SPWD

So we have looked at social networking and decided we must provide value, and must get value from those around us on our networks, whether it is a Blog, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or whatever combination we are using. What about the key ingredient to “social media”?

Defining Social

Again I use Dictionary.com to define a word: pertaining to, devoted to, or characterized by friendly companionship or relations

Friendly companionship or relationships. Social defined.

Throughout using various social network and media tools I am sure you have noticed things that I have noticed. People hating on others, derogatory remarks, rude and crude. People are people after all, and all you have to do is go into any largely populated area, whether it is a store, restaurant or city and you will see how people really are, and social media and networks are not immune to the human factor. Taking this into consideration, I found a great post by Jeremy Shoemaker, a.k.a. Shoemoney, that talks about the Seven Deadly Sins For People Trying To Make Money Online. While this post of his is not necessarily geared towards social media, we can learn to apply some of the principles to what we want to get out of this new paradigm and maybe make better choices and gain better results.

He talks about ENVY – do you envy the people I have posted about in this series? Their success? Their followers and network size? Their interactions? Why? Envy does not make you strive harder for success in the right way, no it makes you strive for success by doing that which is not your best. How is that? If the simple drive mechanism to your social media use is merely to top and best those that are already there, your drive train is weak and underpowered to keep up, let alone surpass them. These guys get the social media tools, they understand the “social” and the “value” side of it. They have been building faster engines, stronger transmissions and an all-around better social media drive train, probably for longer than you have been. They are using top grade tools and parts, called vision, value, intuition, experience and knowledge to revamp their social media processes and they have filled their tanks with high-octane fuel – fuel that is the quest to be the best they can be. What is your drive train consisting of? A Ford Pinto? By using envy as your drive, that’s exactly what you will be driving trying to surpass them in.

PRIDE is another big one in social media and networks. How many tweets do you get that are self-centered, egotistical and generally all about “me” type? I used to get quite a bit until I un-followed some annoyances in my network. All about me belongs on “MY”space, you know the name implies it’s all about me, my, and I. Does it mean you can never say, “Hey, check this out and let me know what you think?” No, but don’t ask what people think just to look good and not look all self-promoting….ask it because you truly value what your network, friends and followers think and feel. Trust me, they will sniff you out, smell you from a mile away and mark you with “stench” if you are not genuine in that interest, and your network and social media experience will suffer tremendously.

Being a SHOWOFF is one last point I want to apply to social media. How many people boast about the number of followers they have on Twitter? Too many. How many have so many connections on LinkedIN you know there is no way they are doing anything other than building as much as they can in hopes for as much exposure as possible, and possibly just to say they have that many in their network. In some cases, you will find those who have successfully made money from social media, and they will tell you how much they made, not once, not twice but usually repeatedly….not once do they share a tip, share a process or anything about what works or doesn’t work. Now, I am not saying we should give all our secrets away, no way, and neither does Shoemaker. But helping others achieve their goals is one aspect of social media that fits within the idea of “friendly companionship and relationships”.

Now, we also need to realize that this doesn’t just apply to what we do using social media. It applies to those in our network, friends list or followers. If you are following people who are envious of you, what do you gain? The ability for them to throw bashes at you, and yes you need thick skin in this business, but why force that ability on them? Un-follow them, remove them as a friend….let them go elsewhere on their bashing, ranting and cursing sprees. If you are following someone full of pride, always self-boasting – are you getting value from them? Probably not. Lose them, and don’t worry about it, the world is full of people using social media that can positively impact your experience. And the last one, seeing someone showoff can be fun, amusing, insightful and sometimes inspirational. But too often the showoffs do it repeatedly and their message never changes. Do we need that in our networks and social media experiences? I don’t, how about you?

The next part of this series will look at making yourself be yourself in social media, and how being genuine is the best policy. If that’s not enough, how about being yourself so if a potential employer sees your social media activities (blogging, commenting, twitter, facebook etc) they are genuinely impressed with you knowing who you are, doing what you do and being genuinely who you are.