About SocialSkinny

I started The Social Skinny in January 2011 as a social media strategy blog, mainly to prove to potential employers I knew what I was talking about. I pretty much expected that it would get a few visits a year, mostly by my mother. Amazingly traffic and interest grew in the site (via people other than my family!), and I continued my mission to post no-fluff, no-jargon tips, articles and updates that provide real actionable social media strategies for businesses and entrepreneurs.

More recently, I’ve added some general web optimization content into the mix because I am also well-versed in general website and demand generation strategy, including topics like conversion optimization, search, mobile and display and these topics are also relevant to my core site audience of businesses and entrepreneurs.

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Why ‘the social skinny’? What is the name of this blog?

Some of you will understand it, and as I have (after purchasing the domain and setting up the website) found out, a lot of you won’t. Let me consult my good friend Eric (2003) from urbandictionary.com to help you out:

• skinny
  the scoop, what’s up
  What’s the skinny on your mom? Is she single?
  by eric May 24, 2003

plus superyouper (2005) explains the ancient origins of the expression:

• skinny
  A United States Marine Corps term for information.
  During World War II until the late 1960s ′s, military orders in the Marine Corps were copied on paper resembling an onion’s skin. It was extremely thin, fragile and translucent in appearance.
  “What’s the skinny on the promotions?” said the private
  by superyouper Oct 31, 2005

So as you can see, the website title DOES make sense, but only if you are aware of this (seemingly obscure) expression. Therefore I am not crazy, and this is not a fashion or weight loss blog! I’m glad we sorted that out.