Followers - Raul Colon - photographer, digital marketer & writer living on the beach in Puerto Rico.

Defining Influence with 3 Key Questions

January 10, 2011 by Raul Colon

I see how many people try to measure the influence of themselves and other individuals. Online their are various tools which measure influence. I have tried many with the purpose of understanding how they measure influence.

The problem with many of these tools measuring influence with numbers, re-tweets, twitter follows, blog subscriptions, and many others. I do understand and believe this will give you a general idea but the biggest problem with Influence is that it is tied to too many factors.

So in reality there is no right, wrong, or precise way to measure it. So I will try to define influence with a few factors.

1. How do you benefit from Influence?

By having the ability to influence the people around you we can move things forward without pushing, forcing, or telling others what to do. When I was in the military I interacted with many people who thought that just by having a rank they where influential. In reality the most influential people where the one’s what where examples to follow. Those eventually scaled up in rank quicker or decided to leave the military to a structure where influence would be more valuable than having a position of authority.

2. How does Influence affect the workplace?

In any work environment having influence will make your job easier. When you gain support from peers, managers, or subordinates you are able to accomplish a lot more. I have see how influence creates tighter relationships at all levels of many organizations. I have heard on many occasions how people will execute faster and enjoy their job a lot more when they have a figure of authority or team member that influences them.

3. How to Influence People?

When people see that you really care that usually is the start in influencing people. I think that by not caring many people who could influence others very easily end up not having that ability. There are certain general skills that should be part of your ability to influence:

Interpersonal
Communication
Presentation

Don’ts on achieving influence

If you want to influence you need to persuade, care, and build your community. What you don’t want to do is to push or bully people into what you think is right. If you push someone to do something against their will or when they have no interest your community and influence deteriorate greatly. Online I have seen grown people from Lawyers to Public Relations professionals bullying people into accepting what they think is right. Those people don’t realize that they lose credibility and their ability to influence.

How do I approach Influence?

In reality I don’t think about influencing people I just do what I think is right. I focus on helping people and connecting with those people who have similar interests. I might not have much influence but if I can help just one person with my actions it is well worth it.

How do you define influence?

Do you focus on gaining influence?

What other skills or qualities do you see in highly influential people?

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7 Reasons Why Santa Claus Stays Away from Social Media?

December 8, 2010 by Raul Colon

I have been a Fan of Santa Claus since I was a kid. Each time I see an image of Santa, it brings memories of my childhood. I hope that magic will return once Daniela comes into our World in the next few days.

I spend a got amount of time on twitter & other social media platforms and I was able to find a @santaclaus account on Twitter to have very few followers and not linked to the Real Santa.

Being a Twitter Fan I saw a huge disconnection since in Real Life Santa Claus has built a huge following for centuries. Not many of us have the advantage of being a legend without loosing influence. Good old St. Nick has kept his influence over history.

Thinking of Christmas, Santa Claus, and Social Media made me I started think of 7 reasons why Santa Claus might not be as active on Social Media platforms.

1. Excess of Followers.

Santa has a following that even @ricky_martin would fall short of (I invite you to Learn a Few Lessons on how to use Social Media from @ricky_martin). Having build community for such a long time and keeping so many people engaged social media might really not add to value to his effort.

2. Omnipresent.

Only St. Nick has the ability to be at multiple locations. During the Holiday season Santa is at the mall, parades, department stores, or even the near the corner of the street. For most of us trying to contact multiple people at the same time can be difficult since we can only be at one place at a time. So if you are not Santa Claus it might be a good idea if you use Twitter, Linkedin, Facebook, a blog, or any other channel to get your message across.

3. Letters take more than 140 characters.

Most people when they make their letters to Santa use more than 140 characters. This causes Santa to have less time for social media platforms and it makes it ineffective for him to communicate via twitter.

4. Multiple Identities.

Santa Claus is known by various names such as but not limited too Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, San Nicolas, and my favorite like the pronounce it here in Puerto Rico Santa Cló. It would be difficult for him to settle on one user name per platform and handling multiple account would only take more time away from his preparation for Christmas.

5. Multiple Image Make-Over.

Throughout history St. Nick has been given multiple image makeovers. It is recommended to keep an Avatar that is the same in across all platforms. Not only does St. Nick have previous images, which differentiate themselves from each other, I have seen multiple variations of St. Nick at the mall, pictures, parades, and other areas where his image is shared. I think having just one image to identify him would make him lose his magic (and might put in jeopardy his ability to be omnipresent).

6. He is always giving.

Santa keeps his followers and community close by showering them with gifts and never asking for anything in return (other than asking you to behave which should be done anyway). Given his long-standing reputation he can still grow his community without using social media. If you feel like working on giving please click here & donate to one of my favorite charities @serpuertorico.

7. Influence.

Can you think of anyone that is expected to visit once a year and is more influential? When we where kids I remember how when it got close to Christmas they would manipulate and control us by only mentioning Santa Claus. I have a good friend who resembles Santa Claus very much and during the Holiday Season he would wear a Santa Hat and have candy canes in his pocket. You cannot imagine how when kids where acting up at a restaurant with only their parents would point our way and by John ( I mean Santa) looking at them it would quickly fix their behavior.

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Me and My Good Friend John Duncan’s Santas Helper (December 2006)

I hope this post helps you evaluate and identify if you have any of Santa’s attributes or resources. If you don’t then you really need to start using social media platforms to get your message across.

I might have missed other reasons if you think of one get into the spirit of sharing and feel free to share any other reasons why you think Santa might not be active in Social Media?

There is a chance for you to have something in common with Santa: you can share the spirit of giving. You can donate to your favorite charity or one of my favorite charities like @serpuertorico, which is running a great online fund raising campaign.

Feel free to click the next image and find more information on the campaign.

PS. A special thanks to @robertbravery who wrote a great post on the 10 Blog post ideas for this December, Christmas Season and inspired me to write this one.

The Only Follower I Worry About!

October 13, 2010 by Raul Colon

I make sure everyday I can lead the way for him!

Out of the people that I follow on twitter or any other channel I Do Worry if this Person stops following me!

I remember 26 years ago on this date being 4 years old and receiving news that impacted me in a positive way.

I remember my Uncle Carmelo was getting married and my mom had been rushed to the hospital earlier. As we where getting ready for my uncle’s wedding my Dad gave me the great news that my Younger Brother Javier had been born.

The Earliest Photo of me and my brother bonding

From that moment on I have felt a strong responsibility in protecting my brother and providing him with whatever he needs. Yesterday I wrote a post on this blog related to the obsession of people wanting followers for the numbers.

I still don’ t get why people are so obsessed with having random people following them when in some occasions they don’t really care about other people and those other people don’t care about them.

My First Puerto Rico Boy Scout Camp Out with my Brother,

Ponce, PR Summer 1992

Being that today was my brother’s birthday I noticed that I would worry if Javier stops following me.

The main reason I worry if he does not follow me is because I sincerely care for him and love him. Throughout the years my brother has become a man who I admire for all the great things he does.

He has a great heart and is a very sacrificed father.

I have always tried my hardest to serve as an example for my brother to follow. On many occasions I might have failed him (nobody’s perfect) but overall I think I have done a fairly good job.

I remember when we where kids and he always looked up to me for everything. He would tell kids at the park how great I played basketball, football, baseball, and that I ran faster than most of them.

Reality was that my brother was blinded by love and he saw me as an action hero even though I was average at sports.

He was such a great follower that even when growing up in a rough neighborhood when we ran into trouble he would not think twice into stepping into harms way to make sure I was ok (even though he was a lot younger than me). He became fearless and his primary motivation was to protect his older brother.

A Good Example of My Brother Protecting Me

During my 30 years I have lead people in many scenarios from the Army to IT Consulting projects but I have never felt better satisfaction than being a leader for my brother.

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Quality Time with my Brother September 2007

I only wished that he was closer. I don’t think he understand how grateful I was that I got to spend a lot of quality time with him this past week. Having the opportunity to go see a Broadway play was one of the peaks of my complete month of traveling but what made it more special was his presence.

DSCN4766-1024x768 The Only Follower I Worry About! — “In The Heights” Broadway

Before Watching in the Heights on Broadway October 3, 2010

So please join me in leaving birthday wishes for my youngest brother Javier.

I really love him.

Although I know this blog post will not top your friends Birthday Cake from last year but at least I tried.

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So if at any moment I need to worry about losing a follower it would be losing the trust and following of my youngest brother. But something I have realized is that I have also always been there for him as his #1 Follower and I love him dearly.

More Photos of My Brother and I