I’m not criticizing.

Seriously. Just asking.

• Did you set up that twitter account months ago and then never return?
• Are you on facebook but never post about your status…or never comment on others’ posts?
• Are you on LinkedIn but you don’t invite people to join your network; you just accept invites?

I’m not calling you out, here.

I’m calling you in.

I want to know what is stopping you from joining in.

I’ll go first…I’m anti-social by nature. But here I am, rallying like a lunatic for social media. What was the thing that had been stopping me from getting into it sooner? Time. I didn’t think I had the time to engage. It’s also a little scary putting yourself “out there.” Few of us are immune to the fear of criticism. (And I’m not sure I believe those who say they are.)

So, “time” and “fear” were my personal obstacles. BUT, my drive to overcome obstacles was and is stronger than the two of those “stoppers” combined.

So, tell me, what’s stopping you?

I happen to think that, together, we can overcome just about anything. But, first, you need to speak up. I’m here for ya, listening… But I’m getting old. So you’re going to need to speak louder.

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• The Facebook Phenomenon (stillsecureafteralltheseyears.com)
• Jumping Into Social Media (mediabullseye.com)
• My Social Media Trifecta (link to a previous GrayMatter blog post)
• What My Kids Taught Me About Social Media (seohack.site88.net)

Scroll to the 2:00 mark on the timecode and watch the left side of the screen.

Why am I posting this on a blog about social business marketing?

Because this video speaks volumes about “time.”

• The time it takes for your life to change (passengers)
• The time it takes to respond to crisis (pilot, passengers and first responders)
• The time you spend monitoring (Thank you Coast Guard person for WATCHING your monitors!)
• The time you spend reflecting (anyone who saw this on the news)
• The time you spend making changes (incalculable)

The concept of “time” just changed for every survivor of that crash (which, as we all know, was amazingly EVERYONE on board). How those people perceive time will forever be changed. And the ripple effect goes out from there.

Some of us have far less dramatic “time checks.” But sooner or later we all reflect on how we’re using our time. At home. At work. At life.

This event was another chance for me to do a “time check” evaluation. I plan to make a few modifications. I want to learn more, do more and share more. Personally and professionally. I want to make the most of every minute. Because every minute counts.

Social media is already facilitating that for me. Opening more doors, funneling more information, connecting me to more people who enrich my mind and my life.

So the next time someone says to me (as they so often do), “I don’t have time for social media.” I might suggest that social media offers a unique way to practice responding, monitoring, reflecting and adjusting to how you spend your time. If anyone thinks any of this is about spending more time at/on your computer, I would counter that it’s about spending more time with people by way of your computer – whether it’s for your business or yourself…or both! Traditional media just can’t do that in the same way.

I’m curious to know, in the less dramatic ticking clock that is our day-to-day, is the time you spend engaged in social media a waste of time or time well spent?

Image via Wikipedia

The countdown to the start of a new year gets all the press. But there’s another one. One that people talk about all year round. It’s the countdown to the moment you say to yourself, “I’ve been putting this off long enough, it’s time to…”

Now all of us will finish that sentence in many different ways – some personal, some professional.

If you’ve arrived at this, my own little online “Time’s Square” [sic], and are still reading this far down into the post, I’d like to think the virtual ball has dropped for you already. (Happy New Year!!!) You’ve taken another step into the sea of online social (or new) media gatherings that are happening all around us where people are communicating in dot-com venues whose best uses may have yet to be uncovered.

What matters is that you see it coming. So before you wave a dismissive hand at “all that social media stuff,” remember that a lot of other innovations began with a question mark and then evolved into indispensable tools that help us communicate more effectively and/or productively.

Remember there were telegrams before text messages, shortwaves before satellites and projectors before plasmas, to say nothing of where technology has yet to take us still.

So when it comes to social media, you can close your eyes to it. Or you can be the first one in your neighborhood to have a color TV, or a microwave, or a VCR, or surround sound, or a laser disc, or a web cam, or a blog, or a solar-paneled roof…

And the cost of “acquisition” in this case, is nothing but your time and attention (since you clearly already have the computer and the Internet connection).

So tell me, where will you take your social media question mark in 2009?

I invite you to post your Top Three Social Media Goals for the New Year right here. Whether it’s as simple as setting up a LinkedIn page or subscribing to this blog. Write it down. Make it happen. And we’ll check back in on each other next year to see how far we’ve come. (Even if I have to pick up the “oh-so-outdated” telephone to do so.)

Thank you 2008, you finally gave New Media a name

image source: iMediaConnection

With so much information and technology available, changing and churning, it’s a challenge for any busy person to keep up with new social media outlets without feeling like you’ve been pulled into an endless “time suck.”

But don’t let the potential perception of social media (SM) as time-wasting technology override the long term benefits of keeping up with the “Joneses, Inc.”

You may not think you have the time, but your customers and clients do. And after dipping your toes in the SM water, you’ll be surprised how many of your peers are using the latest online tools to communicate, network, link, blog, SlideShare, bookmark and boost SEO. It’s not a bad idea to take a closer look at how you want to define your social spectrum.

By reading the leading bloggers or following the most twitterful tweeters, you’ll also be able to find ways SM can act as a “time saver” instead of a “time suck” when it comes to generating leads, finding resources and staying current on innovative marketing trends.

Here are a few articles that offer a few of the WHY’s of why Social Media is becoming a Social Must:

Why Social Media? Bridging the “productivity divide.”
Why Blog?
Why Twitter? How to use Twitter for Marketing & PR.
Why is it that if I’m not LinkedIn, I’ll be LeftOut?
Why should I use SlideShare? What is SlideShare?

What’s the bottom line?
The SM technology train is moving fast. Now is a good time to find out how you can enjoy the ride…