Making "Thank It Forward" Sustainable

So if you remember my post from July 2nd titled: Thank It Forward, then you've passed the first test that you're not still suffering from Todd Andrlik for President shock syndrome. Glad to have you back!

Someone had asked me where David Maister got the idea for his monthly thank you posts. I e-mailed David, who was in Europe at the time, yet he was kind enough to leave a comment on Mullen's relentlessPR blog. Here's what he had to say:

"Thanks for including me in this discussion, Leo. I cannot take any credit for the original idea. It was suggested to me by my online support team at StressLimitDesign. They are very caring, professional people AND thought it was a good online tactic. Which motivation dominated is hard to unbundle!!!!"

David brings up a very interesting point. For acts of generosity or thanks to be truly sustainable, is self-interest on some level a necessary component? What do you think?

Thank It Forward

I've always loved the concept of paying it forward: Do something for another with no expectation for that person to return the favor, but instead, hope the act will inspire them to help another person someday. We may know it from the movie, but this concept of "generalized reciprocity" was first described in a letter written by none other than Ben Franklin in 1784.

Now fast forward to 2006, David Maister (who's taking a well deserved summer off from blogging) included me in a thank you post he writes every month to express his gratiude to those who comment on his blog. And he does so with links to his commenters blogs. David understands that contributing to the conversation on a blog takes time and for most people is a truly generous act, benefiting both the blogger and the audience. Without comments there is no dialogue, and without a dialogue of sorts, then a blog operates at less than half strength regardless of how good the author.

I've made the monthly thank you post a practice ever since, and today because of twitter and the other tools that allow people to contribute it so many different ways, I've expanded my thank you list to include not only commenters on my blog, but contributors in other social media forums including twitter, PROpenMic, etc.

Yesterday David Mullen, who's a colleague at Mullen and fellow blogger at relentlessPR, wrote a post thanking those who commented on his new blog based on my thank you post for June. Reading it made my day.

I 've always believed that being successful in social media starts with having basic social skills. A simple thank you goes a long way. If you haven't thanked those who contribute to your own blogs recently, please do. Your readers will appreciate it, and I believe you'll inspire them to thank it forward as well!

An April Shower of Thanks

Thank you for a fun month! We ran a poll, brought back the guest interview series, and enjoyed some spirited conversation as usual. I look forward to following up on Dr. Keith's insights, announcing our special guest for May, and continuing our dialogue.

My April thanks go to Todd Andrlik, Scott Baradell, Sherrilynne Starkie, John Koetsier, Michelle Golden, Boyd Neil, Rodger Johnson, Chris Mitchell, Jason Keeling, Andrew, Michael Kolowich, Patrick J. Lamb, Brian Keith, Kelli Matthews, and our guest interviewee Dr. Kent M. Keith.

On to May!