I was privileged enough to have a small part of last night’s TV launch. The producers spoke with me about my views on Detroit, Michigan, and where I think we will be in 2020. Who am I and why was I a small part of this great initiative? I’m no one special really. I’m just a little girl who grew up in northern Michigan as a ward of the state. I’m wife and mother of two who currently lives in the suburbs. I am someone who is crazy enough to quit her corporation job and become an entrepreneur in the middle of a recession. I am no one, yet I represent what is within everyone. I am a survivor. I take the hard road and I learned this valuable trait from my beloved Grandmother, who also was a survivor.

The #backchannel

Historically I’ve been an NBC news kind of girl. But then I attended TEDxDetroit and I listened to Stephen Clark from local ABC’s affiliate WXYZ-TV. I learned about the backchannel. He was using the #backchannel as a Twitter hashtag to interact with the viewers of Detroit and to listen to them. Quite a different concept from the standard network policy that just pushes content to you in a one-way forum. He started a movement here in Detroit. He reached out and he created change. Ed Fernandex at WXYZ-TV continued this movement and with the help of Donella Crawford and some other key players, they are making a difference. They launched a new website at www.Detroit2020.com and began alerting people of what was coming via their TV broadcasts, Facebook, and Twitter. Many of us sat and waited with enthusiasm for the launch of Detroit 2020 and what was to come.

While I don’t know exactly how many people tuned into last night’s launch, I know it was a lot. I have had a lot of friends and family call, email, text, or reach out via Facebook and Twitter to say they saw me on one of last night’s spots. I’ve read comments on Facebook and Twitter and the Detroit 2020 website. I even checked my website’s visitor log via Google Analytics to see how many people Googled my company after the broadcast. Here is the interesting fact: everyone except for one came from outside of the core city of Detroit. My website visitors came from Allen Park, Ann Arbor, Birmingham, Clawson, Clinton, Commerce Township, Dearborn Heights, Detroit, Drayton Plains, Farmington, Flint, Hamtramck, Harper Woods, Howell, Lincoln Park, Livonia, Macomb, Monroe, New Haven, Oak Park, Rochester, Royal Oak, Southfield, Sterling Heights, Taylor, Troy, Waterford, West Bloomfield, Westland, and Wixom.

But Isn’t Detroit 2020 Just About Detroit?

Well yes and no. It is about Detroit and it is about Southeastern Michigan. It’s about what we, the region, will do to give Detroit rebirth and rejuvenate our state. It is about our ability as a community to unify together, to inspire each other, and to act. It is about the survival of the city of Detroit, the state of Michigan, and each and every one of us. It is about our ability to act together and change the world.  Given the geographical placement of visitors to my website, I believe the region is interested in raising up the city of Detroit and giving her renewed life.

I am an idealist. I didn’t know this until recently. And honestly, I wasn’t an idealist until later in my life. As a child I was negative and scared and confused. But a village of good people raised me and they changed me. As adult I see possibilities and when needed, I embrace change. I believe in the theory “it takes a village to raise a child” and I believe in giving back to the community. I believe I need to help raise the village around me; just as so many helped raise me, the child, some twenty years ago.

Everyone Can Do Something

I believe everyone can do something and the key to doing something is finding and using your inner superpower. I wish my superpower was something fabulous like bringing school supplies, blankets, and hugs to the children of India like my friends Tim and Amy, but for so many reasons, it is not. I wish I could participate in a Habitat for Humanity project, but I am clumsy. My superpower is Internet marketing and I will use it to help raise my village and help bring back my city and my state.  Over the years I have used it by building free websites for organizations like food banks, community centers, or churches. In the grand scheme of things, this is so small, but it is what is within my ability. It is a use of my inner superpower. WXYZ-TV is using their superpower and they’re doing a remarkable job. So much so that they’ve converted me from being a loyal Channel 4 viewer and they’ve inspired me to ramp up my efforts within my village. I am hoping they will inspire the rest of our region to do the same.

A very unexpected person said to me this morning, “I saw you last night on TV. You said you don’t live in Detroit but it is still your city. I can’t get that comment out of my head.” While I absolutely meant what I said, I was very surprised that this little comment made an impact. It is my city, my state, and my home. I believe this with all my heart. I pledge to use my superpower to help WXYZ-TV make a positive impact on Detroit and give us rebirth. I pledge to make a difference and use the little superpower I have to do good. I pledge to raise up my village like so many people participated in raising me as a child.

This is just the introduction, but it shows you there is so much to come as this endeavor gains momentum.

What is Your Inner Superpower?

You have more to give than you think. In December our elementary school raised money to provide mittens for children at a school in Detroit. My husband always stops the car when he sees someone needing help. A few ago my daughter took her piggy bank to school to help a local family who lost their home to a fire. All of these are relatively small acts, but together they make a difference. Small acts can unify us and inspire us to make a greater impact.

Get inspired, unify within your community, and most important, find your inner superpower. Figure out how to use it do good for those around you in need.

Before leaving the house today I posted a status update on Facebook that stated I was headed to #140Conf Detroit. I added a brief explanation for my sister in Atlanta so she would know what I was talking about in my update. She is a bartender by trade and my world is foreign to her. I am foreign to her, but that is okay. We are united by blood and by birth. My Facebook mingling continues as older sister in South Carolina chimes in and makes a comment that she doesn’t get Twitter and some day I’ll have to teach her. I can’t teach her. Twitter isn’t about teaching you how to communicate or how to have a conversation. It is about connecting, just like the rest of social media.

Social Media Creates a Community

Communities like Twitter and Facebook are truly about connecting, having a conversation, and communicating with others. They represent a conscious effort to engage. They are not a lesson. For me, Facebook ends up being where I communicate most with my sisters. Not because I’m a social misfit, but because I am a multi-tasking mom of two, who owns her own business, and who has to run a household in addition to taking care of her family. I am today’s generation of mommies. Many of us don’t have time for coffee dates and long discussions. My close friends understand this and my sisters accept it. My use of Facebook and Twitter is partly who I am and partly because social media allows me to connect with others in an efficient manner. It also allows me to learn from others and embrace the idea of knowledge transfer. A significant amount of information can be processed in a short period of time and this is my favorite thing about Twitter. I can digest massive amounts of data, news, and industry updates over a cup of coffee. I absolutely love it.

Many of my website design and SEO clients ask the same questions my sister does. Why should they use Twitter? They say they don’t “get it”. They ask why I think their business needs to be on Twitter? Well, I’ll answer that by personal experience. I have prospects and tangible revenue come to me via Twitter. I also communicate back via Twitter. I connected with my boat manufacturer to thank them for their excellent customer service and I yell at GoDaddy when their technical support refuses to help me. It is a method of communication that transcends generations, economic status, and geography. It connects the president of a large corporation with the stay at home mom in Idaho. It unites us and it creates a community.

Social Media Connects Us

Because of Facebook I feel more connected with my sisters than I have in years past because I can see images from their lives and I can read impromptu comments they would not otherwise share. I cried as I found and reconnected with family I lost some twenty years ago. I cried when my Facebook connections informed me my younger cousin passed away. And I was thankful for the information and the internet’s ability to deliver information quickly and in time to round up my sisters to head home for the funeral.

I also feel more connected as a consumer. I have used my electronic voice to give a last ditch effort to service providers like GoDaddy. I beg them to fix my issue before I move my business elsewhere. It worked multiple times and as a consumer I feel empowered. GoDaddy called my home – yes my home – and resolved my problem. I stayed and calmed down and gave GoDaddy not just one chance but about ten thousand more it seems.

Social Media Empowers Us to Drives Change

I also see it reshaping the city of Detroit and the state of Michigan. I have local Detroit hip hop clients and when it comes to Twitter and social media, they are some of the most miraculous examples of all. The Detroit hip hop community has absolutely embraced Twitter and I love the fact that an inner city Detroit musician can grow his fan base and sell music via the internet. I applaud the hip hop community for using their creativity and adopting the newest technology available. You are a tribute to American ingenuity and an example for all those who doubt the power of Twitter, Facebook, or other social media platforms.

I also applaud all of those wonderful people I’ve discovered through the TEDxDetroit and #140Conf events. There is a huge movement within Detroit to energize the city and the state. There is a growing movement of change and of rebirth. Detroit is filled with ordinary people doing extraordinary things and using Facebook and Twitter to share their message and their work. There is hope within Detroit. Part of this is because there is an electronic community that helps empower those who may not have had earlier opportunities to be empowered. This electronic community is now merging into physical communities via events like TEDxDetroit and #140Conf.

Find Your Electronic Voice and Join the Movement

Tomorrow is increasingly shaping itself into a digital world and those who believe they can ignore it are sadly mistaken. Follow the likes of Detroit and make small efforts for change. You will see that some of the most remarkable people are sitting on Facebook or Twitter, just waiting for you to find them and join their movement.

Take a moment to sign up for a Twitter account and fight the urge to leave it unloved when you don’t immediately get it. I didn’t get it at first either and I hated the 140 character limit. Now I love it and I start my day with coffee and Twitter and Facebook. Give it a chance and you might just love it too. You might even generate some business from it like I have done over the last year.

Article Resources:

• @WebSavvyMrkting on Twitter
• #140Conf Detroit
• TEDxDetroit
• Lemonade Detroit or Help Produce Lemonade Detroit
• Loveland Micro Real Estate (Buy a Piece of Detroit)

Author’s Note:  I’ve bought a piece of Detroit real estate and I’ve bought frames in Lemonade Detroit.

Earlier this summer we experienced some problems with our Malibu Wakesetter. While it sat in service, by husband called the owner of Skiers Pier, our local Malibu dealership. My husband had know Ron, the owner, since he was a kid and Ron was a major factor in us buying our Wakesetter back in 2008. He had complete confidence in Ron addressing our concerns. I, in turn, vented my frustration on Twitter. My tweet was:

Skiers Pier please finish my @malibuboats Wakesetter so I could enjoy the sunny weather this week! Stuck in service hell for weeks. #fail

I did not expect any action on this, I was just venting. I spend the majority of my day on Twitter managing social media accounts for my clients. Complaining online is normal for me. My husband just about died when I stated what I had done.

But something magical happened. I say magical, because it is rare. Within thirty minutes I had a direct message on Twitter from Malibu Boats. They had already called Skiers Pier and left a message with Ron about my boat. They promised to help resolve whatever issues I was encountering.

Before I knew it, they did. In fact, Malibu Boats and Skiers Pier were so great at their customer service; my husband and I traded in our two year old Wakesetter for one that could hold three more people. Our “super cool” boat became even cooler because we could hold more people and spread our boating love even further.

While Skiers Pier may not have a clue about social media and Twitter, Malibu Boats makes great use of their Twitter account. And while Ron may not be a computer guy, my husband and son love him and he is one of the best examples of good old fashion customer service. That is a rarity these days.

After all this played out, I had to publically thank Malibu Boats for their exceptional customer service on and off the computer. Skiers Pier could not have taken care of us as well as they did if Malibu Boats was not supporting their efforts from afar. I may be quick to vent on Twitter, but I’m also quick to compliment and provide praise. My next tweets were:

Off to Skiers Pier to pick up our new @malibuboats Wakesetter! Many thanks to Ron and Malibu Boats for such excellent customer service!

@malibuboats – The new Wakesetter made the perfect Father’s day gift. Surfing in the Michigan sun is the best way to spend the day for Dad.

So Malibu Boats, I salute you and your entire team. Not only are you great at customer service, you are great at social media. You may have won my husband’s heart back in 1985, but in 2010 you won mine. And quite frankly, you’ve also won the accolades of everyone we invite to share our love for Wakesetters, lake surfing, and long summers days spent enjoying the warmth and sun in Michigan.

I am not only a Michigan girl; I was raised in a very small northern Michigan town that financially existed off of tourism. The survival of my little town of roughly 2,000 people is based on the cottage rentals, canoe trips, and bar tabs of summer vacationers. In recent years I’ve watched many of these businesses close as tourism flattened in the harsh local economy. It has broken my heart. No matter how different I find myself now, these people and this town are my home and my roots.

This summer I watched Michigan push back. Instead of trying to spend oodles of budget funds on high-end advertising, the state diversified and used the Internet to extend their marketing dollars. Personally, I think they exceeded. I found myself reconsidering an out of state vacation for a local vacation up north. I considered the long-term strength of my vacationing dollars and the difference it would have on the local economy within Michigan. I stopped to think and I did so often. In reality, I thought each time a Pure Michigan ad campaign came across my Facebook page or my email’s inbox.

I applaud the State of Michigan and the marketing team that put together this social media campaign. While my approval means little in relationship to the national recognition they have already received, I am local and it is my tax dollars that have been used to fund this campaign. I know not every Michigander will approve, I do not care because this Michigander does approve. As an Internet marketing professional, I know the value of social media and I believe Michigan has done a great job of executing their social media campaign and using their marketing dollars wisely.