After praying about where God would have me focus my time and attention this year, I came up with my own three words for 2009. They are:

1. Friends
2. Writer
3. Infants

Friends
It seems at every turn in the last few months, I’ve come across books, speakers and testimonies that all highlight the power of positive friendships. As a result, in 2009 I am nurturing a few key relationships with women who understand who I am and the call that God has on my life. I am being vulnerable by sharing my hopes and dreams as well as my fears and failures, trusting that God will use these ladies to sharpen me and bring me into the place of His choosing. It may not seem like much of a business strategy, unless you’ve read Vital Friends, The Power of Who or Say Yes to No.

Writer
I’ve been writing since I was 12 years old – stories, diary entries, devotional thoughts and more. Last month I wrote a post about two women who, independently of one another, affirmed God’s call on my life to write. You can read about that here. In 2009, I am spending more time writing what God has laid on my heart. I am also intentionally developing relationships with people in the writing industry – writers, publishers, agents, editors, publicists and more. Admittedly, I’m not quite sure what God has in store but I fully believe this is a strategic step in line with my calling and purpose.

Infants
I like beginnings – starting new things. It’s actually fun when I get to work with a new business owner or a ministry leader embarking on a new journey. In 2009, I am working with leaders looking for new ways to engage people. So far I’ve:

• Provided leadership coaching for new business owners
• Offered social media consulting for chamber professionals and their members
• Helped ministry leaders develop new opportunities to make broader kingdom impact

My Three Words
Friends. Writer. Infants.

I’m using them to help me stay focused on specific areas of my business. These are the words that will help me use my time most effectively and make sure I don’t get too far off the intended path. Throughout the year, I’ll keep you posted on how I’m doing.

What about you?
What priorities have you identified for 2009 and how are you staying focused? If you had to determine your own three words for this year, what would they be? And what advice or feedback would you give me for 2009, based on the three words I’ve identified?

Note to self re: key takeways (some not new):

• We have the ability to think positively, even when it’s difficult.
• Personalized praise of employees (and others) is important.
• Bob is an authentic speaker who practices what he preaches, and is a great story teller.
• Try the change in the pocket deal. (Ask me for the full story.)
• Get the books he mentioned, “No Assholes Rule” and The Super Supervisor by the lady who spent her career as an employee in textile manufacturing.

After Bob’s address, I gave this presentation:

Followed by an impromptu Twitter tutorial with Laurie Wieder before doing this presentation. Remember, I’m not a graphics person so don’t harrass me about the slide theme.

For those of you who were in attendance, what did you learn? What were your key takeaways? The slides don’t convey the full conversation. What was your AHA? And if you weren’t there, what do you think?

Day/Date: Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Time: 5:45 p.m.
Location: Charleys Restaurant, Lynchburg, VA
Cost: Dutch treat, separate tabs
Food: Appetizers and drinks or dinner, whatever floats your boat

Other: Wi-Fi is free (thanks Rob & MJ) so bring your laptops if you want. We’ll get to know each another, see who’s doing what and if there are ways we can connect. Come ready to share your favorite blog sites, viral media stuff, new iPhones (and old if you want to sell) and whatever else is on your mind. Feel free to bring a friend! Pass this link along or trackback to your own site.

RSVP: By Monday, 7/14 via Twitter (@ or dm me), LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook, FriendFeed, comment below or you can always use good old fashioned email, text/phone 434.258.2448.

Sponsorship Opportunities: Attention progressive companies in Central Virginia or beyond, have a chance to meet talented folks on the cutting edge. Get a little company visibility on this site, and others (as applicable) and at the event. Pick up the tab – that simple. And if you have free stuff you want to pass out, that’s always good! If you’re interested, please contact Cheryl Smith by email or call 434.258.2448.

What am I missing? What suggestions do you have for the TweetUp? Who can you bring with you? Leave your feedback by clicking on the comment button below.

Recognition: Central VA TweetUp idea and initial conversations with @frankmartin and @nicktripp. TweetUp design by Lee-Graham.com

Guilt Free Twitter Blocking
Spammers. First email spam, now Twitter spam. These resourceful yet annoying people follow hundreds, thousands and even hundreds of thousands of people with the hopes of driving traffic to their websites. Think about it – if you’re checking out new followers, you typically click on their website links, right? Before automatically clicking on websites, read the bios and check out the tweets. If it looks like spam and smells like spam, it probably is. If any part of you thinks it’s spam, don’t even bother with the website. Block them. If you’re not sure, check it out and if you discover it’s spam, block them! Don’t retweet their @names nor pass along their URLs. The more times they’re blocked, the more likely their accounts will be closed…eventually.

Leisure Suit Larry. You know the guy. The first thing he does is come to your pool party and pee in your pool. He talks only about himself and never contributes anything of value to the conversation. He pushes only his stuff (blog posts, websites, product) and that’s that. Block away my friend. No remorse.

Party Babe. I’ve recently been intentional about blocking sex pistols and party girls. While those tweets may have entertainment value for some – not so much for me. I’m just sayin’. If the avatar looks like an audition headshot (or more) for Playboy, I’m pretty much going to block her. No worries.

The Perp. I was once followed by a guy whose entire following was made up of young, beautiful women/girls. Don’t get me wrong; I was flattered to be in the company of so many young beauties. Somehow, however, images of him reading my tweets in some dark room filled with cigarette smoke and the smell of days-old alcohol was enough for me to block him right away.

Sailor Mouth. My impressionable children sometimes watch me Twitter. I chose not to expose them to unnecessary profanity. Additionally, I do social networking presentations for groups (some of which are faith based) and don’t want to offend any of my own audience participants. I’m not so worried about an occasional word here or there. I’m talking consistent and crude. Reminds me of something I once heard, “people who curse do so because they have a limited vocabulary.”

Other Social Networking Invitations
I’m not sure my friending strategy is as well thought on LinkedIn, Plaxo, or Facebook. For the most part, those are more static platforms. The value they provide is different as is my level of engagement with each.

For another perspective, read Louis Gray’s recent post - As I Get Older, Some “Friending” Gets Creepier.

So now I’m curious.
Have you thought intentionally about who you allow to follow you on Twitter or friend you on other platforms? What’s your conclusion? Have you ever posted your policy? If so, share the link here. Keep the conversation going.

I use Twitter as a business tool so my reasons for choosing who I follow are based on my own business goals of keeping current on business issues, technology, trends, marketing, social networking, writing, and staying in tune with the non-profit and faith-based organizations. Here’s my Twitter Follow Strategy:

Observe others. I first heard of Twitter from Chris Brogan. Initially, I followed his conversations. If he communicated with someone, I figured he or she might be a good person to follow. Thankfully I found Becky McCray, Jon Swanson and Liz Strauss and many of the folks on my list. From there, I began watching those people’s conversations and used the same strategy.

Find like minds. At some point, I was doing a last name search to see if any of my relatives were Twittering. Though I’m not related, I stumbled upon Michael Hyatt. I’m interested in writing, publishing and faith-based topics so following him was a no brainer. Next I wanted to know who he was following so I looked through his “following” list. I read the bios, reviewed the tweet history, and checked out websites/blogs and About pages.  I didn’t want to seem like a weirdo stalker person, so I didn’t follow all of his following. Instead I picked a few and continue to add others over time, based on conversations and tweets.

Search keywords. I’ve recently started running so I want to follow people who are into running as well, so I can learn from them. I did a search on Summize and found @beyondjems. What a small world – she’s also connected to @michaelhyatt! As Grant notes in his post, you can now also search easily using Tweetdeck.

Follow backs. When I receive a new follower on Twitter, I look at his or her tweet history, bio, website/blog, and followers to following ratio. I make a “follow” decision based on what I see. Grant does a good job of explaining this in his post so I won’t duplicate. Here’s what I will say: don’t automatically discredit a new Twitterer. We were all new once, right? Maybe we should all make it a matter of practice to follow at least one new Twitter person a week. Just a thought.

One of my favorite books is Vital Friends by Tom Rath. In Chapter 2 he states,

“If we have already spent significant time on self-development, is it possible that most of the magic – our room for rapid personal and professional growth – lies in developing our friendships?”

As strange as it sounds to someone who doesn’t use or understand Twitter, in four short months, I feel as though I’ve seen rapid personal and professional growth, partly as a result of new Twitter “friends.”

• To my following: Thank you. Thanks for allowing me to follow your updates and learn from you. You are enriching my life.
• To my followers: My prayer is that in some small way, I am doing the same for you.

How do you grow your Twitter following? How have the people you’re following on Twitter enriched your life?

P.S. Click here for “Six Ways You Can Use Twitter Today” and here for “Tweople You Must Follow.” And of course, if you’re not already, follow me on Twitter.