I can’t say enough thanks to Dan Walderschmidt for seeing the beauty in being different. I just read an article he wrote after his TedX experience called “Success Starts With You Being Different“and I have never read something before that completely encapsulated my whole mission statement.
And… he said it in only 6 easy steps.
Being different won’t kill you…
Being different will get you noticed…
Being different won’t have people outwardly lauding you… (at first)
Being different secretly makes people respect you…
Being different probably won’t get you the incremental job promotions…
Being different positions you best to be able to change the world…
I couldn’t have said it better Dan… I also was at TEDxGreenville and it was somewhat of a memory of a time when I lived in Greenville, had blue hair and found out that it wasn’t accepted to be different and very tough to find any respect in certain communities. I went through tons of tough times and lots of teary bedtimes after run in’s with people who would make rude comments or generally avoid me at all costs…that’s when I thought I would never fit in anywhere, I almost dyed my hair back to normal. That’s when I met TimTV and he inspired me to just be myself and that’s when my blog Destructo Deviations started to showcase the different side of Greenville. A year later I have learned that just being myself has made me stand out of the crowd and more opportunities than I can count.
I personally think the strongest people in this world are people who take the time to understand others, to let different become normal and to realize that the best qualities of someone is generally something that makes them stand out. Why not make your whole self your best quality?
As most of you know I just traveled to Greenville, South Carolina…. Why was I there? Because of Bruce’s Yams of course… to return back to the place where all the yamsanity began for me. I made this very special video for all the Bruce’s Yams fans and to tell a little bit more about the story behind the blue haired gal who tweets and types for Bruce’s Yams.
Attending the “idea” conference TedxGreenville was only the marshmellow fluff on the casserole for me. Tedx was a great place to share my Bruce’s Yam story with others to help inspire and spread the word about our favorite food.
At the end of the video I held a get together of a bunch of Bruce’s Yams fans and my friends in Greenville, South Carolina. The Yam-A-Palooza tweetup (twitter meetup) was a hit and many great ideas came from it. I can’t wait to have a contest to see who can make the best yam cocktails and t-shirt designs now! You may even see us (the cans, not me) at the media conference SXSW next week! I am now realizing the possibilities for yams are endless and people are willing to help start the spreading the word in their towns. Yams are a becoming of a trendy item, i’ve even heard of people going on multi city scavenger hunts to find a can of Bruce’s Yams!
Thank you all for the support and keeping me fueled with new ideas, if you have a cool yam themed event or something sweet potato related (festivals, personalities or whatever!) let me know, I might just show up in YOUR town for the next yamventure!
Oh, yes. And there’s a special yam dance I made just for you all in the video… feel free to make your own yam dance and send it to me!
Thanks again for being a fan of Bruce’s Yams and Miss Destructo!
I found my new archnemesis "Yam Coat" at TEDxGreenville
Last week was a rollercoaster, it started out not so good (as most of you know my father Cpt. Spauldad has been in the hospital), however ended with a great accumulation of returning to my past in Greenville and inspiration for the future.
Greenville, South Carolina… where this whole social media career started for me, where Destructo Deviations began as a blog showcasing different gems of Greenville while I was diving into cans of Bruce’s Yams because of unemployment. Now it’s funny that I am returning for a conference TEDxGreenville that showcases the talents of Greenville (and beyond) while working for Bruce’s Yams.
Talking with fellow Tampa social media tweeple (and all around awesome guy) Kevin Lyons, on the plane ride over here. It’s strange how only looking back a few months you find your self constantly moving yourself into either a step up or a step back, it all depends on your attitude. Working hard to succeed is always good, but we both found that it’s always the moments where you aren’t looking for something that you get the light that shows the next step in your path. However, it’s always good to look back (or visit) those old places you’ve been through those tough times in your life. Usually those times when you are yelling in your head “What am I doing?” or when you feel like you aren’t making progress in your current situation.
I spent my first hours in Greenville with Bryant who is somewhat a VIP at his local sushi joint, I felt like I was in the mob. Venturing upon plates of Sushi (no sweet potato tempura!) and learned the proper way to eat a bowl of noodles. He showed me these bubble gum flavored, Japanese drinks that have marbles in them. I looked at the Japanese food store we were in to see if they had any Sweet Potato Kit Kat bars. Hashtag this #Yamfail
Later on in the evening I attended the pre-TEDx Greenville meetup for the TEDx speakers and VIP’s, it was great to be able to network with some of the best of TEDx and see some of my very missed Greenville folks. I made so many great connections that night and new friends… It’s was interesting to see the mix of the old southern gentlemen and business ladies next to people like TimTv and myself. Even better it was amazing despite the differences, the similar connections you can make by just talking about a can of Bruce’s Yams, “Oh yeah! We love yams… *insert 10 minutes of rambling off their favorite yam recipes*” Bruce’s Yams and Miss Destructo, bringing people together. #yamwin
I can honestly say I didn’t know what to expect from TEDxGreenville, i’ve been to many conferences before where you pick and choose the people you want to go see and usually I stand out in the hallway meeting people more than I spend attending panels. But TEDx, is more of a “your butt must be in the seat” for every speaker, not so much to force ideas upon you but for you to share a common experience with your fellow attendees during a whole day of performances, speeches and inspiring stories. I just remember walking into the building in amazement of the number of people that had shown up, it was a packed house and as my new Tampa pal Kevin said “I can’t walk in front of you” as there was so many of my long awaiting twitter and blog fans stopping me in the lobby. “Miss Destructo!” was a common heard phrase that day and I have to say it was a pleasure meeting all of you. Without the fuel and ideas that I get from my followers and readers, my life would be much different and less full of yams. It was great to hear that most of you already follow my yamtastic adventures with Bruce’s Yams, most of the Greenville people I met can remember when I was running my “Will Work For Yams” campaign on my twitter account. That’s why Greenville and attending TEDx was so special for me, to open doors to new opportunities while among the people that first inspired me.
TedxGreenville was amazing, not only did I learn how to grow mushrooms and about the power of ignorance. But I learned that the greatest power of the event was it’s ability to connect a broad spectrum of topics and people to relate to every person’s life. Truly worth every penny, as I walked away from the conference that day with not only many new friends and career opportunities but enough knowledge to power a small country. For a small town, Greenville has a big community and an even bigger heartbeat in it’s role in social media, technology and business. As I got asked many times that day “Would you move back Miss Destructo? We miss you!” ah, my dear Greenville, it is a romance that is only a muse and not a long term relationship. But what I have taken away from this event will further my everyday quest to find my place in this world.
Okay. You know I am not actually going to tweet naked for anything, but I will be honestly tweeting my heart out for the next month to raise enough money to attend SOBcon in Chicago.
Why do I want to destroy my social media boredom at SOBcon so badly? Going down this road of social media management isn’t exactly something that you can learn at the local college or even with all the social media books in the world, you need one on one experience and guidance sometimes. SOBcon is a different kind of conference, it’s more like a huge think tank to help you on your next step in your social media program. What makes it even more special is that you have 125 of the biggest brains in the business helping you out while making connections with people that are in exactly the same boat you are.
Sometimes it’s hard to keep the fuel going and you need help from other people who understand your daily challenges especially in Social Media. For example, I just created a nifty little tumblr site for Bruce’s Yams called “Bruce’s Yams Was Here” where we get yam fans to send in photoshopped or real pictures of cans in different places, it’s a great tool for fan involvement beyond the usual Bruce’s Yams twitter and facebook pages. But it’s not the end of the social media road for Bruce’s Yams and to keep the yam pride alive, I need to find new ways and techniques to keep the yam-olution going and my own Miss Destructo accounts fresh. I am deeply inspired by other people and getting advice from those who have been there before. It’s hard to find your personal Obi-wan Kenobi sometimes but if you travel and seek wisdom from others your next step can be right around the corner.
It’s just for me, getting there is the problem. However, every problem has a solution and here at Destructo HQ we believe that nothing is impossible. This is where I need your help… I need $700 to cover travel costs for the whole weekend and more money for the ticket itself. But getting the travel cost out of the way comes first as they have a nifty register now, pay later with SOBcon.
Speaking of Social Media Obi Wan Kenobi’s….Here’s what you get if you donate!
Chicago greatBarry Moltz will give one of his three books If you make a donation of $25. Here are the choices… http://barrymoltz.com/books Just include in your paypal donation which book you want and i’ll forward your address to Barry!
HUGE thanks to Scott Stratten @unmarketingwho will be offering access to his“UnBootCamp Online”(just the online workshop) to anyone who donates $50 or more.
BONUS. If you donate $100… Mr. Unmarketing will throw in the consulting part of the workshop too. When you donate leave a note on paypal if you want the UnBootCamp and i’ll forward your email to Scott!
Here’s where you can donate.
If we can’t raise enough in time i’ll be saving the funds for my next major conference which is Blog World in October… any penny or donation is highly appreciated since I am still counting my yams and saving up for future medical needs.
Let’s make SOBcon a little bit more blue this year!
Social Fresh Tampa was a great meeting of the social media minds in Tampa and beyond. It was an early morning for me awakening at 4:30am to head to Tampa but I didn’t want to miss a minute of the So Fresh action. Upon arrival, I was notified that they would soon be putting out a nice spread of danishes and coffee for the guests. This was music to my ears, since I didn’t want to be that guy in the McDonald’s commercial “Sorry, I haven’t had my coffee yet” since I knew there would be many faces that I haven’t yet met beyond the screen of the twitterverse.
Great video by cate.tv of me blowing bubbles and talking social media.
As guests started piling in, I found that there was a multitude of different options for me at this point being there was at least 2 social media themed panels going on at once. At conventions of any kind, I usually take the road less taken. When people are running for the panels, I usually use that time to get the most out of my time at the convention by networking with people arriving or learning from the tweets that people are tweeting from the different panels. I find that I learn more from the tweets and opinions of others in the panels than having to choose between two panels at once.
Some people wonder how I end up learning anything by not going to the panels. I am an observer, I watch the tweets using hashtags (example #sofresh) from the panels, then if I have any questions… I see the speaker directly after the panel to talk with them one on one, gaining personal connections and sometimes they’ll give me tons of tips that weren’t given in the speech. I think I learned this method after having so many distance learning classes in college, I learned more from interacting with someone one on one than in a formal classroom setting. Plus, I just generally like to use my time to get to know people on a personal basis and learn their methods more directly. That’s what I like about these type of conferences, it brings the social to social media.
I think I spend so much time behind a screen, that when I encounter a group of wonderful minds that I have been talking with for so long, I just want to run all over and meet everyone. Sometimes I wish we all had floating avatars above our heads since trying to find people is the hardest, without being really weird and looking at everyone’s name badges. So if I missed any of you, there’s always next time! If you see me at an event, just come and find me… most likely I will be the only person with blue hair!
One thing I learned yesterday, is that if you are passionate about what you are doing. That gets other people passionate about it too, and ultimately starts a movement of success. If you are interesting, people will generally be interested. Social media is above just business, it’s about people… people want something different, be different and social media becomes less of a tool and more of a lifestyle. You don’t have to have tons of money or an advertising budget to succeed in social media, you just need passion… for people and your product.
Huge thanks to Jason @jakrose for inviting me and all the wonderful volunteers and staff at the Doubletree Hotel in Tampa (You have got to try the Doubletree cookies!)
The past week I learned that nothing is impossible, or yampossible it seems. About a year ago, I was in Greenville, SC… unemployed and pretty much starving when I discovered canned yams at the local discount foods store. I started eating yams (sweet potatoes) pretty much everyday, straight out of the can for breakfast, lunch and dinner. While my strange food habit became sort of associated with me through my tweets on twitter, I wondered if I could possibly take my love for yams into a career. So I started the “Will Work For Yams” campaign on my website and twitter.
I sent Bruce’s Foods an email, with no reply. Then my writer/actor friend Brian Spaeth got involved, a four page and very crazy yam manifestoto Bruce’s Foods on why they should hire me. Then I got a very cryptic email from Bruce’s “Why Bruce’s Yams?” is all it said. So I wrote this blog post…. “The Power of Yams.” to explain my love for yams. A few emails back and forth with Bruce’s and a month later, this HUGE box of Bruce’s Yams products showed up at my door. You can watch the video of that madness here… “May is the Month of The Yam”
Anyways, I thought that would be the end of hearing from Bruce’s Foods… until a few weeks ago that is. I then received an email from Bruce’s… “Hey, you want to do our social media?”….*record screech* WHAT!?!?!
Long story short… I just got back from New Iberia, Louisiana and had a wonderful time visiting Bruce’s Foods and the great state of Louisiana. Great company, good people and southern hospitality to the max! (I got to stay in the old estate of the owner of Bruce’s Foods!)
I’ll now be actually “working for yams” and running the Bruce’s Yams Twitter and Facebook accounts. Fan us and follow us to hear me yammer’in about yams all day.
Learn how to really stand out of a crowd!
