Social media is replacing traditional forms of communication and it’s changing the way we do business. So, if you rely on communication or business, social media will become an important part of your life, if it isn’t already.
Like any important part of your life – money or food, your health or relationships – social media can’t be approached casually or used randomly. To get any benefit from it, it needs to be managed.
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I attended WordCamp Boulder last week. The WordPress conference included 15 sessions, presented three at a time. I followed what I refer to as the low-tech track — information for bloggers; as opposed to the high-tech track for developers. Here are my notes, inspired by the presentations.
I am the first to admit that my lifestyle has changed drastically over the past year due to social media. Some who know me call it an addiction. Those, however, who have made their own discoveries about social media are more likely to agree that it can serve as an enhancement to the daily routine.
While enjoying dinner at an outdoor café on Boulder’s Pearl Street Mall yesterday, my friend told me she’d heard that many people check their Facebook accounts even before they go to the bathroom in the morning. We both had a good laugh, and then were inspired to do a spontaneous survey of passersby to see how many were on Facebook. The survey was not exhaustive, but our poll results were 2:1 – more Facebook users than not.
This morning I came across the article that was the basis of the “Facebook before bathroom” report. One of the headers in this article suggests that Facebook may be an addiction.
I’d like to point out that checking their social network first thing in the morning did not prevent these people from doing other important things (such as going to the bathroom). It simply came first in the order.
I also want to point out that going to the bathroom first thing in the morning has never been labeled an addiction. Why then is checking Facebook? Further, doesn’t the fact that one can check Facebook even before answering nature’s call speak to the ease and efficiency of handling this task?
Of course I’m going to defend social networking as a lifestyle enhancement, and do everything I can to dispel the silly talk about the addictive properties of social media. I base my opinion on solid experience.
Yesterday was a perfectly lovely day spent with a friend I would’ve never gotten to know if it hadn’t been for the social network, LinkedIn. We wouldn’t have had the opportunity to meet at the Pearl Street Mall yesterday if I hadn’t been there for the blogging community’s WordCamp Boulder conference earlier in the day. Nor would I have spent the whole evening with my friend hitting as many fun places as we could, loading up my FourSquare log and winning badges.
My lifestyle has been enhanced by social networking. Yes, I suppose it can be an addiction if it’s misused and abused (like anything else). But a little social media management can go a long way to ensure that it enhances your lifestyle – both personally and professionally.
Last summer I blogged about social media management tactics – even before I had heard the term “social media management.” This acquired skill is even more defined now. I’d love to hear how social media enhances your life; or, how it may have become something less desirable as an addiction.
A last-minute change in my weekend plans is allowing me to go to WordCamp Boulder 2010, and I can’t believe how excited I am. I’m sure my Facebook friends and family think I’ve completely lost it after seeing me post not once, but twice about this this afternoon. (And now this blog . . . that makes three times!)
Every time I say “WordCamp” I picture myself packing a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in my backpack with my sharpened no. 2 pencils and a notebook. It just sounds all so geeky.
I joined a local WordPress MeetUp networking group in April. One of my friends there challenged me to take the leap from wordpress.com to the much more flexible and interesting wordpress.org and see what I could do with it. Since then I’ve spent 140 solid hours sitting at this computer working on my websites (or do I call them blogs because it’s done on WordPress?). I guess I AM kinda’ geeky.
My first crack at a website was using a GoDaddy template about this time last year. Though I’ve migrated away from that, I have to say that I’m glad that’s where I started. Their support team is incredible, and much of my foundational learning happened with them on the other end of the phone.
The GoDaddy website didn’t offer a free blog feature, so that’s when I started experimenting with wordpress.com and created Part of the Plan. That was a good second step. By the time I got to wordpress.org, and started working on the site for 3D Communications, I could see no difference in the processes; just more power and options.
Now, each time I learn something new about wordpress.org – and that happens hourly – I realize that I’m barely scratching the surface. And I honestly don’t want to get into the business of building websites. It’s work!
My real line of work is social media management. But as a social media manager, I understand the importance of a good website in the overall digital strategy. I won’t hesitate to recommend WordPress to anyone who wants to try their hand at building their own site. Yes, it’s a lot of work. But it’s also really fun work. I guess that’s why I’m so excited about getting to spend a day at “camp.”
I’d love to hear how others discovered WordPress, and how it fits into your own website-building experience. Or, if you’ve managed to live without WordPress, how? (Comment button is located at the top of this blog.)
Networking is an important part of growing a small business, and I believe strongly in blending social networking with traditional face-to-face networking. But, I often joke that I have a love/hate relationship with networking, overall. It comes down to one’s ability to manage all the contacts made, no matter what the forum or medium.
For the past nine months or so I have been a member of MeetUp — an online site for organizing, finding, and participating in networking groups not confined to online interaction. If social media is word-of-mouth on steroids, MeetUp is networking, turbo-charged.
What surprises me is that many MeetUp members don’t take advantage of the features that MeetUp has designed to allow you to get the most out of networking. Here are a few tips for using MeetUp to help you network like a pro:
These tips just scratch the surface. With all its features, MeetUp nicely closes the gap between social media and socializing – social networking and networking. If you have a favorite use for MeetUp, or a tip you can share, please click the blue ‘comment’ link at the top of this blog and tell us about it.
