I know it’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything, but I’m annoyed and need to get it off my chest. 

I was on Facebook this morning and saw that my friend, Mike Shaldjian (aka lafinguy), posted a link to a podcast.  The podcast contained John Jay, a local morning show personality, calling Mike a cheater and then (I felt) he insulted the publication that’s promoting him.  

Arizona Foothills Magazine is running a “Best of Our Valley” Poll.  One of the categories is “Top Twitterer.”  I’m proud to say that I’ve been nominated.  To me that’s a huge honor.  I’m no where near the top of the poll and that’s okay.  There is; however, a neck and neck race between John Jay (@JohnjayVanEs) and Mike (@lafinguy). 

I thought it was really cool that Mike pulled ahead of John Jay.  Mike is an awesome guy, well networked and deserving of the title of “Top Twitterer.”  He uses Twitter for what’s it’s for and that’s social networking.  We meet on Twitter and he’s actively supported all the nonprofit agencies I’ve worked for through giving and donating of his time. 

Despite being nominated for two other categories and “crushing” the competition in those categories, John Jay uses his morning show to promote himself and bash Mike’s character. All because he’s not winning the “Top Twitterer” category in the poll.  Seriously!!

I use to listen to John Jay’s morning show.  I use to follow him on Twitter, but I stopped listening and stop following him because he annoyed me.  Both on the show and on Twitter, he would talk about himself ALL the time.  He did not interact with fans and he tweeted about nothing, so I stopped following him.  I think that was over a year ago.

I’m all about healthy competition, but I feel John Jay took it too far and it’s very disappointing.  Mike embodies what social networking is all about.  He’s networking!! Networking is not a one-way street.  That’s called self-promotion (something I feel John Jay does ALL the time).  It’s about interacting and Mike has that down and actually a lot of people on the “Top Twitterer” list have it down.  Way better than John Jay and even more deserving of the title of “Top Twitterer” than him.

 John Jay has over 22,000 followers, Mike has nearly 2,000.  And it goes to show, just because you have a lot followers, it doesn’t mean they’ll go to bat for you.

All in all, please vote for Mike (@lafinguy) in the AZ Foothills Magazine, “Best of Our Valley Top Twitterer” category.  He truly deserves the title.  You can vote everyday until November 30th.    If you feel so moved, you can also vote for me as well @ireneaugustin. (LOL! Throw me a freakin’ bone)