Anthony Mendez' Post-amp

What happens outside of my voiceover studio

The company you keep

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As you move through life, you update your friends as often as you update your wardrobe. It's almost as if you recycle, reuse, and discard your social group. It's a part of life. There are a select few that you keep around, because there's obviously some mutual benefit to those relationships. That's just the way it is. It's part of growing up. There are major moments - like graduating from high school or moving away - that present you with an opportunity to reinvent yourself and so you make new friends that know you for who you are at that moment in time. Facebook has ruined this.

Yes, reconnecting with old friends can be fun. Sure, connecting with family abroad or across the country can be heartwarming. But what if you're happy with leaving old friends behind; as a mere memory of your past life? A lot has happened to people you think you still know. So, are they still the same people? I'd venture to guess they're not. Although, based on some Facebook comments you might have received from your ol' school peeps, apparently not much has changed (specifically their level of maturity.) This brings me to the question:

Is the company you keep now more important than ever before?

On Twitter, if someone says something immature, profane, or bordering on sexual harassment, it's that person that embarrasses themselves or, worse, does damage to their own reputation. Not to mention, a simple block, will no longer allow that person to see your tweets in their stream. In contrast, with Facebook, every single one of your friends, contacts, or even Mom, can see that person's comments on your page. It's almost an unofficial endorsement of their stupidity.

Am I wrong? I don't believe in protecting your tweets just like I don't believe in having a Facebook wall that people can't post on; that would be counterproductive (not to mention it says that you like to be heard but don't like to listen.) But I do believe in making the distinction between the two and taking into account that the company you keep does indeed reflect on you as an individual and as a professional. 'Time to graduate.

-Anthony

P.S. Wow - that's two posts about social media within a week's time. Tomorrow, we'll discuss cookies and cupcakes.

Defending social media

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As you can see, my DVR is 95% full (and I'm finally watching The Defenders.) I've pretty much given up on getting it to anywhere below 90% what with all the series and season premieres these past two weeks. Even if I delete after watching (or viewing some OnDemand,) I still can't clear enough space.

Today, I tweeted and Facebooked (what's the verb for FB? I believe it's called "bragging") about it and received a comment from fellow voice-over artist Ron Levine. He showed me a DVR Expander - which is basically an external USB hard drive specifically targeted at digital-hoarders like myself. I received other suggestions as well from several people about adapting a regular USB drive for the same purpose, getting another DVR box, or manning-up and taking back control of our entertainment (not gonna happen.)

What I loved most about this, is that all of the suggestions were sincere attempts to help (or poke fun at me.) No affiliate links; no "brands" trying to sell me anything. Just helpful tips from real people. That doesn't happen every day. Just a day or two ago, I tweeted (or ranted) about colleagues inquiring about your business. I was almost immediately engaged by another voice-over artist (for some reason, tons of voice-over artists tend to follow other voice-over artists and call it networking) who agreed with my point. It only took about two more tweets before she invited me to register for her webinar - at a fee of course. Uh... no thanks. I thought we were friends. Foolish me.

I'm not throwing stones here. I too tried my hand at internet marketing, only to have found myself going to bed nauseous every night. And so, I now use twitter and Facebook to converse with people who either do things for a living that fascinate me or have a similar passion for creativity, family, the arts, technology, and entertainment in general. Sometimes, those very same people hire me.  Sometimes, we just share a laugh. Sometimes, we share war stories. And, sometimes, we support each other as independent creative people. Other times I end up buying something from them; not because they pitched me, but because I like them and what they have to say. So, after looking at their profile and visiting their website, I buy something. It's like getting "more" of that person.

Give more of yourself. Your real self. It's refreshing. There's nothing wrong with talking about what you've done or feel proud of having accomplished, but, I beg of you, just don't sell me anything. I'm not interested in your product. I'm interested in you - especially if you're not a voice-over artist (but rather a real person that is.)

Here's to the real people online! You put the social in social media. Group hug.

-Anthony