TechWag

: Image by Andrea Mercado via Flickr

Go read Chris Brogan’s article on supply stores, because he brings up some very good points in how to develop a catalyst or threshold level for people to get their social media jump started. Add to that Steven Hodson impeccable article on Social Networking is hard and you have a fairly clear picture on some of the issues and problems with social media, social networking, and making sure that social anything does not go completely over to overt marketing like we are used to seeing everywhere.

It would be great if there were central points of groups, people, or processes that could help make a social networking program just take flight. Unfortunately there is not, and yes, social networking is hard to do, at times very hard, especially when the payoff seems so remote from what you are doing. There is also the process of listening to each other, our constituents, and our customers when we are building out what we needed to build out.

There are internal and external political victories, there are internal and external failures that go along with this. As my professional blogging career hits its third year, and my non-professional blogging career hits its fifth year, there are a lot of things I have learned.

I have learned to listen, but I have not learned fully to reply yet, I’ll orphan a comment in a heart beat, probably something I should stop doing.

I have learned that there are many just PR people (neutral on this one) that want me to write about stuff that I have no interest in. People will try it, they will become a mouth piece, some will be successful being a PR person’s mouth piece, others will find it soulless. I do not do PR anymore; I really just want to write about my experiences in social media, social networking, and the people that matter to me.

I have learned to listen to people who are positive and ignore those who are not. Check out your friend list on any system, who supports you and who are you simply following in hopes of gaining a momentary flicker of fame because someone decided to notice you. Social networking is about you, what you contribute, what you offer, what help you provide, and above all, what price you charge. The best ones, like the two articles cited above really do this kind of thing, blog, social network, meet people, talk, listen because they love it. The best part, they get to do something they love as a way to make a living, which is the right way to do this.

I have learned that there are many pseudo experts – someone who will tell you that you can make 155 dollars a day via Google, or that social networking is easy, or that you can get rich blogging, or some other snake oil sales type process. The internet abounds with scoundrels, you have to learn to work your way through the noise level. I have the steps in how I do it, and I will share if asked. How you want to do it, work out the good from the bad, the great from the mediocre is up to you. If you are looking to get rich quick or make thousands of dollars from Google, others will sell you that.

I have learned that I really do love to talk about the things I am doing and that when I really care about something there is little that I will not do to make it happen. I have learned a lot about politics, people, doomsayers, naysayers, and a whole host of other folks that accept or create failure for themselves and others. Fortunately, I have learned that I cannot join doomsayers either, failure is just not an option, and it is the opportunity to make something wonderful that is the challenge. How do you bring about an entire organization into social networking? I am learning, I will make mistakes, heck we all make mistakes, but I am also having fun.

I have learned that I love social networking, and the great people that have gathered under the banner. I have been told that there are some great people and wonderful minds. I have found that in general that there are many great people to follow, learn from, comment on, and in your own way talk to. Listening was a big part of this learning process.

While we boil down to listening, and the things that we learn as we roll out our infant social media projects, the landscape will continue to change. We have to continue to listen to as many people as we can. In ten years, people will be laughing at us the same way that we laugh at Web 1.0, and its own buzzwords like “eyeballs”. This is still a brand new emerging technology with only a few systems being heavily adopted by people. We see things we would like to do, but we are still working out how to do them, to do them right, to add value. Ten years from now, the rules of social networking will be automatic, but right now, we are taking our first baby steps. To be successful, we have to listen, be flexible, and be respectful.

If we get those down, this will be much easier in the future for people to follow us.