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Social Networking or Social Netplaying? Is our workaholic society finally learning how to play while we work online?
Note to Twitter Virgins: the “@” sign in front of name indicates a Twitter ID. I have inserted links below to these people on Twitter. Generally, to find a person online, go to http://www.twitter.com/ and then put in the name of the person without the “@”. If you don’t know their Twitter ID, go to the site and do a search by real name.
Recently someone on the coaching networks asked for recommended resources for someone who has just started their coaching practice and wants to learn about social networking.
My Twitter friend @TiaSparkles commented that it is pretty much a matter of “learning by immersion”. Yup. That’s pretty much the way I learned too. I have, however, a computer full of eBooks, audio, etc., I have downloaded from various sites over the years. Not all of it is about social networking. A lot of it is about SEO, online marketing, press releases, article marketing, virtual book tours… you name it. if I really sat down and put them altogether onto a single file, I think I would find a veritable encyclopedia of information I have gathered of the past couple of years. The world of Web 2.0 is simply amazing.
Two online gurus I follow are Mari Smith (@MariSmith) and Biana Babinsky (@BianaBabinsky). Although Mari is known for her Facebook tips, I actually didn’t meet her until I got onto Twitter. A few years ago, when I was first starting out in the online scene, I took several of Biana’s teleclasses or how to run telecourses, do article marketing, etc. These days, I follow both Mari and Biana, plus a whole range of other social networking gurus on Twitter. Whenever I see one of their posts, I try to ReTweet it to help spread the word. The great thing about social networking is that just about everyone is happy to help.
While most people say that Facebook is a great place to start with social networking, I actually took a little longer to get into it than I did with other networks. Ironically, it was by getting more into Twitter that I learned more about Facebook, because Mari and so many others gave such great tips. I have come to like Facebook, but I actually enjoy Twitter, LinkedIn, and Ning even more. Each has its own appeal, and each achieves different results. For information, LinkedIn is a fabulous resource if you use the Q&A and groups properly. On Ning, you can join (and create) many different special interest groups and broadcast to all of them in one go. And on Twitter, it is absolutely astonishing at how quickly people will connect with you and how fast and fun it can be. In amongst the business promotion, people will Tweet jokes, music, random comments and have conversations about their personal lives. One of my favourite Tweets is @deepwaterscoach who runs a cheesy disco using “Blip” on Friday nights. Twitter is pretty fascinating.
But again, what is so remarkable is how quickly people will connect with you and offer to help you… and not just by giving you advice. Last week, I was doing a key word search for “mind body spirit” (MBS) and I met a few folks who were exhibiting at the MBS Fair in London. Without even knowing me or being asked, @RobertCurrey graciously offered me a free ticket to the event, which saved me £9 (about $16). I met him and his wife at the Fair and had a great time, making many good contacts at the event. Last week, a brand new Tweet @SouthsideBroadc who didn’t know me at all invited me to do a radio interview in Scotland to talk about my book! Then, I visited the blog of another new Tweet @inspiredwriter and read her articles about flower metaphors as a means to personal reflection. We exchanged a few Tweets and she is now going to run a big article series (again linked to my book) on her blog These three connections took place over about 2-3 Tweets to each person. Others have just said hello to me and then gone off to Amazon to buy my book! How amazing is all that?
Of course, Twitter can be daunting to those who are new to it. There are lots of Twitter Etiquette (Twitterquette) and tricks to learn to make it work for you. The best thing to do is follow some of the gurus (or ME, @LynnSerafinn, lol!) and watch out for their instructional links. But the other thing to do is to engage and play with your Twitter friends. Then, when you see they are promoting something, help them out by “ReTweeting” (sending their info to all your contacts). That’s part of the “Twitterquette” I was talking about. And then there are other things like “followfriday”, hashtags, Twibes… ok, I’ll stop because I don’t want to overwhelm the novice.
The one thing I would recommend is to use an interface like TweetDeck (free download at www.tweetdeck.com) instead of the main Twitter page, as it permits for more interaction and easier organisation of your Tweets. TweetDeck changed my whole Twitter experience.
One other nifty thing you can do with Twitter (if you have a WordPress blog like this one) is to use the plugin “BirdFeeder” which automatically announces your new blog posts to Twitter (which you can, in turn, have wired up so it forwards it to Facebook too). Presto! You are announcing your blog to all your contacts.
One thing I do, which is also a form of social networking, is my own BlogTalkRadio show at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Lynn-Serafinn. I absolutely love it and I have to say, it has had more hits in the past 4 months than my coaching website has had in the past 3 years. Why is it a form of social networking? Because through it I am meeting an enormous amount of people who support my work and vice versa. I receive books from authors who want to be on my show. I help promote them, and they in turn become a permanent part of my network. Listeners and other hosts extend it even more. Doing an online radio show is the MOST fun thing I have taken up in years. I would do it just for enjoyment even if I did not need it for netWORKing.
Lastly, I just want to say that last month, my new book The Garden of the Soul made the Amazon bestseller lists in mind-body-spirit, spirituality and self-help during the week of its launch. That success was ENTIRELY due to a very coordinated joint venture strategy via the social networks (all of them). My Twitter supporters on that project are just TOO numerous to count here.
I think social networking (or netPLAYing) is an ingenious creation by our wonderful human race that is in reaction to our dangerously disconnected and isolated society. It helps bring us together in novel and fun ways AND helps to promote our businesses while we’re at it. If you are feeling daunted about the idea of social networking, then try a different perspective: learn to see it as a new hobby that you are justified in spending a certain amount of time a day doing. Don’t get carried away with it, but just learn to enjoy it and play with it. Your attitude will be contagious, and your business will flourish.
There are just so many things I’d like to share about the fun side of social networking. I’m thinking to run a telecourse “Social NetPLAYing: Practical Skills for Coaches and Writers” sometime in the summer. I know there are so many others running such courses, but I have a specific slant, and I will share some of my personal strategies. If you are even remotely interested, OR if you think it’s a good idea, I would welcome your feedback at lynn@create-a-life-co.uk. I’m not looking for a “commitment.” Just trying to find out if there is a market for my particular style out there. If I feel there is a hunger for it, I’ll plan to run the course (perhaps in July).
I have put my own social network links below. I invite ANY readers of this blog to follow me (please identify yourself as a Garden of the Soul Fan so I accept your invitation and/or follow you back).
Enjoy social networking… and don’t forget to PLAY!
Warm wishes,
Lynn Serafinn, MAED, CPCC
Personal Transformation Coach at Create-a-Life
http://www.create-a-life.co.uk
Author of Amazon bestseller,
The Garden of the Soul: lessons from four flowers that unearth the Self
http://www.give-receive-become-be.com
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–> JOIN my social network “Lynn Serafinn’s Garden of the Soul”, a vibrant place for cultural and spiritual
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