Tea and the Zen of Social Media [Lessons Learnt]
On Monday I sat on the panel of a great discussion on the zen of social media. We all enjoyed it and learnt a lot from it. If you haven't had the chance to view the video, I've decided to simplify and give the highlights here.
There is no golden rule
Depending on the importance of social media to what you do, you need to decide on what's best for you. If I say that you need to be offline for 80% of the time you work and your work is managing online communities, my suggestion doesn't really help. Listen to all the suggestions and rules and then choose what fits your needs. Don't be afraid to break any rules, nothing's set in stone.
Know your media
Just because it's available and free it doesn't mean that you have to use it. Get to know your media and where the people you want to speak to "hang out". If the people you want to connect with mainly use twitter, why would you spend half your time on Facebook?
Simplify
Always try and keep it simple. Simplify your messages, your routines and tools. Don't be afraid to go through iterations until you find the perfect fit.
Minimise distractions
Chatting, connecting and sharing is great, but when you want to produce great work you need to focus. Any distraction will make you reset so minimise the distractions. Don't use Growl, turn off message pop-ups and chimes, and remove badges that tell you how many unread messages you have.
Learn to let go
Being overwhelmed with information is not a valid statement. As a member of the group put it during our discussion "When you walk into a library you don't feel overwhelmed by all the books on the shelves.". Decide on what's really important and learn to let go of the rest. My feed reader is stuck to about 8,000 unread messages, it doesn't have a badge to remind me of that and from time to time I select all the feeds and execute the "Mark all as read" command.
Have technology fit your needs
As with any IT solution, the tools that you use need to fit your needs and not the other way round. We find ourselves continuously in a position being told that this new tool will revolutionise the way we work and help us achieve more. This might happen if it's a groundbreaking innovation but it doesn't happen all the time. Learn to judge for yourself.
Because everyone's doing it, it doesn't make it right
Similarly to the above point, because everyone is using a tool, method etc. it doesn't mean that it has to work for you. We are all individuals with specific requirements and we don't have to change ourselves around the latest method or tool. Always be open to new things but use the ones that feel right.
Have a break
Being able to unplug and switch off is essential. Even computers need it in order to empty their memory and perform better. Take some time off, go for a walk, go to an event, museum, gallery, for a coffee or whatever you feel like doing. And while doing this try once in a while to not use Facebook and Squarespace to sign in, or instagram to post your photos or twitter to tell everyone what you are doing. Be mindful and engage in the moment of what you are doing.
