Friday, May 4, 2012

Social Media Attack

Is it just me, or do you sometimes feel like you're under attack from social media? It seems every day brings a new product, module, app, or strategy that I should be building into my social media plan? What usually follows is a series of blog posts that not only explain the new tools, but also help me appreciate how incredibly far behind everyone else I am.

Followers, Likers, Connections, Oh My!
What to do with all of this external reaching out, connecting, and following? I initially committed to following back, accepting connections and friending just about everyone. What has happened over time however, is that my various channels and social tools got really crowded with "people" who are interested more in selling or spamming versus connecting.

That's a bad thing.

Retreat! Retreat!
Once in a while it makes sense to evaluate your approach...take a close look at your network...and clean things up a bit. It not only helps get the fluff out of your stream, it also forces you to evaluate who and why you're connecting. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big believer in social media, but making sure you don't waste your time and energy is an important part of being a productive member of the SoMe community.

How About You
What steps have you taken to make sure the SoMe hordes don't over run your life? It's a learning process for me, and I'm always interested in learning more!

I'd love to hear from you.

No Excuses.



pic courtesy of timothywest

6 comments:

  1. Hi Jay - good question :)

    I take breaks. A few years back I realised how liberated I felt when turning email off for a few hours to get other stuff done and now I apply that to Twitter, Facebook etc. Not rigidly, I just remind myself to log off stuff for a while. I can't do it all - so I don't try.

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  2. Agree with Doug, I have been dialing it back quite a bit, especially on the weekends. Taking a breather and losing the mindset of 'What if I miss something?' are both ways that work for me.

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    1. Sage advice Steve...many thanks for the comment!

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  3. This is the problem with social media, it grows exponentially and everyone once in a while you need to re-evaluate which forms you are going to focus your attention and who/what interests you are going to be connecting with.

    Sometimes it is just better/easier to just clean 80% of who you are following out of a reader or other social media becomes more quality conversations with others you have connected with.

    Have done that a few times and it tends to cut back the noise for a while. Almost time for me to think about doing it again.

    Great post.

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    1. Thanks for the comment Harold. I agree...cutting back often improves the quality.

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