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So Many Avenues – So Little Time

When it comes to truly making social media work, it can actually take a lot of work. There are so many networks to chose from, so many roads to travel, so many avenues to stay away from and so many potholes waiting to sabatoge what you hoped would be a smooth ride. In the end, if you’re not careful, you could find your hopes and dreams dashed as you limp along the cyber-highway we call the Internet. Before you know it, you can end up with so many user names and passwords you need to contact your local travel agent to find your way home. Either that or drop some cyber-crumbs along the way in the hopes that some hacker doesn’t come along and hide them on you.

As my author description reveals, I’ve been in the wonderful world of broadcasting and communication for a number of years. Well, okay, a lot of years. Through those years I’ve seen a lot of change when it comes to achieving effective communication. I still remember the overnight radio shifts where I echoed the famous Genesis line – “Is there anybody listening?” You find yourself asking that quesiton at 3 in the morning as you’re playing yet another song wondering if anyone is up. You even start begging for calls on the phone just so you speak with someone else who has to be awake at o’dark hundred. Many times the voice on the other end of the phone was that of some teenie-bopper who figured you were talking just to her and she wanted to meet you after your shift. (Ick! Pimples and all – no thanks I think I’m busy).

We’ve Come A Long Way Baby

Through the years computers came along and then of course the advent of the Internet. I find it interesting how many people think the Internet is some great recent invention and all the so-called experts figure they have the corner on the market for all wisdom and knowledge. Just what makes an expert anyway? With the ever changing world of technology – Can anyone truly say they’re an expert at this thing we call social media? I think not.

I often find myself chuckling when I get around someone who thinks they know everything about the Internet. The so-called expert’s eyes quickly glaze over when I ask a very simple question – Have you ever heard of a BBS? Often they stammer their way through some lame answer trying to show their genius. But in the end, very few remember, or even know what a BBS is. Once upon a time a friend and I actually ran a BBS on his home computer running an ultra-fast 2400 baud modem! Whew! That was fast. Then we really picked up steam when we found a friend with access to the Internet through his daisy chain of calls so we could send an email from Lexington, KY to Ontario, Canada and get a response in 3 days! (If we were lucky). Those were the days.

Those days are long gone and now the new class of college students these days don’t even know what email is nor do they use it. Why? Because it’s too slow and texting is much faster. Toss in social media involving the likes of Twitter, Facebook, Multiply, Identica and the endless list of other networks and responses can actually overwhelm your phone! One friend of mine said she’s started missing phone calls because all her various social media networks text her phone non-stop.

How Do We Make Social Networking…Social?

Here we discover the real question. Putting the social into social media. If you spend any amount of time on even two or three social networks you quickly discover a sea of bots and people who spew a stream of mindless information. While some of the information is interesting, if there is no interaction with their follows, then they’re really not being social. The trick, if you want to call it a trick, is to actually use social networks to be social. What a novel idea! All too often people use the various social network sites for their agenda. I’ve discovered, and am discovering more and more each day, the secret to actually getting whatever message it is you want to get out, revolves around being social and interacting with those who are following you.

For example, if you’ve been following earlier posts about myself and General Sarge on Blazing Minds you know General Sarge is about supporting military families. Karen here at Blazing Minds has been giving me tips on how to tap into the wealth of contacts in the wonderful world of social networks. I’m now coming across some great military connections and even a few people I’m considering inviting to be guest bloggers on General Sarge. However, the sad thing is, some of the so-called social military people writing blogs, have not discovered the secret of social media – They’re not social. I send messages saying hello trying to interact, but they never respond. If they don’t respond, no matter how good their blog might be, they quickly get removed from my social network.

After all, being on a social network, means you must be social.

Are you looking to let others know about what you’re doing via social networking? Then may I suggest the best place to start is simply by being social and interact with your followers. As you make friends and you become more than just a faceless Internet ID out there, you will suddenly find many people willing to help you out in anyway they can.

Yours in being social!

Dr. Rus

Related articles

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Making Social Media Social is a post from Blazing Minds Copyright 2008-2011. Please link back when using this source material.

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