Sunday, April 19, 2009

What's with all the noise?




I just don’t get it, is it really that hard? I mean, we walk around all day listening to people’s bullshit and don’t say a peep but have to endure 110 characters of two people catching up and we want to throw our laptops out the window. Jiminy Crickets! I’ve never thought of Twitter as a bunch of noise with an occasional valuable tweet every now and again. It’s all good, and when it isn’t, I just move on…it doesn’t take but 1 sec. Oh I forgot, we’re now so busy we don’t have an extra 25 seconds in our day to read through *cough* the noise.

I’m about building relationships. Sometimes discussing a recipe, giving props for doing a great job, or just saying “Happy Flippin’ Monday” is all I’m looking for. Excuse me that I didn’t DM them, I hope I didn’t interrupt your busy day. So many people will never understand how to get value from spending time on twitter because get this, it’s common sense. That’s right, the long lost art of ‘do what makes sense’ has gone the way of Laserdiscs...hard to find!

I get it, developing long lasting relationships takes more than hitting a ‘follow’ button. You may have to talk with them over the phone, meet them for drinks, or god-for-bid learn about their interests both personally and professionally over time through various platforms. I like the people in my network. I like to hear positive stories, what events are being attended providing value.

I like having @KenBurbary link awesome article after awesome article for me to read, enjoy, and become more educated. I enjoy hearing @AmberCadabra is doing a podcast and links where I can listen. I also like catching up with her on the social front. Is it so hard to endure a few words cross your monitor for all of 1 minute before the stream passes by like a ship in the night?

I can’t begin to make a list of all the positive things that have happened in my life both personally and professionally from spending time on twitter. Not every tweet has to provide ROI. If the noise is bothering you as Amber so eloquently stated. “Unfollow”.

Not everything we do in life provides instant results like watering a chia pet. I do business with people I know, like, and trust. Many of you do the same. Don’t be afraid to do the heavy lifting, it may take a little extra effort but the ROI is terrific. I won’t be your bff because you send me one tweet. Our relationship will take time to develop if we let it and both ‘opt in’.

The best things in life usually need a little nature and a little nurture. Try growing a 10 foot tree in 3 days from a seed…


Picture credit: www.thedeafblog.co.uk/loud.jpg

2 comments:

  1. Dave - You make a valid point and good reminder with this post. Building relationships via social technologies takes time, so be patient. This is why we counsel people entering the social era to think of it as an ongoing commitment, not a short lived campaign.

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  2. Ken,

    Thank you for your comment. It's professionals like yourself that have helped me and so many others learn about social media.

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