Tell me about your blogs?
My name is Kyle Judkins, and I run two blogs. My tech blog, LostInTechnology, provides tips, tricks and how to’s to help you get the most out of your software and gadgets. My social media blog, UpYourSocial, focuses on social media strategy.

What was your first experience of social media?
I would say that my first experience of social media goes back to forwarding emails around to friends and family. Email was the first form of social media, and it still greatly influences our sharing behavior today.

What is the biggest tip you would give to a newbie in social media?
Get a Facebook account. To truly understand the power of social media, you need to start at the top. There is still something amazing about filling out a few details and then having all kinds of old college and high school friends find you with ease.

It is this power that will either hook you or scare you away from social media.

What do advertisers do that you wish they wouldn’t?
Not add value. Social media provides an avenue for advertisers to offer so much more than just basic banner ads, but they just can’t seem to figure that out.

Burger King is one of the few companies that has tried to find ways to add value and fun in their advertising. Take a few seconds to go read about their Whopper Sacrifice campaign.

What do bloggers do that you wish they wouldn’t?
Many bloggers these days have stopped linking out to other blogs. This has been a common practice that helped promote other blogs as well as build some good will for your own blog. I find that fewer and fewer bloggers are linking to original stories or good links.

Where do you see growth in the social media field?
That’s definitely a hard question to answer, as the space changes so much. However, if I had to pick an area that I thought had the most potential, I think the most growth is going to be seen in simple services like Twitter. Most people don’t want to take lots of time and fill out lots of information, so anything that simplifies the process of sharing or connecting with people will be appealing.

What new ideas are advertisers coming up with to take advantage of new trends?
Going back to my previous answer, I think things like the Whopper Sacrifice take advantage of new tools and trends by making advertising fun and interactive. The problem is that there aren’t enough campaigns out there like that.

What do you do to improve the world?
I try to do my part with my blogs by taking part in 12for12k and Blog Action Day.

What do you do that is green?
Not enough. I make sure to recycle as much as possible, and my wife and I switched cars so that I would drive the more fuel efficient car on my longer commute. I try to do the little things, but I strive to make little changes here and there to continue to be more green.

What is one thing about you that not many people know?
I won a pretty large video game championship for Halo PC.

What’s your favorite book?
I’m ashamed to say that I don’t read much, but I will recommend a great book I read recently. It’s called Ignore Everybody, and it is a great book about having the confidence to do the things you love. I highly recommend it.

What is on your iPod?
Some of my recent favorites are TV on the Radio, Cold War Kids, August Burns Red, Architecture in Helsinki, Jay Reatard and The Black Keys.

What are your contact details (email, company, blog, facebook, myspace, forums, etc)?
Email: [email protected]
Tech Blog: LostInTechnology
Social Media Blog: UpYourSocial
Personal Page: Kyle Judkins

What events do you go to?
Mostly just my local Social Media Club Events, but I hope to start attending conferences in the future.

How do you prefer to communicate?
Email is always the best for me, as I can take as long as I want to respond.

Who would you recommend, and why?
The following is a list of some great influencers in various spaces (which I have listed next to them). I recommend finding them on Twitter and reading their blogs, because I have learned a ton from them.

Chris Brogan – social
Seth Godin – marketing
Joseph Jaffe – social
Matt Cutts – search
Danny Brown – social
Darren Rowse – blogging
Mitch Joel – social
Valerie Maltoni – social
Gina Trapani – tech
Daniel Scocco – blogging

What is one thing people can do for you?
Share my blogs and posts in whatever social media space you are in.