What beautiful things do you see in your own walk of life?

Today I’d like to share a special photo essay with you.   I used my cell phone to capture a stunning, rainbow hued bouquet of color, during one of my meditative walks this spring.   I find it fun and calming to keep a photo journal of my experiences as I journey through life.   I think you’d find it rewarding too,  especially when you look back on all the digital memories you’ve preserved.

Please allow me a peek into your world and share your favorite flower with me.

I came across this beautiful poem, that can gently help us remember to appreciate ourselves as we walk our life paths each day.

Value  yourself

Inspired by – Mary Anne Radmacher

	This is taken from a poem (a gentle reminder)
	I wrote to myself recently.
	Live in your joy today.
	Be authentic.  Appreciate yourself.  First.
	Appreciate others from your own abundance.
	Life Changes.  Circumstances change.
	Sometimes you try to fit your old way
	of being into new circumstances
	rather than becoming new yourself.
	Embrace transformation as an opportunity.
	And keep on appreciating yourself.
	Photography by Ann Tran

Recently, I was invited by the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau to visit their  beautiful city.  The first time I hiked the Southwest was in Moab, Utah in the Arches National Park  a few years back.

The terrain of the desert paradise gives me a different treat to the magnificence of mother nature.  I had a splendid time hiking up Pinnacle Peak Park nestled nearby the Four Seasons Resort, Scottsdale.  Mother nature offers us such a visual feast, and I am in awe with the powerful images and colors she gifts us in our walk every day.

Take a break and join me in these breathtaking images provided by the GPCVB .

	Photos:   courtesy of GPCVB

Many use social media to expand their social circle or grow their businesses.  Try promoting others and sharing others’ content in addition to your own.  In time, you will see the results of the fruit of your labor (in the form of reciprocity).

“Think about the ‘we’ rather than the ‘me,’” as @iconic88 and @earthXplorer have often tweeted.

It seems to be common for some to send their blog posts, tweets or articles to others with a request for the information to be shared.  If someone doesn’t respond to you after you send them numerous requests, take a step back and reassess your writing.  Hounding someone to share your content isn’t going to move it any faster.

A more effective tactic in driving more traffic to your site is to work hard to provide substance to your readers.

For example, when working on a campaign, think of it’s bigger picture.  Yes, we want to be part of a successful initiative or event, but remember that there may be other details that are more significant.  Your passion for your work will show through your actions, tweets or posts.

By taking these ideas into effect, you won’t need to clog peoples’ in-boxes with share requests.

If you have a pre-arranged agreement, that’s fine, but consider dialing down the requests or eliminating them altogether, especially if someone has asked you politely several times to stop.

Oftentimes, such a request is not personal, but rather due to the volume of inquiries, and they may not have enough time in the day to read through various peoples’ requests assessing whose content to share.

Similarly, I see numerous “top 10” or “top 100” recommended people lists for certain categories.

Sometimes, I don’t always agree with them, but if I see many familiar names on there, and I happened to not be mentioned (which happens), I don’t Direct Message the author and ask why I wasn’t featured.  It’s their personal choice, and it’s the blogger’s choice who he or she wants to include on each particular list.

You may not be mentioned on every list, but if you remain persistent and genuine, you will eventually be noticed.  Don’t be offended if an event, conference or a post doesn’t mention you.  Understand that some events are business functions tailored to a specific audience.  Be genuinely supportive of others and allow them the opportunity to shine.

I think that when you share a list to promote friends, if you agree with the mentioned names (and aren’t just posting them without merit), when it’s your turn, they will be more than happy to reciprocate.  Why not be happy for your friends and supporters?

As I mentioned before in several of my posts, I try to introduce a new friend in my Twitter stream each day.  I do this by posing a question, and inviting ten guests to respond to introduce them and their feedback to my blog.  You never know where the connections may lead you.

This recent tweet by @thedomesticexec caught my attention:  Follow @PegFitzpatrick for BA-ness and sparkles all wrapped up in a gorgeous package!! #BOOM

I adore Peggy Fitzpatrick’s positive energy and would like to introduce you to Peggy if you aren’t already following her and share her posts with you.  She has a noteworthy recent post entitled, “Can You Please Share This?”

When you help spread others’ messages and are authentic, people will be happy to promote you voluntarily.

“If you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together.”— Warren Buffet

To me, it’s so much more endearing to be humble than to be demanding.  I like to promote people with fewer followings.  Do you remember the first time you were re-tweeted?  I do  ツ Think about others first and see what happens.  Is it worth being upset about the little things?

Just remember,  social media and life are better when you don’t take everything personally.

The Twitter rules prohibit using sites to automatically add followers. “Twitter reserves the right to immediately terminate your account without further notice in the event that, in its judgment, you violate these Rules or the Terms of Service.”

I manually follow someone when I see a tweet I like in his or her tweet stream.  At times, I’ll follow one or more of those listed in the “shout out” tweets that include a batch of recommended names, since others seem to find those people engaging and valuable.  Likewise, I believe it’s better when people follow me because they find meaning and value in the content I provide – not because they work for a company that sells followers.

Grow your following organically by producing sharable tweets that people want to pass along to their own followers. When your tweets get re-tweeted and, thus, your twitter handle shared, it acts as an advertisement for you. This free, word-of-mouth buzz will help you attract new followers.

As I mentioned in a recent post, I schedule some of my tweets.  I find this is an efficient way to reach all time zones.

Remember, though: the more followers, the more responsibility you have.  Yes, it’s great that people are enjoying and distributing your content, but, you also need to reciprocate to remain human and practice what you preach.

As far as following back those that follow me, I manually #follow and #followback individuals whom express a pro-active interest in me.

I will follow almost everyone back, unless they give me a reason not to.  I also try not to follow the bots, the eggs, the birds and the sexy (too much skin or TMI) avatars.  (Some do slip by, and I will un-follow if I catch them later.)

People who are no longer active, or who consistently post spam will also be un-followed.

Sometimes, when I pick a particular person to follow and then notice pages of egg or bird avatars on their follower list, I believe the account may actually be a bot.  I could be wrong, but when I see 100 of these avatars consecutively, I perceive it as a red flag.

That said, while originally never followed eggs, birds or non-picture bios, I started to notice many of those individuals began re-tweeting me, and so I altered my personal following procedure.  It could be the individual may not yet have had a chance to load a nice picture for their account, or is concerned with privacy and has chosen to remain more anonymous.

Because I’m somewhat selective in these ways, there is a discrepancy in my following-to-follower ratio.

When it comes to buying a bot to attract followers, I don’t see the point, because the products of those efforts are not going to re-tweet posts or talk to you.  If, in the off chance they do start a conversation with you, I assume I am communicating with a bot rather than a human.  What good is that?

At the end of the day, if you’re consistent and stick with your daily following process or method, in time, your account will grow.  This has proven true for myself and I believe it will for you, too.

You own your social media accounts.  They require time, attention, and nurturing.  We each have our own personal preferences on what to tweet, post, share, or pin.  Buying followers can get your account deleted, not just suspended — deleted. This is just not my style.

Photography by @MomsofAmerica

I recently wrote a piece about balancing life and your social networks.  In that post, I expressed my view on how to share my tweets with people in different time zones and keep my life balanced using automation.  Ultimately, I have come to realize that I can be unplugged from the social media sphere when I am out in the world, living my life.

Originally, I was very against scheduling or automating anything.  I felt it was robotic to automate my time on Twitter, but after reading @2morrowknight ‘s post, “My Support of Blogger Aaron Lee’s “Scheduled Tweets,” I realized that as we curate the content on our pages, an automation  strategy doesn’t necessarily categorize you as a robot.  I read my content and stay selective about what is scheduled on my Twitter stream.  I am the curator of my social media pages and read everything before sharing it.  Additionally, I only schedule tweets on Twitter and do not automate other social media accounts.

On an average day, I may receive anywhere between 500 – 1000 replies and re-tweets.  I don’t want to “tweet bomb” my stream, so it works for me to schedule my tweets throughout the day.  Nonetheless, I do hop in here and there to say “hi” or respond to questions.

I like to reciprocate and share the content of bloggers who have been generous with me.  If the individual is not a blogger, I like to include something from their Twitter page.  By scheduling my tweets, I can effectively space-out content throughout the day.

Ask yourself this question:  If you are against scheduled tweets and someone is kind enough to stream your tweets on a weekly basis, would you really have a problem with this arrangement?  I wouldn’t, but I also think it’s a personal preference.  I just know that this strategy has been working a long time for me.  I am able to meet new Twitter friends and introduce a new person or two to the stream every day.

Someone asked me if I truly feel that scheduled tweets are engaging.  Ideally, I would love to respond to my friends immediately but it’s not always realistic.  Sometimes I respond to my messages quickly, other times it takes me a few hours to get around to it.  I do know that people seem to appreciate that I respond to them.

It’s important to remember that social media is fast-paced, so I try to stay flexible in my response time.  Sometimes you have to consider a person’s following when thinking about response time.  The more followers they have…the more time they probably need to get back to you.

Therefore, it’s good to give your page a break every now and then.  Some “down time” with your audience is healthy.

By now, most of you may know that using quotes is very popular.  I used to have ten quotes lined up consecutively to share, but now vary the tweets by sprinkling in social media or photo links.  This prevents monotony, plus, fresh content is king and making tweets fun, informative, educational and humorous is also a must.

I try to do this by finding a new person each day to introduce to my followers.  Sometimes it’s not easy, though, especially when I see the same quote being re-tweeted over and over by different people, which occurs frequently.  This makes it difficult to choose from which person I should share since I don’t want to duplicate the same quote numerous times.

Of course, it’s a personal preference, but I enjoy learning new things and reading quotes that make me think, or re-read it to get the meaning.  Seeing and reading the same quote repeatedly doesn’t stimulate me, and I’m pretty sure there are many people out there who feel the same.

I have been guilty of recycling quotes or links, but typically don’t really reuse them until months later.  I do this when I am traveling and don’t have time to look for fresh content.  I do try to remember which ones received the most shares and re-post them accordingly.

What about you?  Do you re-tweet the same people (such as a circle of friends) or do you look around to form new relationships?

Think about what message you may sending if you opt for the former over the latter:  You could be sending a message along the lines of, “No need to apply.”

I am just sharing this perspective because I think when you keep to the same circle, you’re limiting the tendency to learn and engage in new insight.  By connecting with someone new, you have a new opportunity to be amazed at the network of possible connections outside of your circle.

When I see someone re-tweeting my blog posts frequently and leaving comments, I try to return the favor.  I admit, it sometimes does take me a while to get to the individual’s page, but eventually, I do make it there.

How do I return the favor?  I go and check to see if the individual is a blogger.  If I see a few articles that seem like they would be great to share, I do so.  I bookmark their posts, and make a note to re-post them when appropriate.  Also, I take the time to share their blog and not just reiterate a quote from their page.  After all, they took the time to share my post; why not return the favor?

Another great tip is to change up your tweets by asking fun questions or sharing a photo to engage with your audience, the way @earthXplorer does.  He always has entertaining travel photos and interesting trivia and data on his page – This is a great strategy for keeping your content fresh.

Another great Twitter personality, @MelissaOnline noted that if you want to be to be re-tweeted, be re-tweetable!   And the best way to be re-tweetable is to provide good content. I couldn’t agree more!

I wrote this post to share a few tips I find useful.  What suggestions would you like to share?

Some of my Twitter friends have inquired about gaining a better understanding of how to get the attention of social media influencers.

While assessing how to best answer, I decided to create a guide explaining How to NOT Get Someone’s Attention in Social Media:

• Work on building a relationship with the individual before blindly direct messaging them to share your blog posts.  Re-tweeting  them once or twice may not be enough.  Why? The individual may not have seen your re-tweet.  Have conversations and develop a positive rapport with the individual.

• Share some of their content before direct messaging the Twitter influencer to share yours.  If you would like them to share your post, ask yourself, “Would I go up to someone in real life and ask him /her to promote me when I have not had prior engagements with this individual? Am I comfortable enough with this person?”

• If you would like to ask someone to share your blog content, you may want to leave a few comments on their blogs to get their attention – or, share a few of their blog posts.  Display that you’re active in this community you share with them.

• Keep in mind that, just because you do this, doesn’t necessarily mean they’re definitely going to return the favor.  Why?  Because your own content may not be in line with the influencer’s social media pages.  Social media power users do not have time to read all the requests, and most of them will not share something they have not read.  Along that token, too, realize a decline is not always personal.

• Another possibility, if your content has not been shared, is that the influencer you have tried to contact is busy with their life activities.  Remember, the social media power-user is not there as your administrator.  We’re all really busy juggling our day-to-day happenings while balancing social media, work, projects, family, etc.

• If you see a post you like and would like to put your spin on it, make sure you revise the content in your own words.  It is not a good idea to lift the content directly from the original author without giving them proper credit.  Eventually, the author will see the post and note the identical verbage from his/her site, plus your readers will know where it originated as posts are date stamped.  Give credit where credit is due!

In order to create positive synergy with your friends on social media, The best thing you can do is build relationships. It takes a little more effort, but you’ll reap greater long-term rewards.

The best way to do this is to cut back on JUST sending requests and poking them on Facebook, and also limit direct messaging them on Twitter as these types of annoying gestures clog up the influencer’s in-box, and will not get his or her positive attention.

One last thought:  take time to reflect and re-evaluate your blog traffic situation.  Instead of focusing on getting everyone to share your content, perhaps focus more in creating content that will travel on its own merit.

Photography by http://anthonytilghman.com

Entrepreneurs, in particular, tend constantly to think about the state of their businesses and keep a running internal dialogue going, full of new ideas and strategies.  While these mental notes and activities are important for regular creative stimulation, spring is the perfect time to de-clutter the mind of those bits and pieces that hold little potential for future value.

You can get a great start by consciously looking at each day with a fresh spring-cleaning mindset, which ultimately should become an on-going process that continues all year round and into the next.

You need to work on your habits, continuously refresh your perspective, and innovatively renew yourself – think: 360-degree pattern.

Tips for decluttering your entrepreneurial mind, using a spring-cleaning attitude year round:

• Remember that you’re not in this world alone.  Your decisions affect countless others, as theirs do too.  Don’t make everything center around you.  When working on a project, integrate your team and make each member feel important.  You don’t have to do everything on your own.  Collaborate, share, respect, grow and learn. When I’m doing my mental spring-cleaning, I always remember that it’s not just me in this Universe; it’s a big world, and everyone has a story.

If you think only of yourself and forget about others, ultimately you will lose. That is also something like a law of nature. — Dalai Lama

• Evaluate your expectations and your perceptions of people around you. This is essential for the business professional. Continually reevaluate your point of view, guarding against a stale mindset.  Look for the benefits present in every situation. While a project or idea may not move along the way you’d hoped, remember that the dots may connect for the best down the line.

Life just seems so full of connections.  Most of the time we don’t even pay attention to the depth of life. We only see flat surfaces. — Colin Neenan

• Focus on the positives of each day – every day. When a negative voice visits, ask yourself, how can we benefit from this situation? You can learn a lot about yourself by asking and answering this simple question.  And it can make for fascinating blog content.

Attitudes are nothing more than habits of thoughts, and habits can be acquired.  An action repeated becomes an attitude realized. — Paul Myer

• Break bad habits.  Take a look at your daily routine and find the things that you do that you would be better off without.  Turn your experience with breaking your bad habits into a winning situation for you and others by sharing it with the world.  Form new, good habits for others to look to as an example for themselves.

We build our character from the bricks of habit we pile up day by day. — Zig Ziglar

It’s also beneficial to unplug and enjoy nature on a regular basis. Go for a walk to refresh your energy, de-clutter your mind, and recharge.  Adding a bit of nature to every day will do the trick for you in all seasons – not just spring.

Lastly, but most importantly, take care of you! Do something each day for yourself – something that brings you joy – so you’ll consistently exude positive energy to share with the world around you.

Featured in More.com, March on-line issue:  Spring Cleaning for Your Mind

Photography by Ann Tran

Recently, I wrote an article about the power of give and take in social media and how it helps us to get an inside view of how the Universe works. In light of that, please allow me to share this amazing story with you:

A few minutes into my phone conversation with Lori McNee , Chris Burget asked if he could join the call. I had featured Burget in a recent post, What are your favorite social media apps, and he wanted to express his gratitude for including him in the article.

Burget has proven a very supportive friend on Twitter, making him an obvious collaborative partner. Burget’s appreciation went further than just words; he offered to help me get a vehicle should I ever need one. He has connections to Rosenthal Automotive, a local dealership in Northern Virginia. His graciousness moved me. I thanked him, but thought to myself, “I’m not sure I’ll need a car anytime soon, but I’ll keep his generous offer in mind.”

The following day, I was discussing campaign strategy with one of my clients, Kate Griendling. She is the campaign manager of 1Run, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization created to fight the diabetes epidemic and spark change in our nation’s diet and exercise habits. 1Run President, Doug Masiuk, is running across the United States to raise awareness of type 1 diabetes and fight the rise of type 2 diabetes.

I asked Griendling what was stalling the 1Run campaign. She told me that the campaign needed a car.

Guess who I called? I called Chris Burget and told him I would take him up on his offer. Of course, when I described the 1Run project to him, he was all for it. Burget helped us secure a sizable monetary donation with Rosenthal to kick off this amazing project.

From here, let me introduce you to our #1RunAmerica team Doug Masiuk, the star of @1RunAmerica .

Doug @1RunAmerica leads the #1RunAmerica team and is living proof that lifestyle choices matter. Since reclaiming control of his health and properly managing his disease, Doug runs 175 miles a week and needs only a fourth of the insulin he once required. Doug once ran so much that he went 13 days without an insulin injection. The American Diabetes Association (ADA) and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) are studying Doug’s remarkable transformation to better understand diabetes management.

As the campaign unfolds, we’ll witness social media in action as Doug runs across America – from California to Maryland. The social-media-mobile, transporting the team and accompanying cameras and equipment, will sport social media logos and corporate team sponsors all over it. Doug and his team will immortalize the journey through tweets, Facebook posts, Chime.in, G+ and more.

Please allow me to tell you a bit about our esteemed sponsors and how you can participate. Not only has Rosenthal thrown their wholehearted support behind the project, but we also received a generous offer from DAXAM, a digital graphics printer and installer located near Chicago, to give the social-media-mobile a makeover with a top-of-the-line car wrap featuring social media and sponsor logos to trek across the country in style.

How did this happen? Steve Akins, a dear Twitter friend who also has volunteered to redesign the 1Run website (coming soon), happened to mention Doug to one of the owners when talking to him about the power of social media to make a difference. DAXAM was immediately behind the project.

Companies like Nike and Johnson & Johnson have joined up as well. Several diabetes-oriented non-profits have lent their support to the campaign too. Ever heard of the American Diabetes Association; JDRF, Improving Lives; Curing Type 1 Diabetes; and the Diabetes Caucus? Well, they support Doug too!

I’m extremely excited about working on this campaign with Doug and 1Run. I am very blessed to have my Twitter friends donate their time and enthusiasm to this cause.

I’m pleased to introduce the five enthusiastic, smart and compassionate people comprising the 1Run social media team. All five are passionate people who joined our cause because they believe in the power of social media and giving. I’ve worked with each team member separately on various other projects throughout the past two years, but I’ve only met @2morrowknight in person. All of our strategic meetings are through the web and conference calls. My hope is that we will all meet face-to-face via this monumental campaign.

	@SteveAkinsSEO
	Steve Akins is a digital marketing and SEO professional who brings ideas, teams and tools together to better connect clients and brands with their customers and audiences, globally and locally. Steve has been developing, managing and promoting online communities to connect people and organizations since 1988, and creating and marketing web-based products and experiences since 1994.
	As he shared with the Huffington Post http://huff.to/uDURFe , the fight to stop diabetes and its deadly consequences is a cause close to Steve’s heart. He is thrilled to be helping Doug Masiuk @1RunAmerica with the site, analytics, search optimization, and as part of the #1RunAmerica social media team.
	@bullsandbeavers
	Chris Burget is the owner of BullsandBeavers.com the Premier Online Resource for the Outdoor Sportsman, and lives in the central mountains of Idaho. Chris is an avid outdoorsman who has been featured in the Huffington Post and is recognized as a twitter powerhouse.
	Chris was once a personal trainer to the stars and still believes in the importance of a healthy lifestyle and is proud to sponsor @1RunAmerica. Chris is the social media manager for Smith Elite Optics
	@2morrowknight
	Sean Gardner is a social media consultant and correspondent who blogs for Huffington Post, Social Media Week, and Smedio, and has appeared on CNN, PBS, and FOX. He has contributed to Fast Company, Buzzfeed, The Stimulist, Mission Hot Mama, Womentality Magazine, and Essence.com, and has lectured at leading colleges and universities.
	He’s done extensive work in the areas of speech writing, art advocacy, conservation, as well as promotional campaigns for nonprofits such as Project Medishare and World Vision. Currently, he is spearheading the media outreach operation for #1RunAmerica.
	@lorimcneeartist
	Lori McNee is honored to be supporting Doug Masiuk @1RunAmerica in his efforts to spark change in America’s diet and exercise habits.
	Lori is an avid outdoorswoman and professional artist who shares fine art tips, art business tips and social media advice on her blog, FineArtTips.com. Lori was named a TwitterPowerhouse by The Huffington Post. She has been a talk show host for Plum TV, and has been featured in and written for magazines and books including F&W Media’s Artist’s Magazine, and Zero to 100,000: Social Media Tips & Tricks for Small Businesses.
	@CharityIdeas
	Amy Neumann, a passionate advocate of using social media and technology for social good, is a Social Entrepreneur, Marketing Connoisseur and Builder of Helpful Things at Good Plus Tech (http://goodplustech.com). She creates strategies that connect causes to strong results by using social media as a tool for engagement and awareness with key audiences.
	She writes for several sites, including her “Social Good Stars” series for the Huffington Post. (http://huffingtonpost.com/amy-neumann), which features inspiring people – like Doug – who combine passion for causes with the power of social media. Since philanthropy and technology have both been passions of hers for more than 18 years, Amy is thrilled to be part of such a monumental undertaking that uses both… fueled by the inspiring personal mission of one heroic man. Amy would love to connect with you at CharityIdeasBlog http://charityideasblog.com

How can your corporation, and you as individuals, help us with this campaign? Would you like to see your logo next to other wonderful organizations such as Nike and the American Diabetes Association? If you would like to have your decal featured on the #SocialMediaMobile, please contact me. You can also donate here.

We are beyond excited to work on such a groundbreaking project! Please join us as we journey across the U.S. with Doug, @1RunAmerica and take out diabetes one step at a time.

The supportive community and friends I’ve met in real life and through my travel are incredibly unique, and I regularly chat with numerous social media friends via phone, direct messages and through e-mails.  I value the admirable relationships that have been created because of social media and it is this that makes social media great.

I will be introducing some of my social media advocates to you later in this post, I am eager to share with you their experiences and expertise.

Thinking about my own experience, I do have to admit that I see the “ROI” being returned on the sweat equity I’ve put in over the years.  Of course, this did not happen overnight and it has been a lot of work.

You are probably wondering why I am bringing this up?

When you approach your advocates, you may want to provide a scenario about how they may benefit from collaborating with you.  What is in it for them if they decide to share their valuable time?  After all, everyone’s time is valuable, and this is something each of us has to consider when thinking of our social media friends and our interactions with them.

If you are lucky enough to work with someone who supports your cause or project, just as with any relationship, it’s necessary to provide mutual respect and cherish them.  Think in terms of collaboration.  Remember, if you are not compensating them, don’t dictate.  Instead, ask warmly and think about how you can reward them in return, especially if you are not planning to pay them cash for their efforts.

I personally call each person when I start a project and ask for their input.  This process also allows me to get to know them better (I don’t mean when I do a blog post).  Try to personalize the relationship that you are looking to form and strengthen.  A particular point that must be stressed is that this cannot happen through a standardized template e-mail.  An email of this nature doesn’t make the person feel warm and welcome, but a well thought-out message that is written strictly for them will.

Make sure that they get to preview the content and clearly understand the project.  Never expect someone to go in blindly on something you are planning.  Wouldn’t you want to examine and digest the material or information associated with a project before you put your name or brand on it?

Furthermore, if your event is cancelled, have the courtesy to update all parties in a timely fashion so they are not out of the loop.  This also eliminates confusion.   Remember, politeness goes a long way in social media.  No matter the medium, good manners have a way of traveling and inspiring positive feelings.

It is now, with great pleasure, that I introduce my social media friends.  I am sure you will find much valuable insight through their input regarding what they have personally experienced on this social media ride.

Of course, feel free to share with us your experiences!

	@2morrowknight
	One of the best ways of forging and sustaining long-lasting bonds is to treat others the way you want to be treated.  I truly believe this.  It has worked for me.  I share other bloggers’ content, re-tweet a wide range of people, and engage folks on the positive things that inspire and motivate them.
	Once I’ve connected online, I try to think of ways to connect offline: a phone call, a tweet-up, a project we could do together, and so on.  These are the kinds of things that help to strengthen the relationship, and lay a foundation for something in the future.
	Social media is a global conversation.  Everything we do is observed, parsed and analyzed by people everywhere.  So before an international audience, why wouldn’t you want to be known as a “nurturer of relationships”?  If this is your reality, it means you’ll have great respect and longevity in the social space.  Indeed, positive relationship building is also great branding.
	@arkarthick
	As in any business, nurturing and sustaining a healthy partnership in social media is an essential ploy.  It’s kind of like virtually managing a team where everyone is a boss, and where it requires the coordinated effort of many to thrive.  I always believe getting along with people is the key here despite of their social media influence.  Say no to ego games.  Trust between partners, keeping your word (means saying YES or NO and act accordingly), and genuine communication can constitute largely on nurturing better partnerships in social media.
	Oh, one more thing – you ought to add value to the team, show them the way by taking the initiative without expecting mutual benefits straightaway.  Be open to learn and have some fun in the meanwhile.  Everything will be fine as the bond between team individuals strengthens, partnership will eventually be nurtured naturally, not only for a stint, but also for time to come.
	@CharityIdeas
	A lot of real, personal relationships are formed through social media connections.  And just like the offline world, a lot of that stems from treating people kindly, sharing good ideas from others, and trying to make the world a better place.
	Nurturing relationships is also about reciprocity.  A sincere desire to be helpful goes a long way.  Just as we appreciate when people Like, RT or Share something we wrote, or a project or cause we care about, or something interesting we found, others appreciate the same.
	It’s t a bit like ripples on water.  The more you help others and share what they have to say, the more goodwill and positive energy ripples out into the social media ecosystem.  Everyone likes to feel appreciated and listened to.  Like the Dalai Lama says: “Be kind whenever possible.  It is always possible.”
	@douglasi
	What many call the “Social Media Age” is to me, the collaboration age.  It’s never been this easy to collaborate with others than it has been in the last couple of years.  This ease of collaboration carries with it treasure troves.
	Here are 3 keys to effective collaborations and partnerships in Social Media:
	Value:  Your ability to add value is the master-key to opening the vault of partnership anywhere.
	Alignment:  Targeted message generates targeted partnership. Ensure your message align with your niche or brand as this will define the type and quality of partners you attract.
	Authenticity:   No matter what, always be true to your values and yourself.
	There’s no doubt Social Media has allowed wider access to partnership opportunities, what you do with it is totally up to you.
	@JoyceCherrier
	I love to partner with people to create positive communities, spread the word of a charity or help spread awareness about a product or site that helps people live a healthy lifestyle.  Basically that’s the criteria I use to decide if I think connecting would be beneficial to my community.
	I also realize that partnering commits me to doing the best I can from my end.  I might not be the best person to get someone else’s message out in the way they would like, so I’m honest about what I’m willing to do.  At the end of the day, I try to stay true to my own personal values and standards of integrity and realize that differs for each person.
	@lorimcneeartist
	With social media, you truly get back what you are willing to put in.  Yes, we all want to monetize our social media efforts, however it is good to remember that compensation comes in many forms.  Nurturing strong online relationships that lead to offline partnerships is an powerful example of social media ROI.
	Communication, respect, and reciprocation are traits that these partnerships must possess in order to be a success.  Social media partnerships should be about the ‘we’, not about ‘me’.  Because of this, some of us tend to overextend ourselves with regards to social media.  I have learned that it is important to set boundaries.  I am learning to ‘share my light, but not my oil’.
	@Marcome
	Social Medias online are an abundance of collaborations between human beings.  They are redefining the way we do business and work but also recreate.  All over the planet, unprecedented discoveries and a highly creative imagination is at work.  With perseverance, patience and will to help others and yourself, your coefficient of progress is assured, you just don’t know “how” or “when” it will materialize.  We are creators.  “We are what we think, so, choose wisely…”
	I like to think in terms of well being rather than the amount of money I make.  ROI should be about more freedom, more creativity, more comfort in experiencing life, inside out!  As for success, I find stimulating to define it as “the constant expansion of happiness”.
	@MomsofAmerica
	Because we are acting as a supportive team with our social media friends we promote and support them and their causes.  But when businesses ask us to promote their product we must be mindful of the far reaching consequences to our own brand or business.  Being too agreeable may put our own standing in jeopardy or worse look like we support and promote everything that comes along.
	But it seems appropriate to expect that the person making the request should be mindful of this as well. Wouldn’t it be nice if these exchanges were always mutually beneficial as it is with our friends who support us? We should always give in value what we are requesting of others.
	@SheConsulting
	Having solid professional contacts, ability to successfully connect those network dots and sharp mind for connecting ideas, people often ask me to leverage my contacts for their benefit, or help them develop a strategy to increase their business… always with the promise of *when*.  When you bring on “x” clients, you’ll be compensated; when you develop a good plan, we’ll find a position for you; when the deal comes through, you’ll get a cut.
	For either inability to fit the budget, or simply lack of value what an advocate has to offer, people fall short in integrity, or the “do-the-right-thing” attitude.  Admittedly, I give away many or my connections and talent for free. Why?  Because I truly enjoy helping people succeed.  And, I trust the people offering the “when” to be of their word.
	While social media provides free platforms, it doesn’t mean one can monetize people for free.  Companies, businesses, and professionals who enlist social media influencers to advocate their cause need to recognize the smarts and ongoing effort to build that influence.
	What can you do?  When approaching an advocate; think first. Who is this person, what are they bringing to the table, and how much is that going to help my business? Significantly.  Without using that word *when*, how will I  compensate that person for their time, commitment to my plight, and willingness to leverage their skills and influence for my benefit?  Ask this first, and build a fortuitous partnership for all.
	@SteveAkinsSeo
	Nurturing social media relationships begins and deepens with our ability—and effort—to listen and understand the interests and needs of those we connect with.  When you’ve gone that extra mile to find out who they are by reading their blogs, tweets and updates—to try to see with their eyes—the seeming gulf between you and them, and the challenge of inspiring them to help and understand your interests and needs, diminish naturally.
	For example, taking time to identify a cause that’s meaningful to both of you and sharing it with your friends and followers suddenly becomes more than a simple RT.  It can be the first step, or a relationship deepening gesture, that builds the basis for powerful social partnerships.