Becky Robinson's Blog, page 58

3 Keys to Growing Your Twitter Following

It’s not just the people of Texas who believe that bigger is better. Most people on social media obsess over the size of their following, but size without engagement is a very hollow goal. I often recount the story of a brand I worked with briefly. They had more than one million Facebook fans, but nearly every social initiative they launched failed, because those fans were not engaged. The fans had signed up for contests or giveaways and didn’t feel any keen interest or loyalty. The company had big numbers, but the value was not commensurate. I don’t want you to fall into that same trap.

With these three easy steps, you can build your social numbers and attract engaged followers. We’re focused on Twitter today, but these strategies will work on most social platforms.

1) Share amazing, valuable, interesting content. It’s called content marketing for a reason. No one, except your mom, is following you because you are a terrific guy or gal. People follow others on social media because they get something from that involvement, namely information, inspiration or entertainment. Is your content filling any of those needs? If not, you need to sit down and work on it. Think less about how your tweets will benefit you, and instead, how you can share content to benefit others. This doesn’t mean you can’t promote yourself or your work, it just means that even promotion should have some element of value for your audience.

2) Twitter cards and ads. Twitter cards are free and can be a great way to attract followers by making people aware of your product, website or Twitter profile. Twitter ads can also help grow your follower base. The danger with ads is that they often attract people who aren’t truly interested in your work. The way to ensure better results from ads is to keep them very tightly targeted. On Twitter, you can target your ads to the followers of a competitor or to someone else in your field that has an audience base that might also be interested in you. That’s a strategy that works! Don’t worry, no one but you and the Twitter ads dashboard will know how you are targeting your ads. The best news: you can get results by spending as little as $25 a month.

3) Twitter growth tools. Growth tools have gotten a bad rap, but they really do have value, and I recommend them. The tools available now are much more refined than the early bots that quickly followed, then unfollowed accounts, leaving people feeling poorly used. The new resources still follow new accounts as one of the best ways to generate organic growth. It’s the rapid unfollowing that’s changed. Here are two to explore:  Commun.it and SocialQuant. Commun.it uses keywords to identify accounts you are following that aren’t following back as well as influencers you are connected with; it also allows you to respond to Twitter comments and mentions inside the tool. SocialQuant is strictly a growth tool. Its algorithm uses keywords to find and then follow accounts that have similar interests. What’s really helping deliver results for our clients is the ability to list other Twitter accounts as keywords, so you can target the same way you can an effective Twitter ad. The tool, as far as I can tell, unfollows inactive accounts, but doesn’t engage in whiplash unfollows.

Twitter growth requires time and patience. Whether you invest that time yourself, or hire a social media team, results come when you have a clear point of view, strong content and the willingness to engage, interact and experiment.  Happy Growing!

How do you intentionally grow your Twitter following?

Image Credit: 123rf Ukrid Yenpetch

 

Featured on Friday: Meet Team Member Jessica Bennett

You may know by now that the Weaving Influence team is spread out over several states and – on occasion – a couple of continents. But did you know that in addition to the virtual team, there is also a core group in the Michigan office? And that main office team also includes today’s featured individual.

Although you’ve seen us highlight several of our Team Buzz Builders, it’s been a while since I’ve featured a #WITeam member on Friday, and it’s high time you met…

Jessica Bennett

Hey Jessica, thanks so much for doing this! Can you tell us a little bit about your personal life?

I’m married to the love of my life with three crazy, fun kids, living in a sweet rural-ish spot in Southeast Michigan. I was a stay-at-home mom for nine years before accidentally starting working full-time last year for Weaving Influence. I’m loving the change of pace and sense of fulfillment I get from my out-of-the-home work!

Tell us something unusual about yourself.

I’ve got lots of quirks, for sure, but probably one of the most stand-out things about myself and my family is that we adopted my son, who happens to have Down syndrome, from Russia four years ago. You wouldn’t know me and my life without knowing the twists and turns I fall into! Though we had talked about adoption for years, my husband and I started this journey the day after Christmas five years ago while hearing Diane Sawyer tell about the plight of special needs orphans. We found Jonas that night, and signed our commitment papers immediately. It was one of the craziest, and best decisions we’ve ever made!

What’s your favorite pastime?

Beyond my family and my work, I tend to fill up my free time with volunteers opportunities. I spend most of my free space of time and mental energy serving as the President of the Board of Grace Community Center, a local nonprofit that serves an underprivileged neighborhood in Toledo. Most of our resources are spent on after school and summer programs to help kids sharpen their academic, leadership, and life skills.

Tell me your favorite part of the job with Weaving Influence…

There are so many things I enjoy about my work with Weaving Influence, so it’s hard to pick a “favorite.” I enjoy the flexible environment that allows me to serve my family with minimal disruption, the team is awesome, and we have strong core values that we are all working to live into. Probably the piece that brings me the most personal satisfaction is that I get to learn so many new things each and every day, and I am entrusted to meet challenges in my work that allow me to grow as a member of the team.

What is your “stand out” thing that you’ve learned from working with the #WITeam so far?

Yikes! That’s a really, really hard question. I would say what I’m learning that will have the biggest impact on my work and personal life is leadership skills. Not only am I surrounded by so many amazing resources through our clients in terms of books, conversations, blog posts, etc., but I am surrounded by a team of people with the same exposure. I believe our ability to serve as individuals on the team, regardless of title, in a meaningful way, and to demonstrate our leadership skills, will continually develop in a supportive environment. I am working hard (and I’m sure failing daily!) to live up to the values of “servant leadership,” which is something many of our clients teach. I am learning that the “failing daily” part is part of the process of learning and growing, and I appreciate the grace of both our clients and our team.

What’s the last book you read and really enjoyed?

I suppose one of my other quirks is that I read nonfiction for fun! Books on nutrition and how the body works are often my favorites, but I’ve spent a lot of time lately digging into our client books. David Burkus’ Under New Management is giving me a lot of food for thought, and I’ve challenged myself to digest Mastering Leadership by Bob Anderson and Bill Adams.

Connect with Jessica Online

Make a connection with her on LinkedIn.

Want to meet more of the team? You can find us HERE. And don’t forget to follow our Weaving Influence accounts on Twitter @weaveinfluence, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.

The Joy of Clean Closets and a Clear Focus

I’m about a year late to the party, but I just finished Marie Kondo’s book on ‘tidying.’

Kondo’s method, which she calls KonMari, has a cult following. I can easily see why. Who doesn’t want a once-and-for-all answer to the clutter in their home and office? Kondo claims that after following her method, her clients have a habit of quitting their jobs or make other huge life changes — simply because their perspectives have changed so drastically. They learn to identify what was truly important to them, and prioritize other areas of life as a result.

The main question KonMari poses is this: do your possessions spark joy? If not, why keep them around?

Kondo advises clients to start with one category of belongings, like clothes, taking the time to pick up each piece and handle it, and evaluating whether it ‘sparks joy’ in your heart. Does it bring a smile to your face and lift your spirits? If it does, it stays in your home. If not, out it goes. While most clients end up disposing of well over half their possessions, Kondo swears that none of them ever miss the things they dispose of.

Earlier this month, I spent a week sorting through most of my house: clothes, books, medicine & toiletries, linens, and a portion of our paper files. I’ve already disposed of or donated almost 20 garbage bags full of stuff, plus more than 50 DVDs. This was all from a modest, 2 bedroom apartment — and I haven’t even tackled the kitchen yet!

So far, I have found the process to be extremely intuitive. In her book, Kondo talks about one client who found herself keeping book titles related to one particular topic — in an industry in which she was not working. She later quit her job and started a business in that industry. The practice of handling and pondering each item I own had a similar effect on me, as I realized I was keeping things related to my deeply held beliefs and goals. I was also shocked to realize how much time and energy I had spent transporting and storing unusable items over several recent moves. Why was I holding onto so much expired medicine? I’ll never know, but I do know my jumbled box of pharmaceuticals gave me more headaches than it ever relieved.

Sometimes it’s necessary to confront small, tangible choices you’ve made (like possessions accumulated in the past) before coming to conclusions about big ones that will impact your future.

This spring, ask a few questions of the items in your home and office:

Does it spark joy?
Did it once spark joy, but now brings dread?
Are you holding on because of an attachment to the past, or because of a fear for the future?
Has it fulfilled its purpose in your life?
What are the chances that you’ll actually need it again?
Is it more expensive or cumbersome to store in the short term than it would be to purchase it again in the future?
Can it bless someone else instead of sitting around your life, taking up space?

Disposing of 20 bags full of unused possessions has given me peace of mind, closets and cupboards I actually love to open, and clearer focus for this next season of life.

What might it do for you?

 

 

Image #1: Unsplash

Image #2: the author’s car on her first trip to the donation center during the great KonMari Purge of 2016

Featured on Friday: The Chatter About #CTDOMag

Earlier this month we told you about an exciting new resource for those interested in talent development.

CTDO is an “App-Based Magazine Unlike Anything You’ve Experienced” – and we offered several of our Team Buzz Builders the opportunity to try it for themselves and let us know what they thought.

The feedback has been positive, and today we’re excited to share some of those links with you and invite you to subscribe (it’s FREE!).

As a reminder…

ATD

The Association for Talent Development (ATD) is a professional membership organization supporting those who develop the knowledge and skills of employees in organizations around the world.

CTDO

A quarterly publication for chief talent development officers and other C-suite leaders whose responsibility includes leading the talent development efforts in their organizations.

Read it online or in the ATD Publications app.
Follow them on Twitter – @CTDOmag

Use the hashtag #CTDOmag


Buzz Builder Links

From guest posts to interviews to personal connections with the content of the spring issue of CTDO – there’s something for everyone in the following links. Click through, read them all, then sign up for your own FREE subscription to this fantastic resource!

@dawnmariec sat down for an interview with Ann, and shared those answers – and her own thoughts – regarding CTDO.
@joshploch hosted a guest post from Ann Parker – introducing this exciting new resource.
@LisaKosak offered her welcome to Ann and CTDO on her new blog, Pages of Growth.
@ByronErnest also opened his blog to Ann for a guest post on the Essential Insight for Talent Development Leaders.
@allipolin shared her excitement about this resource and the fact they highlighted one of the first companies she worked with!
Joshua Lee Henry hosted Is Your Workforce Engaged? from Ann Parker.

Ready to sign up now? Visit…

td.org/CTDO

It’s time for spring growth – start by developing your own talent, then share it with others!

New Seasons, New Social Channels: Instagram

Spring officially began this past weekend and many of us are on spring break this week. Hopefully it’s beginning to feel warmer where you are! Spring offers the possibility of something new. Why not take this opportunity to learn a new social channel: Instagram!

I know, Instagram isn’t necessarily a new channel. But for many, Instagram can seem overwhelming. But before you write it off, here’s why you should be on Instagram: Instagram offers a fun way to showcase your brand visually. In 2015, Instagram had over 300 million users sharing over 60 million photos a day!

It is also more popular than either Facebook or Twitter for people under 30, so it is a great place to get your brand in front of younger audiences.

So what is Instagram?

Instagram is a social network based primarily around photos and other visual content. Your followers see a newsfeed in chronological order based on when content was posted. You can post photos, memes, and inspirational messages and apply “filters” on them to make them look more fun or artistic.

Like Twitter, hashtags are important on Instagram. Hashtags ensure that people other than your followers see your posts. Hashtags allow you to join in conversations that are already going on via Instagram. Unlike Twitter, you can and will want to use multiple hashtags – as many as 8-12 per post!

Here’s an example from the Weaving Influence Instagram account last week.

Tagging the post with #art #leadership #management #coloringbook #rest #leaders and #creativity ensured that people who were interested in any of those topics would also see our picture – and hopefully our blog post!

That brings up another point – you can and should use Instagram to promote your blog posts… but since Instagram is primarily visual, it’s not the best place for links.

So where should you start?

Instagram is all about fun and creativity. The best way to learn is to start! Create an account. Take a picture. Upload and apply a filter. Add some hashtags. And you’re off! It really is that simple.

Take some time this week and create an account for yourself or for your brand. Have fun with it!

While you’re at it – follow Weaving Influence on Instagram at @weavinginfluence!

Main Photo Credit: 123rf/rflsoft

Photo With Blog: Weaving Influence

Featured on Friday: TBB Member @dawnmariec

Although Team Buzz Builder (TBB) has been around since the early days of Weaving Influence, one of our areas of focus for 2016 has been on getting to know the unique individuals who make up TBB. Whether through email exchanges or chatting with each other in our Facebook TBB Community group, it’s been fascinating to learn more about these amazing folks who volunteer their time and efforts to support our launches.

This year we’ve seen a number of new faces on our launch team lists, and we’ve watched with interest the new promotional ideas they’ve been bringing with them. Whether it’s a blab book review posted to YouTube, image creation for Pinterest sharing, or utilizing LinkedIn Pulse to host an interview, each of our newest members has challenged us to never stop innovating with our book launches. We love our #WICommunity!

Today’s highlighted team member is one of our newest members, and she’s jumped in with both feet!

Meet Dawn-Marie Cornett!

Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for me, Dawn-Marie. First question:

As a newer member of Team Buzz Builder, what have you enjoyed the most about your experience thus far?

I’ve always enjoyed promoting products and publications I truly believe in. So joining Team Buzz Builder was right up my alley. However, I’ve been so impressed with the level of engagement of the team and the support offered by Weaving Influence’s exceptional people. In the past, my volunteer promotion efforts have been completely self guided. There’s been no team. Being involved with everyone here has been a privilege and a lot of fun.

What has surprised you about being a TBB member?

The biggest surprise was to discover how many busy professionals are willing to donate their time to help authors, editors, and others, whom they may not even know, be successful. I have felt lonely in my desire to give my time and skills away with no obvious return. I’ve even been criticized by well-meaning friends who believe nothing should be done for free. But I believe that good given is an investment in both the receiver and the giver. Money may not exchange hands, but there is definite benefit for all involved.

If someone asked you why they should join, what would you tell them?

I believe that good ideas and good people should be supported. Join to spread ideas you believe in. Join to meet interesting people. Join to get more attention for your own work. Whether you are altruistic to your core, or you are simply looking for a new self-promotion opportunity, Team Buzz Builder is worth your time and effort.

Tell me about your work/family/life/hobbies…

I’m a Life Coach that specializes in helping individuals in their business and personal lives learn to communicate better, make better decisions, and find ways to benefit others with their talents and skills. I’ve done everything from help parents and teens improve their relationship to take contract work for product management, publication editing, and team building. I’ve given more than 20 seminars and published many articles and blogs. I absolutely love what I do.

I’m also a mom of 3 amazing kids in their teens and early twenties. That’s truly the best job I’ve ever had.

I’m a classically trained singer. I sing mostly in church now, but I do have a couple songs online that I wrote and performed with others. I’m very outdoorsy. Hiking and canoeing are my favorite. And I read constantly. Business, psychology, education, and religion are my favorite topics. I’m always reading at least 3 books at a time, but usually more.

Connect with Dawn-Marie Online

Twitter: @dawnmariec

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dawnmariecornett

Read Her Review of CTDO as a TBB member: LinkedIn Pulse

Weaving Leadership Influence

This post is a part of our 2016 Team Buzz Builder Guest Blogger Series. Today we are pleased to introduce you to Byron Ernest, Superintendent and Head of Schools for Hoosier Academies.

It is so exciting to have the opportunity to do a guest post for the Weaving Influence blog. In thinking and reflecting about what to blog about, the whole idea of “weaving influence” kept jumping out at me. Questions like: what does it mean to “weave influence”? What is a “weaving influence”? What if influence is not weaved into anything? It really struck me that Weaving Influence might just be one of the most genius trademarks there is. Let’s think about this and break it down.

Weaving, as a verb, according to the Dictionary.com app is: “to compose a connected whole by combining various elements or details.” So, as I think about the opportunities I have had with Weaving Influence to review books, it has been an incredible experience for me to be connected with many different elements and content from many different authors. By collaborating with Weaving Influence, I have been exposed to new thinking, reflected on and discussed this new thinking’s meaning in real terms, experimented with the new learning in a safe learning environment, and applied this learning to important initiatives in my own personal context. This weaving really creates the structure of a network. Network members are connected and develop relationships that never might have existed. The weave is organized around the gifts and talents of the authors who are being featured for advancement of their works. This structure is helpful for connecting new voices and exposing a large number of people to new and exciting content.

One such weaved connection started with my reading of The Disciplined Leader by John M. Manning. I read this book as part of the launch project by Weaving Influence. The content of the book is deep, but presented in a practical format that made the information instantly useable and applicable to the reader’s reality. I instantly began tweeting about the book. Then John Manning began to retweet and favorite my tweets. John Manning and I began to have twitter conversations. Finally, I sent him a direct message and inquired about getting autographed books for all of the participants in a program at the school I lead, the Focused Leader Academy. Just to recap, the content of the book has now been weaved into my life and is being weaved into the lives I lead, and I am forming a relationship with the author.

Now, for explaining the influence part I went back to the definitions. Tapping on the Dictionary.com app one more time on my iPad, I found the definition of influence to be: “to move or impel (a person) to some action.” Earlier I mentioned we put author-signed copies of The Disciplined Leader in the hands of all the participants of our newly formed Focused Leader Academy. The book is organized into 52 lessons, and our Focused Leader Academy participants are reading a lesson a week and posting a blog reflection each week as well. Our Focused Leader Academy is an employee development and engagement program. The idea is that great minds and great motives still matter. Teachers with school leadership aspirations are a part of a cohort that takes part in monthly leadership trainings and are part of supervised leadership projects for the betterment of our school. The Vision is: Leadership will be born out of those who are affected by it. The Mission is: Leadership will appear anywhere and anytime it is needed. Our Theory of Action is: If we empower our teachers through leadership skill development… then we will have teacher leaders ready to contribute to the success of Hoosier Academies and be an important part of our talent pipeline.

It has been an incredible experience to weave John Manning and The Disciplined Leader into the culture of our school. Every day we are experiencing the positive influence that bringing this author and book into our culture of excellence we are developing has brought to the success of our students.

How are you weaving leadership influence into your organization?

 

Dr. Byron Ernest is the Superintendent and Head of Schools for Hoosier Academies in Indiana, which facilitates learning for over 4,500 students K-12, virtually statewide and in a hybrid/blended model in Indianapolis. Dr. Ernest is considered an “Energetic Change Agent” and is very involved in education policy and leadership. He currently serves on Indiana Speaker of the House Brian Bosma’s Education Kitchen Cabinet. Additionally, Speaker Bosma appointed Dr. Ernest to serve on the Indiana State Board of Education this past May. Dr. Ernest is an avid blogger, with his thoughts on education and leadership being found at www.byronernest.wordpress.com. Additionally, he tweets often on matters of education and leadership. Dr. Ernest can be followed on twitter at @ByronErnest.

 

Image credit: nzchrissy2

How to Improve Your Problem-Solving with Art

Have you followed the recent adult coloring book trend? From mandalas and zentangles, to everyday nature scenes or inspirational word art, adults are rediscovering the joy of tuning in to the creative side of their brains. Coloring provides a relaxing, low-cost way to retreat from the pressures of everyday. Plus, breaking out all the old-school art supplies is just plain fun!

After spending some time coloring with friends over Christmas, I started wondering what it might take to create my own coloring book. I gathered books about learning to sketch flowers, creating my own zentangles, and designing my own typography. I watched videos about sketch-noting and creative lettering. And I quickly remembered how hard it is to transfer a picture from the brain onto paper! Even my best attempts looked rather amateurish.

But I was determined not to give up easily! I kept scouring the library shelves and picked up this art textbook on a whim… and it completely changed how I see things.

Instead of teaching you how to draw, it teaches you how to see things differently. Rather than simply giving step-by-step instructions for sketching faces and flowers, it teaches you how to notice edges, relationships, and shadows. It’s the difference between just seeing a hand or a tree – and noticing the specific shapes that make up the whole, the negative spaces that provide definition, the shadows that add depth, and the overall gestalt that makes the sketch seem comforting or menacing or humorous.

The best part is, as I learn to slow down and notice the details, my sketches are improving – without any innate talent or formal training. As I learn to see things differently, I’m able to describe them better, whether that’s with words or with pictures.

The interesting thing is how all of this relates to “the rest of life.” Learning any form of artistic expression (music, photography, poetry, sculpture, pottery, etc.) can have real-world application in the areas of problem-solving, team-building, and just thinking in general.

Why? Because it teaches you how to erase your preconceived ideas of how something looks, and shift your approach to observe the underlying connections and overall sense of a situation. It changes your perception of things, people, or situations.

For instance: have you ever tried drawing a realistic-looking nose? It’s hard to move past how you learned to draw noses back in fifth grade. But in order to draw a realistic-looking nose, you have to forget those preconceived ideas and look for the lines and the shadows and the relationship to other parts of the face.

That principle translates over to the rest of life. We approach challenging situations at work or in our personal lives with preconceived ideas of how to fix them – but how often does that approach actually work?

In life, as in drawing, we must look carefully to discover the shadows, connections, and boundaries.

In art, one way to train yourself to do that is by sketching an upside-down picture. That forces you to focus on the lines, spaces, and proportions rather than approaching it with preconceived ideas of “this is how a face should look.”

In the rest of life, that could mean taking a step back to consider the areas around a given problem:

What underlying factors might there be (the “edges and spaces”)?
How is it affecting other people or other situations (the “relationships”)?
How “gray” of an issue is it really (the “shadows”)?

Here’s an exercise for you:

Consider a specific situation that’s been weighing you down. Approach it as though it were an art exercise. Observe the overall gestalt of the situation, notice the edges and negative spaces that define it, perceive the underlying shadows and connections that give it depth and relevance. Use an artistic medium as your guide – whether it’s drawing, scrapbooking, sculpting, writing poetry, or even composing music. The only limit is your creativity!

Now consider how that artistic medium helped you see the situation with fresh eyes. Did you discover some nuances that you weren’t aware of before? Did you identify some connections that brought the whole problem into focus? Did you realize a surprising depth to the circumstances that aided your understanding?

Tell me something! What’s your favorite artistic medium? Have you ever used it to help you solve a problem?

 

Image credit: feelphotoz

Featured on Friday: @CTDOMag

Talent Development. It’s moved beyond being a buzz phrase and become something that companies must focus on in order to survive in the 21st century. Talent development executives are being tasked with developing the next generation, opening doors to the C-suite, and ensuring that corporations are poised for long-term success by investing internally into their people.

Internal talent investment is a very positive move – one that we support here at Weaving Influence – and one that more companies and C-suite execs are getting on board with as the benefits are recognized. So if you’re excited about developing the next generation, but you’re stuck on finding resources that you can share, you’re going to enjoy today’s post!

It Started with ATD

Most of you reading this are probably well acquainted with ATD (formerly known as the American Society for Training & Development – or ASTD), but for those of you who might not be familiar with them, here’s the quick version. The Association for Talent Development (ATD) is a professional membership organization supporting those who develop the knowledge and skills of employees in organizations around the world. They provide content (research, books, events, etc.) for the talent development profession, and NOW… they provide something more.

CTDO: an App-Based Magazine Unlike Anything You’ve Experienced

From the Website: C-suite executives require content and resources that are keenly focused on the strategic and the long view—the questions, trends, and ideas that are going to shape the field and by extension the work that happens in organizations. CTDO delivers. This magazine is for chief talent development officers and other C-suite leaders whose responsibility includes leading the talent development efforts in their organizations. Read quarterly issues online or in the ATD Publications app.

Subscribe now to receive full access to CTDO in the app – it’s totally FREE to subscribe.


Or you can preview a full issue online.


Follow them on Twitter – @CTDOmag – for additional links and information.


Use the hashtag #CTDOmag to see what others are saying about this new resource.


Invite your friends to subscribe before the Spring 2016 Issue comes out next Tuesday!

Come back later this month to see what our Team Buzz Builders have to say about this resource!

Ready to sign up now? Visit…

td.org/CTDO

Make spring a season of developing talent – your own, and others!

Beware This Insidious Phishing Scam

Yes, it happened to me. I succumbed to curiosity/fear to click an attachment on an email. To be clear, it came from a known contact. It looked official. I did have a few twinges of wondering. In fact, a similar email a few months ago raised more flags. I called the sender BEFORE clicking and then deleted it immediately, escaping disaster.

In this case, the email preyed on an large fear. It came from a copyright attorney, one I interacted with related to an infringement. When I saw the email, I skipped reason and landed on panic. Did we somehow, despite our new image use policies and extraordinary care, land ourselves with another infringement? How? Why? I asked my assistant to reach out to the attorney by phone but clicked the attachment anyway.

When I clicked the scam attachment, it triggered a similar email being sent to all my Google contacts — all of them: my mother, past clients, current clients, even my 9 year old daughter.

As far as I can tell, the only damage (still plenty) came to my contacts who clicked the attachment before I could alert them to the issue, and the domino effect ensuing from there, the way this virus/hack/scam/phishing attempt spreads from one person to the next.

One contact, responding after the incident, said, “It’s the hackers to blame.”

Here’s why this scam is so insidious: it preys on peoples’ desire for opportunity and connection and it exploits their trust in relationships.

Picture this: you get an email from me with a contract attached. The email includes my signature, the logos of all my companies. It must be me, right? And then, there’s a logical request attached. For example, here’s our updated contract or please update your contact information.  Before you have time to think, your natural curiosity takes over and the scam/hack continues.

My team and I responded to the hack immediately; we sent an email to our entire opt-in list, posted on social media channels, and sent a few personal notes. But there’s no easy way to email one’s gmail contacts en masse that we know of, even though the hackers do it easily enough. Sigh.

One positive benefit of the attack is that I heard from several people I haven’t connected with in some time, both through email and on social channels. It reminded me what an awesome network of connections I have, how many wonderful people I’ve been privileged to meet on this journey. If there is any bright spot, that’s it.

Be careful out there, people! Don’t click on attachments you’re not expecting to receive. Confirm first, via phone or email. If you did happen to click on the attachment sent by my email, change your email password and alert your contacts immediately.