Disclosures:
(1) We are not without blemish. However, we strive to live up to the ideals expressed here. (2) We love Twitter, the sharing that occurs and the great people we follow.

We recently saw a tweet and a series of retweets that made us question Twitter’s value. The tweet was about social media and small business so it grabbed our attention.

It was retweeted a number of times in a very short period of time. In fact, this tweet soon got retweeted enough to be designated a “Top Tweet”.

There was just one problem – the link didn’t work.

Are retweets recommendations?
We often hear about the importance of authenticity. Heck, we talk about it ourselves. So here’s a question …

If authenticity matters, aren’t retweets recommendations? Aren’t our names, our reputations and our goodwill attached to every retweet?

Is it authentic to recommend a post you haven’t read, a podcast you haven’t listened to or a video you haven’t seen?

Admittedly, we don’t know what actually happened to garner the retweets mentioned above.

People may have copied the url in the original tweet.
Once at the site, they may have watched the 37 second video.
And then, they retweeted it.

However, there were 3 retweets within a minute of the original tweet. Maybe we’re just slower than most…

Which content is king?
It raises a question, though. What are retweets based on – the information in the Twitter stream or the quality of the piece to which they refer?

If content is king, which content is it – the keyword-rich headline in Twitter or the underlying post? Should people spend time trying to craft a meaningful post, a quality show or video? Maybe not … maybe there’s a better way… (we say sarcastically)

Is the underlying content even needed?
If the underlying content doesn’t matter, why not just focus on just writing great tweets?

We don’t even need websites.
We don’t need to write blog posts.
There’s no need to make videos.
We can stop doing our podcast.

Think of all the time we could all save. And we can take that same time, effort and energy and just spend it on Twitter.

We can tweet and retweet to our heart’s delight. It doesn’t matter that there is nothing behind it all.

Is the conversation about nothing?
When we have conversations with real world entrepreneurs who are trying to get social media, they often say, “I don’t care what you had for lunch. It’s conversation about nothing.”

We tell them social media is more than that. But is it?

If the quality of the content underlying the tweet hasn’t been reviewed, how can it be recommended? Is it of any greater quality than a conversation about lunch? If we follow the logic, isn’t the conversation about nothing?

Isn’t this how we create value?
If we want to have conversations that add value, don’t we have to consume the underlying content?

Don’t we owe it to this great platform we call Twitter?

Don’t we owe it to our profession as bloggers and podcasters and new media creators?

Aren’t we obligated to our followers to actually filter the content we retweet? Isn’t this how the truly great content rises to the top?

The value lost in retweets about nothing
Shouldn’t we highlight the newbies of our trade who are doing great work? We can’t if our streams are cluttered with retweets about nothing.

Shouldn’t we give notice to the overlooked people in our profession putting out quality content? We can’t if we’re busy retweeting about nothing.

Shouldn’t we continue promoting the A-listers who don’t rest on their laurels? It’s hard to do if we constantly retweet about nothing.

The correlation between value and success
We realize we’re taking a risk with this post. We may piss some people off. We may lose some tweets or retweets. So be it.

We plan to continue putting time, money, effort and energy into creating content. We hope it makes an impact on your life and business. We hope you find it worthy of a tweet or a retweet.

We plan to follow others who do the same. We plan to tweet and retweet them so their great work gets the attention it deserves.

We still believe authenticity really does matter. We still believe in the power of quality content. We still believe that BIGG success is directly correlated with the value you create for other people.

That’s what we think … how about you?

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Some people sing. Some people make fun of the people who sing.

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It makes me think of that time, Mary-Lynn, when you were still in radio and we ended up at Karaoke Night with one of my favorite bands of all time, Cheap Trick.

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Yeah, I had interviewed Rick Nielsen, their lead guitarist, on my show that day. He arranged for backstage passes which was awesome. After the concert, they invited us back to the hotel bar to hang out.

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It just happened to be Karaoke Night. A woman attempted, and I’m being generous here, to sing Pat Benatar’s Hit Me with Your Best Shot. Robin Zander, Cheap Trick’s lead singer, made a face I’ll never forget.

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I kept hoping someone would sing one of their songs, but that never happened. It was still a fun night!

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Enough about karaoke. That’s just one half of the topics for today’s post.

We talk to a lot of people about social media. A lot of people in the bricks-and-mortar world are trying to get it. And like a lot of things that are new, it seems complex.

So let’s see if we can take away some of that complexity by comparing Karaoke Night to social media. We’ll look at three things we need to make a successful Karaoke Night and apply those to social media. It comes down to 3 P’s:

Place

With karaoke, we usually think of a bar or a coffee shop. Someone has to organize it and promote it.

In social media, the place may be a blog or a site like Facebook or Twitter. They organize and promote their place so people will come there and hang out for awhile.

People

Karaoke wouldn’t be much fun if there was no one there. It’s the people that make it interesting. Similarly, Facebook and Twitter are great places to be because there are so many people there.

Performers

If no one ever sang, how much fun would karaoke be? It’s fun because of the variety of talents and interests displayed. You learn about people by the songs they choose to sing.

In social media, everybody can be a performer. Of course, there’s the blogger or podcaster. There are people who leave comments; they’re performing, too.

Every tweet in Twitter or status update on Facebook is just like singing a song at Karaoke Night.

They’re both networking

Karaoke and social media both bring people together with something in common. They both allow people to show off their talents and interests. They both allow you to meet new people. They’re both an opportunity to share experiences and build relationships.

If you pick the right song when you karaoke, everybody will sing along. If you share something people find intriguing or useful, they’ll share it too. Do it enough and you might just become a celebrity with your own group of fans!

Can you think of other ways that karaoke is like social media? Share that by leaving a comment below, calling us at 888.455.BIGG (2444) or e-mailing us at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com.

To connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, etc. visit our About Page.

Thanks so much for reading our post today.

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We’re going to continue talking about social media tomorrow. We’ll look at some new research to discover if social networking can help you live longer. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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(Image in today's post by fensterbme,CC 2.0)

There’s another side to artificial dissemination. It can also be a tool if used carefully and properly. We’ll look at two ways to do that.

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Honest vs. Kind

Sometimes we face a battle. It’s not a battle between good and evil. It’s a battle between two competing forces for good. Should we be honest? Or should we be kind?

Picture this … your best friend just had a baby. He’s so proud that the buttons on his shirt are popping. He takes you to see the little guy. Now, the little guy is the ugliest baby you’ve ever seen. He’s so ugly you’re not even sure he’s human!

So your friend turns to you and says, “Isn’t he the best looking baby you’ve ever seen?”

Panic sets in. What do you say? Beads of sweat start forming on your forehead. Do you tell the truth? Or should you be nice?

Artificial dissemination can be used as a tool for kindness.

Authentic vs. “Fake it until you make it”

Now we want to talk about telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

That’s another battle which we must fight every day. We often hear that we should be authentic. Yet we also hear people say that you have to “fake it until you make it.”

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I’m authentic every day … when I first get up. If I wanted to be authentic, I would never shave!

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I wouldn’t wear any make-up!

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It is important to be true to yourself. People can spot a fake. But “fake it until you make it” doesn’t necessarily mean being someone you’re not.

Artificial dissemination can be a tool for casting yourself in the best light.

We’ve talked before about the entrepreneurial roller coaster ride. But people like to do business with successful people. When you’re at the bottom of the ride, you don’t have to tell the world. Just confide in a few close friends or trusted advisors and project an image of success to the rest of the world.

The whole world doesn’t have to know the whole truth. In many cases, with most people, part of the truth will suffice just fine! You’re not on the witness stand for crying out loud!

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I think with social media we sometimes broadcast things about ourselves, not remembering that hundreds or thousands, or hundreds of thousands, of people are going to see it.

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You have to manage your reputation just like companies manage their reputations.

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I remember seeing a tweet from a person I follow. She had just lost her job. I don’t remember what she said, but it was something that would have been better left unsaid.

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The stories you tell about yourself shouldn’t be fiction. But occasionally, you may think of them as part of a docudrama. You can put a positive spin on things. Sometimes that leads to bigg success!

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Authentic or fake it until you make it. Where do you come down in the debate? Share that with us by leaving a comment below, calling us at 888.455.BIGG (2444) or e-mailing us at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com.

Thanks so much for reading our post today.

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Please join us next time when we’ll discuss a surprising thing that others expect from you. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00444-072309.mp3

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(Image in today's post by clix)

Mike Massimino, aka Astro_Mike, one of the astronauts on a mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, sent the social media world abuzz and made history with the first tweet from outer space.

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Hundreds of thousands of people were part of the conversation through the power of technology. Isn’t it cool that distance is no longer a barrier to communication?

This tweet came just days after the new Star Trek movie hit the theaters. So we decided to look there for examples of out of this world communication.

Miss(ed) communication

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Before we get into quotes from Star Trek, I’ve heard from several female friends that a guy on a first date should never say, “My hero is Captain James Kirk.”

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And don’t to a Trekkie convention for your first date either! That’s not very romantic.

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I think it highlights that, whether in romance or not, when you’re communicating with someone for the first time, it’s good to listen. It’s not all about you.

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Try to discover your mutual interests instead of just talking about yourself. Of course, if you do happen to be talking with a bigg fan of Star Trek, then “engage” as Captain Jean-Luc Picard would say.

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The Next Generation was my favorite of the series. I loved Picard’s leadership style and the dynamic he had with the crew, particularly #1, Commander Will T. Riker.

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“Make it so” to move to action

Another famous Picard saying. The crew would discuss the issue at hand. Picard was great at listening to the input of his team. Finally, he would say “make it so” and the discussion would end.

As the leader, you reach a point where you have to make a decision and communicate it so you and your team can get on with implementing it.

“I concur” to shorten meetings

From the Where Silence has Lease episode, Picard gives a command to abort autodestruct. The computer asks Riker if he concurs. Riker responds, “Yes, absolutely, I do indeed concur wholeheartedly!” Picard responds that a “simple ‘yes’ would have sufficed.”

This made us think of meetings. One person says something. The next person agrees with what was just said. However, they repeat everything – perhaps in different words. Nothing is added to the conversation.

It’s an important communication because it shows that there is a consensus. But instead of going on and on about the same thing, ask your team to simply say “I concur”.

Even a simple “yes” will suffice! You’ll find your meetings will be much more productive.

“Never lose you. Never.”

This quote is from The Naked Time, an episode in the original series, Captain Kirk utters these words in a room by himself.

While we may be stretching his meaning here a bit, it made us think about the most important communication of all: self-communication. You have to find a way within yourself to stay true to yourself and encourage yourself so you can keep pushing on.

All motivation is self-motivation.

Oh, but don’t forget one important rule about this one – don’t do it out loud if there are people around!

The new movie

We liked Christopher Pike’s line to Kirk:

“You've always had a hard time finding your place in this world, haven't you? Never knowing your true worth. You can settle for less in ordinary life, or do you feel like you were meant for something better? Something special."

We have a friend who says, “Do you want me to tell you what you want to hear or what you need to hear? Because I’m happy to do this either way.”

It’s not always easy to listen to what we need to hear. However, sometimes the best communication isn’t what we want to hear.

This quote from Star Trek also emphasizes that – when criticism is required – we should be constructive and move as quickly as we can to encouragement. Veer to the positive so you build up the person with whom you’re talking.

We couldn’t leave out the tribbles!

One of the most famous Star Trek episodes is The Trouble with Tribbles from the original series. Scotty explains how he finally got rid of the little creatures:

“Just before they went into warp, I beamed the whole kit and kaboodle into their engine room, where they'll be no tribble at all."

Nobody knows the tribble we’ve seen!

It’s good to inject humor into almost any conversation. Word plays are often a great source of humor. See how many ways you can use the same word or phrase to keep the laughs going!

Communication brings us, and keeps us, together. Improving communication skills is a key to being a bigg success in any world. Live long and prosper!

Do you have a favorite out of this world communication?

Please share it with us by leaving a comment below, calling us at 888.455.BIGG (2444) or sending us an e-mail at bigginfo@biggsuccess.com.

Thanks for letting us into your world today!

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Please join us next time when we take ourselves out to the ball game. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

Subscribe to the Bigg Success feed.

Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00394-051409.mp3

Related posts

Are You Smart Enough to Say It Simply?

Are They Hearing What You Are Saying?

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(Image in today's post from Astro_Mike)