Image by fredcavazza via Flickr
In a revisit of an old blogpost where I reported my activities in three areas– blogging, social media and business- I recently reviewed where I stand with blogging. Today it is my turn to talk about social media. Compare today with two years ago.
Two years ago I was very excited about Social Media, particularly Facebook and Twitter. Twitter seemed cool and Facebook offered a way to connect with friends from the past. I jumped in. Over time I explored using them both to promote my blog and make connections. I checked out software to read and manage my Tweets and spent a few months Tweeting and re-Tweeting my posts to promote my blog. It didn’t make a big difference. I read all the Social Media gurus and made a big effort to understand and master Twitter and finally just let it all drop. I don’t get Twitter.
I have better things to do than watching my Twitter log and exchanging witty -or not so witty- comments with my community. The only thing I do with Twitter is to re-Tweet posts that I like. I don’t know that it helps bring ttraffic but it is a way to show approval and lend credibility to people whose work I respect and enjoy. That’s how I see it on my blogs although it doesn’t seem to boost my readership. I am pretty much burned out with Twitter. It might be a good vehicle for quick exchanges with a team but so far my teaming manages without it. Neither have I made any use of it on my smart phone. Filtering through so much information just annoys me and drains the battery. Skype provides instant communication in a more filtered way on my computer.
Facebook is something else. I use it- although certainly not well. It allowed me to connect with friends from high school with whom I find more in common than college classmates and provided some satisfying moments sharing memories and pictures from the old days. I check it at least once a day. I link posts from my blogs, click like buttons for activities, people and content that I like and I have just begun to explore advertising on Facebook for commercial purposes. I firmly believe that Facebook has legs. The numbers and my grudging use is prooof. What I make of it is yet to be determined.
I know that there are many other social media sites. I have an Amplify account and some content shared but I hardly ever check it. I much prefer to check the original blog sources. I also have a Linkedin account. I have made a lot of connections but don’t know exactly why or what to do with them.
Right now, I still think SM is important but I’m past the superficial excitement level. As I focus on business development, I can’t afford distractions or diversions. What is clear that SM defines where the web is going. It is a vehicle. It is a medium. It is a lifestyle. It is an opportunity. Finally it is a tar baby ready to trap you and suck out your energy if you embrace it without a plan.
So I’m being reserved about SM just now. It is important but a wild beast to tame.
That is my current position on SM. What is your take and what am I missing.
Ralph, I am with you on Twitter, I just ‘don’t get it’ either and I am still waiting for the devotees to prove that it works.
I did have a Facebook account but closed it recently because of all the inane comments from ‘friends’. I can appreciate the fact that a small group of serious business minded people can benefit from it but not the social muppets that seem to use it.
I have visited C.O.C.
Bill
Bill Murney’s last Blog Post ..Falling Behind
Bill,
Maybe re Facebook, you need to lighten up. It is a good vehicle to market your activities- like your hiking. You could use it to market your expertise as a man who know his way around the trails of Britain. Post pictures and talk about experiences on the hikes and market your book. Thanks for your comment at COC. I was worried about the Queen.
I don’t do Twitter, nor Facebook (saw the movie though), don’t have a cell phone, and sometimes think even blogging is a total waste of time. I guess it’s all about how ya use it. If it ain’t fun, I can live without it.
I was riding my bike to work the other day and passed a group of high school kids waiting at a bus stop. Were they talking to each other and jiving around like we did as kids? Hell no! They where all busy texting or on the cell talking to someone else. Blew my mind.
hansi’s last Blog Post ..The Oh Reilly Fornication
Hansi,
Blogging is a total waste of time. Right up there with breathing.
Ralph@Retirement Lifestyle’s last Blog Post ..Me and Social Media
I don’t know why, but I can see a direct and almost immediate result on my blog after posting a Tweet. I can promote a blog post from several months or even a year ago on Twitter, and within an hour or two see several views of that post pop up on Blogger’s stats page. In the 30 days before I tweeted about it, there were no views. This happens virtually every time so I put the time into Twitter.
I dabbled in Facebook but haven’t really spent the time learning how to use it. Maybe that should be a goal.
Bob Lowry’s last Blog Post ..Retirement Frugality: What Does That Mean?
Bob,
It sounds like you are using Twitter well and it is paying you back.