The Social Media Marketing Blog: No Man Is a Failure Who Has Friends

Words are difficult at a time like this. Yesterday, I wrote a post that was difficult for me. I asked for help, very directly, and I was amazed and honored and the outpouring of support that came from it.

First, here's my response on video:

But I think there's more to be said here.

First, it's clear to me that you only get out of social media what you put into it. I have always participated in my communities because I've genuinely wanted to be there, or because I've been interested in those around me. My world is improved simply by learning about and from a variety of individuals that I meet. I don't look for anything else out of the people I get to know. But I guess friendship has its privileges, for people whom I have befriended, followed, and met over the past year were the majority of the contributors to my fund.

But it's the other group - people that I've not met, or who are following me on Twitter and with whom I've either rarely or never corresponded - that made me realize the power of social media. This was a subject of a recent Managing the Gray - Friends vs. friends. It concerned real life (capital 'F') friends vs. associates (lowercase 'f''). I found out that through social media, both groups were there for me when I needed them. Wow. I just never expected that.

When I mentioned It's A Wonderful Life in the video, I really felt like George Bailey, the respected and kind-hearted man who was down on his luck when his community turned out to help him. He always did for others, without the expectation of anything in return. And when he was universally supported by the town, his brother said,

"A toast to my big brother George: The richest man in town."

That's what I feel like tonight. And I can only humbly say thank you to everyone who has stepped forward.

The Consequences
I know I'm going to be catching hell over this. I already am, by Uwe Hook and to a lesser extent, Doug Haslam. This isn't in my nature, and I wasn't simply looking for bling. This was a true need.

That said, I'm open to criticism or comments. Was this defensible? Probably. Would it qualify as a potential experiment for a brand? Mmm, maybe. If I was structuring it as a true conversational marketing project to get the attention of a brand, I probably would have done it differently. Uwe called me out on that, with good reason, I think.

The challenge now, is how to prove my worth to my community. I know, they'll say that I already have, simply by being who I am and doing what I do. But again, I'm not one to ask for things or to simply accept a hand-out. I need to do something. Whether it's to share photos, take a video of my neighbor borrowing the snowplow, or whatever (I kind of like Doug's suggestion). I'll be thinking about it, but I'd certainly appreciate your input as well.

And I'll sign off now with another quote from the movie, this time from the angel Clarence:

Remember, George: no man is a failure who has friends.

Thank you, my social media friends.

Labels: social media

About Scott

For hi-res, click here

Ranked by Forbes as one of the top 10 influencers in social media, he has been called "an unstoppable force of nature," "the best corporate social media lead on the planet," and Alan Mulally, the CEO of Ford Motor Company, called him "a visionary."

At Ford, Scott heads up the social media function and holds the title Global Digital & Multimedia Communications Manager. He is a strategic advisor on all social media activities across the company, from blogger relations to marketing support, customer service to internal communications and more, as social media is being integrated into many facets of Ford business.

Prior to joining Ford, Scott served as Consigliere for crayon and spent a number of years with PJA Advertising + Marketing, a boutique BtoB agency specializing in health sciences & high tech.

In addition to his professional responsibilities, Scott is an active blogger and podcaster. He writes about the intersection of advertising, marketing and PR at The Social Media Marketing Blog and also writes The Baker Street Blog and cohosts I Hear of Sherlock Everywhere, two literary undertakings. Scott has been featured in hundreds of news and business publications in print and on the web, in nearly dozens of books, and on a variety of mainstream media, including NBC, NPR, CNN and The Wall Street Journal. Scott is a recognized thought leader in the social media industry and frequently speaks at industry events.

Scott received his Master's in Medical Science from Boston University's School of Medicine concurrently with his MBA from BU's Graduate School of Management. He lives in the greater Detroit area with his wife and two young sons, golfs all too infrequently, and has a hidden talent for voice over work.

Oh, and one last little-known fact: Scott coined the Oxford Dictionary of English-accepted term "tweetup."

You may download a headshot here, courtesy of Rosh Sillars; a PDF version of Scott's bio is here .

Books in which Scott or his work is featured:

The Social Media Strategist

Social Business by Design

Digital Strategies for Powerful Corporate Communications

Social Media Marketing for Dummies

Real-Time Marketing and PR: How to Instantly Engage Your Market, Connect with Customers, and Create Products that Grow Your Business Now

Engage: The Complete Guide for Brands and Businesses to Build, Cultivate, and Measure Success in the New Web

Empowered: Unleash Your Employees, Energize Your Customers, and Transform Your Business

Brains on Fire: Igniting Powerful, Sustainable, Word of Mouth Movements

Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead

MicroMarketing: Get Big Results by Thinking and Acting Small

Spend Shift: How the Post-Crisis Values Revolution Is Changing the Way We Buy, Sell and Live

Power Friending: Demystifying Social Media to Grow Your Business

The New Rules of Marketing & PR

by David Meerman Scott

Twitterville
by Shel Israel

Six Pixels of Separation
by Mitch Joel

Monkeys with Typewriters
by Jemima Gibbons

Read This First
by Ron Ploof

World Wide Rave
by David Meerman Scott

Get Seen
by Steve Garfield

Disclosures/Relationships

Scott is on the board of the Social Media Advertising Consortium

Scott has been named to the Advisory boards of Pivot, SavvyAuntie, Business Smart Tools, The Hive Awards,
Scott is a judge for the SAMMY Awards

Named one of iMedia's 25 Top Internet Marketing Leaders & Innovators

Humongo occasionally does web work for me and designed this site

No animals were harmed in the making of this blog.

Scott Monty Bio

Speaking Events

Scott speaks on social media at events, seminars and conferences around the world. His topic generally focuses on corporate use of social media, becoming an online spokesperson, and specifically on the progress that Ford has made in the recent past. If you're interested in booking Scott to speak at your event, please click here to submit a speaking request for Ford-related purposes or email me at speaking [AT] this site's URL (if you know what I mean) to send a general email request.. Scott's bio and headshot can be found in the "About Scott" tab above.

Who is Scott Monty?

Hi, I'm Scott. I'm the global head of social media for Ford Motor Company. This is my personal blog, where I share my perspectives on social media - the convergence of marketing, advertising and PR on the Web - for marketers, agencies, the enterprise and the individual. This blog contains my personal views. My bio is available here and my headshots can be found here.