If you are on Twitter then you know that there is a bit of a race to gain followers, since followers determine (to some extent) your influence on Twitter…aka “twinfluence”. Without a larger context, such a race makes Twitter seem more of an arbitrary popularity contest than a legitimate business tool, with tweeters clamoring for followers despite who those followers may be.  There is an unspoken idea that those who have hundreds of thousands of followers are the “thought leaders” and those with hundreds of thousands of followers who only follow a few people are the thought leaders of the thought leaders–garnering much Twitter prestige. 

But how does one use such prestige?  To sell one’s product?  To tweet about other people’s products?  To influence? 

Although my philosophy is that Twitter shouldn’t be about random followings in either direction (I believe in a functional, community oriented use of twitter – on which I will elaborate in another post), what is of interest with the number of followers is the very power of people–random and not so random–to be influential in a quick, broadcasted way to hundreds of thousands of other people.   Let’s be clear: The bulk of social media isn’t about telling people what you ate for dinner last night, and Twitter is one example of the power of social media as word of mouth influence on large numbers of people about products, services and brands. 

Legitimate business tweeters are recognizing the power of Twitter to get their message out…not through spamming ads but by tweeting with resources in their areas of expertise such as links to solid blogs, community sites, research, etc.   There is an awareness among companies that social media might have some relationship to brand awareness and loyalty, but the dots haven’t all been connected yet–and believe it or not, there are quite a lot of brank marketers and ad agencies that are still reticent to help connect those dots for their clients.

 One tweeter, understanding the power of social media for word of mouth and viral marketing, asked why anyone, given twitter, would invest in traditional media outlets for communicating their message.   My husband was doing a presentation for a potential client on shifting their marketing dollars to online media (one step closer to social media!) and showed me a table that listed barriers to entry into social media adoption by brand marketers and ad agencies (eMarketer, 2009). 

What was interesting to me about these statistics was the seeming skepticism and lack of knowledge about social media by ad agencies and brand marketers.

How about the reticence signaled by brand marketer and agency answers to these questions:  “Social Media is not a proven/tested strategy” (granted, this question could have been better worded) in which 31% of ad agencies surveyed feel social media  isn’t proven, 28% “don’t think there is an established way to measure the effectiveness of social media”, while 31%  claim they really “don’t know enough about it to know where to begin” and don’t have the time to figure it out (17%)! And based on the follow up questions,  the reticence to adopt social media isn’t because they are worried about the legalities or that there are barriers to social media use for brand management.

What’s the Issue?

We’ve all heard the song “video killed the radio star” by The Buggles.  (If you haven’t, you can see the video here: http://bit.ly/7Kkl )Released in 1979, the song pays homage to what was deemed a game changer for music: the advent of the music video.  (If they had only known about the digital revolution that would really kill radio and TV as we used to know it! )  In a similar vein, social media is doing much the same thing to brand marketers and ad agencies–shifting the conversation–and if the research is any indication, it doesn’t seem that they like the shift.  

As someone really on board with social media I had to ask “Why not?”  Don’t agencies and marketers GAIN by ensuring their future contracts with clients who DO recognize the shifting conversation about their brand and want an agency that can guide them into that future?  Wouldn’t agencies want to be the thought leaders around a new and powerful medium for brand recognition for their clients? 

The truth is that this is about the democratization of  what ad agencies want to hold onto–the management, the message, the conversation about brands.  Ad agencies make money on brand management.  Twitter is free.  And there’s the rub. 

Gonna Wash that (Ad) Man Right out of Your Hair?

Still, the smart agencies are recognizing that social media is here to stay and are getting on board – beginning to use the analysis tools that have been developed to help companies understand how their brands are being talked about, what people like or don’t like and using that real time information to help their clients truly manage their brand also in real time.  Many of these tools are free, such as Techrigy, but there are hundreds of them currently available and more of them being developed every day. 

For those that embrace these tools, there is money to be made because there is real data on which to base recommendations for how to position a brand, which conversations to be a part of, how to get into the social media space as a brand.  The money is still there to be made–but now, its made on smart, real time information rather than reliance solely on surveys and focus groups. 

The question is whether the old school mad men are going to get on board or risk losing their clients to the new school agencies that understand the power of social media for the brand management–for now and in the future. 

If you want to know what tools are out there, how to use them and why, be sure to sign up  ”Tools Week” presented by the Social Media Academy in November.  You can lean all about it here: http://bit.ly/179bs7

• Is all this social media stuff just more internet noise?
• Is there anything of value in social media?

In February, I conducted a survey on attitudes and utilization of social media in relation to its use in finding jobs, its use by HR departments, and perhaps most interestingly, whether social media information reflects people’s identity.

This is some of the first quantitative research available that examines social media and identity.

The full survey report can be found here: http://xeeurl.com/A01825

As a quantitative researcher, I study identity and occupations.  As a business person, I have a company that focuses on career pathing, development, organizational fit and persistence, so this survey was of great interest to me personally.  I am finding it is also of interest to many of my colleagues in business–whether in marketing or HR.  So, I asked the questions in the survey which was a random sample of 100 respondents from a panel.  The entirety of the survey results are interesting–but only the results for the area of  identity in social media–or “virtual authenticity” as I call it– will be covered in this blogpost.

“Virtual Authenticity”

Does your online identity truthfully reflect your physical identity?

An important area of interest is whether social media gathers useful information about people: does the social media information reflect the actual person using the social media tools? How do people represent themselves online, specifically in the social media spaces of interest?

If the information people use on social media sites is fictitious, then it cannot serve corporate purposes in either sales and marketing or HR.

However, if people engage in social media’s virtual spaces in an authentic way that reflects who they are and their personal values and preferences, access to personal social media information becomes valuable. To validate whether people’s interaction in social media spaces contains what I will term “virtual authenticity”, respondents were asked to rate how accurately the social media information available about them actually reflects a) who they are, b) what they value, c) their communication style and d) the types of people with whom they normally associate.

Identity: Who I Am

One of the key issues with using social media information within an organization, and specifically in an area such as HR is knowing whether the information in the social media arena accurately represents the persons who may be of HR interest.  If the information in that space does not accurately reflect actual people, then there is little reason for HR to delve into the social media arena.  And in fact, the issue of true identity is a common reason offered for why social media information is not more readily utilized within organizations.

A person’s identity is complex, and depending on which discipline is defining it (psychology, sociology, etc.) is a culmination of multiple variables, some of which may include written representations of self, conversation or dialogue, photos, actions, values preferences, family, economic and educational history and the like.

Rather than define identity for the respondents in the survey, the respondents were asked simply whether the social media information found on the websites they use is an accurate portrayal of who they think they are.  If so, then the social media information one could gather would provide HR with either initial or validating information on persons of HR interest.

We have authentic info!

73% of respondents agree that social media info accurately reflects who they are.

Almost one-third of respondents strongly agreed that the information they provide online is an accurate portrayal of self.

Taken together with the percentage of those that agreed (41%) the total of people who agreed that social media information accurately reflects their identity is a significant 73%.

Out of the 27% remaining, only 9% of respondents disagreed that their information is a reflection of their identity. The remaining 18% neither agreed nor disagreed, which could be attributed to, among other things, not providing a definition of “who I am” for the respondent to agree or disagree with.

Given this information, companies can begin using social media with the knowledge that the people interacting within the social media spaces are doing so as themselves.

Additional, more detailed information on the extent to which social media information reflects specific areas of identity such as communication style, networks and associations and values, please visit the following site for the full report:  http://xeeurl.com/A01825

Download a complimentary copy of the survey report’s executive summary here: http://xeeurl.com/A01826

In February, I conducted a survey with a sample of over 100 respondents from a panel.  In working on a research Ph.D., I have found that I truly value the data–and with social media, real data is necessary but difficult to find.  So, I have made my findings available to those who may be interested.

If you are in marketing, the findings on identity will be important to you. If you are in HR, the attitudes and utilization regarding job searches and HR will be key to your future work.  If you are in social media, the entirety of the report will be of interest as you consult and work with clients.

This is one of the only quantitative surveys available that highlights KEY ISSUES in social media in relation to:

• Identity (these are a few of the questions)
  

  • does social media information reflect people’s true identity?

  • To what extent?

  • In what areas? (values, personal communication style, networks/associations)

• Attitudes and Use of social media for job seeking

  • which age groups are most comfortable with the use of social media for job seeking?

  • why?

• Attitudes about Use of social media in HR

  • how do people view HR using social media for finding candidates?

  • does it differ by age group?

  • how can companies use this information effectively?
    

For a preview of the results, a free download of the report’s executive summary can be found here:

http://xeeurl.com/A01826

You can purchase the full 40+ page white paper, with in depth analysis, implications and recommendations here:

http://xeeurl.com/A01825

I was part of a webinar panel this morning hosted by the Social Media Academy (www.socialmedia_academy.com) called the Career & Knowledge Series.  Although  it is perhaps a  bit self serving to say so (since I’m on faculty there), it was a great webinar with solid information/tips/expert advice on how to approach careers and HR within the 21st century social media environment. (And hey, I was only a minor speaker this morning!)

A couple of key points: 

• No one cares about your Resume and CV anymore.  This is a bit of a shocking statement, but think about it:  your resume is a static version of what you’ve done.  Why would an HR recruiter or manager care about that when they can just go to the web and see actively who you are and what you’re doing?  Yes, your experience still matters, but instead of generalizing and putting it on a piece of paper, create a social profile so that HR people can find YOU!  (One guest speaker Phil Rosenberg, quoted the HR stat that 80% of jobs are NOT advertised–so you need to be out there on the social web so the people with the jobs can come your way.)

• A social media presence can help you get the job.  With a social media presence, you can tell people who you are and what your expertise is via blogging, dialoguing with others, creating slide presentations and sharing them, tweeting about you, your interests and being a resource for others, etc.  All of these tools help you build and reinforce your online identity.  Now, someone who has one of those unadvertised jobs (or hoepfully many someone’s) are going to be falling over themselves to get to you because they feel they know you and you are a great fit for their company and their job opening.

• You avoid social media at your own (job/career) peril.  Face it, with the cultural shift in work that is taking place  and the generational shift that is bringing new technology, new values and new ideas into the workplace with the new generation of workers–you will quickly become irrelevant to HR people who are seeking workers from the social web.  Social media is a social reality for young people.  Even some of them don’t like it , but they know that just like we don’t always enjoy “working for the man”, it is what it is.  And since they are the up and coming workforce, their reality becomes our cultural and business reality as well – so social reality is THE reality.  A few notes on the changing work culture that we have seen at play in our lives:  only 35% of workers actually work in an office or a cubicle anymore; people are working from home, on the road, etc…we have outsourcing, homeshoring, freelancing and every permutation in between, we use technology (email) and can’t imagine life without it.  These are real changes, people.  Adapt and adopt, don’t abdicate!

• How you build your presence is important.  A few tips include:
  • Get on linked in and don’t just post a resume, join groups of people in your area of expertise, whether that’s basketweaving or IT. Start talking about what you know–and yes, people care!
  • Be yourself!  If you fake it, people will find out and call you on it–or not.  Either way, it can kill your credibility.  Be truthful about your experiences, your expertise, your values, etc.
  • Join Twitter and follow people in your area.  There’s a lot of junk in the world, so keep the junk out of your twitter life by following people relevant to you, people who can be a resource for you, people who can expand your network and your scope of the world.  Then, be a resource for them, too.  Send them good stuff, tweet about important things happening.  Retweet important stuff.  If you need some help setting up on twitter, visit my Twitter Primer (http://is.gd/n6uO).
  • Use the same photo wherever you are – but please, not too stuffy!  We know you clean up well, but just a photo of you, not your suit and tie, okay?  Having the same photo everywhere helps consistency–like having a personal brand of sorts. 
  • Create a slide show about yourself or some of the work you’ve done and share it with the world so they can see it.  Point to this when people (aka recruiters) want to know more about you.

Okay, so these are just a few of the things discussed.  If you want to find out more, check out the following resources:

http://www.socialmedia-academy.com/html/us-knowledgeseries_career_0828.cfm 

http://www.recareered.blogspot.com (great for people changing careers)

http://www.linkedin.com (it’s okay – just update your profile now and join some relevant groups!)

http://www.twitter.com (it isn’t a fad. if you want the job, just do it…)

http://www.slideshare.com (check it out.  you know you want to.)

Bottom Line:  a social presence is the New Resume. IF YOU WANT THE JOB, BUILD ONE!

Dear Verizon,

I have wanted an iPhone since they came out, so when they released the 32G, I ordered mine.  And had to switch from Verizon to AT&T. Now I’m on the beach and I have 1.5 bars–which is pretty good (she says sarcastically) considering that even on major roadways there are times I have NO service.  (My husband, who has Verizon, NEVER loses service.  And I didn’t used to either.  O Verizon, I am sad without you…)

This is the reason I’m writing to you:  the MINUTE you get the iPhone, I will switch back to your service. THE MINUTE.

AT&T may be gaining market share because of their exclusivity on the iPhone, but unless they up their game in the service department, they will lose that market share again when customers realize they can have the cool phone AND the best service network.  And the 3G thing?  Yeah, its great if you can get it, but 3G isn’t available in all of their coverage areas. (And they better not even try to blame me, the customer, for not consulting the coverage map before purchase…THEY are the WIRELESS  phone company! THEY are supposed to have the great service!)

The clock on their iPhone exclusivity is running and, although I hope they are using the time to be competitive with you on the service side, I am doubtful…my husband gives AT&T even less credit than I do.  He said it was smart of them to pick the iPhone, since most iphone users are in major metro areas and not likely to have coverage issues. (Um, I live in a amjor metro area and I still have spotty coverage…) His point is that there probably aren’t lots of complaints and thus not a big push to improve their network. So, the AT&T CEO can see big profits and then leave at the high point, giving the market share mess to the next guy.

Such cynicism, but can you blame us?  Is AT&T even considering that the demographics of their iPhone is changing?  Every kid who lives ANYWHERE likes cool new toys and the iPhone is one of them, so the iPhone users of today are not the same as the iPhone users of tomorrow –and if AT&T isn’t paying attention and is just sitting around on their iPhone laurels during their exclusive contract time, they are going to be kicking themselves when YOU get the iPhone because they will lose out. Big time.  “Cuz all those kids are gonna want the best phone with the best coverage (they are part of the entitlement generation y’know, so they feel entitled to the best…).

So, Verizon, thanks for focusing on the fundamentals – like the network…so that when you get access to the iPhone to offer your clients, they can actually USE IT.  (Hey AT&T, CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW??)

XOXO,

Adrienne

One of your old customers that will be a new customer again when you get the iPhone.

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA ISN’T GOING AWAY & WHY HR MUST GET ONBOARD

In the last post, I talked about how HR needs to be where the people are…and these days, that is in the social media spaces – online communities, etc. 

“But WHHHHYYYY?” ask all the non-techy HR people.

Here are 3 Key Reasons Why:

1.  MASSIVE CULTURE CHANGE.  Unlike other innovations that are driven by corporate desires for efficiency, productivity, etc, social media is being driven by a CULTURE CHANGE.  Everyone you want to hire under the age of 30 from here on out will LIVE & BREATHE social media.  Social media will be how they think, how they interact, how they DO BUSINESS.

2.  ACTIVE RECRUITMENT REQUIRED! New generations of employees are not going to comb the newspaper want-ads for jobs.  (Heck, they don’t even watch TV anymore – they get TV content via the internet!  Hulu, anyone?)  They are online.  If you want the best people in your company (and don’t you?) then you have to ACTIVELY RECRUIT THEM…and that means being where the new potential employees are:  online communities, online social spaces.  Also, they have different values and priorities than previosu generations of employees. 

Live to Work? Not the New Generations!

This generation does NOT live to work – they work to LIVE.  And they view authority differently:  they don’t care if you’re older and wiser, hey, they are young and energetic and smart. Again, if you want to reach them, you are going to have to be WHERE THEY ARE and be enticing…which brings me to point #3…

3. COMPLEX WORK ENVIRONS MEANS JOB FIT IS KEY!  So, the new stat is that only 35% of people work in a traditonal office for the traditional 9-5 job anymore.  The other 65% either work from home, or work partly from home, partly on the road and maybe partly in the office.  And there ain’t no way you, as HR, are going to shove all of those people back into a traditional setting.  So, you might as well accept it and work with it. 

This isn't your parents' 20th century work culture!

Complexity means that more than ever, you must get the RIGHT PERSON for the job to keep your turnover low and your productivity hight.  To get the right person means ACTIVE recruiting in the right places.  Being in the right places means that you are, yep, ENGAGED IN SOCIAL MEDIA RECRUITING!

Here are the benefits to you:

FLEXIBILITY – Being engaged in social media spaces give you flexibility with where and how you actively recruit.

GREAT FIT – Being the the social media spaces where the potentially great employees hang out means you have a statistically better chance of finding those people

RETENTION & PRODUCTIVY – It stands to reason that if you have a good fit, your retention rates and productivity will be better than if you don’t have a good employee-to-job fit.  Both of these go directly to the company’s bottom line – and makes your boss and your CEO VERY HAPPY PEOPLE.

STAY TUNED TO THE NEXT POST:  Tools for using Web 2.0 for ALL FUNCTIONS OF HR!  REALLY!! 

If you liked this post, please comment and please Tweet it!  Thanks!

For the next few posts I’m going to focus on social media and HR, since that is an area of core expertise for me.  I’ll be covering some research on social media and HR, recommendations for how to move from traditional HR into HR in the Web 2.0 world and just some basic ideas on why and how HR needs to move into the social media space. 

Today, I’d like to start off with a visual of why HR needs to be in the social media space by asking :

How is HR in the Web 2.0 world similar to grafitti?

If you want someone to get the message, put the message where someone will see it!

I guess the grafitti “artist” (and I use the term artist very loosely) felt that the best way to get Ronnie’s attention was to put the message in a place he would see it – perhaps his regular parking spot.  (this photo was taken in the parking lot of a rural tennessee DQ… and Ronnie, you might think about parking elsewhere for a bit…) 

The same prinicple is applicable to HR:    If you want your HR to be effective, HR has to be where the HUMANS are… and that is smack dab in the social media space.

In my next blog post I’ll talk more about WHY people are and will continue to be in the social media space and how HR benefits from being there, too…this was just to get you thinking!  So, keep checking back…

SO, you wanna be my friend on Facebook because we met virtually on Linkedin and we follow each other on Twitter?  More than likely, I’ll “ignore” your request.  No hesitation required.

“Gasp!  That is SO RUDE!  How can you IGNORE people!”

Glad you asked.  Here’s the deal: I use social media tools functionally.  This means that I use Facebook for friends and some closer acquaintances, Linkedin for business connections and Twitter for research/social broadcasting to the masses that may care.  In essence, I put boundaries around my use of these spaces.  Yes, I put them in a box!

Why?  Because I’m a realist. We all have personas and roles/different hats that we wear – employee, customer, friend, spouse, parent, child, neighbor, board member, etc, etc.  How many of us can really be all things to all people all the time and feel comfortable?  The research says very few of us.  We need to be able to let down our hair with friends and not worry about colleagues who might use the facebook info for alterior purposes.  We need to show a professional side when networking.  It’s healthy to have boundaries.  And it’s okay to say NO to those who want to (wittingly or unwittingly) breach those boundaries.  (You can even say it nicely.) 

I like my social interactions to be relatively clear.  That said, here’s a few bullet points as to the advantages of using social media functionally as opposed to all mashed together.

• Allows for Authentic Communication.  Let’s be real for a minute, here.  Are you really gonna say what you think of work on Facebook if some of your not-really-friends-but-I-work-with-them colleagues are able to see it?  Probably not.  There’s too much to risk, whether from misinterpretation or dissemination of that info beyond Facebook or that it offends one of your colleagues for whatever reason.  So, if you don’t have any colleagues as friends, and only your friends are your Facebook friends, you can communicate authentically with reduced risk.  The same logic goes for people who have never really been your friends but now want to add you to their Facebook lists.  Maybe they are being nosey and just want more info on you.  Maybe they just want to add to their own army of friends for popularity sake.  Maybe they are secret stalkers.  Who knows?  But more importantly, who cares?  They are not really friends and may hamper your inclination to be real with those who really do care about you–which robs you of authentic socializing within your own circle!  Bottom line:  Only add real friends and then be real with them.

• You Save Face.  What does that mean?  Well, how many of your colleagues really care what you ate for dinner or that you are potty training your youngest or that you have a leak in your basement?  These are a few of the mundane status updates that you might put into Facebook because your real friends will care–either because they are far away and it helps them keep up with you on a more daily basis or because they do keep up with you on a daily basis and these are the things you talk about.  Your colleagues on the other hand, might think less of you–your larger than life work persona may shrink a bit in the translation from work to Facebook.  The alternative?  Keep connected with colleagues  in environments that foster business type interactions such as networking and project development, brainstorming and the like.  Add them to your Linkedin network and chatting with them via Twitter or another business community will allow you to still be SOCIAL with them, but not at the risk of  TMI (too much information).

• Boundaries Keep You Healthy.  All the social juggling that we are only beginning to do in this new social web of ours is only going to increase as the tools increase–and it’s mind frazzling!  By using these tools functionally, you can keep your sanity, have real conversations, maintain your personas within your roles as employee/friend/spouse, etc, and enjoy yourself!  And that, my friend, goes a long way toward maintaining mental health in a twitterspeed world.

A few people have criticized my Functional Social Media perspective, accusing me of being less authentic or less social and kind of a control freak, since you can’t really control who shows what to whom and why.  To my critics, I say reread my benefits above, know that I am NOT advocating less social activity - I AM ADVOCATING FOR DIRECTED SOCIAL ACTIVITY,  and that if this approach doesn’t appeal to you, don’t do it.

I will offer this prediction:  more and more “niche” social media tools will debut in the next 3-5 years and I’m betting that they will be more functionally oriented…business style social media communities for project management collaboration, neighborhood and PTA type social media sites will pop up to help foster engagement in those areas and provide tools to assist, etc etc.  There will be entertainment/reality show type social media tools and gameshow types of tools…all of this will allow us to be more social, but in niche oriented, directed ways.  Just a prediction.

Final word: the next time you feel compelled to add a not-really-a-friend to your FRIEND list – stay strong, hold fast to those healthy boundaries and dare to say no to them.  But hey,  if they will increase your social capital at work,  invite them to connect with you on LinkedIn or follow you on Twitter. Keep it social, Keep it real, Keep it all FUNCTIONAL.

Since Oprah deemed Twitter mainstream this week , it seems everyone has now joined up.  Super.  Now we can have a whole nation addicted to twitter. 

“I’m not addicted to Twitter,” you say.  Uh huh.  Then clearly you don’t know how to use it.

For those on twitter who use it, twitter provides instant access to relevant (and irrelevant) information.  You want to know how to use it?  Type “twitter primer” into twitter search and all sorts of instant info on how to use twitter will come up.  You follow people who are HR professionals?  Then you’re already getting a live stream of all you can digest info on HR, social media and HR, Jobs, how to find jobs, how to hire, how to fire, etc, etc, etc.   

That said, I kinda hate twitter’s question, “what are you doing right now?” because it’s pretty obvious: I’M TWEETING.  I think the question should be, “what value can you add to the conversation?”  because most people are talking about the information, the links to info, the blogs, the news and the trends.  And while what you had for dinner last night may get posted and read, it is very unlikely that unless you are Oprah, Ashton Kutcher or Larry King, that anyone will ReTweet this information–or become your follower because of it.

But I digress: back to comparing twitter to crack.  Here are my top 3 reasons why Twitter is like Crack:

 1.  The “Follower” High.  Yep.  This thing is a crazy, incessant game.  You want to be influential?  You want people to care what you tweet?  Then you want followers–and that, my friend, is a game.  It requires constant tweeting.  It requires the right kind of tweeting.  It requires you to follow the right people and the right people to follow you.  But once you get your game on, you’re hooked.  After all, who doesn’t love the idea of people following them?  It’s a huge boost to the ego–and the more followers, the bigger the ego boost.  “I just want 500 followers,” you’ll tell yourself.  Until you reach that.  And then you’ll just want 1,000.  Or 5,000.  One woman I follow wants 4,000 followers by this Friday. Really.  She tweeted it.  And once you reach your number, it isn’t enough.  You’ll want more.  You’ll crave more.  You’re ego will tell you that you need more…

2. The Adrenaline Overload.  Stuff flies through twitter so fast that you can’t catch it all.  And it isn’t always pretty because it is SO FAST.  How long does it take to type 140 characters?  Shorten a long URL?  Retweet that tiny url? Send a #followfriday shout out?    About 3 seconds.  Maybe 5.  And you don’t want to miss your window to respond, to retweet the good stuff, to influence a new follower or a high impact follower–after all, you’re ego wants more followers.  So you send stuff fast, as fast as you can and the adrenaline is flowing and you keep tweeting and tweeting and twee—If you like fast things, be sure you can handle this. You don’t want to turn into the cautionary tale of the twit who died of adrenaline overdose from speedy tweeting.

 3. The Need for Stream (aka the constant craving).  If you’re a twitter addict, you have tweetdeck or seesmic.  With these tools, you see everyone of your friends tweets instantly and retweet so fast it will make your head spin (as previously discussed).  A little box pops up and tells you when someone has tweeted, or even better, has retweeted your tweet!  And since you know that there’s a chance some good info is coming your way any second, you can’t pull yourself away from the tweet stream even for a second in case you miss something good.  Really, just one more.  Okay, one more.  No, the next one will be a RT, you know it will be…  and just like that, you’re unemployed because you didn’t get any work done for all the twitter time…and your butt got a bit bigger, too, from sitting in front of that screen all day and night and not moving around for fear of missing something.  True addicts be warned! This could happen to you!

People, this is bound to get ugly. Twitter isn’t like the blog you haven’t updated for three years because you can’t think of what to say for three paragraphs.  It isn’t like youtube that takes you from the targeted to the inane via slow loading videos.  It isn’t like your shopping websites that lure you in but take your money.  Twitter is fast, relevant, ego-satiating and probably most addicting of all:  it’s FREEEEEEE!  

Uh-oh.  With a value proposition like that, there better be some twitter rehab business models in the works!

Like so many of us, I like things done right. But sometimes that translates into not getting things done at all because doing it right turns into some monumental, earth eclipsing plan that would take more hours, manpower, and money than recreating NASA. Why? “Because this thing is NEW, it’s innovative, it’s gotta be done RIGHT!” I say to myself. “I can’t just schlep through this…it will take time…”

Or I’ve just given myself an excuse not to do it at all.

There are days I worry about missing something so much that it paralyzes my ability to produce anything. I worry about my audience – who will read what I’m writing? Who will critique my research? What if everyone laughs and points? What if?? Those are not good days. My grandmother had a saying on her wall which I attribute to some of my foundational thinking on perfectionism: “Good, better, best. Never let it rest; until your good is better and your better, best.” Wow. I wonder if the guy who wrote that even bothered getting up in the morning. Like Sisyphus, that daily rock of perfectionism is bound to get heavy…and keep us from really getting things done.

And then enters Social Media – blogging, twitter, facebook, online access to what we said yesterday because nothing ever, ever gets erased once it is put online–where pretty much anything we do in our lives in any sort of public space is open for others to see, analyze, critique, point to and laugh at. And they will. And they do. And then I realize something-something a bit profound for me, but probably talked about a lot in those “worst case scenario” books. I realize that having the world as a stage is in some ways a huge relief.

Social Media gives us all (or most all in this land of ours) an even playing field to be criticized or cheered. When we are all on stage together, there is a transparency that relieves this burden of “what will they think” because we are all thinking the same thing: “hey, I hope I don’t get too much ridicule up here.” And because we all are thinking that, we are more real with each other, and probably kinder. And through being transparent over time I’ve gotten a tougher skin…I can handle a bit more than I could before-because I don’t feel like I’m so alone in not being perfect. You aren’t either, and I know that on this social media stage.

Which brings me to my title: Great is the Enemy of Good. Yes, yes, Jim Collins, Good to Great and blah, blah, blah. I agree with Collins on many counts, but my point is not to counter his point – it is to say that with greater transparency and speed via social media, we are going to make mistakes-all of us-and we shouldn’t fear the mistakes. We should make them and JUST KEEP MOVING FORWARD. We should, at the expense of the immense Perfect Plan, just get things done. Doing a good job beats getting nothing done any day. I have a friend who is wonderfully creative, disciplined and productive. I asked her one time how she did things and she said, “You know, stuff gets done with a lot of daily plodding along.” Really? You plod along, too? You don’t do things perfectly in a flash of genius on a daily basis? Add wisdom to that list of her attributes. Plodding isn’t greatness-but it’s good enough to get things done.  And hey, those things may turn out to be great-but even if they don’t, they are done.

At 12:06 pm each day I listen to The Writer’s Almanac on the radio. Garrison Keillor talks about what happened on this day in history, gives a bit of biographical info on people and reads a poem. It’s a short radio segment, but one that marks the time for me each day. He ends each segment with the phrase,” Be well, Do good work, and Keep in touch.” Did you hear that? He didn’t exalt us to great work but GOOD work. His phrase is a daily reminder to strive not for greatness or perfection, but for goodness-and for getting things done.

So, we’re going to misspell a few words on our blog posts. We’ll probably use bad grammar, too, at some point. We might get misinterpreted and have to say things over again in case our point gets missed or skewed. We might get laughed at. To this I say: so what? At least we’re doing things-GOOD things.