Hey there! Glad you stopped by to check out my first try at a good “about me” page. Now look guys, I’ve read lots and lots of tutorials on how to write the perfect about me page and in the end, after hours of research and pouring over dozens of how-to’s and the about me pages of tons of other bloggers, mine just plain blew! As you’re reading it, I’ve highlighted (in red letters) where my application of the tips and tricks I was taught ended up feeling forced and consequently sounded disingenuous. I’m not blaming the how-to’s I’ve read. I’m simply pointing out that after all my research, some creative writing exercises are best done from your gut, your instincts, your heart. After all, you are the best you there is. Ok, so let’s get started.

About me, Scott P. Dailey (I spelled my name out a lot thinking it was important for SEO purposes to spell out my name a million frigging’ times)

If you’re reading this and you’re not one of my family members or a close friend, then I am thrilled that you’ve stopped by to say hello. (This is my first of many attempts at using someone else’s idea of humor to humanize my lead-in). Hopefully we can work together and build something awesome in the near future. If you are one of the people I mentioned, sorry guys. A simple hello will have to suffice (This is my second attempt to be someone other than who I am). Welcome to ScottPDailey.com (again, this is an attempt to mention my own domain name as often as is possible). My name is Scott P. Dailey (see what I mean?). I am a husband and father, a writer, a musician and yes, an avid social media nut. I’m a philosophical junkie and love getting to the bottom of the human condition. ScottPDailey.com (again with the domain name – jez, this is embarrassing) seeks to do just that – as it relates to social media, content marketing and inbound marketing (this was my way of going along with everyone else who says they know something about social media marketing. Sound canned? That’s because it is.). It is my first ever blog .

I am late to the party, but not to the conversation (a not-so-subtle apology for blogging long after blogging’s become sexy).

I have been discussing the psychology of smart business branding with my clients for over a decade now. In plain English ScottPDailey.com (domain name plug yet again) is here to discuss the psychology of the social and democratic Web with small business owners just like you (trying superficially to align myself with your plight). My hope is that together we arrive at careful, practical and sustainable methods of creating and fostering positive sentiment surrounding your online brand (blah, blah, blah). There is no reason I have unearthed (“unearthed?”) yet why we all can’t all be social Web shrinks and as such, wisely and effectively use blogs, Twitter, YouTube and Facebook (all shameless ways to mention sexy buzz words) and the rest of it (“and the rest of it” is said in an effort to convey that I know this stuff so well that I’ve earned the right to be casual about how I list it – lame!) to grow our brand’s popularity and yes, increase those yummy, yummy sales (another try at sounding casual on purpose). Oh and incidentally, there’s nothing casual about being purposeful. Duh.

How I do things (more forced casual language)

I am a driven entrepreneur. Among those who know me well, I have been characterized as a willful, opinionated and excitable self-starter as well as a thorough and sensible strategist. I love solving problems and revel in the chance to solve those that others have not found solutions to (this is actually true of me). Enthusiasm is contagious (Yawn. More brochurey chatter) and I try to pollute the watering hole with it every chance I get. I love working with people who are committed to achieving amazing things and I especially love it when we get there in unusual ways. My ideal work environment is comprised of honest and enthusiastic people who realize their potential and reach their goals in imaginative, innovative ways and on their own terms. I play to the team’s strengths, not force them to play to mine (more brochure mumbo-jumbo). When managing a project, I lead by example (did I actually say that? Lah-hoozer!), letting direct reports achieve in their own way, while setting clear goals to manage expectations (bases covered and mission accomplished, if you’re a friggin’ robot). Pigeonholing followers with inflexible, static workflows only stifles people and leaves them uninspired and reticent to contribute (that’s actually true. Nice one Scott.). I believe that a team does amazing things when members feel trusted to get enthusiastic on their own, based on their appetites to reach greatness, not impress the bullying boss in the room. Achieving a shared goal, a shared purpose is done by allowing people to get excited being the change they want to see happen (Gandhi said this). I’ve never accomplished anything great because my leaders forced an unmoving philosophy on me. It’s nirvana when we get their because it matter to us that we do (more nonsense intended to impress you by saying all the right things). I hope you enjoy the discussions we have here (boring). If you do, please consider sharing your experiences with others and if you don’t, please provide feedback (holy cow! Could I be more polite? I’m such a lemming in this post). I love a vigorous debate (“vigorous,” Scott? Really?). And of course, feel free to follow me on any of my social Web sites (oh yes, feel free to follow the vanilla machine over here.). I answer emails and when I cannot produce an answer, I point you at someone who can (“produce” an answer? How pretentious does that sound?). After all, we’re a network (OMG!). A community (OMFG!). Thanks for visiting. I’m sure I’m being harder on it than maybe an outsider looking in might. But the point is that this about me page just often didn’t sound like me because I was trying so damn hard to sound either like I assumed you wanted me to or the way the how-to Gods did. In both instances though, I ended up sounding unauthentic and that runs counter to the single-most important tenet of social media marketing: transparency and authenticity rule. Be both and you earn influence in this space. Be neither and you sound like a dolt and you earn your walking papers. So how’d your first “about me” outing go? I would love to hear what your take on this topic. I’m somewhat convinced that we’ve all blown at this task in our past. How about you?

photo credit: thewronski