Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

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April 16, 2009

Listening & Watching - Lessons Learned

kathryn wrote this at 7:38 am

I took two days off Twitter recently and listened. By listening I mean watched. I’d been noticing the changes: the shifting, the influx and the exodus. I’m not talking about how the interface is working; I’m talking about the how the users are changing through the use of the tool. I’m a sociologist at heart. I like to watch group behavior; I like to think about what makes people tick. Brian Solis described social media as “… a fusion between technology and sociology…” Naturally, I’m intrigued.

I saw really interesting happenings. There will always be leaders and there will always be followers - no Twitter pun intended. I saw people I have met in person taking on leadership roles on twitter that they never would dream of doing off line. I saw people changing their behavior from when they began on Twitter to emulate some who they must perceive as successful. I saw people building relationships based on conversation and many offerings of help.

At first, I admit, I did notice the more negative aspects of what is happening out there like the huge collecting of followers based purely on numbers without any engagement. I also noticed that some people needed instruction on how to be genuine. No, not just newspapers and corporations but actual individuals.

Through a conversation I was having with someone I greatly admire (and whom I met through Twitter) I began to describe how I found this particularly sad. He replied the “genuinely-challenged” haven’t learned that their vulnerability can be a rich source for power to do good for others.” I thought about that statement for a full day.

I see a lot of good things happening through social media. I’m not just talking about Twitter - that’s a tool and there are many tools. I see people coming together, exchanging ideas, learning and growing. I see companies communicating with people who buy their products in a meaningful way. I see publishers, PR people recognizing the need for change and working through that. In tough times I see people reaching out to each other building a community that offline, maybe crumbling around them.
It was really good to step back for a day or two. I highly recommend it. It’s also really good to be back.
Have you taken a social media break? Was it helpful? What did you learn?

from: Kathryn Jennex aka @northernchick





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11 Comments to “Listening & Watching - Lessons Learned”

  1. April 16th, 2009 at 10:38 am
    Seth Simonds said

    If by “social media break” you mean less time on Twitter, yes. I think it’s like any other type of human interaction: you need a break every so often. Prioritize, pace, produce. 3-p’s for social media success? Probably not. Works for me though. =)

  2. April 16th, 2009 at 11:13 am
    Richard Reeve said

    I’m finding I need to carve out different types of opportunities, like the one you pointed out to me on blip.fm…and last night I took the plunge to set up a room in friendfeed. What I’ve learned is that twitter is great for what it does and we need to keep branching out to fulfill out other needs in the space.

  3. April 16th, 2009 at 11:40 am
    Sheryl Sisk said

    Couldn’t agree more. I take frequent breaks whenever I feel my attention span starting to deteriorate into bite- (byte-?) sized pebbles instead of big, solid hulks of stone.

    I also think we generally need to adopt new ways of paying attention and dealing with incoming information in this post-Web 2.0 world. It’s no longer about giving full focus to every single thing that crosses our desktops, the virtual ones or the other kind. It can’t be. There has to be a tiered system in place, else we’ll go bonkers.

  4. April 16th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
    Mike CJ said

    I do wonder if too many people spend too much time thinking about social media and getting hung up on it.

    I’ve adopted a different attitude - I get on and do my own thing on Twitter and I enjoy it. If someone hits me with stuff I don’t like (like sales pitches) I simply unfollow.

    There’s almost a whole blogging industry that has sprung up around what to do and what not to do on Twitter. My answer “Do whatever you want” And I’ll simply connect with the people I want to.

    Does anyone else feel the same way?

  5. April 16th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
    Carole Hicks said

    Liz! The most fun I’ve had on Twitter is using it as a medium for experimentation. For example, in a fit of frustration over struggling with weight loss, I sent out a tweet “I’m looking for 20 women who want to lose 20 pounds - I’m NOT selling ANYTHING”. The response was (1) amazing and (2) fun! I find myself now logging on twice a day to connect with Team #20420 and having a ball connecting with this wonderful group of women. Yes, you guessed it. I’m a huge fan of Twitter because of the real connections and the huge space for being playful and experimenting. Woot!!

  6. April 16th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
    Khayyam Wakil said

    #welldone

    A holiday regardless of where it is still a holiday!

    Being part of the experiment does not allow you the same conclusions as observing it. However, by observing it now you have changed the parameters of the experiment and have begun a new one.

    Perspective is a wonderful thing to have and sometime switching it up yields fantastic results.

    The tool that facilitates the connections, partnership and what have you is just that, a tool. The skill still remains. For example, I know how to use a hammer. Just because I’m not wielding my hammer does not mean I’ve lost the possession of the skill required to utilize the tool. It’s still there.

    That’s why everyone is connecting with everyone. It’s the skill sets of individuals that have found a tool to seek out like minded people affect change.

    Kathryn, you are one of those people that does affect change. And I thank you for it.

    I have been reducing my time spent using the tool but haven’t been bold enough to walk away and not think about it. Baby steps :)

    A challenge I will definitely want to undertake.

    Thanks to you.

  7. April 16th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
    Julie Warner said

    I’m also a sociologist at heart, so I thoroughly enjoyed your post, Kathryn. Though I don’t know if I’ll take a break ;)

    Thanks for sharing, Liz.

  8. April 16th, 2009 at 3:44 pm
    Henie said

    Thank you for a very insightful post!

    What I am learning best now is to focus my radar on people who share rather than sell…there are so many wonderful people to listen to and learn from…silence is a funtastic state to be in and savored! :~)

  9. April 16th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
    Susan/Together We Flourish said

    It’s wonderful to observe sometimes. It gives you the opportunity to watch something beautiful grow. I believe this medium is making significant positive changes in how we think.

  10. April 16th, 2009 at 5:05 pm
    kathryn said

    Thanks so much for taking the time to comment everyone! Means a lot :)

    Seth: great point - it can be very good for the head to take a break from interaction every once in a while :)

    Richard: yeah, twitter is just one tool - i think sometimes a lot of people think it’s everything!

    Mike: some people definitely feel that “do whatever you want” can be “be on there all the time”… - but that can work for some :)

    Carole: That’s awesome! it can be soooo powerful for that sort of thing :)

    Khayyam: Very interesting points about the experiment! And thank YOU

    Julie: Well, i recommend it every once in a while at least ;)

    Henie: silence, perspective, and focus on what matters can often be the keys for sure - and i’m glad you liked the post!

    Susan: it’s definitely having a big effect on how we think about these things, and taking a step back can really make you see that even clearer!

  11. April 18th, 2009 at 9:47 am
    Saturday Share | Tim Bursch said

    [...] Jennex aka @northernchick talks about listening and watching on [...]

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