Today marks the one-year anniversary of the launch of GrayMatter Minute. Just another day to many, but a milestone to little old me. First up is a thank you to everyone who has supported me, from my original designer to my blog programming gurus to my virtual mentors, influencers, subscribers, Twitter pals, guest posters, commenters, linkers, proofers, interviewees and other participants.

You are one rockin’ community.

This blog is focused on social media, yes…but I’ve come to realize more and more that it’s really about time — my time, your time, our collective time using social tools to communicate with each other.

So what has the year taught me about time? About blogging? About social media?

Let’s start with time:

1. It flies. I try to make the most of it by doing what I enjoy doing whenever and as often I can – at work and at play.
2. If you think there’s a faster way to do something online, there probably is — just ask someone. (Wish this had occurred to me sooner.) Or simply google it…anything you want to know is only ever just a few clicks away.
3. Social media and social technology, when used properly and with discipline, can maximize your time in 1,000 different ways, personally and professionally. But you’ve got to be willing to accommodate the time it takes for the learning curve to run its course.

What have I learned about blogging?

1. It’s bleepin’ hard (because it’s so time-consuming).
2. It’s an amazing creative outlet.
3. It’s a great way to meet new people and learn new things. I’m doing what I can to share this part of my experience through my Social Gets Local (social media case study) directory, which remains immensely important to me, even as I struggle to find the time to work on it.

And what pearls of wisdom can I share about social media as it has evolved all around me over the course of the past year?

photo by Michael Dawes via Flickr

1. Input equals output. Period. If you’re not getting anything out of your time in social media, then you either need a quick lesson on a few basic tools (you surely know someone you can ask!) or you’re simply not putting the time/effort into it. At the end of the day, what is it all about? What’s in it for you? Information. Education. (Which is why my Social Media RESOURCES page is the most visited page on my blog — people love learning new things, my list just makes finding what they want to know a bit easier.) If you have the right disposition, then you’ll earn new friendships and business connections, too. But at the very least, there is something to be learned on the social webs. Every day. I kid you not. And that’s just if you’re a regular civilian! If you’re in marketing, then it’s like being in the green room of a great wave that never closes out. Now if you’re a business owner and you haven’t dipped your toe in the water, I’m telling you, you’re missing the “opportunity boat” altogether.
2. We learn the most from our mistakes. In this case, I owe Mr. Peter Kim a thank you, (a humble and sincere thank you), for unknowingly teaching me an important online life lesson through the course of 1 tweet, 1 email and 1 phone call — lessons that have stayed with me and guided my personal social media policies and best practices ever since. Through his blog, he is also responsible for shifting my approach and thinking about social media toward social business. As a marketer, this idea remains critical to leading with and leveraging the power of the social technologies currently being developed.
3. Go online to get offline. It’s not about sitting in front of your computer every day, posting what you had for lunch to your Twitter account. The point is to move your conversations offline. Get out and about on your terms. Social media has led me to attend some great events, like the Ignite Events. (These are not your grandfather’s networking events. They’re the most fun I’ve ever had in a room full of strangers…well, unless I count that hostel in Budapest — but that’s another story altogether.) BlogPotomac was also fantastic. And, if you haven’t heard, TED is coming to Baltimore. This is HUGE! (Thanks for the head’s up Mr. D.) Because of social media, “networking” has been forever redefined for me and the bar has been irrevocably raised for “networking events” in general. The “cold call” is dead (with the social tools available to you today, you can warm almost any lead or call effectively) and the content and appeal of a networking event truly needs to skyrocket past the quality of the venue and/or the hors d’oeuvres.

It just keeps getting better.

This blog has been a remarkable tool for me, for my business, for my creativity and for networking on my terms. I have been empowered. And I love giving talks and presentations (something I would not have even considered before I started this blog) because I love watching that glimmer of empowerment light up in someone else’s eyes. When I share what I have learned with others, be it businesses or individuals, I am not ever pitching to do the work for anyone…rather, I’m teaching other people to do the work for themselves. THAT has been the biggest reward this blog has brought to my life.

With your valued support, I look forward to continuing to expand my gray matter in the years to come.

No time for social media? Not interested? Overwhelmed? Think it’s a fad? Too busy? Prefer not to be “friended”? Nothin’ to tweet?

I’ve heard it all.

And I’m not here to convince you otherwise unless you ask me to…so feel free to sidestep social media if you’d like, but there’s a 3-step strategy that anyone who has a name, social security number, personal or professional interest, and a resume should know.

These are 3 simple steps that will keep you in step with “the latest technology,” even if you want to sidestep social media.

I always bring these three things up when I speak to a group about anything that’s going on online, and the pens/pencils always come out. (Oh, who am I kidding? No one uses pencils anymore.) These are pearls of Web 2.0 wisdom folks, three easy essentials that will cover you on the basics until you accept the power of social technology into your hearts and minds (and businesses).

1. MONITOR: Set up Google Alerts. This is so easy; I almost didn’t include it but for the fact that it always surprises me how many people haven’t done it. If you want to be alerted ANYTIME your name (or your family members’ names or any other keywords that are important to your personal security or professional development) is published online, anywhere in the world, set up an “alert” using Google’s FREE Google Alerts tool and you’ll get an email notification. THE QUESTION: I have been asked, “Why would I want to know when my name is published?” THE ANSWER: My response is always the same, why wouldn’t you? Always a good idea to do regular vanity searches by googling yourself so you can see what other people would see if they googled you, but even better to set up an automated system to alert you and keep you informed and aware of your digital trail. (And these days, we ALL have a digital trail.) While you’re at it, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have some kind of identity fraud protection on your SSN. It would cost less per month than what you might spend at Starbucks and delivers peace of mind without the caffeine.
2. MANAGE: Set up an RSS feed reader. I’ve talked about this before. I even put together a handy “how to set up an RSS feed reader” step-by-step guide that you can download for free. Gratis. That’s how much this means to me. It’s my little gift to you. THE QUESTION: How do you get the information that interests you most? THE ANSWER: You do an online search. Everything is about SEARCH these days. THE NEXT QUESTION: Are you controlling the flow of information in your life or are you overwhelmed by noise, a slave to pages and pages of search results? THE REALLY IMPORTANT QUESTION: Do you only seek information when you need it, or have you set up an RSS feed reader so the information you desire most comes to you AUTOMATICALLY and is thus available to you to peruse or share at your convenience? THE DRIVE-MY-POINT-HOME QUESTION: In the Web 2.0 world of information overload, are you a victim of the volume or in control of your content consumption? THE EASY ANSWER TO ALL OF THESE QUESTIONS: Manage the content, kids — set up an RSS feed reader and live a happier online existence.
3. MAINTAIN: Set up your LinkedIn profile. Got a phone? Got email? How about a job or a desire to have a job? THE QUESTION: How can you have all of that and not have a LinkedIn profile set up in the year 2009? THE ANSWER: Sorry, but you’re going to have to tell me the answer because I cannot come up with one! I’m not saying LinkedIn will revolutionize your life, but gee-whiz, it sure can serve to make your life easier. (Yes, I still say “gee-whiz.”) There are lots of ways to use LinkedIn. Use it as an online, access-from-anywhere Rolodex of contacts; use it as an online resume you can refer people to quickly and simply; and use it to throw your hat in the virtual ring because people who you liked once upon a time and lost track of might love to send some business your way. You don’t have to post status updates if you don’t want to in this space. (Though it is recommended.) You don’t have to post photos of your kids. You don’t have to connect with anyone with whom you don’t wish to connect. You don’t have to post what you ate for lunch on anyone’s “wall.” You don’t have to tweet anything. But you do have to be there and properly maintain your presence and your profile. It’s your online “web cred” and, all things considered, it’s pretty low maintenance. Seriously, not being there is like going to a meeting without a business card. You can sidestep Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed, YouTube, etc., but I can’t figure out why one would opt out of LinkedIn if you’re in business. IF someone looks for you there for professional purposes and you’re not there, you miss the chance to make or enhance an impression. Being there is one more way to make it easier for business contacts to reach you if they haven’t seen you in a while or refer you to people within their networks in a few simple clicks. How is this a bad idea? I don’t see LinkedIn as being about social media as much as I see it as being about good business. Furthermore, should you ever find yourself in a position of needing to change jobs, LinkedIn ensures your network is quite literally at your fingertips. The big question here is: what impression do you think it leaves on prospects if you’re not on LinkedIn?

These are technology basics that EVERYONE in these curious times should consider, IMHO.

You can snub the social media mania for a while longer, if you’d like. As it was with the telephone and email, new communication tools are scary to some folks, and I’m down with that. But I swear by my Technology 3-Step.

Monitor, Manage, Maintain. It’s the very least you can do — for you.

Recently, a friend of mine had to undergo back surgery. The surgery would incapacitate her in the short term and require a long-term recovery program before life “returns to normal.” But the bigger problem was that she is also a caregiver to her husband who is battling Parkinson’s Disease.

How were they going to manage this?

This post is about how this couple’s community of friends stepped in with the help of a social platform that just blew me away: Lotsa Helping Hands.

A free-of-charge, private, web-based community you can use to organize family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues – a family’s ‘circles of community’ — during times of need. Easily coordinate activities and manage volunteers with our intuitive group calendar. Communicate and share information using announcements, messages boards, and photos.

It was amazing. LotsaHelpingHands.com provided a complete online solution to coordinating support and sharing support tasks across their network of friends. Not only did this site benefit my friend and her husband, but it provided clear and easy access for all of their friends who wanted to help them out.

It was a win-win for everyone.

Anyone who is a caregiver, knows caregivers, coordinates volunteers, cares for the elderly, is helping out new parents or parents in crisis, or anyone who is a part of a community supporting military families when soldiers are deployed can benefit from a social site like this. School organizers could use it, too, to organize classroom activities, fundraising events and more.

There are a multitude of applications that can be more easily managed with this truly helpful platform.

I didn’t imagine using “social media” in this way. So incredibly glad someone else did.

Not literally. Figuratively, of course.

The fact is, I don’t get out much during the week. Monday through Friday is a tumbler of parenting, working full time, managing two businesses, running a household and maintaining our zoo of domesticated animals.

So when I do venture out, I have incredibly high expectations.

Repeatedly, Ignite Baltimore has delivered, as has Ignite DC. And I’m counting on nothing less than total satisfaction from Ignite Annapolis (now in early planning stages).

The palpable energy at these events lights me up every time.

Haven’t been to an Ignite event? Let me quickly tell you what it is: a cross between a stage performance, networking event, block party, lecture series, improv show and a local mixer. More specifically, it’s a collection of 15 or so people from any given city, each allotted 5 minutes on stage with 20 slides behind them that are automatically rotated every 15 seconds, ready or not.

Who are the speakers?

Every man and every woman. Artists, technologists, thinkers, entrepreneurs, employees, personalities, professionals, unprofessionals and students, to name a few – and all of them brave enough to stand up in front of the Baltimore-DC-Annapolis-Etc. communities and share something.

Ignite events (started in Seattle in 2006 by Brady Forrest and Bre Pettis) are the most valuable organized events I’ve ever attended, professionally speaking. I’ve been to three and walked away from each equally energized and entertained by people who weren’t trying to sell me anything, but just had something cool to share.

It’s NOT all about social media – it IS all about your local community.

While the local Twitter population came out in force, there were plenty of non-twitterers amidst the presenters and spectators at the Ignite events I’ve attended. It’s amazing to have the chance to see what other people in the community are doing as opposed to hearing what someone is pitching, proposing, or otherwise “pushing.” These events are absolutely about sharing interests and ideas. They also avoid the awkwardness that can occur at more traditional “forced networking” events (you know, the ones that start with “Hello My Name Is…” badges and end with a pocketful of business cards that you’re unlikely to follow up on).

For example, I was fascinated at Ignite Baltimore #3 last week to learn about “The Archimedes Palimpsest,” now on loan at The Walters Art Museum, from Curator of Manuscripts, Will Noel. The guy and the topic that ignites him were fascinating. And Matt Castner, a blogger and recent college grad made “the case for being a generalist” with a polished, practiced and perfect delivery that also included one of the best impromptu and spontaneous laughs of the night. Jim Kucher, Melody Hildebrandt and Peter Corbett dazzled in their ideasharing about capitalism, the bailout-free web and crappy web apps (respectively), Amanda Schwarz has me rethinking my relationship with tea (black, green, oolong and herbal!), Debra Rubino encouraged me to do more eavesdropping, and Anne Draddy forever changed the way I’ll look at the tree canopy in downtown Baltimore.

It was a pot-luck of information and entertainment.

And it was an absolute delight to be exposed to such bright and interesting people in such a unique and lively format. Even the most “offbeat” presentation of the night was interesting in its, well, “offbeatness.”

Tickets are free. And you can do as much or as little actual socializing as you want.

To learn more about the Ignite event in your area, visit ignite.oreilly.com or wikipedia. Find out if your city has one and by all means give attendance some serious consideration. DEFINITELY worth your time, IMHO.

Local to me? Check out:

• Ignite Baltimore (Next event on 10/22 at The Walters)
• Ignite DC
• Ignite Annapolis
• Ignite Philly
• Ignite Wilmington

You can follow Ignite events on Twitter, as well:

• @IgniteBaltimore
• @IgniteDC
• @IgniteAnnapolis
• @IgnitePhilly
• @IgniteWilm

Oftentimes these events are webcast live, in case the workload, laundry and litter box keep you housebound. Just check their respective websites for the deets.

Bottom line? Ignite events are good for anyone’s gray matter.

I appreciate inspiration wherever I find it – I bring the energy from Ignite events right back into my work, into my personal interests and into my creative pursuits. So I want to issue a formal thank you to Mike Subelsky and Patti Chan, Ignite Baltimore co-founders, for lighting things up for all of those attending the event on June 25.

I look forward to getting lit again…hope I’ve adequately communicated why I think you should, too!

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• Ignite YouTube Channel (Best of Ignites from around the world)