SPEAKER INTERVIEW: Lane Sutton

This is a series of interviews with the speakers of Digital Family Summit, June 29-July 1.
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Lane Sutton is a 15-year-old young entrepreneur and digital native who has grown up with technology and social media since he was 2 years old. He is a Social Media Coach helping brands, companies, colleges, and people market and grow their social media presence online. Lane regularly speaks to conventions, corporations, business professionals, college students (both undergraduates and post-graduates) about the business of social media, personal branding, reaching the future generation of customers, online privacy, and inspiring fellow youth to follow their passions in the entrepreneurial world.CNN, Forbes, The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, and New England Cable News, among other local, national and international media outlets have all profiled Lane as the kid to watch.

twitter: @lanesutton
website: Lanesutton.com
session: 

How did you get involved with blogging?

I got involved in digital media from seeing the importance of social media for communication and our ability to connect with the world all from a network. I have been using social networks since I was allowed to (age 12) and since, I have been training businesses and professionals on how to use it properly for their industry and to promote themselves effectively for marketing with profiles.

What’s your favorite technology?

My favorite technology tool is Crowdbooster.com because it will give you an idea of your online presence including your retweets with a graph based on the impressions you receive, your influential followers, the best times to send tweets out at based on your past reactions at similar times, top retweeters, as well as follower growth.

What blogs do you read regularly?

-Mashable.com is the epicenter of all technology, business, social media, gadget, etc news, and the most viewed blog in the world right now. -TechCrunch – technology news, lots of gadgets -YPulse – millennial news, studies, research -TheNextWeb – more tech news, entrepreneurship, business -ReadWriteWeb – tech news

If you could travel back in time and send yourself a message, what would it be?

As a teenager already, 2 years ago, I would give myself advice to have more fun and to enjoy activities more. It may sound odd, but school and business are comforts and are routinual for me, so it is important for me to learn to enjoy and balance work with life.

Any advice for young bloggers?

For young digital media creators, my advice is to write and share things you are interested in. Follow your passion with what you enjoy doing, and I’m sure others will follow that.

What do you think is the greatest opportunity for digital teens today?

The greatest opportunity for digital teens and families today would be the ability to get their voice heard easily. It is so easy to start a blog, to be influential, and to gain a following, so utilize social networks for that. Niche based websites such as Pinterest, Zite, blogs, and groups will allow you to meet others with similar interests and be inspired from what you enjoy.

What’s the biggest danger facing digital teens & their families today?

The greatest danger for teens and families is definitely oversharing and privacy concerns. I think it is difficult because many people (yes, even adults) make the mistake of not thinking before they put things online, share things, or say anything about someone. Be aware of what you share, your location, personal information, photos you are tagged in, and make sure it is all appropriate. It is important to do this to ensure you have a positive online presence, and represents your personal brand image well. This can be key to getting a job and being responsible online.

What are you going to talk about at the conference?

My discussion will include the millennial shift to technology and their digital lives. It involves the shift of traditional vs. digital media and how they live and breathe technology, and how it affects them. It also affects our social behavioral patterns.

What’s next for you after the Digital Family Summit?

More speaking! Making others aware of the dangers of privacy, helping businesses get in front of the targeted audience of customers, develop a presence online, effectively market and promote themselves, writing the best tweets, and marketing to the future generation (Gen Y and Z). My website is www.LaneSutton.com

Anything else you’d like to tell us?

I can be followed on Twitter @LaneSutton. Looking forward to the conference and it’s great that you are merging the digital divide.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 Adam Gertsacov is the co-founder and co-organizer of Digital Family Summit.  He wears many hats, including those of a professional clown, an author and publisher, an artist/educator, a non-profit administrator, a P.T. Barnum impersonator, a flea circus impresario, and the esteemed hat of the Clown Laureate of Greenbelt, Maryland.