How to Use Social Media (The Big 4)

There are almost as many social media "experts" out there in the virtual world as there are social media users. I do not consider myself one of them, not even remotely so. However, as a former skeptic about the usefulness of social media, I have come to appreciate just how much we all can benefit from the thoughtful and effective use of this nearly infinite, and if you have an internet connection, free resource.

I've limited my own use of social media to the "Big 4," Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and blogging, in the order that I began regularly participating in each. There are many more services, such as Digg, Tumblr, Foursquare, Yahoo! Groups, and the brand new Google+ network, all of which serve a niche group of users, but for various reasons beyond my own expertise they have not (yet) reached a critical mass that makes them worthwhile for casual online iPeople like myself. Here is a brief description of how I use each:

Facebook: Only trusted friends, family, and colleagues who I either know in real life (IRL) or have met online through other trusted people. Because of Facebook's constant privacy breaches and back-door shenanigans to harvest personal info, I am very careful to check privacy settings monthly (My account is private, so only people I've "friended" can see my information and posts), and I don't put any info on this site that would damage me personally if it got leaked to the public. I use Facebook as a tool to keep in touch with people I know who I wouldn't otherwise be able to see or talk to. It's also a good place to have in depth conversations (more than 140 characters) with people in your inner social circle. WARNING: If you "friend" family members or colleagues with different political or religious views, steer clear of these topics unless you want to invite aggressive posts and potentially damaged real-life relationships! I've experienced this first-hand and am not sure the consequences were worth taking a firm stand in this type of forum.

Twitter: This is by far my favorite social media site right now. Unlike Facebook, you don't have to wait for someone to "Accept" or offer of "friendship." Instead, you just "Follow" whomever you are interested in, and they may or (more likely) may not follow you. I follow the Dalai Lama, Smokey Robinson, and President Obama, but only one has followed me back...so far! I also follow hundreds of fascinating scientists, community leaders, and artists from around the world, as well as my wife, and the handful of friends and family who have Twitter accounts. This is an amazing way to connect with people in all walks of life, and because of the limit on post length (140 typed characters), it's easy to shoot back a quick reply to someone of interest without sounding curt. I've had replies, and even repeated exchanges with many interesting people way outside of my immediate social circle because of Twitter. Finally, Twitter doesn't yet have the amount of advertiser intrusion and extraneous nonsense that Facebook does, and Twitter users are almost uniformly resolved to abandon ship if things ever go that way on a large scale.

LinkedIn: LinkedIn is fairly new to me, and initially I ignored requests to join because I couldn't see the point of posting your virtual resume online unless you were actively seeking employment. I finally caved a month ago, and am glad I did. LinkedIn is geared towards professionals and is not the place to make "lulz" grade posts about cats, hipsters, and Michelle Bachmann. I think of it as a very politically correct virtual business card that includes all of the contacts that you consider to be influential in your professional/academic life. It's your 21st century human capital bling. Before you go out and "Connect" (I'm not using sarcastic quotation marks; each site has it's own vocabulary) with industry icons and celebrities, be aware that many accounts don't allow you to connect unless you are already connected to them by some degree (think Kevin Bacon). For example, I can connect to a colleague's colleague in Denmark because they are a 2nd degree contact, but I can't connect to my own sister, because we are in completely different career fields with few shared contacts. I'm still figuring this out for myself, but that is a marked difference between LinkedIn and the others. I'm sure there are more elements to this service that I am missing, but LinkedIn, like all social media, has a steep learning curve and a constantly evolving interface that reflects the needs of the huge base of users.

Blogging: This is the final frontier for me as a social media joiner. I am known for being verbose in person, but online it's taken me a long time to find a writing voice that feels authentic. I am now on my 4th attempt at regular blogging, and each time I read something from a previous post I am so horrified that I shut it down. I also find pictures and videos distracting from the point in other blogs, so I'm not inclined to pepper my own with photos, links, counters, and other multimedia candy, despite the insistence of the 100 million internet gurus that I must include some flashy stuff, superfluous or not. I'm still working on that piece, and if you're reading this now, then it's probably despite my lack of blog finesse. Here I am, however, and because Google Blogger wouldn't erase the final two posts of my last deleted blog, I brought them over here. I hope you enjoy reading, and that you'll feel free to comment as I go along, including any constructive criticism that might help me make this a resource for other denizens of social media. I have a lot of fun online, but I've also learned a lot, and I'd love to share that knowledge, as well as things that I've gleaned from my life in the analog world.