Tweets With Miss Destructo

If you want to give a voice to a toy cowboy, Tom Hanks isn’t a bad choice, and Mike Myers is pretty good as a green ogre.

But who did a national company hire to be the online voice behind a can of yams?

The answer lies here in New Port Richey, where a tall blue-haired virtual rock star known as Miss Destructo helps businesses like Bruce’s Yams find a cyber personality.  

Her real name is Amber Osborne, and she prides herself in being the “destroyer of social media boredom.” Last fall, Creative Loafing named her "Best Twitter Personality" and runner-up for "Best Blogger." Her personal Twitter account boasts more than 16,000 followers. That’s like knowing everyone at Pasco-Hernando Community College and their grandmother.

Osborne works at an appropriately colorful firm, Head of Lettuce Media, where she acts as “Blue Cheese” to Head of Lettuce CEO Antony Francis.

Osborne uses social media like Facebook and especially Twitter to give corporate social media campaigns personality and vigor, but her best known branding effort is likely herself.

Her Ray Ban aviator sunglasses and the cobalt blue hair at the top of her tall, slender frame have become Miss Destructo trademarks. When she travels the country, whether she’s at South By Southwest or at a Las Vegas social media conference, her brand does exactly what it is designed to do: it sets her apart.

Not surprisingly, she logged on to Twitter to do her interview with Patch…via direct messages on Twitter. Below is an edited transcript of the conversation.

Patch (@charlesmckenzie): Can you tell us the state of social media in New Port Richey? Have you had Tweetups here? A lot of local interest?

Miss Destructo (@missdestructo): Pasco has a wealth of social media potential here. I meet ultra-talented people at networking events in Tampa. Where are they from?...NPR.

It's sad that they have to go to Tampa or out of state to work when we could easily have a tech hub in Pasco.

At Head of Lettuce Media, we hold monthly Pasco Tweetups with great attendance. We started a free SM class for local charities.

Patch: What can social media do for a community like New Port Richey?

Miss Destructo: We are in one heck of a powerful age right now with social media. Use it... change your life and help others.

And yes, to quote Bill and Ted, "Be Excellent To Each Other.”

Patch: Yet social media has a lot of detractors, people who say it’s trivial.

Miss Destructo: Social media is more than just what you ate for breakfast. It's connecting the world like never before.

I have a motto, "Nothing is impossible.” Remember Egypt and how social media played a big part in that?

Social Media Tips

Patch: So what recommendations do you have to the social media newbie?

Miss Destructo: Ask a friend who is good at Twitter to show you some of the basics. I recommend Mashable.com to keep up with all the changes.

I've helped strangers set up their Facebook or Twitter profiles after telling them what I do.

It's a good feeling especially when they connect with job leads or friends they haven't seen in years.

Patch: How did you first get started on the internet?

Miss Destructo: My first brush with the internet was because of David Bowie. I fought to get internet in the late 90s because of his fan chat room.

From there, I realized the power of community, how people worldwide could become connected under one subject and help each other.

Patch: Things change so rapidly. How do people just kind of wading in avoid being swamped by these overwhelming currents?

Miss Destructo: Throw your computer out the window, and go live in a cave. Just kidding. As a society, we are moving so fast into a social media-based world.

Until there is more hands-on education about social media, I recommend “Social Media 101” by Chris Brogan for the beginner at social media.

Social media isn't some elite club. It's social. It's a community, and we've got to educate each other on best practices.

Patch: And speaking of best practices…or worst ones. What’s the biggest mistake you see businesses make?

Miss Destructo: Biggest mistake I see businesses making in SM is they have interns running their campaigns because they think they are young...

That they know how to use Facebook and Twitter, so they stick them with campaigns and end up with huge PR disasters.

Patch: So these intern-driven campaigns lack what? Vision? Perspective? Institutional knowledge?

Miss Destructo: Education on how to use social media for business. It is greatly needed in communications or business schools.

Patch: Speaking of disasters, as a Twitter personality (can I call u that?), how do you know what’s private? Where do you personally draw that line?

Miss Destructo: I have a motto:  if you wouldn't say it to someone's face or in a crowded room, don't say it on Twitter.

A Star Is Born

Patch: Going back some, when did social media kind of take off for you?

Miss Destructo: I was unemployed, just out of college (University of Tampa) and in a new small town (Greenville, S.C.). I found my passion in blogging.

I started promoting my blog in the city using social media (Twitter) and then started meeting all kinds of people locally.

That's when the social media crowd of Greenville told me, "Hey we really like your style, your writing and your Twitter personality."

Having blue hair in the Bible Belt was a bit difficult. I knew I wasn't going to get a job. So I just started focusing on networking online.

I met people all over the country doing amazing things with SM. I just had no idea. I was this weird girl with no MBA.

And then that's when I met social media greats like @chrisbrogan and @unmarketing, who basically took me under their wings...

And pushed me to find my way in social media with my personal brand.  But I wanted to be more than just a "Twitter personality"

I wanted to help others and companies find in them that uniqueness about them and help them create an unforgettable legacy online.

Uber Tuber to Cyber Tuber

Patch: What do you do for your clients, social media-wise?

Miss Destructo: I help companies find their online voice or personality from their company culture and teach them how to cultivate it using SM.

Patch: You're probably sick of the "I yam what I yam" jokes, but what's your connection with Bruce's Yams?

Miss Destructo: Bruce's Yams happened because I was starving, eating yams out of the can. It became an inside joke on Twitter.

Six months later, Bruce's hires me to do their social media and put a personality behind a can of yams on Twitter.

And that's not an easy job, being a can of yams. They can be kind of a jerk sometimes. *laughs*

I just thought about what being trapped in a can would feel like. You could say I am a "brand profiler"... it's a science. *laughs*

Patch: Is this the first time in history a can of--what are they, vegetables?--has had an online personality? And do you get free yams?

MD: Yams... they prefer to be called the "uber tuber.” Bruce’s sent me a box of yams once. At the time I almost had to live in said box.

Miss D. v. Amber Osborne

Patch: Marketing yourself is maybe a bit easier for you. What if you don’t literally stand out in a crowd?

Miss Destructo: I think everyone has something memorable about them, it's not just image. You could have raised sled dogs or have a pickle collection.

I tell people when they network, not to "be a pitch" but to find a connection or have a unique or funny story. Everyone has them.

Surprisingly I have observed, most social media based personalities aren't too social in real life.

Patch: I feel like if that surprises you, you just might be one of those shy people. True?

Miss Destructo: It's funny you say that. I am a very social person. As the cautionary tale states, "Don't hang out with Miss D if you have to work in the morning."

But I hear "Wow, you are so quiet/nice in person.” I tend to be an "enabler" in situations though, getting those shy ones out of their skins.

I guess it's just the inner Miss Destructo in me, helping people destroy their boredom and getting them to pursue their inner passions.

Patch: What tools are important for marketing, whether it’s yourself or a different product?

Miss Destructo: Showmanship I believe is highly important in social media. It's a craft to entertain and inspire an audience while rocking their faces off.

Patch: You sound like vintage Bowie.

Miss Destructo: Bowie has played a huge part.  Working with bands in the past, I learned quite a bit on the importance of image and showmanship as well.

Patch: So you were "Under Pressure"?

Miss Destructo: I think humans are generally curious of all that is strange and interesting. It's connecting the intrigue with approachability that is tough.

I want to make sure that anyone that knows me online can feels like they can approach me in real life.

Patch: I assume that Miss Destructo's somewhat different from Amber. Is that right?

Miss Destructo: Miss D and Amber are the same person but very different aspects of myself. Miss D allegedly smashes windows and lives in a penthouse.

However, those things "may" not be true. I make sure that most of Miss Destructo is based around who I really am and my life experiences.

Patch: Well, it was very nice meeting you. Both of you. Thank you.