Is Shaquille O’Neal Your Friend on Twitter
Posted on 23. Mar, 2009 by Nate in Starting an Online Business, Twitter
Well, is he? 
Yes, some of my readers may be sick of this story.
Yes, some may be unfollowing me as they read this article.
And yes, my wife may be again stating, “Shaq’s following you on Twitter, so what?”
But, nonetheless, I was notified today via Google Alerts of an article that talks about”The Inner Circles of 10 Geek Heroes on Twitter“. Not only did it surprise me to find out I’m number 4 on the list of people Shaq chats with on Twitter, but I began to “dream big” about the time when I’m down in Phoenix and I get to hang out with my friend “Shaqovich”!
Check this out:
Now the lessons to learn from this ongoing twitter saga:
- Fear Not: Fear is one of the worst “F” words there is. Fear will do nothing for you except hold you back. In a meeting I was in with Joe Vitale (@mrfire) he said “Fear of success is more common than fear of failure.” Are YOU afraid to succeed? The only way to break fear is to hit it right in the face. When my friend challenged me to get Shaq to follow me on Twitter, fear didn’t even cross my mind - it was more like “How quick am I going to be able to do this?” not “Will I be able to…” If fear is something you feel is holding you back, write down a list of all your fears and then each day do what you can to overcome them.
- Socialize: Gary Vaynerchuk said it best in this video about social media marketing. You have to reach out and talk to people if you want to make friends and influence others. Online marketing is as much about WHO you know as it is about WHAT. Get out there and talk to the people of influence in your industry and DO IT NOW, not LATER when everything is “ready to launch”.
- Answer Questions: Why are Shaq and I so tight on Twitter? Because when he asks a question, I answer! No, I don’t stalk him or sit online just waiting. But I do use cool tools like TweetDeck to make the best use of my time on Twitter (post coming about this soon). Here’s one example of a conversation I had with Shaq on Twitter:
How do these examples help YOU?
I've been an avid New York Yankee baseball fan my entire life. Read 
Big Hoss at Bloggled
23. Mar, 2009
great article Nate. Let me know when he asks how to shoot free throws and I will chime in.
Jordan Garn
23. Mar, 2009
Nate,
How do you know it’s The Real Shaq?
Nate Moller
23. Mar, 2009
Here’s one source of proof:
http://twitter.com/Matt_Siltala/statuses/1231268106
And here’s the original source:
http://sesquipedalis.blogspot.com/2009/02/finally-use-for-twitter.html
And there are (and will be) many others.
Here’s another from ESPN:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4004473
Hope this helps you “unbeliever” LOL!
OutsideMyBrain
24. Mar, 2009
Nate,
I think it’s very interesting! The land of Twitter has allowed the celebrity types to connect with people without the fear of the face-to-face, ok-this-person-is-a-stalker-get-me-out-of-here situation. However, Shaq has taken it to an all new level with his frequent, I-am-on-this-street-corner-come-find-me episodes. It’s a whole new world, this Twitter thing, and it is seeing explosive growth due to some of the personalities joining the ranks.
Twitter friendships are and should be cultivated, just as in real life. You build trust with someone, over time. You showed a great example of how you helped Shaq discover Twitpics. Now, he constantly uses it and will always remember how he got started.
Thanks for the update!
Bradley Bowden, CEO
Green Shield International
@OutsideMyBrain
Happiness Is Better
25. Mar, 2009
This is a really cool post!
It almost seems like people are more willing to communicate via twitter because it’s a new frontier in a way.
I’m adding Shaq and Joe Vitale now!
-Dustin
Nate Moller
08. Apr, 2009
Thanks for the comment Dustin. I agree – these new ways to connect seem to open people up to talking to anyone.
Good luck with the quest to connect with Joe and Shaq!
Who have been some of your most influential connections?
Kaly Shippen
29. Mar, 2009
You keep on talking about Shaq, Nate! I loved the illustrations in your blog post. Very interesting and helpful.
Nate Moller
08. Apr, 2009