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Humans love stories and stories need heroes. Fortunately for us: Heroes are everywhere in modern culture. From aptly named HEROES and MEDIUM on NBC to WATCHMEN and yes even PAUL BLART, MALL COP in the theaters. -Omitted Jack Bauer on purpose (mancrush).

Why we love heroes

I think we admire heroes for three reasons: action, ability, and appearance.

• ACTION:  Heroes know that the end result depends on what they do. They have to act. Heroes take action because they have an internal locus of control .
• ABILITY:  Heroes have skills. Napoleon Dynamite knows these matter, and skills/abilities are what I’ll cover in this multi-post series.
• APPEARANCE:  It’s all about the hair. ‘Nuff said.

Become a hero in 6 easy steps

Sure, they make it look easy, but is it? I think so. Follow these simple steps to become a social networking super-hero!

• Discover / develop your skills
  • The skinny: Some heroes are born, others are made. Share the skills you were born with, grow the ones that are important for your future.
  • Who can help: Human Resources, managers (past and present), team members.
• Create an identity
  • The skinny: Choose to act! Decide on your persona (who you are going to be) and how you will interact in online social communities (employee intranet, external websites, etc). In this age of transparency, if you are not ‘real’, be prepared. People will call you on it.
  • Who can help: You! This is an inward journey and involves some self-analysis. Take time to get this step right. Unless you’re Madonna, re-invention is hard. Books on personal branding from Amazon.
• Build a lair
  • The skinny: The heroes we know hang out in the Batcave, The Hall of Justice, The Fortress of Solitude. Choose the online communities where you will hang your cape.
  • Who can help: www.go2web20.net
• Know your enemies
  • The skinny: The enemies that hold us back in our career could be many. Among them: non-connectedness, time, lack of focus, complacency, the unknown. The good news is that these enemies can’t defeat us. Make a solid plan that uses your skills to demolish the foes before you.
  • Who can help: Human Resources, managers (past and present), mentors (Don’t have one? Get one!)
• Partner up
  • The skinny: If the Wonder Twins taught us anything, it’s that teamwork matters. And that they really, REALLY looked like the Osmonds. But the teamwork part… It’s really important. Find someone with complementary skills to your own and start doing stuff!!
  • Who can help: Employee directory at your job, social networking sites, professional associations.
• Do good
  • The skinny: It’s called Altruism, people. Heroes get our love and respect because they use their powers for the good of others. Take your skills to the next level by helping those in need.
  • Who can help: http://www.idealist.org, http://www.volunteermatch.org

Get more powers!

Wanna learn how to get more social networking super powers, like: Time Travel, Hyper-Learning, Mind Reading, Super Strength, Magnetism, and even Web Slinging? Stay tuned to this blog! Which do you want first? Hit up the comments and let me know!