Social Media & Social Networking: What is too much?

There has been a lot on my mind lately. Some of it is personal, some is trivial. Here, I will choose to share something that should interest each reader of this blog.

By reading my blog, or any blog, you become part of the social media and social networking world. The social media world is a new and evolving arena at the same time, which means the rules for social media are being created as we speak. Rules that are not set are difficult to follow. Common sense rules apply: create and contribute meaningful conversation, don’t create too much noise, show your personality while keeping your thoughts clean enough that you could tell your mother, etc.

There’s a problem: not everyone has common sense.

As a person that has grown up in the social media and social networking era, I am on facebook, MySpace, twitter, LinkedIn, digg, flickr, I blog for the online marketing blog at work, I blog for personal reasons (as you’re reading right now). There are so many social networking sites out there beyond the list above. It can be difficult to keep track and actively participate in all of the above networks.

For over a year, MySpace has been losing its grip on the top social networking site. Facebook, recently surpassing 225 million users, and twitter growing at a ridiculous rate, show that social networking is here to stay, and you should be a part of all that you can be.  99% of people I know are on Facebook, 90% of people I know are on twitter. I have noticed, based on my ‘top friends’ on MySpace, that people are deleting their MySpace accounts.

This led me to think of a few questions that I need answered by you:

• What would make you quit ‘social media’?
• If you left one site, does that mean the other sites you are on satisfy your needs?
• What is your favorite social networking site? Why?
• What purpose does social media/social networking serve in your life?
• Is there too much social media/social networking?

I look forward to a good discussion with you.

~Jason Douglas

twitter: @jasondouglas

Jason Douglas on LinkedIn

April Recap and Perfectionism

I have been away from the blog for three weeks (bad Jason!). It has not been due to a lack of material, and not fully due to a lack of time (though that has been the reason some of the time), it became a ‘out of sight, out of mind’ situation. I have been blogging a bit on the Spyder Trap Online Marketing Blog, though that is more professional and industry related. A lot has happened in my life in the last three weeks. Let’s give a quick recap.

I ran in the St. Thomas ‘Running to Open Doors’ 5k with my running friend Katie on April 18th. This was my first real run since I had purchased new running shoes. I had been dealing with some foot issues that sidelined me for over a week. Though I improved my time compared to the first 5K I ran by 71 seconds (look at #57), it was very apparent that I was not ready for a race of any kind. I struggled with pacing and cramping, having to actually stop twice to stretch out. Since the race, I have done some running, getting up to the 6-7 mile range. I am behind where I want to be at this time. We are four weeks away from the Minneapolis half-marathon; time to get going!

Work is going very well. I am almost two full months in and have noticed myself grow professionally during that time. I can tell in how I talk with people, how I think through questions; my understanding of all online marketing is much greater than it was just 7 weeks prior. There are plenty of improvements to be made with myself: improving my networking skills: recognizing an opportunity, asking the right questions, etc.; increase my knowledge in web programming: not necessarily with writing code or creating web pages, but with knowing how to talk about it with clients; that is key since I have added an ‘account executive’ hat to the pile I wear already. I want to be a ‘one-person agency’. To clarify what that means: I want to have a wide knowledge base in all that encompasses online marketing, and have the ability to deliver on each task within online marketing. I do not think there is a better way to show value than by having the ability to talk about everything, and execute everything.

Overall, life is going very well. The only obstacle in front of me is myself. In some things in life (it is increasing every day) I am somewhat of a perfectionist. I expect so much out of myself at all moments of the day, i is to the point where if something goes well, it does not excite me, because I expected that to happen. I think to myself: ”why get excited for doing what you were supoosed to do?” Then when I don’t execute something as well as I should have, it makes me go crazy inside, even over small mistakes. I try to hide it as best as possible, though lately I have done a terrible job of doing so.

For those who are perfectionists, were perfectionists, or know someone like that:

• Is there a way to end the perfectionism in you?
• How do you deal with a perfectionist?

~Jason Douglas

twitter: @jasondouglas