Your insights from behind the camera and out on the road have shown the realities instead of the show and that you care to. Companies pulling new media into their fold and really embracing it (to use CC's word) shows that they care about their consumers opinions and needs.

But being willing to learn to do it RIGHT is a huge deal to me. If businesses are genuine in communicating, then they will learn to communicate, not throw me a bunch of links.

You totally understand and grasp new media and use it well, no worries there.

-Chel

Some of my favorites are actually well-known authorities in their respective disciplines, but they don’t feel need to pontificate or show off their authority. They just pop up with simple comments about what’s going on their lives and some of them are very entertaining, like @zeldman and @cwodtke .

There’s another category which I think you and most of other my favorites fall in – sharing their everyday lives punctuated with observations and commentary about the process itself. There’s also something unique about your particular niche in what you do for a living. More than once I’ve flipped on the TV when I knew your shot was going live.

I still share the story of the sequence of events that happened via Twitter in the span of a few minutes when you and the press pool were in the outdoor cafe in the shadow of the Sydney opera house (request for “live” photo, debate over exclusivity for @kawasaki, upload to Flickr, question about demonstrations, Flickr link to demonstration photos back to you).

These little chains of events happen all the time on Twitter, but with your unique connection to a mainstream media channel, it gets verrrrrry interesting.

IMHO, your use of social media is highly effective because you’re quite simply a likable guy!

Personally, I couldn’t care less that you work for NBC (especially since I don’t get to see NBC’s network news in my part of the world — at least not with my cable TV package). Sure, it’s occasionally fun to get behind-the-scenes snippets into where you’re at or who you’re rubbing elbows with, but I would have stopped following you on Twitter long ago if you had not been the sociable, likable, down-to-earth, approachable guy that you are (or seem to be).

I may be the exception to the rule, but frankly, I became interested in your work only because I found you interesting. I feel like there’s a genuine person behind the computer screen, and that’s makes a world of difference for me.

Out of all the people that you mentioned above, I believe Scoble does “social media” best. He presents all information with humanity and makes it look effortless. Since Scoble is “inviting and inclusive”, he is respected by many, and is geniunely cared for by those who follow him. I don’t get all his techno talk, but I have “wowed” a few friends by what I have learned from listening to him. I don’t know the man, but he made me look good.

In my humble opinion, conversation is a two-way street. To me, that includes discussings topics, asking questions, but most importantly, listening. If you are in the business of “social media”, enjoy the diversity of those who want to listen to you by listening to them. If you want to be exclusive, then it is possible to wind up excluded.

I enjoy your Twitters and wish you much success!

Wish I could be there for your talk & just to see you and C.C. Chapman and Geoff Livingston all in the same room. Gonna be a ton of energy right there.

Echoing what others have said — it’s not about social media tools … will never be about the technology … it’s about people. Period.

Months ago, when we dreamed up the tagline for our blog Every Dot Connects — connection through conversation — I had only an inkling of just how important that would come to be in my business. More than a tagline, it’s a business model: as social media/PR consultants, we connect people through conversation; we build relationships.

You’re one of the amazing people I’ve connected with through social media tools — first Twitter, then LinkedIn, then Facebook … and best of all … in person at our Crawford TX Old-New-Social Media Summit Tweetup.

Personal branding? Jim Long / NewMediaJim — the name stands for something. (So does NewMediaJimBob, but that’s another story! LOL) The brand happened as you reached out, just being yourself, and connected with people across the world through the tools at hand.

My session notes from BlogOrlando are up on the blog. If there’s anything there you can use, feel free! Just don’t ask to borrow my boa. Then I’d have to hurt ya.

Like everything else in the world, it comes down to people, and how well or poorly we communicate. YOU make this thing work, not NBC. Same would be true for any other Big Media company. Or any other company, for that matter.

Twitter; nothing else like it. Nothing. Your Tweets and live video from your handheld at Kennebunkport and then your Tweets from Down Under, were genuine, interesting, timely, and discreet to your necessary OPSEC when traveling with the POTUS.

When the bridge collapsed in Minneapolis, Twitter peeps were there, camera phones e-mailing pics to blogs, blogs were immediately updated – and this was just people ‘reporting’ their lives. First Tweet from MN that day on my Twitter feed? “MSP Tweeps, any news on the bridge collapse? Hoping my brother hasn’t left work yet. omg.” Real, relevant, accurate. Pieces came together later. All on new media before the breathless Old Media could catch up.

Perhaps old media will be able to aggregate the viral aspects of Twitter and direct their resources for more in-depth reporting, but these days, they can forget ‘breaking’ a story.

Yes, I’m a shameless Twitter fan/addict. There’s nothing like its means of access and distribution. It’s so easy. Now, if they could fix the reliability and run it like a business instead of a hobby.

Very best,

– Mike

As a company, would you rather blast 100,000 people with a message and hope 40 people pick up something from it, or would you rather engage in dialog from a pool of 1000 and have 100 be fully engaged and have many champion the message for you? Would you rather have a respected person make a recommendation of your product or service, or do you want to simply run a hands-off advertisement that most people tend to ignore or be suspicious of? Relationships matter.

Case in point? I can EASILY say that following you on Twitter and your blog has given me a new respect for NBC news. Thank you for being willing to take the step Jim.