If Every Day was Graduation
Today was a great day. My adorable nephew, Jason, graduated from high school. As the first grandkid, this was a very special occasion. There were lots of happy tears, many shared memories of when he was just a little tyke, and all sorts of excitement for this next chapter in his life.
In the midst of the ceremony, I couldn’t help but think, “People should approach every day like it is their high school graduation.” And why not? The graduates feel such a sense of accomplishment. They are full of energy and excitement, they are confident and exude optimism and potential. They are eager for tomorrow. They are ready to hit the GO button. Graduates carry a healthy sense of “now what?” kind of fear, just enough to keep them on their toes and ready to rebound. They are full of pride and positivity. They are joyful. They have the whole world and every possibility at their fingertips. And they know this. That vitality shines through every happy expression on their face.
Why wouldn’t we want to approach every day with that kind of pep? If we felt as invincible as high school graduates at commencement – imagine what all we could accomplish!
Here’s to grabbing that energy and spirit and infusing each of our days with that insatiable zest for life and the next adventure. Congratulations to all the high school graduates. You are amazing! May you never loose all the hope you have in your heart on this special day.
And here’s me with my awesome nephew! LOVE him! So proud!
How many followers do you really have?
As my Twitter followers grow on both Beaming Bohemian and Shanna Bright, I am often fascinated by the follow-habits that seem to be prevalent among Twitter superstars. Just today, I was followed by a social media “guru” who previously followed me, and then once I followed back, promptly unfollowed me. He’s not the first Tweep to do this. Numerous folks engage in this behavior in an effort to boost their following. There is no genuine interest to find new connections. It’s a numbers game.
It makes me laugh for a few reasons. I love that someone can claim they have over a million followers, but when you look through their list, you see lots of hallow and spam accounts. And two, I laugh because I actually remember the people who practice this type of number boosting exercise. It’s not that I have an awesome memory, it’s my Twitter management style.
I do not have over a million followers, nor am I following thousands. But everyday, I take a moment to look through the people who are following me, determine if they are providing valuable, relevant content and if they are someone I want to follow back. I report and block hallow and spam accounts without hesitation. Sometimes, I don’t feel I need to follow certain accounts and will just place them on one of my Twitter lists, a terrific organizational tool. I make the effort to manage my account so that I know who I am associated with on Twitter. It is a more accurate circle of influence.
You can do the same. You can closely manage your account and have valid, useful and helpful contacts or you can simply work toward some unverifiable cool factor and let anyone and everyone follow you. For high school and college students and student-athletes, law or med students, and job hunters, it is in your best interest to monitor who you tweet with just as much as what you tweet. If you are following tweeps who post a lot of inappropriate content, you are associating yourself with that content and personality.
With the same motivation to manage your reputation, protect your brand against being linked to the wrong people. Take the time to weed through your account and build up a following of quality and image-appropriate accounts that reflect the core values of your brand. Tweet with and retweet content from good sources, not someone you are going to regret “knowing” when your coach, college or potential employer take a peek at your account.
It’s an Issue of Trust
Perhaps you’ve seen the news peppered with stories about university athletic departments all geared up to monitor their student-athletes’ social media accounts. With several universities receiving media attention and NCAA infractions, it’s no wonder athletic departments are “scrambling” for solutions.
Without a proper education, there is no doubt that student-athletes are going to commit social faux pas online. Even coaches and athletic department staff have committed noticeable errors. However, the message that you send the moment you set up a monitoring system is, “We don’t trust you.” Your message to your players becomes, “We have the greatest faith in you on the field, but the moment you’re out of our sight, we don’t trust your actions or your judgement. We don’t trust that you know how to communicate or what to say. We don’t believe in you.”
Educating your players, on the court and in the office, prepares them to be successful communicators and builds trust between an organization and its team members. When you (re)educate your team – and I mean every staff member, coach and player – about your brand identity, the brand message and provide social media guidelines (methods for successful communication), you empower your people to serve as brand ambassadors. Enabling them with a better understanding of the various communication tools develops personal pride and a willingness to better serve your organization. Directors and Head Coaches serve as positive, capable examples and can better relate with staff and players about the events happening in the social stratosphere. A thorough education and open discussion can serve as a spring board for ideas which may be generated from the most unexpected sources.
Some universities have chosen to provide some level of social media education, but yet continue to employ monitoring services, “just in case.” That only sends mixed signals to the players, “We want you to learn how to use these tools and we want to help you improve your communication skills. But…we still don’t trust that you’ll be successful and remain worried you’ll say or do something stupid.” How else are these young adults to interpret this? How are they (and you) to learn from their mistakes?
ASU’s Michael Crow said at the NCAA Convention in January that the student-athlete experience is, in a sense, a leadership academy. In addition to creating opportunities for their players to become the best athletes they can be, the ASU athletic department staff and coaches offer “life coaching” to motivate their young men and women athletes to consider what they want their life to mean, what life goals they want to achieve and what they want to contribute to the world.
In a CBS video of several coaches weighing in on social media, it was Jim Christian at Texas Christian University who said, “As opposed to just restricting them, you know, sometimes they have to make bad decisions in order to learn. And I think that’s what college is all about.” And UNLV Basketball Head Coach, Dave Rice chimed in with, “I really believe in the importance of empowering student-athletes, making it a part of the education process and really using social media in a positive way.”
Universities, which are at their core, educational institutions, are far better off preparing their athletes for success versus assuming their failures and continually operating in crisis management mode. Educating your athletes about reputation management, personal branding and all the nifty details of social media, challenges them with responsibility and professionalism and a chance to rise to the occasion. At the end of the day, that IS what college is all about and a sure method for creating an environment of trust and empowerment while paving a path for tomorrow’s leaders.
Through Beaming Bohemian’s branding and social media education, including the development of social media guidelines, you can change your tune and deliver the message of trust to your student-athletes. Investing in this education is a uniquely positive approach which delivers the message, “We believe that you are amazing individuals who have a unique ability to inspire others through your leadership. We believe you are just as talented off the field as you are on the court. As a student-athlete, you have a more visible platform for story telling and brand development. We trust that you respect yourself, your teammates, your coaches, fellow students and members of the community. We believe in you and we are excited for you to share your story with the world.”
Media Sources
Maryland Bill Addresses College Athletes’ Social Media Privacy via The New York Times
Supreme Court to schools: Take care with First Amendment via LA Times
Athletic departments get free rein with social media via Minnesota Daily
UNC, NCAA Address Monitoring Athletes On Social Media via WFMY News (CBS)
Schools scramble to monitor athletes’ social-media activities after NCAA ruling via philly.com
NCAA: No plans to police Twitter via Missoulian
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