Kristy Bolsinger: RealNetworks

Posted by admin

August 26, 2009

If the Real MF (More Fun? Mildly Ferocious? Mas Fantastico?) Gnomedex After-Party is anything like it’s employees, then the Real MF Kristy is awesome. And believe me, she is.

Intelligent, witty, and real (no pun intended) are just some of the many words I would use to describe Kristy Bolsinger. As a Social Media Marketing Strategist with RealNetworks, it’s Kristy’s job to know a thing or two about social media, but believe me, IMO, she knows way more than that. When Kristy isn’t working hard at RealNetworks, she can be found at many events around town, including SMC Seattle meetings, and has also been known to frequent areas in which karaoke may be occurring.

I absolutely recommend you get to know Kristy—she’s funny, kind, and is yet another great example of why the social media community in Seattle is full of awesome.

The Basics:

1. What is your name?
Kristy Bolsinger

2. E-mail?
kristybolsinger at gmail dot com

3. What is your occupation/company?
Social Media Marketing Strategist with RealNetworks.

4. What is the best part of your job?
That it doesn’t feel like one. I love what I do and who I work with. I am extremely passionate about social media and I work with a lot of great people who “get it.” Working on the front line with the customers and being given the support to do it right makes work an amazing place to be!

5. Originally from?
I’ve lived in Oregon my whole life in a variety of different places. Last summer while completing my MBA, I took an internship at RealNetworks doing some search engine optimization work. Throughout the course of the next year, I worked with them on a variety of social media initiatives while finishing grad school. After graduation, I was exploring several different opportunities and determined that returning to Real was the best thing to do. So, here I am.

6. How can people find you on the web?
Twitter: @kristy

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kristybolsinger

Facebook: www.facebook.com/kristybolsinger

E-mail: kristybolsinger@gmail.com

Social Media:

7. What is it about social media that attracts you?
I like the idea of the conversation that can happen in social media with and around brands. It’s something that’s been taking place in word-of-mouth marketing for quite some time, but online social media activities take it to a new scale. Social media has forced brands to humanize themselves and come to the customers… work with them and for them. Also, in the social media space, there’s a great mixture of PR, advertising, and traditional marketing. Sure, there’s always been overlap there, but the increasing prevalence of social media has greatly increased it. Having always been someone who was really interested in all three, for me, this is an amazing area to be working in.

8. How do you utilize social media?
Social media is what I do—and not just while I’m at work. I was reading about, participating in, and blogging on social media before there was ever a paycheck involved. Personally, I use it to meet new people, keep in touch with friends, plan events, discover new content, kill time, and keep up-to-date with what’s going on out there in real life. Professionally, it’s a different ball of wax. Professionally, its more about monitoring conversations within the industry and around the brand, engaging with our customer base, increasing the company’s reach with new consumers, and developing brand personality, for starters.

9. What is one thing the mainstream population should know about social media?
That it’s not a fad that’s going anywhere. Yes, a great deal of the hype surrounding it will dissipate as it becomes more fully integrated into our daily operations and expectations. As this increase happens, the space will certainly develop a stronger under-belly. During my time on Twitter, I’ve seen it go from a small community to a large ecosystem. Now, complete with massive amounts of spam. I guess the point is to be judicious in your social media consumption.

10. If people follow you on Twitter, what can they expect?
Oh wow. Well, I interact with a lot of different types of people online. I’m really passionate about SEO and social media, so you’ll see me passing around interesting links about those types of things and talking to people in those spaces. But it’s definitely not all business. My account walks the line between professional and personal. I have to admit, I’ve even tweeted what I’m eating for lunch before. Please don’t judge!

11. How would you describe the social media scene in Seattle?
Amazing! The people in the social media space here in Seattle are warm, welcoming, and extremely willing to help out a newcomer. I’ve heard of the “Seattle freeze” before and I was either lucky enough to dodge that bullet or it just doesn’t exist anymore. I’ve been here such a short time it seems and I’ve been able to meet so many amazing people, many of which I consider friends. Every event I go to, I end up meeting even more amazing individuals. It just never stops, and I love that about this city! There is a great group of people here, and you should all be proud!

12. Do you remember your social media “wow” moment? What was it?
I don’t think I’ve had one single “wow” moment actually. It’s been a definite process for me. I have been involved in social media on a personal level for years now and have been able to watch the evolution in the brand space as it’s unfolded and continues to do so. Social media has been such an ingrained part of my adult life that it really feels second nature. Watching companies come meet the consumer on their level and genuinely listen and engage has been extremely exciting as both a marketer and a purchaser.

13. What is one piece of advice you give to new users of social media?
Crawl before you walk, walk before you run. For individuals, this process is far quicker than it is for companies, but I believe the principles hold true. Crawling is listening and observing—figure out how the medium works and what types of conversations are taking place and where. Walking is where you start to determine where you want to get involved. Running is where you dive in and get involved.

Once you’re involved, remain genuine and open to different points of view and ways of doing things.

14. Are you currently working on any projects that involve the use of social media? If so, what are they?
Everything I do really involves social media. Outside of work, though, my biggest hobby and project is my blog: www.kristybolsinger.com. It took me awhile to get it started, but I really do love playing with it and developing it as a place to share what I am learning. I’m sure every part-time blogger probably says this, but I really don’t get to give it enough time.

15. Are there any social media events or conferences in the future you would like to let people know about?
The SMC Seattle events are always worthwhile. The website for those events is www.smcseattle.com.

For those who are interested in the Internet-marketing world outside of just social media, I’d really consider looking into attending PubCon in Vegas (www.pubcon.com). It’s coming up in November, and for the money, it’s totally the best investment you’ll make all year. The quality of content, level of speakers, amount of networking, and overall bang for the buck is unbeatable for those interested in search engine optimization, pay-per-click marketing, social media marketing, and Internet marketing.

Just For Fun:

16. What are your hobbies?
Blogging, reading, and spending time with friends and family… I’m really quite boring in the hobby department. No jumping out of planes or off of mountains…just simple stuff. I do want to take sailing lessons sometime soon, though.

17. Favorite vacation spot? Thing to do there?
The next one. I try not to vacation at the same place twice, so the next vacation spot is always the favorite. I like to do a variety of things. Depends on why I’m taking the trip. Sometimes, I just want to relax and lie on a beach. Sometimes, it’s a sightseeing road trip or hiking up a mountain somewhere. Always different.

18. Favorite restaurant in Seattle?
Tako Truk counts as a restaurant right? Yeah, totally Tako Truk!

19. Favorite things to do in Seattle in the summer?
Baseball at Safeco. BBQing with friends. Sailing. Hard to pick just one thing. The summers here are just so amazing.

20. Favorite quote?
Every man who knows how to read has it in his power to magnify, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting.

- Aldous Huxley

21. Guilty pleasure?
Buttered popcorn Jelly Belly jelly beans, bacon on my garden burger, and new shiny things.

22. Favorite actor/actress?
Hmm. Not sure I have just one favorite. I do love Sarah Jessica Parker. That’s probably because I have an unhealthy addiction to shoes and handbags, though.

23. I really like it when…
-I can see the entire rainbow.

-I drop my toast and it lands butter up.

-My favorite song comes on the radio.

-The leaves turn orange.

-I become mayor of some place on Foursquare.

-A new box of books arrives from Amazon.

You know, that kind of stuff.

24. One day I would love to…
Be able to say I’ve done everything on my “list.” It’s a big list and has things like “learn how to play the cello” and “learn french” on it. Things that will take me forever to do. Especially if I don’t start soon. So yeah, finish all of that. J

25. If I could meet anyone, alive or dead, I would want to meet…
If you know me, you’re probably expecting to hear Dave Matthews or Patrick Kerney, and while those are true, I’d like to be a little more profound and substantial here. So, in an effort to impress the lot of you, I’m going to go with Eleanor of Aquitaine.

In all seriousness, I really would LOVE to sit down with that lady! She had an amazing story.

26. What would you like everyone to know about you?
I love ponies. Also, when I say ponies, I actually mean horses. It’s a term of endearment.