Social Media – are you in control or is it?
It’s been far too long since I last wrote a post for East West…I am not going to make excuses because there really aren’t any to make. The other day I went to a talk on the social media handshake. The presenter made it all sound so simple: just spend 8 minutes a day updating Facebook, LinkedIn, and all the other sites your profile is on, make a couple of intelligent tweets on Twitter, check your blog for responses and post something worth sharing, and “bob’s your uncle” as the saying goes…
Well, if you are anything like me, this is much easier said than done. How can one possibly do everything in only 8 minutes ? I know a few people who invest more time on Facebook than they do in speaking to real life friends…then there are others that spend time hooked to their Blackberries (well last week must have felt like being ship wrecked on a desert island !! aagh 3 DAYS WITH NO PHONE…) or answering every single email in realtime…When on earth do these guys get the real work done?
Our lives are gradually being invaded by digital tools that are the most amazing inventions (thanks to Steve Jobs and many others) since possibly the light bulb. It is incredible to think that we can speak to people on the other side of the world almost as if they were in the same room as us. Skype is making the world a smaller place and so is just about every other app around. But as the world becomes smaller our networks expand. How in control of your network are you?
1000 friends on Facebook? or 100 ? Are you managing your online relationships as you would your real life relationships? How sincere are you when you ask someone whom you’ve never even met to become a friend? Have you ever taken a step back and worked out how much time you spend each week on actually meeting people and how much time on virtually meeting people?
Today’s social media revolution is definitely here to stay. Whether you like it or not and whether you use it or not, social networks have you covered. Your profile is out there be it thanks to photos friends have posted, an article or book you’ve published or a comment you posted. So my advice, and that of many social media gurus (yes, they too are making a mint advising people on how to live “virtually”) is :
- take a quick look at your online profile;
- decide whether you want to be in control and to what extent;
- choose the tool that suits you – don’t be duped into using twitter if you don’t see the point
- work out how much time you can spend socialising on line and exactly what good it will bring you;
- whether it’s 8 minutes, 80 minutes or more, make it work for you and not the other way;
- give yourself regular free time with no digital tool even in earshot;
- and remember EVERYTHING you do, show, say online is open to the world…there are NO secrets in the social media world!
And last, but in no way least, socialising is all about enjoyment…it shouldn’t be a chore. We’ve all enough of those to do every day without adding to our list !
