Kyle Thomas

The Website of Kyle Thomas (KyleWith)

My don’t vote for me campaign, Campaign

Okay, I’ll give you the back story, I was nominated for two categories in the upcoming West Coast Social Media Awards. One for Most Likely to become a Social Media Celebrity and the other for Most Inspiring Social Media User. I suppose I should tell you that I had a hand in nominating myself, it was a coworker. I like to pretend I deserve some recognition though.

The voting just opened up for these nominations yesterday and I started to see a lot of people asking for votes. I consider this to be cheesy, granted this could be just because I’m jealous. Of course I want to come out on top, I feel I’ve made an impact within social media, within the area and think it would be great for some recognition. I’m not saying I deserve it over anyone else, but it is good to feel wanted.

I just don’t want to go around asking people for votes all the time, in my opinion that’s no better than a retail store joining twitter and telling everybody to come in and shop at the store. It just doesn’t seem right to me, it seems like spamy marketing. That’s why I’m running the “don’t vote for me campaign, campaign.”  Of course I don’t really want you not to vote for me, I do, but I don’t want you to vote for me just because I’m asking you to.

I want you to look at me, research me, figure out what I’ve done within the realm of social media and then decide whether you want to vote for me. Before you vote for me I want you to become a friend of mine, say hi to me and get to know me. Ask me why I think I deserve it, ask me how I got my start in social media.

Although I think it would be great to win one of these awards, the real reward for me will be attending Social Media Camp Victoria 2011 and learning and sharing with others.

If you feel I’m worthy of your vote, vote for me, if you don’t think this is true, don’t vote for me.

Fort Nelson for the First

I find myself in Fort Nelson for the first time today. It is a small town in Northern BC, even further north than Fort St John for all you folks who don’t know how far north.

Tomorrow I will be giving a full day workshop on Social Media here at the hotel. I really enjoy these workshops, because I get to share what I am so passionate about to people who, for the most part, are interested in learning. For that reason though I am a little disappointed that there were so few interested in attending. Though, by chance anyone from Fort Nelson were to find this before the workshop, you can still come.

Like I said Fort Nelson is a small town, but neat. Unfortunately it is a dirty town with a lot of dust and dirt in the air and visible to the eye, that being said it is spring time. The town is setup actually very similar to Chetwynd, with the highway running right through town. After meeting a few people I did find that there is a real sense of community here. A feeling like they all support each other, and want to succeed as a community rather than in their own fields.

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I don’t know why the photos are so small. Sorry.

The anxiety of speaking

It’s a funny thing, anxiety. I don’t have a problem speaking in public, but for some reason the time leading up to it is always a little nerve-racking.

A Visual Approach to Public Speaking-VizThink NYCphoto © 2009 jonny goldstein | more info (via: Wylio)

My heart starts to race a little, I don’t really know what it is. Maybe it’s the fear forgetting something, maybe it’s the fear of thinking that you’re going to sound like an idiot. I’m not really sure what it is. All I know is that I can’t shake it, because it is the funniest thing. It could even be, that I’m actually afraid to screw up, then I’ll forget something.

As soon as I get in front of people, the anxiety goes away. It just goes away and I’m able to speak. I make sense, I speak fluidly, and people actually like it. They think I know what I’m talking about.

The real solution to this problem, other than the fact that I can talk about it. I’m sure someone can tell me as soon as I publish this, that the best way to get over this is to keep doing it. They may even say, practice makes perfect.

And that it does.

I fell of the wagon

I don’t know if I told you, but I’m doing a 365 day blogging challenge. It makes sense, I blog once a day for the whole year. As you can now see, I have not been true to that. While I was in Edmonton this past weekend I missed a day. I blame it mostly on the fact that I was driving from Edmonton to Fort St. John. Nevertheless here I am to write another blog post.

Our original covered wagonphoto © 2008 daveiam | more info (via: Wylio)

I’m getting back on the wagon with my blogging. So I will tell you what I’m up to at work these days. I am just getting ready to launch a new training session. Each session will have a different topic. But the topics will evolve around social media. They will be two hours an evening, from 7 PM to 9 PM. Topics may include, blogging, basic twitter, advanced twitter and an introduction to Facebook pages.

I still have a lot to learn about these topics, but I feel that I know my stuff now to be able to pass it on to others. I’m a big fan of sharing your passion, and that’s exactly what I’m doing. Even if you don’t believe in social media, it is still worth knowing how to use. I think every business has an opportunity to become a friend.

I will also be helping present two other big social media workshops in the coming month. One in Fort Nelson, BC and the other in Dawson Creek, BC. These are full-day workshops, that offer an introduction to social media and an overview of what they are. They are very informative, but a lot taking for some. I think that everyone who has an interest in social media should join, and not just because I’m giving a presentation.

Since writing this I have also agreed to give a talk on a Chamber of Commerce Mingler here in Fort St John.

Who else is excited for the future?

KyleWith on CBC Daybreak North

This morning I had the pleasure of being on CBC’s Daybreak North out of Prince George. I had connected with one of the hosts, Will Fundal, on Twitter about a month earlier. Then through a series of emails and Twitter messages he thought I should come on the show. Our topic was Social Media, specifically Twitter, in the Peace Region but more so in Fort St John. Have a listen:

[podcast]http://blip.tv/file/get/Kylewith-KyleWithOnCBCDaybreakNorth484.mp3[/podcast]

This is not my first time on the Radio. I remember being on CBC North talking about the iPhone when it first came to Yellowknife, or CJCD during Folk on the Rocks. I don’t get nervous per say, but unsure about whether or not I’m going to screw something up. Radio and Podcasting are very different, with Podcasting it all seems so easy going that if I mess up no matter, but with radio I often feat I stumble.

Photo from CBC Daybreak Site
Photo from CBC Daybreak North site

The one thing I don’t do is re-listen to recording afterward. I don’t want to know how I sound or what I actually said. I know there was lots that I missed and wanted to cover but there is only so much time. When I look back though, we have come a long way here in Fort St John, and the only way is up. Eventually I get around to talking more about how with Facebook and Twitter, Prince George, Dawson Creek, Grande Prairie and Fort St John will seem more connected. Or how businesses can jump in and be the talk of the town.

All this will come. Let me know what your thoughts are on Twitter, Facebook, Fort St John or the interview.