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Masters of Social Media by Dana Neuts / Photos by Ingrid Pape-Sheldon

Not everyone who blogs, tweets, diggs, facebooks or otherwise chimes in online has the voice, the vision or the staying power to gather and maintain huge numbers of online followers. But four women in Seattle, all recognized experts and innovators in the arena of social media, have accomplished this and more.

Each named on Tech Flash’s list of the 100 top women in Seattle tech last year, Mónica Guzmán, Tracy Record, Lara Feltin and Shauna Causey are well known in Seattle and beyond for how they use their formidable strengths and talents to share information and influence how people interact with each other online and off. Here’s a peek into how they do it.

MÓNICA GUZMÁN
Intersect.com

Mónica Guzmán may be only 27, but this articulate, enthusiastic journalist has been part of the social media scene longer than most. In August 2004, just before the start of her senior year studying sociology and journalism at Bowdoin College in Maine, Guzmán joined Facebook.

Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg and his friends had created the social networking site just six months earlier as a way for college students to stay in touch with friends.
Guzmán still remembers the first week she was on Facebook. For East Coast college students,

it was already the place to be. Today, Facebook is available to a worldwide audience, boasting over 400 million active users.

“There wasn’t any magic to it,” she says of Facebook. “It just happened.”

Six years later, Guzmán is one of the area’s leading ladies of social media. She was hired in 2007 as the Seattle Post-Intelligencer’s first online-only reporter, back when the paper was still in print. She created the PI’s award-winning Big Blog, and by sharing news using social media tools like Twitter and Facebook, her popularity soared quickly.

Why? Is it her youth, thirst for knowledge or passion for journalism? Maybe it’s because, with Guzmán, what you see is what you get. Sure, she’s intelligent and fun-loving, but this well-spoken journalist is also open, honest and not afraid to share information with others. At press time, she had more than 9,000 followers on Twitter (@moniguzman) and 1,500 friends on Facebook.

SeattlePI.com’s Casey McNerthney, who has worked with Guzmán for the last three years, says she is popular because she is good at addressing audiences both large and small and because she has an incredible sense of what people want to know.

“She’s very real,” McNerthney says. “That’s why she’s got such a big following.”

McNerthney also credits Guzmán’s openness with helping him to develop as a reporter and to understand the role social media plays in delivering news.

“She’s the reason I got into Twitter,” he explains. “She helped me develop a better understanding of why blogs are important.”

A humble Guzmán, however, is quick to deny that she’s made any monumental contribution to social media. She credits her popularity instead to her love of social media and connecting with other people.

“It’s fun for work, fun to connect and fun to meet new people,” she explains. “I find that people’s passions are magnetic, and I’m passionate about what I do.”

Guzmán recently left SeattlePI.com to work for Intersect.com, headed by Peter Rinearson, a Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter, co-author with Bill Gates of The Road Ahead and founder of several technology-based startups. We can speculate that Guzmán was asked to join Intersect.com because of her journalism and social media experience, but she isn’t talking. Her only comment is that it is “an amazing opportunity.” Stay tuned for more from Mónica Guzmán.

LARA FELTIN
Biznik.com

Not counting a few jobs in high school and college, Lara Feltin, 40, cofounder of Biznik.com, has never held a traditional job. Instead, with a background in visual arts, she has been happily self-employed her entire professional life.

“I pride myself on never having had a job,” Feltin says with a smile.

It is this entrepreneurial spirit that became the impetus for Biznik.com, an online community for “solopreneurs,” which Feltin and web developer husband Dan McCombs created in 2005. After trying other networking groups that focused on sharing referrals, the couple founded Biznik to connect with like-minded professionals in a supportive, non-sales environment.

“Business networking that doesn’t suck’ is our official tagline, and that was simply a response to our experience as independent contractors,” Feltin explains. “About three months into it, we realized we were on to something. It was a way to meet our own needs.”

Biznik has grown dramatically in its five years of existence. The site — whose features include professional profiles, discussion forums, technology to support events, messaging, search engine optimization and more — has grown to 50,000 users in 157 countries, including 17,000 members in Seattle.

“It’s a community, and communities tend to take on a life of their own,” Feltin says.

The trendsetting online community continues to evolve to meet the needs of its target audience. One new program Biznik has developed is its Innovators Series which has featured thought leaders like author Daniel Pink, Twitter co-creator Dom Sagolla, the “fierce” Susan Scott, Gary Varynerchuk of Wine Library TV and blogger Chris Brogan, among others.

The events include networking, an onstage interview by Warren Etheredge of The Warren Report, an extensive Q&A session and, to seal the deal, complimentary wine and appetizers.
Biznik member Leif Hansen posted this message online following a recent event: “Thanks for continuing to offer great events and being committed to supporting entrepreneurs and making our work as fun as possible.”

It is these types of events that separate Biznik from other online networking sites and more well-known social media tools.

“I don’t see Biznik as part of the social media toolbox. I see it as a community that uses social media, and it uses this new technology very effectively,” she says. “Biznik is more than a tool. These are your peers, your peeps!”

The emphasis at Biznik is to create a community of business owners who connect both online and off, and the ethos encourages collaboration rather than competition.

“When you are a solopreneur, don’t try to go it alone,” Feltin cautions. “You have to communicate with other people. You have to connect with others, and you have to look at each other as co-conspirators, not as competitors.”

It is this type of thinking that made Feltin one of Seattle Business Monthly’s top 25 most innovative entrepreneurs in October 2008 and put her on Seattle Magazine’s 2008 Power Players list of most influential people. It also earned Biznik.com a nomination for a Seattle 2.0 award earlier this year in the category of Best Bootstrapped Startup. Not bad for someone who’s never had a “real” job.

TRACY RECORD
West Seattle Blog

With a love of writing and a background in journalism and TV production, Tracy Record, 50, started the West Seattle Blog (WSB) in late 2005 as a hobby. She wanted to post events and other West Seattle happenings. In its earliest stages, Record never imagined the site would grow so large or cover breaking news.

“There were just some things I wanted to write about,” Record says casually. “Nothing formal. Just some things I wanted to mention.”

At the time, Record was a TV producer at Q13, so she could only work on the blog part-time. She did so anonymously and without her employer’s resources to avoid any conflict of interest. She plugged away on the site for about a year — until the winter windstorm of December 2006.

Because other areas around Seattle were harder hit than West Seattle, the burb was not getting adequate media coverage and people wanted to know what was going on. To fill the void, Record, her husband and son drove around the area to gather information and report on damage, power outages and more. Readers would post questions, and Record would follow up.
After the storm, Record asked herself, “If that wasn’t getting covered, what else isn’t getting covered?”

She continued to work on the site, ruminating about her next step. Finally, after running the WSB for three years part-time, Record took a leap of faith, quitting her job at Q13 to run the site full-time. As the main breadwinner in the family, this was a big step, but husband Patrick, who holds a degree in journalism from the University of Colorado, was supportive.

“I want to give it a try,” she told him.

They cut expenses, skipping lattes, pizza and eating out while growing the site. Since that turning point, West Seattle Blog has drawn advertisers and become self-sustaining. The site has also grown significantly and now includes breaking news, event listings, crime watch, traffic and more. The site’s popularity has grown as well, garnering 25,000 unique visitors (homes and businesses) per week and 750,000 page views per month. They also run the partner site, White Center Now.

Part of WSB’s success is due to its social media presence. In addition to posting news to the blog, Record also posts items directly to Facebook and Twitter (@westseattleblog and @westseattlenews, respectively), drawing thousands of fans and followers to spread the news virally.

Her presence on social media also means that Record receives news tips and comments from readers via Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, text message, YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr, TwitPic and other instant communication channels. This is particularly important when covering breaking news. As an example, following a May accident involving a vehicle and a bicyclist on Admiral Way, the first photo came from West Seattle resident and WSB follower Shauna Causey, who e-mailed a picture to WSB from her cell phone.

“It’s really important to hear from people, or to reach them anywhere they want,” Record says.
It is also important to Record to provide news to people where they want to receive it. That’s why she takes the time to post individually to different social media channels. She does not believe the tools are meant to be used together. Record explains that each online outlet (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) has a different “language” and audience, so she posts each news item separately to the blog and to social media channels.

Causey says she loves the work Record is doing to improve safety by sharing stories and photos, reconnecting owners with lost pets and bringing people to together in different ways.

“She takes her job seriously as a reliable news source,” Causey says. “She’s changed our community for the better.”

The traditional media is taking note of neighborhood blogs like Records’. In 2009 The Seattle Times joined the Networked Journalism Project, a nationwide project that has fostered partnerships between daily newspapers and new media outlets. Record is one of five Seattle Times partners in the project.

The relationship is not clearly defined and nothing has been put in writing, but at present the organizations link to each others’ stories when appropriate. If nothing else, the project shows that big media outlets are trying to figure out how to stay relevant when neighborhood blogs can almost instantaneously post news and photos about local events.

SHAUNA CAUSEY
Comcast

Perhaps the ultimate siren of social media is Causey herself. The 33-year-old unassuming communications manager for Comcast and vice president of Social Media Club Seattle is known in the Seattle area and beyond for her social media work, both personally and professionally. Her favorite tools are Twitter, Ustream, Plancast, Facebook and HootSuite. On Twitter alone, Causey has nearly 15,000 followers and is included on 1,587 user-generated lists!

“I try to go where the people are,” Causey explains.

Causey’s first real foray into social media was in 2008 when she became part of a grassroots campaign called Water without Waste. This monthlong initiative sought to educate Seattleites about the harmful effects of bottled water and to encourage them to reduce their usage of plastic water bottles. Through the use of social media, the campaign got residents and businesses to reduce their usage by 20,000 plastic bottles per month.

“There is a broader and more immediate reach to share information than there has ever been,” Causey says. “I’ve been waiting for this change my entire career.”

In addition to using social media to share business news and to reach out to customers, Causey uses social media to spread the word about worthy causes. Her first venture in the nonprofit arena was an event she called Voluntweetup to highlight other people in the social media community who could speak about best practices and how to use social media to benefit nonprofits.

“I saw all of these people who were really passionate about social media like video and Twitter campaigns, and I also realized that nonprofits weren’t being represented the way they should,” Causey says.

“I would encourage other people to step up and help if they see a need,” she adds. “If you really care about the community, it will show. You can really make a big difference.”

So why is Causey so popular? Fellow Social Media Club Seattle member Joanne Jen says it’s Causey’s ability to connect with other people.

“She is maintaining and sustaining relationships as opposed to tweeting once or twice,” Jen says. “Her personality is very magnetic. She’s very authentic and that draws people.”

WHAT'S NEXT

With diverse perspectives on social media, these local experts each anticipate different avenues of change. Biznik.com’s Feltin says that change is inevitable and it is impossible to predict what is coming next. In terms of Biznik specifically, however, Feltin is excited about the potential for growth, particularly as Biznik grows in individual cities around the world.

“Biznik is starting to really get its legs in other cities…,” she says. “What I’m looking forward to seeing is the flavor that it takes on in each city.”

“People build friendships, socialize and connect with one another in different ways in Austin than they do in LA, in Boston or Washington, D.C.,” Feltin adds. “I’m intrigued by the types of events they will host.”

While she expects these differences to remain, technology and relationships remain at the root of all social media.

“The tools are universal throughout the world,” Feltin says.

Tracy Record hopes that developers will think more in terms of the end-user experience, creating an unobtrusive “truly open ID” for interacting on different sites, and offering a seamless connection to end users. Record also wants to see changes in how people receive information.

Shauna Causey hopes social media will be better integrated with nonprofits as cause marketing, rather than “tweet to win” type campaigns. She’d also like to see less noise on social media and more value-added messages. In addition, she anticipates that location will be more important in social media and that cell phones will have greater applications than they currently do.

Social media veteran Mónica Guzmán foresees many potential changes for Twitter, Facebook and other social media tools, including the possibility of monetizing social media sites, tinkering with privacy settings and, ideally, returning more control to users. “Nothing stays simple for long,” Guzmán says. “It’s less a playground now. You’d better know how to behave.”

She adds that social media will become less random. “It will be less ‘throw something on the wall and see what sticks,’” she says.

At the same time, Guzmán thinks guidelines will emerge as social media grows in popularity.

“I think there are best practices evolving in different industries and for different kinds of people, so it is becoming less experimental and less ‘jump in and see what happens.’ It is still that in a lot of ways, but it will be less so,” she predicts.

Regardless of what specific changes the future holds for social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Biznik, Guzmán is excited about the possibilities.

“Everything we do, every step we take is turning up the volume on instant communication, and it is really interesting to see what changes. There is a lot of room for social innovation.”

Dana Neuts has a background in business and became a freelance writer seven years ago to follow her lifelong passion of telling stories. She is also the owner and publisher of iLoveKent.net.

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