You know those commercials for V8 where a person gets bopped on the head because they’re not eating their vegetables? Well, I had a V8 kind of moment today. It had nothing to do with vegetables. Rather, it had to do with Social Media. I guess you were probably thinking that would be the case since I’m posting here.
Anyway…
I realized that for all of the time I spend on Social Media sites, for all of the time I spend talking to people, writing posts, and doing the stuff that I do, I never really think about why I LIKE doing all of this. Because I really do love the whole world of Social Media, you know. And I’ll bet you do too. But we never talk about that. We take it for granted.
Well, I decided I should maybe add a dash of positivity to the Karmic wheel and talk about why I love being in this space.
I love the fact that in a single conversation, I can talk to someone from Malaysia, someone from Australia, someone from Seattle, and someone from my own state of Ohio. I think that’s just magnificent.
I love that I can do all of that at no charge. Who would have ever thought that possible?
I love how easy it is to find a subject you care about and find lots of other people who care about the same thing – enough to converse about it out in the open.
I love the fact that I can read a book then go online and actually tell the author how much I enjoyed their work.
I love helping people get that first glimmer of Social Media excitement, whatever it may be.
I love shocking my dad and brother when I get sports news before they do (that really drives them nuts).
I love being able to help people come up with ideas and solutions. It’s so rewarding.
I love that I am always behind in my blog reading because there is so much great new content every day.
I love the people I have gotten to know who I otherwise would never have met (most likely).
I love trying to figure people out.
I love watching the power of Social Media become a tool for improving some situation in the world that may have gone untouched but a few years ago.
These are the things that come to my mind when I think about this entity that has become such an integral part of my life. Yeah, it’s not perfect. Yeah, you could really get bogged down in what needs to be improved.
But just this once, isn’t it nice to think about why you love this stuff?
Why do YOU love Social Media?
Image by sanja gjenero. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/lusi
I am especially with you on the 3rd last one. For me, it’s all about the people!
yep, I like the people – most of the time 😀
I love being able to stay up to date on what people are thinking like the opportunity to read this blog. I honestly think that you included the key reasons why i love it too. I can also say that the cost factor is somethng many of us forget. I remember when I was a kid and had to call my Uncle who was far away we had only a set of limited calls a month since the call did cost a good amount of money. Now we can stay in touch for little or no cost 24/7.
I think many of us love social media so much that is why we don’t talk about it we demonstrate it in each tweet, blog post, facebook status, article shared, and the man other reasons. Good read for a Sunday morning.
Hi Raul!
Absolutely – the cost thing is huge. We take it so much for granted that we can actually get tired of people who live a world away because we can talk to them whenever we want. Who would have ever thought it possible that I could befriend a fella from Puerto Rico without spending a dime? I mean, that’s just crazy! And awesome:)
I love social media because I can stay tuned to the world and the people in it. TV is a one way street and provides the news they think will sell. Social media you get to pick what you want to see and hear. It is where
you expand in knowledge of so many diverse subjects. Social media provides you with company whenver you need it. It offers encouragement, inspiration, and the power of collective thought. Social media provides access to blogs we would have not read otherwise. No it is not perfect but it is a constant.
That’s a great point differentiating television from Social Media. We can mold our conversations and the input here, which is a pretty powerful ability when you think about it!
Nice little post to supercharge the day and week! ~BR
Thanks, Bobby 🙂
Very well said! I love saying good night to someone when I’m drinking my morning coffee.
Yeah, that’s always fun 🙂
Hey Margie,
What a great idea and nice reminder of some of the things we often take for granted – because let’s face it – we do!
I just started reading Daniel Goleman’s book “Social Intelligence” and in the beginning he states that neuroscience has discovered that the very design of our brain makes it social. Ha! As if I needed science to tell me that – but when you think about it – Social Media allowed for us to be ourselves more often that some get the chance to when they’re out and about in the offline world. It has allowed for us a way to connect with others who we never knew could be like us, think like us and even act like us.
Anyhow – here’s what I love about Social Media:
– The people (like-minded individuals) I’ve met and that I can even call friends – this still boggles my mind.
– The amount of information I’ve learned in such a short period of time. I’m afraid to say that I’ve learned more in one year online than in 4 of undergrad and almost 2 of grad school. And it was free!
– Once again – the free thing…you’re absolutely right when it comes to communicating (real-time) with others who thousands of miles away. You can imagine what my phone bills use to be like lol.
– I love that someone who I’ve never met in person can make me feel better about myself or my work with just a simple comment or RT. I also love how those same people can cheer you up if you’ve had a bad day or make you laugh with a silly tweet.
– I love that all I need is 140 characters to share something with thousands of people.
– I love that my blog is now a (credible) resource of information as well as a place to learn, have fun, make friends and talk with one another. It’s just incredible.
– I love how people will often turn to me for help or advice and that with a click of a key I can help them – and they can help me in return when I need it.
– I love that my opinion matters to some and hopefully one day – many!
– I love how I’m so overwhelmed by good things that happen and continue to happen because of my blog.
– I love remaining up to date with current events without having to surf the news channels on TV. Thank you Twitter and SMedians ;).
– I love how I can write something about someone I admire or respect (who I’ve never met in real life and might never) and they will know about it and come by in person (digitally speaking lol) and thank me for acknowledging them.
– I love that I can direct people towards my blog when they want more then just an old-fashioned resume of my work and writing samples.
– I love wondering what the people I talk to everyday are actually like in their environment, with their co-workers and families. What it would be like to meet them. What we’d laugh about or discuss. All the inside jokes we’d have together even though it would be the first time we’d actually meet in person. Does that make sense to you?
– I love that when I talk about Social Media or my blog to someone who doesn’t blog or use Social Media the way “we” do – they tell me that my eyes light up and that my words exude passion and knowledge.
– I love that I now go to blogs instead of anything else when I want to learn more about a topic.
– I love that I can read someone’s authentic voice as well as their personal experiences and not a dissertation style paper which would be likely to induce a coma on me lol.
– I love that I can tweet a question and that within minutes or hours, I will have 20 replies if not more.
– I love that I’m part of a medium that allows me to express myself better than any other medium out there.
Anyways – once again, I’ve left you with an eBook for a comment and I’m sure by now you know that there’s more things I could add to this list lol. But I guess that’s just another thing I love – that there’s no limit to our thoughts and that the people reading them, usually tend to appreciate them.
Thanks for allowing us to share Margie.
I would say those are my 2 cents – but a dime sounds about right ;).
Happy Sunday to ya
Cheers
What a great answer.
Yes, I do know what you mean. This online communication introduces people to each other in a far different way than we meet each other offline. Online, you can immediately see that someone likes the same things as you. You can read a blog post and learn that you went through similar experiences at one time or another. That might take months or years to get to in the offline world.
It’s great fun to meet people for the first time (technically) but already know you like them. It’s kind of a dream come true for the world in a way, if only more people could treat it as such.
“I love trying to figure people out.” It would make a really cool series if you offered to write a post that “figured someone out.” If you want, you can do me first… with full permission and impunity 🙂 I think it would be a rather cool thing to find out what someone else has “figured out” about me based on my tweets, blog posts, comments and stuff… game?
Hah! I think that would be a fantastic way to end my Social Media career 😀
No, seriously though. We talk about building personal brand and transparency and authenticity and all that stuff, but how many of us are really, really, really that gutsy to say, “What does what I THINK I’m doing REALLY doing?”
Sure, I have friends and family all saying they enjoy the posts and tweets, but that just doesn’t count. I think it would be a critical service to the community. Kinda like what Chris Brogan asked Derek Halpern to do with his KTC blog but on a deeper “brand” issue
http://www.chrisbrogan.com/websitetips/
Yeah, there is some risk of folks saying, “Who the hell does this Margie think she is?” but so what? These people don’t matter! The only one who should care is the person who asked you to do it. Post it password-protected, if necessary… You are only analyzing what your perceptions are based on the subjects FULL PERMISSION, good bad or otherwise… anyone who is serious about this business should welcome an unvarnished opinion.
I’d love to read what someone has “figured out” about me based on my online identity and how they got there!
Hi Margie,
I loved all your points esp No .1 . It is great to connect with different people from the world. It is the harmony that politicians only can dream of .
Best regards,
Ashvini