Dr. Ai Zhang: Digitial Learning Consultant
By Cheval John
Dr. Ai Zhang returns to What’s The Word? to share about her popular facebook live show, “Classroom Without Walls.”
She started as a professor of public relations at Stockton University almost ten years ago.
During that time, she had an epiphany that changed the direction of how she taught social media for public relations students.
While she was grading one of her students’ paper, she noticed they never heard of pinterest and twitter chats.
In that moment of shock, she shifted her mentality and dive right into twitter chats and it changed the way how she taught social media to her public relations students.
At the same time, her Twitter account grew exponentially.
Dr. Zhang moved to South Korea last year and started her blog on Medium.
A month later, she began “Classroom Without Walls” where she interviews education professionals and social media professionals.
The show has been watched from around the world on a weekly basis.
In this episode, you will hear:
-why producing content consistently is important
-how major media companies are starting their own live streaming network
-why the declaration of facebook zero is just an over-reaction
-Dr. Zhang’s perspective of watching the Winter Olympics in South Korea via their media organization
Snippet on Vallano Media TV
Full episode on BlogTalkRadio:
Website: www.aiaddysonzhang.com
Facebook: Ai Addyson-Zhang Digital Learning Consultant
Twitter: @AiAddysonZhang
Quotes from Dr. Zhang will be available soon
Sarah Stahl of Avant Creative
By Cheval John
Today’s episode of What’s The Word? features Sarah Stahl of Avant Creative.
Mrs. Stahl is a veteran of the arm forces and has spent many years as an entrepreneur.
In this episode, you will hear:
-why she thought about leaving the entrepreneur world
-the importance of live video
-why businesses should engage more with their audience on social media
Snippet of Vallano Media TV
Full episode on BlogTalkRadio
Website: www.avant-creative.com
Twitter: @Mrsdstahl
Quotes from this interview will be available soon
Jenn Herman, Author and Founder of Jenn’s Trends
by Cheval John
This week’s episode of What’s The Word? features Jenn Herman, founder of Jenn’s Trends.
Jenn’s Trends has been named a Top Ten Blog by Social Media Examiner in 2014, 2015 and 2016.
Jenn has author/co-author three books including Instagram for Business for Dummies.
She has been featured in media outlets including Inc. Magazine, Yahoo Finance, and Fox News.
In this episode, you will hear
-how she started Jenn’s Trends
-why businesses should not over-react with the algorithm changes in Facebook
-how she got the opportunity to co-author the Instagram For Dummies Book
-why businesses should embrace live video
Snippet on Vallano Media TV
Full episode on BlogTalkRadio
This episode was recorded on Facebook Live via Blue Jeans Network
Website: www.jennstrends.com
Twitter: @jenns_trends
Quotes from Jenn Herman will be out soon.
Jen Oleniczak Brown: Author and Founder of The Engaging Educator
By Cheval John
February 28th, 2018
Today’s episode of What’s The Word? features Jen Oleniczak Brown, founder of The Engaging Educator.
The company helps organizations find their authentic voice to be successful.
Jen worked in a museum when she started the company on the side in 2012.
As of today, The Engaging Educator has served more than 30,000 students across 33 states.
Jen written a book called “Improv(e), Using Improv To Find Your Voice, Style, And Self” from her experience in running her business.
In this episode, you will hear:
-what led Jen to found her company
-why she self-publish her book
-why people should engage on social media
-how her acting background helped her to be successful with her company
This episode was recorded on Facebook Live via Blue Jeans Network
Snippet on Vallano Media TV
Full Episode on BlogTalkRadio
You can also subscribe to the show on Apple Podcast, Stitcher and Google Play Music.
Jen’s Company Website: www.theengagingeducator.com
Twitter: @JenOleniczak
Quotes from Jen Oleniczak Brown on:
SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK
I just found a self-publisher that I liked.
A close friend designed my front and back cover.
Of a million edits beyond anything, there’s is still one error that people keep pointing out to me and I’m like, “Thank You”
OVERCOMING FAILURE
I teach people to make mistakes and to fail.
It’s better to fail than to wonder what if.
It is such a powerful thing to fail because when you are in your worst, I think you learn the most because you are at the lowest possible point you could be in.
In that same sense, when you want to create something, it’s never gonna be perfect on the get-go.
It’s always gonna be something.
How I see failure is by knowing my definition of success.
My definition of success is doing something and pushing forward.
So failure for me is doing nothing.
As long as I am not sitting back and waiting for the world to happen to me, then I’m succeeding.
If the first step back that sets you back and causes you to quit, then you probably aren’t doing the right work.
I think it’s like one of those ideas that if you love what you do, the hard times are worth it.
I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
I couldn’t imagine being anything but what I am right now.
I look back at how upset I was when I quit acting and I was like, “Oh, that so strange” because now you can’t get me on stage.
I hate it.
I have no interest in doing it.
I’m glad I didn’t end up on a movie or something that made me a lot of money because I feel like I would not be as happy as I am right now.
IMPROV AND SOCIAL MEDIA
Improv is listening and responding.
That’s it.
At it’s core, you listen to what’s happening around you.
Not just with your ears, you’re listening with your eyes.
You are seeing what is happening around you in all senses and responding to your environment.
If you think about social media, we are not only taking it in, we are responding to it.
We are adding our opinion.
We are adding attention to it.
When you are truly thinking about being social on social media, you want to be having conversation.
You want to be responding. You don’t want to be spouting out information.
If you are spouting out information, then you have a firm reason about why you are doing this like your means to an end.
Is it just because this is what you do and this is the only thing you do?
Then that’s not social.
It’s just informative.
If we were having a conversation like this, it won’t be fun if we’re not listening or paying attention to one another.
If you ask me, “Jen, tell me about your book” and I start talking about my dog, then it’s a disjointed thing.
I think people do that often on social media for some reason.
The facebook change is attempting to bring it back to the roots of having a conversation like I say something, you say something, I say something back.
In improv, that’s actually called a three line conversation.
I see all of my interactions on social media as a three line conversation where my job is not to negate what someone else said.
My job is to add something to it, even if I disagree because it’s all just opinions.
Instead of saying like “hey you think that social media needs to be super social, but I like to consume things,” I negated what you think.
I’m just choosing to be social in this too.
I think people are running for the hills because we’ve automated so much.
You can’t schedule everything anymore.
You have to communicate.
You have to be part of something.
You can’t just say, “Well, I’ve got my month scheduled out” or “My social media intern can run this.”
Critical conversation is not attacking people.
Examining behavior isn’t attacking.
It’s asking someone to practice what they preach.
You are just calling them out on what they are saying.
Dr. Joyce Knudsen, Founder of The ImageMaker, Inc® Communications Group
By Cheval John
February 21st, 2018
Today’s episode of What’s The Word? features Dr. Joyce Knudsen, founder of The ImageMaker, Inc® Communications Group
It was recorded on Facebook Live via Blue Jeans Network
Dr. Joyce is the author of ten books including “Refusing To Quit: True Stories of Women Over The Age of 60”
She is the host of “The Twelve Minute Inspiration,” where she interviews authors, business professionals and entrepreneurs on making your time count during your lifetime.
The show is on the Gab Radio Network.
Dr. Joyce has been featured in many media outlets including Forbes.
I first learned of Dr. Joyce last year through the twitter chat called #winniesun, hosted by the co-founder of Sun Group Wealth Management, Winnie Sun.
Her simple approach to being a giver of wisdom allowed her to build over a million followers on Twitter.
In my personal opinion, she is more knowledgable of the social media industry than half of the social media professionals.
In this episode, you will hear:
-her thoughts on podcasting
-how she built over a million followers on twitter
-why people should focus on giving value on social media
-why she does not believe in retirement
Snippet on Vallano Media TV
Full episode on BlogTalkRadio
You can also subscribe to the show on Apple Podcast, Stitcher and Google Play Music.
Website: www.drjoyceknudsen.com
Twitter: @drjoyce_knudsen
Quotes from Dr. Joyce Knudsen on:
LISTENING TO YOUR AUDIENCE
People do not listen.
They are listening to figure out what to say next.
So they are not really interested in what someone else has to say.
I call those fake people because people that are interested in other people listen.
They not only listen to what they have to say, they look at the person’s expression, the nonverbal which we are being judged on.
We are not being judged on conversation.
We are being judged on gestures.
Only seven percent of what you say is really going to be heard or counted.
It’s very interesting.
I am a communication specialist.
So I know a lot about how people perceive and everything is perception.
There is no such thing as something that is true.
It is your perception of what is true.
Perception is reality.
USING SOCIAL MEDIA
There’s a lot of true takers on Twitter.
I’m a true giver.
Takers are asking you to do something, wanting to introduce you to some kind of new thing.
I’m not there for that reason.
I’m there to just spread the word about joy and love and giving around the world.
I feel that I’ve had a really good life.
I have obviously learned how to have a professional and private life that is a good one.
That is what I want to teach other people and I hope my tweets are doing that.
OBTAINING DOCTORATE DEGREE LATER IN LIFE
I think I was born wanting to learn especially since the doctors told me I could not given my eyesight.
I always was a learner.
At 38, I went back to college for a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree.
I waited a while after that because I was tired of spending time in the books.
I think at the age of 48 or 49, I went to get my doctorate degree because I figured in my image profession which a lot of people do not know what that is.
They think you only take people shopping or you do their colors or you’re a makeup artist or something like that.
Those are hard skills.
I wanted to do much more with soft skills.
With the empathy.
With the helping people to believe in themselves.
Like I say in my twitter handle, “You are enough.”
So I went back to school and I was in pyschology and maybe three-quarters through, they changed the psychology cirriculum to human services and you had to work for a doctor for two years in order to get the degree.
I said, “Wait a minute, I’ve got my own business, I had it for 20 years, I do not really want to work for somebody now and give up my business.”
I ended up getting the degree in human services with an emphasis on psychology and self-esteem image.
I can’t stop learning.
If there was another degree, I’m going for it.
I’m a continuous learner.
If you sent me a book, it would have to be an audio book or a large print book.
I take a lot of continuing education courses.
I like to learn.
Every answer you get it’s gonna be very simple.
I’m not simple, but I like to boil things down to their lowest common denominator.
DEALING WITH A VISION IMPAIRMENT
When I went to school and I was called cross-eyed and four eyes, I evaluated myself.
I did not know any other way to see it.
My eyes do not work in the middle.
They do not see up.
They don’t see down.
They don’t see the side.
They don’t work together.
So cataract surgery is something they are wanting me to do.
When I was leaving home in my early 20s, I said to myself, “Everybody’s got to deal with something.”
So this is what God gave me and I can handle it because God does not give anything you can’t handle.
So I decided at that time, I was gonna be the best I could be and help as many people as I can.
There was no looking back because I’m not going that way.
Why would I go back to when people calling me names and telling me all these things that were not true?
I actually look in the dictionary a lot of things people were calling me and I thought, “That’s not me, I’m a research company.”
I said, “Okay, you know, I look regular.”
I feel I’m special because of it.
I have a special condition.
That’s why I do as much as I do because I don’t want to let one day go by without some new experience and some new friends.
I guess that’s just me and I wish other people would be move that way.
They don’t realize how many friends they could have.
I’ve made another several wonderful friends on facebook.
I work with gab radio network and they are wonderful to me.
I feel so lucky.
But then, it is not always luck.
I’ve worked hard to get these relationships with people where they know Joyce is not full of it.
She’s really the real deal.
I was so happy to meet Winnie (Sun).
She was my first favorite person on Twitter.
I love her.
She’s just great.
I really love twitter.
I see myself as the hundred year old person who still on Twitter helping people as I have to give up my business by then.
They say when you get older, nothing changes except for that you do everything slower.
I have a sense of humor.