BaseballArt.com is building a community of baseball artists and fans through social media.

In the past month, I’ve been extremely busy with Cornell Gallery (my custom framing business located in Pleasantville) and with the development of BaseballArt.com — something I’ve dreamed about doing for more than a decade, but am finally getting the chance to make things happen. The launch of the Baseball Art Facebook page has been hugely successful — as more than 400 fans have signed on in the first three weeks. Among the current fans are some of the world’s best and most well-known baseball artists, the son of a Hall of Fame Major Leaguer, a former Major League pitcher, art publishers, museum and gallery directors, and a few hundred baseball art fans. There is also a Baseball Art group on Linkedin, as well as a Baseball Art Twitter account.

On the Westchester social media front, things continue to roll along. Facebook, Twitter and blog/website use among Westchester-area businesses and individuals continues to grow — and there is a corresponding growth in the social media consulting business. Numerous small and medium sized firms are emerging in this niche to help address the needs of individuals and businesses as they attempt to navigate the waters of this fast-evolving phenomenon. In the coming weeks, I plan to interview the principles of as many of these firms as possible for an upcoming article. The article will provide essential information about each of these businesses, including their philosophies, services offered, and a link to their respective websites. Feel free to contact me if you’d like to have your business included in this article.

Well, with that said, it’s time for me to get back to work. Check back Friday for the interview with Anthony, and then make sure to visit TwitterProfessor at least once a week. Thanks.

Comments work in several ways, and produce both expected and unexpected results.

1. Provides Feedback – A well-written comment provides valuable and appreciated feedback to the author of the article.
2. Encourages Author to Clarify – Comments often result in a response that further clarifies the author’s position on an issue. It allows readers a chance to present a viewpoint that differs from that of the author.
3. Gets Others Involved – Your comment may spark an interesting (and entertaining) dialog between the author and other readers. It’s not uncommon for this “conversation” to be even more interesting and engaging than the original article.
4. Provides a Way to Get to Know the Author – Comments often lead to a dialog and that  is a great way of “getting to know” the author, which can come in handy further down the road.
5. Gives You a Chance to Promote Yourself – Comments are a great place to leave links to something relevant that you may be working on. This is not the place for blatant self-promotion, but if your links are helpful and relevant, they are usually appreciated.
6. May Lead to More Followers and Fans – If you include your Twitter handle or Facebook page, a well-written comment often leads to followers or fans. And these are people who already share some of your interests, and are usually more involved and engaged than the average social media participant.
7. Improves Your Presence in Search – Your comments will also frequently rank surprisingly well in a Google-search of your name or for one or more of the terms you write about.

So go ahead — give it a try. Resolve not to keep your comments to yourself in 2010.

Then I saw a post made by Walter Olson’s @Midwestchester account, and I was intrigued. It read:

RT @MarkFranzoso Time lapse video of our crews putting on a new roof in Westchester: http://tinyurl.com/yhejfoa

The link led to a YouTube video that Franzoso had made of one of his roofing crews doing a complete roofing job — but by speeding up the video, Franzoso managed to condense the entire process to a mere 5 minutes and 13 seconds.

The video was one of the best pieces of social media marketing I saw from a Westchester-area company during the 2009 calendar year. Unfortunately, the effort did not achieve the results it should have. The video had only received about 60 views as of  December 31, mainly because it never got much of a launch.

I predict that this video will achieve 10 times that number of views in the first month of 2010, possibly much more. Furthermore, this is exactly the type of low-cost marketing that businesses should be looking for as they attempt to leverage social media to promote theiir businesses.

What was the best piece of social media marketing you saw from a Westchester-area business in 2009? Enter your thoughts in the comments section and let the dialog begin.

Chris S. Cornell

Speaking to Twitter devotees about the virtues of this free micro-blogging tool is one of the easiest tasks I can imagine. After all, those who are actively using Twitter are the ones who already understand it. On the other hand, one of the most challenging speaking assignments I’ve had is trying to convince those who have never used Twitter that the 140-character blogging platform can produce tangible benefits for their business or organization.

Over the past seven months, I’ve gained a great deal of experience speaking before both types of groups. Wednesday at 5 pm (October 28, 2009) I will be speaking at a Pleasantville Chamber of Commerce meeting, and I suspect the group will be primarily comprised of those who have never used Twitter.

The Challenge: How do I sell the benefits of Twitter to people who are most likely doubtful of its value? How do I get past the glazed expressions? How do I explain something that is so easy to understand by someone who uses it, but so foreign to someone who never has?

The Objective: It occurred to me that I should take a step back, and take a look at the bigger picture. What is the underlying objective in all of this social media stuff? It really has to do with telling an audience a story — the story of a business or organization. And, even more importantly, listening to the responses you get.

The Answer: The answer has more to do with content than anything else. If I can get a business or organization to realize they have a story they need to tell, we’re on the right track. There’s no need to sell a tool like Twitter until there’s recognition that there is a story that needs to be told.

What is Your Story?: What is the message you’d like to communicate to you audience? When it comes to your business, you are the expert. No one knows your business better than you. If you had the attention of your target audience, what would you say? These are questions every business should have had answers to, long before Twitter and Facebook arrived on the scene. Now that these free social media tools are available, businesses can leverage their content to achieve even greater results.

Once a business or organization has a coherent story to tell, taking steps to tell that story will come naturally. If a business posts its articles on a blog regularly, the prospect of using Twitter or Facebook (or other forms of social media) to promote it will make perfect sense. Just make sure to listen to the feedback, respond to it thoughtfully, and let the dialogue begin.

Twitter Professor is not affiliated with Twitter.com. Chris S. Cornell is not actually a professor, but he is helping build local Twitter communities. Follow Chris on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/ContentHarvest.  If you have questions or need help with Twitter, give Chris a call at (914) 960-1533. Feel free to add constructive comments, questions or criticisms in the comments section of this blog.

If you know me, you are probably aware of my enthusiasm for Twitter. In fact, many of you reading this know me only because of my enthusiasm for Twitter.  I am extremely optimistic about this free microblogging platform that has taken the world by storm, but recently I had a revelation.

“It’s not about Twitter, stupid,” I muttered to myself.

Twitter is an amazing tool that can amplify one’s message, and add efficiency and effectiveness to one’s communication efforts.  But it’s just a tool. It still comes down to the message – knowing what it is one wants to communicate, and to whom one wants to communicate that message.

Most of the succesful Twitter users I have come into contact with would have been successful if  Twitter did not even exist. Twitter is just giving them another avenue with which to reach their audience.

As you use Twitter, remember that the content you produce will determine the type of audience you attract. Just as in other forms of social media, like blogs or Facebook, people choose to “follow” because they perceive value in the content you’re providing.

Twitter can be used to encourage us to distill our experiences into short summaries – in this case 140 characters or less. What results is a journal of all the things we thought were important enough to Tweet over a given period of time. A look back at that timeline from time reveals quite a lot about our priorities, accomplishments and values. Not a bad exercise in any medium.

Just remember, Twitter is only a tool. And remember that when a carpenter builds a piece of fine furniture, it’s rare that the hammer gets the accolades. But the hammer sure does make carpentry a whole lot easier.

This information can be helpful as you decide who to follow on Twitter.  I looked at what Foller.me had to say about many Westchester, NY Twitter users, including my own accounts, and the information was very enlightening. Foller.me shows what you’ve been Tweeting about through the use of a word cloud, making more frequently used words more prominent.

The @Blythedale account (managed by my wife Connie Cornell) is shown below, and gives a clear picture of  how Blythedale Children’s Hospital in Valhalla, NY is using Twitter. The list of Recent Topics includes words such as help, child, Blythedale, school, volunteer, therapy, donated, safe, join and Twitpic, among others. Words used more recently appear closer to the top of the list, and words used more frequently appear larger.

Screenshot of Blythedale Twitter account as viewed by Foller.me

Close-up look at the Blythedale Twitter account through Foller.me

The screenshot above shows a list of @mentions that have been posted by the Blythedale account. @SidewalkAngels has obviously been mentioned many times, and @safekidsusa has also been the subject of multiple @messages. As with the Recent Topics list, more recent mentions show up toward the top of the list.

Foller.me also lists other facts about a Twitter account, including #Hashtags used in Tweets, number of followers and profile information. I suggest you visit Foller.me and give it a try. You might learn something about yourself and the Tweeters around you.

Twitter Professor is not affiliated with Twitter.com. Chris S. Cornell is not actually a professor, but he is helping build local Twitter communities. Follow Chris on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/ContentHarvest.  If you have questions or need help with Twitter, give Chris a call at (914) 741-1203. Feel free to add constructive comments, questions or criticisms in the comments section of this blog.

Chris S. Cornell at WVOX 1460AM in New Rochelle

Greenburgh Town Supervisor Paul Feiner introduced his WVOX radio audience to the free microblogging service Twitter this morning on his weekly show. I was one of four guests on an hour-long show devoted to computer-related topics, and much of the conversation centered on Twitter, and its growing use in Westchester County.

Feiner was one of 31 individuals and organizations highlighted by a “Best Westchester Twitter List” published by TwitterProfessor last Friday. Feiner has become one of the county’s better known and well-liked politicians partly because he’s a great listener. He drives around the county in a car that prominently lists his phone number. He’s on Twitter and Facebook, and he does a great job of updating his blog. He admitted that Twitter can be overwhelming at times, and said that he uses Facebook more than Twitter. Nonetheless, he opened up his radio show to this relatively new social media tool, and should be applauded for doing so.

Twitter Professor is not affiliated with Twitter.com. Chris S. Cornell is not actually a professor (he runs Pleasantville’s Cornell Gallery Custom Frame Shop in his spare time and you can also follow him @CornellGallery), but he is interested in helping build local Twitter communities.  If you have questions or need help with Twitter, give Chris a call at (914) 741-1203. You can also follow his local accounts @Pleasantville or @ContentHarvest. Feel free to add constructive comments, questions or criticisms in the comments section of this blog.

It’s been five months since the @Pleasantville Twitter account was established. A few days ago, a friend asked how the @Pleasantville Project was going. I wasn’t sure I had the answer to what seemed like a simple question.

Things have changed a lot since then, for sure. The number of local people on Twitter has certainly risen. The quality of many of the local Twitter accounts has improved dramatically. And the amount of interaction between local users has surged. But with all this progress, it is still obvious that for Twitter to live up to its hype, there is still a long way to go.

When will the next wave of Westchester residents hop aboard the Twitter bus? (You might want to make your entrance at some of the restaurants listed below in a Twitter limousine instead)

Will Twitter ever live up to the expectations? I’m not sure of the answer to that question either, but I have spent a lot of time lately thinking about the parts of Twitter that are working, and the parts that aren’t. And about the people that Twitter is working for, and the people for whom Twitter is of no value.

• Twitter works for people who LISTEN to others.
• Twitter works for people who GIVE BACK to the community.
• Twitter works for people who LEARN from their mistakes.
• Twitter works for people who CREATE CONTENT others can use.

I have found quite a few local Twitter users who score highly in each of the above categories, and featured many of them in an article I wrote last Friday. That article helped me learn some things about Twitter, and how it works. The response I received to this article was far better than that of any other I’ve written for a Twitter audience.

I think our local community is hungry for a Twitter experience that really works at the local level. And up to this point, there has been a scarcity of tools to connect users in any sort of systematic way at the local level. If there is one goal of this blog, it is to highlight the efforts of those Twitter users who are doing things that improve the experience for others.

This does not imply that those efforts must be altruistic or involving personal sacrifice. Some are simply using Twitter for their own personal or business reasons, but they are in the process, making Twitter better for the rest of us.

In my view, Twitter will take off at the local level when local businesses begin to feel that they are missing out by not participating. After finishing last week’s article, I announced that my next article would feature the Top10 Westchester Restaurants using Twitter. Then I was stunned by what I discovered. After a rather extensive search, I was able to find only about a dozen restaurants that were using Twitter in on way or another.

It’s hard to understand why there is so little interest in a free tool like Twitter, when so many restaurants spend so much of their precious budgets on paid advertising. I am not suggesting that restaurants cut back on their ad budgets, but why not set up a Twitter account with a link to their website and make an occasional Tweet to draw in a few extra customers?

My current project is to see if members of the local Westchester community can collectively influence the number of restaurants that Tweet, and the quality of the content they produce. I sense that the community would benefit from much of the information a creative resaurant owner or manager might be able to impart, whether it be recipes, details about the restaurant, specials being served, or culinary facts.

The List of Westchester Restaurants on Twitter:  Note: It is likely that I’ve inadvertently left restaurants off this list. If you know of an establishment that I’ve overlooked, please leave a comment and I’ll check it out. Also, I’ve only included accounts that Tweet information about the restaurant (at least a substantial percentage of the time), and include the name of the establishment in their Twitter information. This initial list is in no particular order.

• @KittleHouse - Chappaqua Restaurant built in 1790 as a barn, converted to a home in the late 1800′s, today cooking seriously good food.
• @LePainQuotidien - Part of a chain of  bakeries with seating, located in Rye.
• @AurayGourmet - Formerly the Auray Cheese Shop, located in Larchmont.
• @MaurosDining - Fine Italian cuisine, located in Ossining.
• @ZuppaRestaurant - Innovative Italian Cuisine in the Downtown Waterfront District of Yonkers.
• @QRestaurant - Westchester’s hip, urban bbq restaurants, located in Port Chester and Mt. Kisco.
• @42TheRestaurant - Restaurant at the Ritz-Carlton Westchester
• @Opus465 - From pizza to fine gourmet, “Armonk’s premiere caterers”
• @TarrytownHouse - Cellar 49 is the restaurant within Tarrytown House
• @MemesBakeryCafe - Memes is a brand new bakery and cafe located in White Plains.

By all means, follow some of these accounts, and encourage them to help make the local Twitter community stronger.

Twitter Professor is not affiliated with Twitter.com. Chris S. Cornell is not actually a professor (he runs Pleasantville’s Cornell Gallery Custom Frame Shop in his spare time and you can also follow him @CornellGallery), but he is interested in helping build local Twitter communities.  If you have questions or need help with Twitter, give Chris a call at (914) 741-1203. Feel free to add constructive comments, questions or criticisms in the comments section of this blog.

What I have done, after consulting with a few of my social-media expert friends, is compile a list that I believe is a good starting point for a Top-10 List of Westchester Twitter users. Many factors were considered, including the quality of the Tweets, frequency of Tweets, the number of followers and the number following, and the web address listed in the user’s profile. Also considered was the degree to which the site helped others and/or helped the user reach his own goals.

I expect to receive some feedback on this list, and I know there will be critics. I’m actually looking forward to it. I will read every comment with an open mind, and will take the comments into careful consideration as I update the list on a regular basis. I also intend to add categories, which will make this concept even more useful. Please suggest nominees for the following categories: Best Retail Twitter Users; Best Restaurant/Eatery Twitter Users; Best Non-Profit Twitter Users; Best Individual Twitter Users; Best Group (Geographical, Interest, etc.) Twitter account. With your help, these lists will be released in the next few weeks.

Without further ado, here it is - the First Top 10 Twitter List For Westchester, NY, in no particular order.

• @MidWestchester - Chappaqua’s Walter Olson is a social media pioneer. He created MidWestchester to build a local Twitter community, and has done an excellent job finding and creating worthwhile content to Tweet. Olson also manages @WalterOlson on Twitter and writes the blog OverLawyered.com (often referred to as the oldest law blog).
• @WestchesterMag – this is the account for Westchester Magazine.  Creative Tweets linking to Westchester Magazine’s own content, plus quality interactions with their followers. Linked to the magazine’s impressive website.
• @CDessi – An excellent mix of cutting edge social media information and other Tweets relevant to the events around us. Dessi’s Twitter account links to his always interesting Social Media blog, ChristopherDessi.com.
• @LoHud - Nothing flashy. Everything Lohud. Lots of Tweets linking to the content produced by Lohud.com.
• @ThisisRobThomas - This Briarcliff Manor resident is one of the country’s top songwriters and performers. He has also established himself as a darn good Tweeter. He encourages debate and comes off as genuine as any celebrity I’ve seen. He and his wife Marisol also created the SidewalkAngels Twitter account (see below).
• @David Parmet - David accurately bills himself as a New York based PR and social media marketing guru who helps businesses and agencies navigate the seas of social media. A good one to follow if you’re looking to stay near the front edge of the social media wave.
• @Martha Stewart – Martha’s bio says: Curious,  inquisitive, experimental entrepreneur who cares about the world we live in. Oh, by the way, more than a million followers care about what Martha has to say.
• @IndieBoundMeg - Meg Smith makes insightful Tweets about Indie Booksellers, and links her account to the IndieBound.org website. Good material for authors, publishers, booksellers and those interested in the industry. Makes you wonder why any bookstore or author would choose not to be on Twitter.
• @WestchesterLife – The profile summary says it all. A modern and fresh two cents on the good, the bad, and the severely deficient of Westchester living. C’est la vie. My prediction: this account will take off if the Tweets keep coming. There is definitely an audience for this kind of no-punches-pulled content.
• @ConsumerReports – Based in Yonkers, the well-known consumer advocate makes excellent use of Twitter, posting important (including recalls) and timely information along with a link to their website. Also check out the related ConsumersUnion and Consumerist accounts.

There. That wasn’t so difficult. TwitterProfessor’s first-ever top 10 list is on the board. Unfortunately, I know I inadvertently left some deserving Tweeter off the list. So to remedy any possible wrongs, I have two solutions: 1) I’m going to list 20 more deserving Twitter accounts below. These are all people or organizations producing good quality content on Twitter. I strongly encourage you to check their accounts. 2) As I mentioned above, I encourage you to contact me (using the comments form or contact page, or by calling me at 914-960-1533) if you have any information you’d like me to have as I update this list in the coming weeks.

The Best of the Rest:

@ExaminerStone – managed by Adam Stone, the publisher of The Examiner newspaper, a weekly covering local Westchester communities, including Pleasantville, Chappaqua and Mount Kisco. There is plenty of quality information being generated by The Examiner — can’t wait until more of it is posted online, so Stone will have the ability to provide followers with links.

@StationStops - StationStops focuses on those things related to traveling via the MTA. StationStops is currently engaged in a somewhat heated battle with the MTA which you can read about in this blog post.

@Small_Bites If you like food (and who doesn’t), this is a Twitter account that will make your mouth water. Linked with Liz Johnson’s Lohud.com blog, the Tweets include photos of food, recipes and news about food.

@AmyPaulin - The account of NYS Assemblywoman Amy R. Paulin. Legislative news from Albany and community happenings in the 88th district (Westchester, NY). Tweeting since mid-July, off to a good start. Keep it up.

@Everything Julie - The account of former LoHud.com staffer Julie Moran Alterio.  Bio: Writer who explores the intersection of culture, commerce and technology. Also a mom with too many Cheerios in her carpet. Reformed night owl. 

@EverythingLuLu - In their own words: The dress may take the cake, but the cake speaks for itself. This Scarsdale bakery is doing a great job promoting itself through Twitter and a top-notch website. Great images. Setting a great example in social media.

@ArtBizLaw - The account of Larry Berglas - Husband, Father, Writer and Lawyer, Lawyer and Writer, Professor, Guitar Player, Swimmer and Solving Problems with Pineapple Chords…  Interesting and informative, entertaining and balanced.

@News12WC – Links (and lots of them) to content from News 12.

@Joe_Wallace - Pleasantville author who lets followers get an inside look at much of what goes on in the book-writing profession. Seems to be an excellent way for an author to promote his career. Very interesting Tweets.

@AndyBarovick -  I am an atypical plaintiff’s medical malpractice/personal injury lawyer who loves time with family, music, biking and blogging.

@Blythedale - Blythedale Children’s Hospital is dedicated  to the diagnosis, care and treatment of children with complex medical and rehabilitative needs. The hospital posts information and news, but also makes Tweets aimed at helping to keep all kids safe.

@PaulFeiner – Bio: Greenburgh Town Supervisor; former Westchester County Legislator, President Westchester-Putnam Town Supervisors, former national recipient Common Cause Award. Feiner has made a habit of listening to his constituents, and Twitter provides him with another effective medium.

@FlourandSun - Pleasantville’s cupcake bakery has set an excellent example for other businesses to follow.  Great pictures of spectacular baked goods, consistent Tweets, creative use of the medium.

@RCAChap - Owner of Red Carpet Antiques, Vincent Fulgenzi Tweets about art and antiques, current events, and an impressive blend of culture and history. Particularly knowledgeable about NYC.

@Warner_Library – Nearly 1,000 followers. Useful Tweets for anyone interested in programs or services at the library.  Good use of Twitter.

@HHValley – Bio: We create the Great Jack O’Lantern Blaze and Legend Weekend. We preserve six museums of history, including Washington Irving’s Sunnyside and Kykuit.

@MarchofDimes – Daily pregnancy tips from Beverly Robertson, National Director, Pregnancy & Newborn Health Education Center at the March of Dimes.

 @SignalPatterns – Twitter account of Ran Zilca, founder and CEO of Signal Patterns – a company that develops psychology-based mobile and web applications.

@WestchesterFam – This is the account of Westchester Family Magazine, and it sneaks into the list mostly on potential. This magazine should have no trouble putting out content, and it’s apparent they understand how Twitter is used. As of today, though, they’ve only made 16 Tweets. As they say, if you Tweet it, they will come.

@SidewalkAngels – a non-profit established by Marisol and Rob Thomas (@thisisrobthomas), works hand-in-hand with charities in and around America’s big cities.

 @GetinLoop - Spirited Hyper-local news, focusing on Larchmont, Mamaroneck, New Rochelle and Rye.

You’ll find all of these accounts, plus many other good Westchester-relate accounts on the “following” list of @ContentHarvest.  It’s easy to add them as accounts you follow by simply scrolling down that list and selecting the ones you want.

Editors Note – Chris Cornell’s wife, Connie Cornell is the manager of the @Blythedale account. Accounts managed by Chris Cornell, including @Pleasantville @ContentHarvest and @CornellGallery have been excluded from consideration at this time.

I decided to take a look at what some of my peers were doing with their Twitter accounts. I was able to immediately see how other businesses were using Twitter, and use the more successful among them as examples for my business. I noticed  a common thread shared by the most successful users — they all had an an uncommon enthusiasm for whatever business or activity in which they were engaged. They had a passion for what they did, and it was that passion that drew other people to them. This passion also caused them to want to share what they had with others.

That’s where the fun began. I began searching for interesting people, and discovered that they consistently had interesting, useful and downright essential information to share. I found artists, business owners, social media experts, authors, lawyers, editors, reporters, CEOs, SEOs, musicians, doctors, physical trainers and so much more. Some of these people were already my customers, most were not, and many will never be, but they all had something to share.

I avoided my initial urge – which was to try to see how much of my own information I could force upon the people I had found. Instead, I decided to pause… and listen. What a game-changing decision. With my numerous Twitter accounts, I follow scores of amazing people who take the time to post information that is frequently extremely valuable.

I’ve already written about many of these people in past articles and plan to continue this in the future. About two weeks ago, I had the good fortune of meeting Chappaqua’s Chris Dessi for what I expected would be a half-hour interview to provide more content for my next blog. As we sat at a table in the back of the Chappaqua Starbucks, I was ready to ask my prepared questions. We started talking about the emerging social media that surrounds us, and the conversation took off.  One social media topic led to another, and by the time I glanced down at my watch, 90 minutes had raced by. After the interview was over, I realized I hadn’t even asked most of my prepared questions. The information I took away was far more valuable.

Dessi is currently Director of  Sales at Buddy Media in NYC, a job that he says is allowing him to “embrace my DNA and follow my passion,” but he talked about the often bumpy road that led him to where he is today. Dessi previously was Vice President, Sales & Business Development at MIVA, and before that he was Vice President of Advertiser Sales at Zanox. Both of those jobs, which Dessi described as “soul-crushing, high-paying,  big-titled jobs”, ended due to restructurings. If not for a speech by a wine salesman named Gary Vaynerchuk, Dessi may well have settled for a third-straight soul-crusher.

The speech of which Dessi talked was one delivered by Vaynerchuk at the Web 2.0 conference in September, 2008. In all fairness, Vaynerchuk is a wine salesman much the same way that the Mona Lisa is a picture of a unique-looking woman. Vaynerchuk founded and hosts Wine Library TV, and is a successful author and speaker. His Twitter account is GaryVee and he has more than 617,000 followers. In the Web 2.0 Keynote Address, Vaynerchuk talked about patience and passion — and how there is no excuse for most of us to be doing something we hate for a living. The most obvious thing about Vaynerchuk (and I urge you to watch a few of his speeches ) is his burning passion for the career he has carved out for himself.

“That speech changed my life,” Dessi said. “He talked about being happy with what you do. When he found he was 1% unhappy with his career, he changed it. Gary is a creative genius who thinks about his legacy.”

After hearing Vaynerchuk speak, Dessi had a new attitude about his own career path. “I had known social media was out there, but I wasn’t engaging. I wasn’t happy, and I am a happy guy. It was around that time that I began to see how social media creates a synergy for business.”

Dessi decided to let the passion he had for social media fuel his career. He devoted his energies toward getting a job in the field, and finally succeeded when he landed the Director of  Sales position at Buddy Media.  It wasn’t easy, though. “They actually turned me down for the job,” said Dessi. “I didn’t flip out. Instead, I went for a six-mile run. I told myself I’m still going to work in social media.”

Dessi believes it was his passion that earned him a second chance at Buddy Media. In a subsequent phone conversation with the decision-maker at Buddy Media, Dessi asked for advice on where else in the field of social media he should look for a job.  “I think my reaction planted a seed,” said Dessi. “They realized I was going to work in social media, and that I might go work for a competitor. I was asked to come in the next morning to make a presentation. I put together a deck of slides and pitched my butt off.”

You can see Dessi’s passion when you talk to him, but it’s also evident in everything he does. Take a look at his updates on Twitter or read one of his blog posts. Watch him on video. We could all use some of that passion. The good news — it’s there for us if we want it. Most of us could rekindle that passion for what we do if we just remembered what brought us here in the first place. We tend to get bogged down in the mundane, tiresome chores of life, and lose sight of the things that are most important.

Use Twitter to connect with people who have the passion. Ask them questions. Read their blog posts. Watch their videos. Ask yourself  “What are these people doing that I can learn from? How can I become more passionate about my own career. How can I become more passionate about my life?”

Let me know how you’re doing. You can follow my CornellGallery Twitter account (send me an @CornellGallery if I don’t follow you back right away). I read all of my DMs and @Replies. I am already busy working on my next blog post featuring another person with passion, Diana Scimone, President of Born to Fly International — an organization which works to stop global child trafficking.  Talk to you soon, and keep the passion.

Twitter Professor is not affiliated with Twitter.com. Chris S. Cornell is not actually a professor (he runs Pleasantville’s Cornell Gallery Custom Frame Shop in his spare time and you can also follow him @CornellGallery), but he is interested in helping build local Twitter communities.  If you have questions or need help with Twitter, give Chris a call at (914) 741-1203. Feel free to add constructive comments, questions or criticisms in the comments section of this blog.