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I read with particular interest the following excerpt:

About 15 percent of teens ages 12-17 say they’ve received sexually suggestive photos or videos of someone they know, according to a study by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.  Four percent admit they’ve sent photos of themselves to others.

Amanda Lenhart, senior research specialist and author of the report, said “sexting,” as it’s called, has become a form of “relationship currency.”

“These images are shared as a part of or instead of sexual activity,” she said, “or as a way of starting or maintaining a relationship with a significant other.”

Here is where the respected Pew Research and Ms. Lenhart are dead wrong! “Relationship Currency” – as a registered trademarked by our firm, is defined as a win-win investment in a valuable and prioritized relationship, one that has an immediate and quantifiable impact to enhance both party’s condition.  Ms. Lenhart’s comment is a gross misuse of the term, particularly given the troubling topic of teen sexting.  We believe Relationship Currency Deposits to be of great value in our society, highly instrumental to one’s personal and professional success in 2010 and beyond heightened by the current environment of low trust.  It is unfortunate that Ms. Lenhart has decided to use an otherwise positive and wholesome phrase, instrumental to the success of many hard-working professionals, and unjustly associate it with inappropriate and juvenile acts.

Another reminder that even the most astute of analysts can get careless and lazy with their word choice!

What does “relationship currency” mean to you?

By David Nour, Founder – Relationship Economics
@davidnour

In advance of my upcoming Social Networking Technology Best Practices Book & DVD on Twitter for Business (with co-authors Michelle Cullison and Nhat Pham) my team and I have researched well over 1200 Twitter tools.  Many are candidly silly and useless – you could say the same for 50% of Twitter users!  Many were unique ideas, which became interesting products – but unfortunately, as we’ve seen too often, interesting products will not make a profitable and thus sustainable company.  In fact, many are developed by individuals and only a few weeks after their launch, are found to be broken or no longer available.

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As a mentor of mine often says, “If you’re not tooting your own horn there is no music!” Those whose livelihoods depend on externally focused relationships such as business development professionals, all understand the power of reference selling.  In any economy there is an enormous level of comfort in a buyer’s journey when they get unsolicited recommendations from other satisfied buyers – it’s simply called “credibility by association.”

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When you’re a candidate for a promotion that ends up going to a peer, are you left wondering “why them and not me?”  Why were they promoted to manage or lead a broader realm of responsibilities, but not me? Why when I am the one who is more consistently and more recently invited to spend time with the boss, are they the one receiving the promotion?

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The prevalence of LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and a host of other social networking tools has certainly raised awareness for personal relationship development and social networking best practices. When the use of the same social interaction functionality is brought into an organization to manage client or customer interactions and partner or supplier engagement in order to enable and manage collaboration within your organization, the mindset becomes one of Enterprise 2.0.

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From David Ryback, PhD - EQ Associates, regarding the recent National Speakers Association (NSA) - Georgia Chapter FastTrack 2.0 program we wrapped up over a six (6) week period:

Sent: Tuesday, December 09, 2008 10:56 PM
Subject: Re: NSA GA FastTrack – Final Thoughts…

 

David,

Your class was excellent!  You have proved yourself a master of speaking professionalism.  You shared your path to success in a completely authentic manner, while giving participants the opportunity to question, comment and laugh together.  I’m so highly impressed with you and your style.  In my opinion, you are the master teacher of speaking worldwide.  I can think of no other individual who can share so powerfully about the speaking profession and the skills needed to nurture to get to the top.

Where you can inject an infectious passion, energy and knowledge to make a real difference in the lives of others?