On this week’s #PRStudCast episode, I had a great conversation with Deirdre Breakenridge and Valerie Simon about how the execution of Twitter’s #FollowFriday must be changed. It’s intent is to recommend Tweeters to your followers because of the content they provide or even a personal friendship you may have with that person. I love the concept, but it has lost its value because it has just become a mass weekly shout out that provides no depth or substantial recommendations. So, I am following the lead of blogs such as Spin Sucks and Jason Mollica’s “One Guy’s Journey” and dedicating an entire post to a Tweeter that I think you should all follow.
My #FollowFriday for this week is Jeff Gibbard, the Director of the Social Media Practice Group at Devine & Powers (hell of a name, huh?) in Philadelphia. I must disclose that Jeff has become a great friend over the past year, but I still stand beside the reasons WHY you should all follow him. Not to mention he also went to both Drexel and Temple!
I don’t mean this in any demeaning way, but Jeff is a social media geek. Whether you read his blog, Social Media Philanthropy or sit down and have a drink with him, you will instantly realize that he lives and breathes this stuff. He understands the aspect of being social and how to utilize the available platforms and technologies to his greatest advantage.
Not only does he understand the power of being conversational and social, but he also understands the numbers game in social media that many (if not all) of us are still trying to figure out. There are metrics and measurements to social media that cannot be overlooked and I feel that Jeff is going to be a leading voice in 2011 as we do figure out how to measure our social media efforts a little more.
Jeff always expresses his admiration and respect for industry thought leaders such as Chris Brogan (Jeff’s man-crush haha) and Jason Falls. While those guys are clearly a big influence in Social Media, I think Jeff’s understanding and utilization of Social Media isn’t too far behind Chris and Jason.
So if you’re going to do one thing this Friday; other than listening to the #PRStudCast and watching the first episode of PR TV #shamelessplug, go follow Jeff. He is a great conversationalist and is always willing to share and learn from the Twitter community. I must say, if you want to find out who the real brains of the operation is, follow Jeff’s wife: Ellie Gibbard!
You can also VOTEfor Jeff in the Shorty Awards!