Brazen careerist
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Social media is great. I love networking via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, GChat, and AIM as much as the next person. As I’ve moved deeper into the world of social networking, I’ve learned something: It is a means to an end, not an end in and of itself.
As much as possible, social media networking must always end in face-to-face contact. If you have the means to connect with someone in person via social media, you need to do so. Otherwise, it’s just voyeurism. There are, of course, geographical limitations that will never allow you to meet in person with someone you’ve connected with, which is both the beauty and the curse of social media. You can connect with people you never would have otherwise (@rhetter, @flowerdust, @tonysteward for me, for example), but your ability to meet with them on a tangible level is low.
Let me give you two examples of what I’m talking about:
- I found out about Andy Drish after he was in an article in Des Moines Juice. Then I visited his blog. I found something I really liked, so I re-posted it on BeDeviant.com. He commented on the post. Then I found him on Twitter via the “Meet Your Commenters” plug-in for WordPress. I followed him, he followed me, we exchanged tweets, and finally met for coffee yesterday in downtown Des Moines. All through social media. It served as a means to an end.
- I started following The Lutheran magazine on Twitter not too long ago. They posted a few tweets while they were were at a social media conference, I asked them some questions, they answered, it was a good time. A few weeks later, I got an email from Amber at The Lutheran asking me to reformat a post from this site for their e-newsletter in January. She had found my blog after following me on Twitter, read some posts, and thought that some of the content would fit well with what they’re doing. I sent the final article in yesterday and a connection between Amber and me was made.
I set out a challenge a few months back to have coffee with every Des Moines tweep (a “tweep” is a person on Twitter) that I’m following or who is following me. I want to use social media as a tool to connection much like a pencil is a tool for drawing.
Social media in and of itself is okay, just like a pencil in and of itself is okay: Yellow, long, sharp on one end and dull on the other. Not much to look at really. What really gets exciting is when you look at what a pencil can create: A sketch, a life story, a poem for your wife, etc. In the same way, what really gets exciting with social media is not what it is but what it can create: Relationships, connections, friendships, websites, business ideas, ministry opportunities, and on, and on.
So, if you use social media tools, what are you creating? What relationships are you building? What lives are you influencing and allowing to influence you?
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Comments
12.17.08
I'm trying to use twitter to network and make sales for my company. I see what I need to start doing to make the most of this tool. Thanks!
01.20.09
Good stories from use of Twitter. I've said this before, but it's good to clarify the purposes of this social media stuff sometimes! It's new, gets picked up fast, and not everyone knows what to do with it! Directions/success stories help. :)
I have started using Twitter to learn about variuos career paths that could benefit from a person with my particular skill set - architecture. The work I put into it isn't always fruitful, but for the connects I do make, it's worth it.
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