on Twitter, or know from Facebook. People are there to meet other people. That’s why people are there!

So when Generation Fabulous editor-in-chief, Sharon Greenthal suggested I invite him on Coffee with Chloe to talk about his book I knew I couldn’t be a chicken about it just because he’s Ted Rubin, and I’m not.

What’s it Like Chatting with Ted Rubin?

This was such an easy interview since I both loved his book, and Ted is so easy to chat with.

When I started off today I thought I’d pepper this article on Ted and Kathryn’s book with notes and quotes, but when I went back to my Kindle and scrolled through all my highlights I realized there are just too many. You’ll just have to buy the book yourself if you want to learn from this master of social media. (And, trust me, I’m sick and tired of everybody and their brother calling themselves a “guru” so I don’t give that title to Ted lightly.) 

From my years of experience participating in online communities, in one form or another, I can tell you emphatically that the principles in Return on Relationship are rock-solid. So I’m providing our handy Generation Fabulous Amazon affiliate link right here. I encourage you to check it out.

And I strongly encourage you to watch today’s show. You might be very surprised to hear what Ted thinks is your SiNGLE MOST IMPORTANT SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM is. Where have we heard this before?