Social Media Values: Finding Your Community
Posted by Mary Ruth on Mon, Dec 19, 2011 @ 08:15 AM
I've had an interesting social media experience over the past month or so. One that has brought me back to the true meaning of web interactivity.
It all started maybe six months ago, when I somehow became aware of Triberr.com, a wonderful application that invites you to join small groups of bloggers and share putting out tweets about one another's posts.
That was very cool in itself, but here's the main thing. Originally, the software allowed for automatic tweeting of posts. If I published a blog entry, it would automatically be tweeted by my fellow group members. But then, a month or so ago, the site owners announced that this automated system was contrary to Twitter's Terms of Service and it was immediately deleted. Meaning that now we have to actually go to Triberr.com and select the posts we want to tweet about.
At first I was disgusted, and wondered if I'd even use the service anymore. But guess what? Several weeks later, I'm still going there and running the chops. Why? Because the bloggers I had come to know through the automated service are so worth promoting. I had learned to love them, and could not simply leave them behind. We're a support team.
Which, as far as I know, was the original intention of Dino and Dan, founders of Triberr: that bloggers should find like-minded people and form mutually-supportive liaisons.
Much to my surprise, it's absolutely not a problem and it's quick as a wink to go to the site and okay the listed posts of my tribe members. The effort is nothing compared to the continued benefit of the tweets and the relationships.
So, all told, Triberr has brought me full circle. The initial attraction was to its automation, but the long term payoff is sincere personal commitment to fellow entrepreneurs, relationships that are helpful, reliable, and full of promise.
While automation might be nice, the lack of it has brought me back to the basics. We're online to meet and get to know people, not simply to show off. If you persist in trying to use the web for nothing but self-promotion, you might make some sales but you still miss the internet's biggest rewards, which lie in the relationships you build.
Sure, sales are key. But for longevity, for clout (the real kind), for sustainability, and for peace of mind as you lie dying, the depth of human kindness you share is what most essentially matters.
In the mad race to master the internet, we tend to look for numbers too much. This is a waste of time because numbers come and numbers go when you're tabulating followers, fans, and fame wherever it occurs.
We must thoroughly understand that the quantity of anything online is subordinate to its quality. Even Google values links above anything else. Our relationship with the world is the primary indicator of our importance.
Triberr seemed to promise tons of traffic, but what it is really about is connecting kindred souls and giving them a way to support and share.
Which has more value, a big wave of traffic or finding a few exciting and loyal new friends? Guess that's a decision for the individual; but as noted, more than anything else, the web wants us to interact with one another, to make friends, to stop and chat and come back tomorrow.
Cultivate relationships: all the rest will follow.
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