In my continuing quest to change hearts and minds about the use of social media, I think it's important to communicate not only the mechanics about getting around social media platforms but, perhaps more importantly, communicating cultural dynamics. But therein lies the rub. Whom should you trust for information about social media protocol?
Who's Your Trust Agent?
I s'pose much influence can be had by those you hit up first.
If, for example, you happen to first land with someone who values social media as a tool for "getting more traffic," "gaining leads," and "hooking prospects," then it's likely you'll be influenced accordingly and pattern future behaviors on the basis of that information. Depending on your professional history, that may even resonate with your own professional beliefs.
If, on the other hand, I am honored to have earned your trust as your first introduction to social media, then perhaps you'd become influenced by what I have to say.
But I should say, too, as much as I'd like to propagate my beliefs about what is/isn't "good" behavior, I feel I'd be doing you a disservice without some disclosure about my biases. I'm in the "relationships" camp as opposed to the "connect-with-as-many-people-as-I-can" camp.
As with all things, you should make up your own mind. Consider different sources and reconcile that content with your own values, beliefs and objectives.
Shouting vs. Dialog (Caution: Personal Bias. Caution: Personal Bias...)
With that said, let me now influence you with my bias, and that of the folks I tend to follow.
Below are some highlights from a recent post by Gennefer Snowfield on the Jelly Flux blog. The article is about the dichotimies between quantity of contacts and quality. I call it shouting versus dialog(ing?). It's framed in the context of Twitter but I think it can apply to most social networks. Here is the link to her article "There's too many "me, me, me's in 'follow me.'"
The whole article is worth a read. So, too, are the 20+ comments that comprise an excellent primer about (perceived) do's/dont's and values in this space. (The article resonates with me so much that not only am I dedicating this blog post to letting you know about it, but I've also included it as a reference of sorts for any future presentations and introductory workshops I give on the topic of social media.)
Scan the highlights below. If it compells you to explore further, read the entire post and the comments. Then, if you're further interested, you can also scan the debate that spilled over into the Twitterverse about quantity vs. quality. (Read it from the bottom-up.) If you click-through to the twitterstream above, the dialog you'll want to follow are those associated with: @acclimedia, @mackcollier, @pixelyzed, @shannonpaul. (BTW, If you're up on Twitter, I can recommend them as folks to add to your "following" list. But, there I go again with my biases...) ;)
Highlights (Excerpts)
- At least five times a day someone posts, ‘Oooh, I’m almost at [insert absurd number here] followers’ and then proceeds to beg for people to help them get more followers...
- (But) Do they engage in meaningful interactions? Do their thousands of contacts somehow augment their lives?
- I think there are various reasons why people continue to focus on quantity over quality, but as we continue to become more wired, does this mentality enhance or detract from our human-ness? Are we evolving or regressing as a result of the endless supply of contacts available via the web?
- ...while it’s possible to build real relationships via the web... far too many detract from the true value of social networking when their focus is on the quantity in their network instead of the quality of their interactions.
- A large following is not necessarily a bad thing — especially when you’ve built it by virtue of substance for purposes of developing relationships and sharing knowledge vs. shallow attempts at hijacking the system for follow backs solely to promote yourself.
- ...that is how real sharing takes place — by reviewing the posts in your stream, acting on them, commenting on them and engaging in direct conversations — or related, indirect interactions — sparked by the content. In doing so, you expand your arsenal of knowledge, enhance your thinking and build relationships.
- ...while the theme of my post centered around quantity, I think that the heart of this issue is INTENT....If your goal is to randomly add thousands of followers for purposes of self-promotion, elevating to ‘rockstar’ status, or to flagrantly hawk your product or service without any interest (or INTENT) in forming relationships with those in your network, you work in direct opposition of the sharing, community-building and quality exchange that can take place, and make it more difficult for those of us who genuinely want to connect with our followers and cultivate a quality forum for knowledge, ideas and substantive conversation.
- We all have a business and things that we’d like to promote, but that promotion is a privilege — NOT a right — and is only afforded to you after you’ve taken the time to ENGAGE your audience, BUILD trust and EARN credibility.
- If you put the effort forth to do that, your healthy, thriving community, rooted in respect and authenticity, will be happy to carry that torch for you and share your accolades with the world. When you take a genuine interest in someone — and they in you — you become invested in EACH OTHER’s success, cultivating a 2-way vehicle for mutual development and advancement vs. a 1-way sales pitch.
Comment Excerpts...
- That works great for people that are ‘known’... my fear is that there are many really SMART people out there that are afraid to interact with people with a large number of followers, cause they assume these people are ’smarter’ than they are...I think more and more, the ‘valuable’ people on Twitter are the ones that are the ‘unknowns’...
- The people you refer to in this post, those in it for vanity and influence rather than relationship and value, behave this way whether or not they do so on Twitter. Twitter only amplifies it.
- ...here’s where i’m at…kinda new on twitter…reading a lot…adding slowly…and at the honeymoon period of figuring out who i want to interact with and who i want to just observe... but as i tried to get to “know” people through their posts and interact with folks that i may want to build a kinship with, i realized... the only way you could truly have a relationship with thousands of people would be if you had thousands of years to nurture them... so i’m changing my focus a bit. moving from making staetments (sic) to asking questions. using people’s specialties as a resource to enhance my education. and in turn, trying my best to be a resource to others.
- Face it, we live in a competitive world. I think that many new to twitter bring that competitiveness... and with that scoreboard right at the top of the screen can easily get carried away... There are many smart people with great content who we don’t yet know. That unknown content provider for the first time, with social media tools, has an outlet. Hard to blame them for wanting to get heir content to more, faster. Don’t we all.... I’d like to make an easy rule for myself that says if you mention your numbers, you’re dead to me but that’s just not realistic. My nose will be gone and my face spited.
There's much more here. Check it out. It's worth a read.
