In honor of the Annual Day of the Ninja, we here at Collective Thoughts wonder if you, the reader, have what it takes to be a social media ninja.
So, don’t just sit there. Tell us. Comment in 250 words or less why you think that you’ve got the stuff. Mind you, this is not for the easily intimidated or faint of heart.
We’ll keep comments open for a week, giving time for all our friends as PubCon Las Vegas and SES Chicago a chance to recover and get back into the swing of things.
The Collective Thoughts team will select the 10 most worthy, and will open it up for democratic voting for the 2 finalists. Rest assured, the winners of this contest will have something worthy of social media ninja awesomeness at the end of the day. Details to follow.
..because they never see me coming.
Stealth is the weapon of choice for anyone skilled in the Art of Ninjit-su. Another important aspect of not only Ninjit-su, but any Martial art is understanding flow. When they push, you pull; when the pull, you push. The ability to flow in any given situation is a must.
And so as a SMM Ninja, we must create profiles that lend themselves to the niche of choice and interactions that flow naturally… always being able to adapt and overcome…
I am a stealthy SMM playa… bend like a reed in the wind, never breaking and always bending. Become the community, do not try to make the community bend to you.
“Wise men don’t judge: they seek to understand. – Fingers Pointing Toward the Moon by Wei Wu Wei”
Any true Ninjit-su knows, one should never let them see you coming. It should be a pleasant and enlightening ride that never seems to be more than what the end user wants it to be. There should be no hint of ‘marketing’ and only the desire for the reader to want more… a true Ninja is this. It is after-all, the Art of Concealment.
All my love to the gang… I normally don’t get into such ‘call to action’ goodies, but with more than 25 years in Marital Arts… I couldn’t help myself….
Dave
I started using Mixx.com 10 days ago. I have already accumulated 220 friends. I have gotten awards for being the thought leader, the top 10 X 3, and conversation starter.
I submit posts from 50 of my favorite blogs and news sites on a variety of subjects including social networking, SEO and home business.
I know that Mixx is small, but I find 3 basic components to using any social site:
1. friends – get a lot of them.
2. content – keep it fresh.
3. tagging – keep them relevant.
These are explained more in my blog at http://www.moxie-drive.com/blog/2007/11/stumbelupon-advanced-tactics.html
I cut my teeth on Stumbleupon and have gotten a great deal of traffic from them, breaking the 2,000 barrier on numerous occasions. Stumbleupon continues to be one of my favorites.
I am starting to use Sphinn more. In the past week I have had 2 of my posts “go hot”.
I have just registered and am starting to use Small Business Brief, applying the principles that I have learned from Stumbleupon and Mixx.
I prefer the smaller social sites because they are not so “diggish” in nature. Even though I feel confident that I could use Digg effectively, I am enjoying the nature of the newer social sites, the people contained therein and the traffic that they generate.
Oops, did you say 250 words or less?
I have what it takes because
– I came here thinking I’ve seen at least two of the authors here on Sphinn and they’re good folks. I like to meet and make friends with people like that, so lemme go there and leave a useful comment (this probably won’t turn out to be, but the attitude is there at least 😉 )
– I linked to a whole bunch of different people in a Youmoz post that, last I checked, did just under 50 Sphinns. Not to mention it got 93 comments, when Youmoz average is about a dozen – 20. SEOmoz 5-bloggers-from-sphinn-and-youmoz-that-you-must-rss
– Top 20 Youmozzer. You have any idea how many comments that is?
– I attend local events with fellow techies and such and write them up: Montreal SEO: yulbiz-2007-best-of-montreals-business.html
– I chop suey. Or wooden boards. Whichever.
(Those people being Shana and Marty, but I’ve obviously seen Andy and Mark around (esp. Sphinn) as well as some submissions by Rose, if I’m not mistaken.
Should the rest of us be insulted?
@Tim: should the rest of us be insulted (re: Gad not mentioning us)? lol. Most of us here are pretty well known on Sphinn.
On Sphinn, I’m known as NowSourcing, Tad is Onreact…you get the idea.
Thanks for the great submissions so far, all!
I’d like to play. Mostly because I have a lot of extra time but also because I can already chop through 5 blocks of ice and am totally already skilled in Social Media Hensōjutsu and Shinobi-iri .
Plus I’m already at least a Social Media Novice, beings that some of you know of me through Sphinn.
Nono, don’t be insulted. I look forward to getting to know all of you better, and am actually planning a profile piece on the ten of you :). Feel free to email me anything that you’d like included! )Including links 😉 !)
The first rule of social media ninja dojo (SMND) is, you do not talk about social media ninja dojo.
2nd rule: You DO NOT talk about SMND.
3rd rule: If someone get banned or goes limp then the submission is over.
4th rule: Only one submitter per story.
5th rule: One submission at a time.
6th rule: No shirt, no shoes.
7th rule: Comment flaming will go on as long as it has to.
8th rule: If this is your first night at SMND then you have to submit.
he he… dats a good one. I actually have a private Forum on my site that I call ‘the Huomah Dojo’ … he he…. so we even have that angle covered…. don’t know how I missed that one Tom… HA!
A social media ninja must first learn the ways of the wise from those who have mastered their social skills. Through much study and meditation a student can gain the ability to adapt to any situation and overcome one or more advisories. A social ninja must use every available resource to gain the upper hand over a fearful larger opponent. They can not be bound by any true allies, but should be willing to make temporary trusted bonds to accomplish a like goal. Only after they have taken many footsteps in the shoes of those before them can they become real social media masters.
1. Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes.
2. Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.
3. Everything has its beauty but not everyone sees it.
4. Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses.
5. He who will not economize will have to agonize.
6. I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.
7. It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop.
8. Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.
9. Study the past if you would define the future.
10. Have no friends not equal to yourself.
Well, I would consider myself more of a Social Media Samurai. Ninja’s were silent, stealth, invisible, quiet and never interacted with their enemy until they sliced their throat. Samurai were not only fierce warriors but were also civilian public servants and were extremely “active” in their “communities”.
And besides…everyone knows that a Samurai can kick a Ninja’s a#@!
I definitely think I am in the running for social media Ninja. I have Stumbled over 5,000 websites and blogs. I have used Digg, Plime, Skirt, Newsvine, Mixx, Propeller, Delicious, Fark, YouTube, Facebook, Sphinn, Yhacker News, TagSum, Flickr, and direct e-mail. I have made mistakes as any Ninja in training, but take to being taught like a sponge to water. As any Ninja I am ready to pounce at all times but have much patience when it comes to community building, linkbaiting, and traffic.
I am a mom with four kids, balancing, work, family, marriage and home and a social media blog. If that does not make me a social media Ninja then I don’t know what does!
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My bet is quality, not quantity.
* My metrics are not the number of my friends but their feedback on my work;
* If I initiate friendship request, I make sure I know the person (I’ve met him at any other social network before, I am subscribed to his blog and follow his posts, etc);
* I make sure I know my friends (their websites, places they participate, their friends);
* I don’t move to the next social network before I am pretty sure I have already learned and tested all the tactics with this one;
* Before I actually do something, I research first (in fact, for me research is the most exciting part of both blogging and networking);
* I prefer niche social networks because that’s where I can find people interested in the same topic as me (with general networks, I also always try to stay within my niche);
* I currently actively participate in StumbleUpon and Twitter (yes, only two of them). I am also registered at Sphinn and Mixx but with these two I am at the stage of research (I am not as active there yet);
* I am not afraid of mistakes as they teach me the better lesson than any blogger (even the great one).
P.S. I feel like I sound boring, sorry 🙂
Stephanie Weingart should be considered to be a Social Media Ninja.
Stephanie used personal networking to build relationships with peers & works very hard at maintaining conversations using Social Networking sites.
She even begged her employer to be able to attended Pubcon Las Vegas just to build new relationships!
Stephanie has her day broken down into time pockets in which she puts 5 hours per day into analyzing and utilizing Facebook, Sphinn, Digg, Mixx, StumbleUpon, RateitAll, Del.icio.us, Flickr, Youtube, LinkedIn, etc.
She saves 2 hours per day just to read blogs of the masters to stay up to date with the industry. She devours the words of Wisdom.
Stephanie’s most ninja-like event occurred when she broke down the ego of Julie Joyce, just to become a writer for SEO-Chicks.com
She aspires to make a huge dent in Social Media by the end of 2008 and practices her daily SMM tactics to perfect her craft but realizes that she will always be a student.
Stephanie acknowledges that an important level of learning in the Social Media industry is to make mistakes.
Stephanie speaks in 3rd person because she knows she is only as powerful as her brand.
My Kung Fu is strong
I am SpostareDuro, an assassin and murderer. A proud sponsor of guerrilla warfare. An international eye. The hidden warrior. Sensory perfection designed by rebirth filtering the haze and hypnotism of lies and falsification.
My eyes see only truth and disposes mounds of mental garbage in the landfill of the internet. I consume positivity. Holistically filling me, generating endless degrees of empowerment to serve my brotherhood as I sneak attack the enemy in plain view.
My existence depends on quenching a never dying thirst of knowledge and distributing this energy to those of my brotherhood. Keeping us alive. Bringing together our longing masses from the underground.
I assassinate negativity with will to conquer and prevail.
I murder underhandedness by posting awareness between my brothers.
Proud sponsor of guerrilla warfare as my attack is not against my foe…it is the empowerment of my brothers. A united front.
Espionage comes easiest in my world. The enemy gives bull**** freely in hopes of crushing my community while I smile and pass it on, once again, enhancing the strength of my brotherhood.
I am the greatest Social Media Ninja. Because my brotherhood is the greatest. Holding truth and skill as one. As one, we become all to all.
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Bart the Bear – have you seen his posts?! Always a different way of looking at social media and good ideas for getting traffic via Mixx.
@JulzB Yeah that is SEO not Social Media. This contest is about Social Media not SEO.
I choose Stephaie because she has all the qualifications needed as well as being bright and innovative.