September 15, 2010

Social Media: A Twelve-Step Program

Change Takes Time.

Our humanness can work against us. We make mistakes, none of is perfect yet we expect it of others.

We get a new thing and expect it to be perfect every time.

Amber Naslund wrote a great piece recently about how we are quick to complain while our desire grows for business to embrace the social web.

We ask that companies become more inclusive, interactive and social yet we are fast on the send button the moment there is a slip up. If the gadget we first heard about a week ago does not perform to our highest standards of excellence, we say it’s a failure.

And we do that to ourselves.

This has become even more prevalent in the social channels many of us spend time navigating. We look around and see confidence and we don’t know if we can live up to that scrutiny.

If you have gone through, going through or know someone going through a twelve-step program, you know it requires time, work and dedication.

Here are twelve steps to enhance our online experience...

• Ask a lot of questions.
• Recognize that our information is ours to protect and grow.
• Know that our voice is just as important as anyone else’s voice.
• Grasp that others' opinions are just their opinions.
• Have patience.
• Understand there is no one way of doing it.
• Accept we are all just trying to figure it out.
• Acknowledge that we have to work at it every day.
• Trust our instincts.
• Agree that our expertise is just as vital as anyone's expertise.
• Recognize it takes time for others to get to know us.
• Comprehend we are not too late to join the conversation or start a new one.

What would you add to the list?

knealemann
Let's create experiences not campaigns.

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