Archives for June 2011

We’re spoiled rotten and it needs to stop

Regardless of your religious background, you’ve probably heard something about the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve lived there for a long time in total bliss and happiness, and all they had to do was avoid the Tree of Knowledge. If they could just avoid eating that apple, they’d be fine. But a serpent fooled them into thinking that their transgression would not be noticed, so they partook of the one thing in the world they were not allowed to have. And here we are, wearing Prada and Calvin Klein instead of tree leaves.

When I first joined the Social Media world about a year ago, I kind of felt like I had stepped into a very 21st century Garden of Eden. The possibilities were endless, not just for business but for improving the world. When a disaster strikes in Italy, Haiti, Greece, Japan, Libya, or Jopin, Missouri, the online world can situate itself to respond and help. What could possibly be more magnificent?

But there is a serpent looming. The serpent says that there is big money to be made here. The serpent says that if you can just outshine everyone in the online world, you can work from home, make the exact kind of living you want, and never have to worry about a thing. I hear this serpent’s voice more and more clearly every day. I think about listening to him. I bend down to listen to what he has to say.

I need to step on his head.

When to call in reinforcements

by Margie Clayman

Over at Kitchen Table Companies (affiliate link) there is a really interesting thread which also ended up becoming the question of the week for Kitchen Table Talks last week. The question revolves around your breaking point. At what point are you just ready to throw in the towel? At what point are you using adjectives like “burned,” “hosed,” or “done” to describe your state in life, your job, or maybe just your online presence? And when you get to that point, what do you do about it?

Conversations like this seem to run rampant in the online world. While a lot of people tweet about taking a walk in the sun in the middle of the work day (much to my chagrin), there are many more instances where people have worn themselves out, made themselves sick, or isolated themselves from family and friends.

Why are you doing that to yourself?

Why being a little self-centered is important when engaging

by Margie Clayman

I’m going to tell you a secret, just between us. Are you ready?

Over the last couple of months, a string of events has occurred that made me question, at various times, whether doing all of this “Social Media stuff” was really the best idea for me. There were moments of frustration, some moments of disappointment, and an awful lot of moments of learning, as we all must learn when we are involved in something that is still so new.

There were a few times when I thought, “Heck, I don’t *need* to do this stuff. It’s not how I make my living. Nobody’s life, in fact, depends on whether I keep on blogging (thank goodness).”

To put it simply, there have been a few times over the last couple of months when I came close to letting various irritations convince me that I should give up my Social Media world. But I am still here. Now how, you might ask, did that happen?

A few observations on gender online

by Margie Clayman

Last week, I published a post on Monday that highlighted 60 great women, and then on Friday I published a post that highlighted 60 great men. I really enjoy the online world’s openness to singing the praises of others – I love how it makes people smile and feel appreciated. We all like hearing kind words every once in awhile, after all.

What I didn’t expect, though, was the very strange manner of different reactions both of these posts generated. Accidentally, I ended up sort of starting a case study that examines gender in the online world.

So, I thought I would outline some of the things I noticed and get your opinions about them. I don’t really have any theories at this point. Well, that’s not true, I do have *some* theories, but I’d rather let you write this post!

Here are some of the odd things I noticed in reflecting back on these two posts.

Where should I spend my Social Media time

by Margie Clayman

One of the biggest issues people seem to have when beginning to grasp the world of Social Media is the time factor. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, the Blogosphere – they’re all 24/7. Unless you want to make yourself into a zombie, you’re simply not going to be able to keep track of everyone and everything all of the time (I apologize if this is laying a hard truth upon you in an overly blunt fashion, by the way!). So what can you do?

Perhaps the most common question people ask me is, “OK, so where should I engage the most?” The question makes sense. You have limited time, so you want to make sure you spend it in the best way possible (kind of metaphorical for life too, when you stop and think about it). The obstacle in the way of answering this question is that it’s different for everybody, and getting the answer requires asking still other questions.

With that in mind, I thought I would give you some ideas of questions you might want to ask yourself about your online plan because answering THOSE questions is really the best way to answer the ultimate question – where should you focus your time and energy.

What Social Media Engagement Is Not

by Margie Clayman

A lot of people, including me, spend a lot of time talking about what social media engagement is. I mean, some people even do a whole series based on that subject (heh heh heh). But I think sometimes it’s important to remember what things are *not*. I think, based on my observations over the last month or so, that there needs to be some review of what social media engagement should not become, paths social media engagement would be better off not traveling.

As per usual these are just my opinions, so if you want to disagree or voice a slightly different opinion, you are more than welcome!

Archives for June 2011

Footer