Are You Being There?

Bryan Allain wrote a tweet on Election Day.  This should surprise no one as he is apt to write tweets quite often.  I remember reading it and chuckling.  It was a good tweet.  It was funny.  I even quoted it to my family.  Then I forgot it.  That is I forgot until the next day when the news about  it.

It seems that this little innocent tweet about Ohio having 75% vowels had gone viral.  It received recognition from Time magazine as one of the better tweets of the day.  In other words, this tweet hit the big time.

I write a lot of tweets.  Many of them are just throw aways.  I have my fair share of retweets.  Here’s the thing though.  I write some that I am proud of.  I thing that they really pack a punch.  They say a lot.

Guess what happens?

Those usually fall flat.

Then I am mystified when some are retweeted and make the rounds.  I don’t understand what it is about them that makes people want to retweet.

That’s the point.  Some things resonate with some people and not with others.  A tweet hits at just the right time for someone.  A blog post is just what someone needs.

The key is being there.  A tweet hits someone’s funny bone.  A post is emotionally what someone requires one day.  Either way, you are there.

Being there builds communities.  Being there builds relationships.  Being there buys you credibility.

Being there resonates with all of your peeps.

It’s the same thing in our families.  Our relationships.  Our churches.

We have to be there.  If we aren’t there, then no matter what we say, we aren’t going to resonate with anyone.  We won’t have the impact on people that we want to.  We won’t be able to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ as He would have us to do.

Are you being there?

A Day Late Reviewing @BryanAllain’s Community Wins

If I had done what I was supposed to have done, you would have read this review yesterday.  Unfortunately, I simply did not read Bryan Allain’s  Community Wins: 21  Thoughts On Improving A Thriving Online Tribe until last night.

Approximately a year ago, I read Bryan’s 31 Days To Finding Your Blogging Mojo.  My blogging improved.  My online community grew.  I knew that I had it all figured out.

Now, a year later, Bryan has released his latest eBook.  I realize that I have just reached a point where I can really learn about blogging and building an online community.  Fortunately, Bryan helps those of us who want to do this without reinventing the wheel.  He boils much of his ten years of blogging experience into twenty-one easy lessons and thoughts that any of us can adapt for our own pursuits.

In fact, I would daresay that Bryan’s book is not really about building an online community.  It is simply about building community in whatever area of life you want to pursue it.

I highly recommend this book.  Head over to Amazon.   You can even follow this link.  You will receive a special treat today if you.

Hey Now, You’re An All-Star

Normally on Monday you tune in to find the First Church Year series.  Don’t worry, that will be back tomorrow.  Today, however, I have something different.  Way different.

After last year, they said it wouldn’t last.  The powers that be said it couldn’t be done again.  What happened?

Rob and Ricky upped the game.

It’s time for the 2nd Annual Blogging All Stars Challenge.

What is the Blogging All Stars Challenge?  It’s only the most awesome contest in the history of the internets.  It’s Team Rob vs. Team Ricky.  It’s Rob’s team of heavy hitters, with a small time guy vs. Ricky’s team of great guys and gals that we will soon call losers.

I am honored to participate in this.  Honestly, I was taken by surprise when Rob contacted me to participate.  Then I saw who was on our team.  Here is the rundown of Team Rob.

Tyler Stanton — C’mon, dude is a legend with all of the great videos he makes with Tripp.  Average’ is one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.

Tyler Tarver — Tyler is, well, like the only rapping math whiz I’ve ever seen.  He has revolutionized the To-Do List.  Plus, he has one of the greatest accents ever.

Jon Acuff — What can I say about my boy that I haven’t already said.  Best friends? Check.  Forever memories?  Check.  Unicorns and rainbows?  Check.

Carlos Whittaker— I don’t know Carlos very well.  I may be one of the few that don’t follow him on a regular basis.  That is to my detriment.  Carlos is a ragamuffin soul pursuing the Lord with all he’s got.

Leanne Shirtliffe — Yes, the Ironic Mom herself.  I don’t know her all that well either, but she is Canadian and I love her bacon.  We had a Twiter conversation once where we shared our love for the old days of SCTV.

Tamara Lunardo — Tamara is the only person I know who has actually made it to Freshly Pressed on Word Press.  She has a few tattoos, uses more colorful language than many of us, and love the Lord.  I also submitted a guest post to her, didn’t make it and created my own non-guest post about the experience that worried her for a few days.

Bryan Allain — This guy has the mojo.  Blogging mojo, that is. And he can show you how to get it in 31 days.  Plus, he’s got a Killer Tribe just for you.  Bryan lives in Amish country and never fails to disappoint.

Knox McCoy — Knox loves the Batchelor.  And the Batchelorette.  I’m not really sure why, but hey, I’m sure he would question some of my TV choices too.  On top of his own blog, which brings the meatloaf on Mondays, he runs TV Asylum with the aforementioned Tyler Stanton.

Stephen Haggerty — Stephen is bearded and an idealist.  He brings us other great beards on a monthly basis and great humor every time he puts character to screen.  He leads worship and will soon call Chik-Fil-A his office.

Then there’s me.  I look at this list of heavy hitters and I’m just glad to be riding their coat tails in this whole shebang.

If you want to know about the competition, you will have to visit Rob’s site and check them out.  You will be checking out the losing team of the contest, but you need to go over there anyway.  (Note: I love everyone on the other team.  I just love to trash talk.)

Now, about this contest.  I need your help. Follow the link and head on over to Rob’s place and vote.  Vote for Team Rob.  Vote early and often.  If you have a dog or cat, get them to vote.  If you have a cemetery nearby, get those folks to vote.  Retweet this blog post and share it on Facebook.  I want to win.  Because that will make me a winner.  And I don’t want the consolation prizes like Turtle Wax and Rice-A-Roni.

Will you vote for Team Rob?  A vote for Rob’s team means you love puppies and order in the universe.  And go visit the blog sites for all of the great bloggers in this contest.

The Weekly Round-Up: Killer Tribes Edition

I’ve been taking the last few Saturdays to highlight other bloggers that I read and pay attention to.  Today, in honor of the Killer Tribes Conference,  I’m going to highlight some Killer Tribes associated folks.

First, let me say what exactly Killer Tribes is.  Killer Tribes is a community of bloggers that helps each other extend their reach.  You can find out more at Killer Tribes.

Let’s start with the lead Killer Tribenian, Bryan Allain.  Check out his blog here.  He writes a humor blog that just might make you LOL.  Also, read his book 31 Days To Finding Your Blogging Mojo even if you aren’t a blogger.

Next up is Tamara Lunardo.  You can read her blog at Tamara Out Loud.  I did a non-guest post for her on my blog once that scared the dickens out of her.  If you read her, you will find that you probably will find plenty to disagree with and just might be offended from time to time.  That’s ok with me.  One of downfalls of not getting to go to Killer Tribes is not getting to meet Tamara.

Finally is my friend Chad Jones.  He blogs over at Randomly Chad.  You will find Chad writes some of the funniest, most bizarre, coolest stuff.  He’s been my friend on Twitter and in the Blogosphere for some time now and one of these days I will get to meet him.

That’s about it this week.  Before I leave I do have one more thing.  March was the best month I’ve had on the Deuceology blog.  That’s because of all of you folks.  Thanks for stopping by and reading.