Social (Media) Skills

I had this amazing thought last week. I have been working hard on applying for jobs and getting interviews that I have been trying to add skill that I have to my resume.  What hit me like a ton of bricks last week was the fact that I should add Social Media to my list of skills. While this may be a relative no brainer for some, this is a new thought to me because I have been doing this like it is second nature.

I figured out that I manage 3 twitter accounts, 4 Facebook pages, 3 Blogs, and a Google+ account. I also started doing stuff with Instagram and there are talks about a possible 4th blog. I am not sure I would count Linkedin too, but some would. I laugh when people in my family look at me like I am crazy because I "put my sh*t out there," but let's be real about all of this: people are making money doing these things that some consider to be just fun.

If I may indulge a little bit. This how the social media life started for me back in 1998, when I was doing a crappy blog about my life in New York City. Then at some point I got a Yahoo Profile that I still have and only use for Fantasy Sports. During that time, I mostly played word games and met people through chat. From there life moved on to Migente, where it seemed liked all Latinos were going instead of Black Planet (which I never felt the need to join). These sites seemed cool and I got tired of them quickly because people are dumb.

Then Myspace came along and that changed the game. By this time, I wasn't doing much of anything social media wise. I think moved my blog a couple of times from Blogger to Xanga and then to Myspace. At first, I liked it. It was a cool way to feature your life and have a blog with it. At one point before the move to Xanga, I purchased the domain name of AnthonyOtero.com in which I had randomness of my life and then the blog highlighted. It was ok, but Myspace was much better. Then Facebook came along and that changed the game...again.

I began to like Facebook more than Myspace even though people were trying to face that it was for kids (like Myspace was really meant for adults). But, what hooked me was when I started connecting to people I have not seen or heard from in years....including family members. Deleting myspace was easy after that. Clearly, I became more serious about blogging and even wrote about Social Media a few times.

Then Twitter came out and Social Media became a way to market yourself as a product. This has become a great way to get a message out that and to network with people. I know that I have been able to get my blog more traffic due to twitter alone. Once you know how to get an audience or at least get the right people to follow you then sites like Twitter become more engaging.

Of course, companies and places of business take notice. Which is why I have always made sure that my job has always been up on its social media game. We have a Twitter account and 2 Facebook pages (which is apart my original count). The internet is a free enterprise, if harnessed correctly, you can do you about anything you want. Imagine if you are a company and you want to get people to buy a product or at least try a product then you will need people who know how to navigate all the traffic. I think about the Old Spice Guy. He has an hilarious twitter account where he posts links from youtube to show his commericals. That is pure genius.

That is my point. People get paid for that. I think it is time for me to cash in on obvious experience. I will have to update my online resume. :)