Are you participating in social media with the same joy as when you first realized that people in Japan would comment on what type of breakfast cereal you prefer? From recent observations, my guess would be that you’ve lost your original spark.
I’ve noted the biggest changes in people who fall into three categories:
- Monetizers – You don’t have to be currently making money through social media to fall into this category. You simply need to want it. If you find yourself talking about, “Crushing trust agents with transparent authenticity.” chances are good that you’re not having as much fun as you might otherwise.
- Mobilizers - While social media has the appearance of connected hordes willing to do your bidding, actually getting people to contribute in a real way is still a lot of work. If you find yourself regularly sending emails to “influencers” asking them to help you change the world, you drop neatly into this category.
- Self-aggrandizers – Life-streaming is a huge amount of work. Not just because you have to constantly be posting, updating, and replying to comments on your life. The tiresome part of life-streaming comes from the constant need to do interesting things for your audience. If you’re not break dancing in the bathtub, why would we want to hear about your morning routine? Precisely my point.
When the checks aren’t written, the hordes don’t engage, and fan mail doesn’t arrive, life seems extra hard for these people. The resulting tweets, updates, and posts create a tension that can be extremely discouraging for the recreational users who just want to connect with a few friends and perhaps say hello to a stranger.
Unfortunately for those trying to make real money, a real difference, or a real impression, it is those recreational users–the fence sitters–who are desperately necessary for any success! Instead of connecting with people, sharing a vision, or bringing attention to one’s recent escapade, it seems that many of social media’s brighter stars have shrouded themselves with complaints and money grubbing tomfoolery.
In the epic words of W.B. Yeats,
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
What’s the solution?
Like most things involving people, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. I know, as a blogger, that the experts have said I should present myself as an authority and spend every waking moment using my “teaching voice.” But as I find that sort of posturing off-putting in others and unsustainable for myself, I’ll go out on a limb here and use a phrase we seem so fearful to use online:
I don’t know.
You do, though. You know what you need in terms of connection with others in order to feel emotionally satiated. You know how much time you should spend working on things that may never have a tangible return but are fun to process. You know the things you are truly thrilled to be a part of and how to share your excitement.
You know what you care about. Well, you did when you first started. Do you still care?
