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.
[Read more…] about We’re spoiled rotten and it needs to stop
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I’m going to tell you a secret, just between us. Are you ready?
Last week, I published a post on Monday that highlighted 
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?
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.