Blogging and parenting are exactly the same. Anyone who asserts that they have "the formula" is someone you should run from... quickly (and maybe scream a little).
Lucretia Pruitt
· 10 months ago
Not me, I always do it... now wait a minute... what was that about following too many people on Twitter? ;)
Seriously, there's only "more likely to achieve your goal" and "less likely to achieve your goal" - but who says our goals have to be the same?
Great post as always Mr. Brogan!
Sierra Inman
· 10 months ago
You make a good point. So, I guess I'll just be me. I kind-a love that. Thanks for sharing.
Avi Kaplan
· 10 months ago
Chris, for me this brings back the question of voice you've brought up here before because if you are truly speaking, tweeting, posting, whatever in your own voice- then it can't really ever be wrong capital W, it's just you and yours. If lolcats are your thing or *gasp* you hate using twitter (I know, I know ppl.) those are your choices for how you interact.
Bradley Cooper
· 10 months ago
I thought I was doing it wrong. But I now realize I was doing it right all this time! As my wife is fond of telling me: 'you're so far behind you think you're first.'.
Mary-Lynn
· 10 months ago
Jessica you cracked me up! I suppose that we also feel social media guilt b/c we don't do it perfectly? Good post Chris. It reminds me I need to adjust the multiple pings I have going into Facebook!
Leslie Poston
· 10 months ago
I double-♥ this post. :)
ePi.Longo
· 10 months ago
Yep, Chris. At the end of the tunnel, we all know that there is the light we need. The question here is how can we know what's right and what's wrong before we did anything? How can we know the book is interesting? Bcz someone told me, but did 'someone' read this book before? Or 'someone' heard from another ones? We always want to do everything right but it's hard to know what's right and what's wrong :)
Crazy Bliss
· 10 months ago
Glad to be guilty...of doing it wrong and loving your blog! LOL
Kerry
· 10 months ago
What about "You don't know what you're doing, or how to do it"? Thats me for sure! But reading your stuff Chris is great. I'm starting to think "just be a friend"; so the next step - put the thought into action. Catchya.
Tyler Hayes
· 10 months ago
Lay that smack down!
David Spinks
· 10 months ago
Very well said Chris.
The real social media experts will be the ones that are able to look at a customer and figure out what is right and what is wrong in each specific case, not set a bunch of rules that they apply to all customers. Sometimes its important to try things, even though others have tried it because you don't know if it will be right or wrong for YOU...and if you're wrong you learn from it and do it right.
Dave
DDGriffith
· 10 months ago
Thanks for two great takeaways. Not only is there no right/wrong, good/bad, should/shouldn't, the bar level for entry, as a result, is lower than I had imagined it to be. I thought I faced a pretty unruly and heavy yoke and as a result I didn't look forward to putting it on. I've feared entry, dismissing my own ideas as less valuable, thinking the 'competition' too great. Feeling liberated now, and liking it. I'll be looking forward to your comments soon! :D
@DDGriffith
Adriel Hampton
· 10 months ago
We all have one! Happily, these networks are very fungible, and most of our real friends are forgiving!
Chris (Amateur Traveler)
· 10 months ago
Well, I do have ads on my blog.
Lorrette - DailyScrew-Ups
· 10 months ago
Hey Chris
Just loved the post and even better it made me feel less of an island. Seems now, oh joy, oh joy I can just be me and live on for another blogging day. I would love to quote your post on my blog with a link back to yours. Let me know if ok. In the meantime thanks for making all of us feel much, much better.
Celebrate Life Lorrette
KRAPPS
· 10 months ago
LOL ... AMEN TO THAT!!! Blogging, social media, etc. is an ART, not a science.
Michelle Lamar
· 10 months ago
Synergy. It's the all time primo-groovy word that we always called when we (my ad agency peeps and myself) ALWAYS used when we played corporate word bingo in the 90s. Synergy is (and was) the ultimate kiss-ass know it all ad hipster's word that screams I KNOW NOTHING! The people that are saying they know it all....they are collectively....one big mess of SYNERGY. There is a point there. I hope you can find it.
prakash
· 10 months ago
That brings some perspective to the Social Media presence that we are all chasing.
Keep throwing the light from up there.
Enjoy your posts & the tweets
Prakash
Danny Brown
· 10 months ago
I always say if it's better than sex you're doing it wrong.
'Nuff said, Chris. :)
Danny Brown
· 10 months ago
PS - Never type a comment at 3.00am (ish) - you miss out letters.
That should have read: "If it's better than sex, you're doing it wrong." Obviously.
CJ
· 10 months ago
Superb post. The only really bad thing you can do is ... nothing!
Lorne Pike
· 10 months ago
I'm about five days old in Twitter, and still very much in the "Am I doing this right?" phase. Thanks for a post that lets me know I am... even when I'm doing it wrong. Kind of sounds like life in general to me.
Ari Herzog
· 10 months ago
It's OK to swear. Be careful of children in the room, though, or Jessica might sic someone on you!
David Lingholm
· 10 months ago
I have to agree with CJ, the only really bad thing is to sit on the sidelines and do nothing. Krapps too, anything to do with interacting with other humans is going to me more art than science. Even medicine is more art than science or doctors would at some point stop practicing and start doing.
Murat Esenli
· 10 months ago
Great post Chris, thanks. We have to asking our social media and networking relationships. There is one post on my blog about this topic. http://muratesenli.blogspot.com/2008/12/dont-bl... Thanks for sahring.
hehe Absolutely. There *IS* no "wrong" without a defined and agreed-upon "right".
kevin cimring
· 10 months ago
Hi Chris, Can you perhaps do a piece on how you use Friendfeed as part of your arsenal, and the main pros associated with it? Kind regards, Kevin
Misty Belardo
· 10 months ago
Hi Chris, I look forward to reading articles from your blog everyday and this i can say is one of my favorites.. You hit the nail on the head! You rock! : )
Susie Blackmon
· 10 months ago
Kind of like marriage ... keep trying different things until you come to your senses and realize paying an annual fee that can be cancelled is perfect!
Yann
· 10 months ago
Some of these things are wrong and some aren't. There is a fine line between "wrong" and "different". Adding people you know not so well in LinkedIn for instance is not "wrong" it's just using Linkedin the way it should. It is precisely the purpose of a socail network like linkedin to make you discover new people (otherwise, just keep them in your private address book and don't bother).
You know when you've done things wrong when you've crossed the line and been hit on the knuckles for instance... or when it produces no results too.
brandonacox
· 10 months ago
Susie, you got it right - it's like marriage - impossible to keep her happy all the time, but she's so worth trying for!
BLOGitse
· 10 months ago
wrong? me? nooh...never! Joking! Sometimes...hahah... Good topic, again!
Tom Planer
· 10 months ago
I agree with what David Spinks said way back in post 12. The people who really "get" social media and how to target their audiences are the ones who can adapt depending on who the audience is and what the situation is. Remember to be yourself, be open and listen to what your customers want, but apart from following those basic rules, don't be afraid of trying new things.
Rev. Rebecca
· 10 months ago
Rev. Chris,
You just preached a wonderful sermon about 'grace' in the world of social media. Nobody's got all the answers, and we all need a little help from our friends to figure it out. Preach it, preacher!
Rufus
· 10 months ago
Taking calls, making pizzas, what we "experts" can learn about business from some guys who are so 20th century. http://dogwalkblog.com/x/163
And why I'm beginning to think doing business using all these Web 2.0 tools, Social Media etc is just smoke and mirrors for folks trying to get out of actually doing anything.
Richard Reeve
· 10 months ago
It's kind of like going to college. Is there a right set of courses to take? How will your choices affect your education...and they will, big time, because just imagine if you didn't connect with that one professor who opened your path, or the girlfriend that became your wife, or whatever because you took a different class, or went to a different school for that matter. Many of those now arriving into the networks are trying to establish street cred by speaking as though there is one right way to do this stuff. And some will listen and it will probably work fine for them.
The question, which I love Chris, and see you demanding each day: do we have to courage to be ourselves out here?
Chance Black
· 10 months ago
This is right on with what I have been noticing lately. How we all seem hindered by "I'm doing it wrong." I notice my "doing it wrong" things seem really big to me. Other's "doing it wrong" things seems big to them, yet trivial or right to me, if I even notice. I think we are our own worst critics. Thanks for the post when we see we all struggle with the same perceptions it creates space and freedom.
Dan
· 10 months ago
This one just cracked me up, we all make choices, and we all choose what advice to follow, with the full idea that we can not ever make everyone happy. The circular logic on use/not use FriendFeed just cracked me up. Had that conversation lately, sticking with FriendFeed.
Hannes
· 10 months ago
Hi Chris,
Nice list. One thing puzzles me: how do you match "I follow too many people on twitter" with "I don't follow people back"? It seems like you advise not to follow and befriend just everyone, yet people who follow you should be followed back?
Anyway, thanks for making me wonder :-).
Hannes
Sonny Gill
· 10 months ago
Right on man. Going a little deeper:
We're all growing WITH this industry every day. There are things some feel should be set as rules, some think otherwise. There's always going to be a struggle but as things evolve in SM, as will standards - but there's no 1 end all to SM and what the 'perfect social mediaster' looks like. There's different variations, different applicable strategies, different ways things work - we need to be vigilant in letting the mistakes and the wins happen, regardless if we agree with it or not. Having a stranglehold on what we feel is right and what's not, isn't going to allow for that evolution.
chrisbrogan
· 10 months ago
Oh, and your Twitter Avatar changes too much.
LizS
· 10 months ago
Nice. And there are no experts, just lots of folks learning the lay of the land.
Sharon Hurley Hall
· 10 months ago
This is the best post I've read so far this year, and I agree with Jessica about similarities with parenting. There's always another way to use social media. I'm thinking of reducing my interactions to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn but I haven't quite committed to it yet.
Mike Logan
· 10 months ago
I am a believer in the Jessica Gottlieb school of parenting and webbing. The tools that worked with my kids so well yesterday do not stand a chance today. And they grin mischieviously maybe even maliciously as they shoot down yesterdays logic. Mike Logan
Michelle / chelpixie
· 10 months ago
I could hear the What? from over here ;)
ppierodds
· 10 months ago
social media is like teeth . just keep it natural .. care for each of them ...dont abuse them we all have our own smiles. .from .baci the dental dog
Cheryl
· 10 months ago
Ah, this one engendered a smile. Click! Reality. Flexibility. Changing growing. Individual personality. (Thanks much!)
Nat Finn
· 10 months ago
You're post is wrong. While we're at it, your face is wrong. :-P
Thank you for the reminders, Chris. :-)
-- Finnnnn
Deb Ng
· 10 months ago
This is not news to me. Folks tell me I'm doing it wrong on a regular basis. But I'm still here and I'm still doing it so it can't be all that bad...right?
Henie
· 10 months ago
Transparency + Authenticity = Naked Me...and I don't run for cover! :-)
Thanks as always, Chris, for a great post infused with insight and humor...great combo!
Best Always, Henie
Michael Gannotti
· 10 months ago
Love it. Great post. I think too many folks have a set dea about what Social Computing should be and the fact is there is no set way of opertating. Just like in the real face to face world where life is messy, social norms ever changing and varied by cultures, so to is the virtaul social world. Its all new, all changing and highly subjective. Thanks for posting this as I think sometimes there is a real need to point out that its okay to lighten up and relax in regards to this evolving experiment in information exchange and interaction.
Peter Kim
· 10 months ago
Chris - despite the exuberant enthusiasm shown in the 40+ comments above me, I must disagree. There are clear ways to use social media incorrectly. That's why Twitter accounts are suspended and Facebook profiles are deleted. Wikipedia edits based on speculation are wrong. So are blog posts that plagiarize content or do not attribute. It's wrong to shill services without disclosure and promote brands without transparency. Not responding to comments or tweets is wrong.
[But naturally, it's not wrong to disagree with me. :) ]
Chris Hall
· 10 months ago
Richard Reeve = Great thought on the courage to be ourselves. :)
One of the things I love about the internet is that there are so many ways an individual can get from point A to point B. These tools are designed to be open ended so that we can figure out what works best for our individual needs. How awesome is that?
There's no wrong way to eat a Reece's, it just takes time to figure out a personal system. After months of playing around with different social tools, I'm just now piecing together a holistic strategy around my preference for using some of them. For those who don't want to put the effort in, there will always be someone somewhere telling you what to do... :)
James Chartrand - Men with Pen
· 10 months ago
Rock on. I can't even begin to count the number of times I've been told that I'm doing something wrong in the past few years. I also don't care. There is no right way - there is only the way that works best for me.
So I'll keep on doing it wrong and be proud that I don't have to do like everyone else says I do. What would be the fun in that?
Amber Naslund
· 10 months ago
And you shaved. Or you didn't. Because, hey!
AC
· 10 months ago
What the fuck is wrong with swearing?
LaurelPapworth
· 10 months ago
I've lots of case studies of companies who were ill-advised by social media experts and ended up in PR Hell. Politically incorrect it may be but we can indeed get things wrong. As individuals it may simply be we don't connect with whom we wish to connect but for companies the consequences are much harder.
Perhaps it's not that we do things 'wrong' its that we weigh up the consequences of one action against the opposite action and accept those consequences. Important to know what they are though (e.g. spamming your blog posts on Twitter may lose you some followers but gain you others). Blindly following "everything is fine" would be great in a perfect world, but many social networks have unwritten rules.
It's actually fun to find them out, work out the consequences of breaking them and then doing it anyway :P
AMY FLANAGAN
· 10 months ago
LOVE THIS!
Maisa
· 10 months ago
I'll just add to Danny Brown's comment:
If it's better than sex AND MUSIC, you're doing it wrong. =P
May =]
fun-da-mental
· 10 months ago
Indeed, so many things can go wrong, better not even start publishing... Then again, we might just go out and try what really works - for us. What works for us, might not work for other sites, as you all know. Cheers!
Rick Liebling
· 10 months ago
Peter -
I think there is a difference between Chris' "doing it wrong" and your "doing it wrong." Chris means it from a personal, 'my perspective' way, while your version is more about improper usage as defined by the majority. Wow, I'm really treading a fine line there, but I think you might be taking this too literally.
Jeff Korhan
· 10 months ago
Well, now I need to learn about Creative Commons, so I guess i was doing that wrong.
Are you saying wrong is the new right? I think so.
The technically correct are rarely the real winners. That's boring. There's so much more personality in succeeding even though you are doing a few things wrong.
Jessica Smith
· 10 months ago
Word.
Martin Meyer-Gossner
· 10 months ago
OK, agreed - you made a good point. BUT: If we did everything correct, the world gets so boring. Just type in 'You are doing it wrong' in Google and see what a lot of laughter the first results offer... http://tinyurl.com/aq8mmw . Is this not great and another way of social media sharing...?
Ken Burbary
· 10 months ago
Chris - We're only doing it wrong if you judge someone else through your criteria for what is right. As @garyvee says, don't try to wear another person's shoes. We all have our own way, and while that way will indeed include mistakes, it doesn't make it wrong.Trust your instincts and move forward in a way that works for your goals and objectives.
"Your ideas intrigue me and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter."
Good stuff man.
Tim Jahn
· 10 months ago
Great point Chris. In a realm like this where everything is so personal and about being yourself, there's more than one way to do things.
If anything, we should do our best to learn from the way others are doing things.
Ellen Naylor
· 10 months ago
Hi Chris,
This is a reminder that one size does not fit all in social networking just like in-person networking. We need to tweak and figure out what works best and some else's formula or combination of networks or networking "philosophy" might not work for me. Seeing your list made me think about what does work, and realize we all have opportunites to make it work better if we reassess and learn from each other, our readers and our customers.
I am writing an article on poor etiquette in social networking for Competitive Intelligence Magazine which will come out in Mar/April. I would like to use your list to start it, since it illustrates what's right or wrong depends on you, your goals, your practices and your philosophy. I do plan to then go into some of the obnoxious behaviors I have noticed mostly on Twitter, LinkedIn and blogging since I think those 3 ways of communicating can apply for the others.
Thanks for this post...I selfishly needed this...and I will let everyone know where I got it and will tweet it today too, right now!
Nichole Brown
· 10 months ago
OMG! WTF?!? The story of my life. LOL. ROFL!
Steve Haweeli
· 10 months ago
Chris - once again your post has enlivened my day. Essentially you told me (and my team) to: forge ahead! Keep up the great work!
Celeste
· 10 months ago
Oy... The tunnel stretch-ith...and the light doth receed! Thanks for the giggle, the push, and the hope(lessness...>LOL<) ;) C.
ChefBliss
· 10 months ago
Another wonderful post -- it truly is about being true to yourself, finding your voice, and using what works for you! Thanks!
MtnMom
· 10 months ago
I don't know what Linkedin is. So I must be ok - or not. I just subscribed to Google Adsense. Is that bad? Love your posts!!!
amurphy13
· 10 months ago
What do you have against ads on blogs?
Colin Clark
· 10 months ago
I'm with you on everything except for partial RSS feeds. I just don't think there's any excuse. If someone wants your content via RSS then that's a huge advantage to you. Let them have it all! I don't know why they were invented to begin with.
Viglioa1
· 10 months ago
Im new to twitter and still trying to kind of find my stride with it. We had to make and account in my marketing class so i kind of got thrown into it. Me not being a tech guy have found it confusing to just jump in. That is some great advise though. You really just have to be yourself. its a lot easier that way.
Jeannie Christensen
· 10 months ago
Such a freeing post. Like taking a deep breath and just realizing everything WILL work out somehow. Thank you.
johnhaydon
· 10 months ago
You have CAPTCHAS in your comments.
Rusty Speidel
· 10 months ago
You're right. I'm shutting it ALL down.
see ya!
Michael Murray
· 10 months ago
I appreciate the fact that you are able to vent frustration. It communicates a large degree of transparency, and even hope to those that are just starting to know that it is a work in progress.
Mike Gaiser
· 10 months ago
Chis, great post! Yes I do have ads on my blog! I look forward to your take on the solution.
AngelaConnor
· 10 months ago
The beauty of social media platforms is they can be used in a myriad of ways. This is not a one-size-fits-all deal, and those who thing it is are the only people who are really WRONG!
Joe Natoli
· 10 months ago
Chris, I cannot possibly explain how timely the above is for me this very moment. After a whole LOT of overthinking and agonizing and second-guessing (and and and....) my social media activities, this was like a lightning bolt to the brain.
Gee, I GET it now :-)
Gratitude.
MLDina
· 10 months ago
Everybody's a critic. Which ones are the right ones to listen to about being right and wrong though? It can be hard to tell- it's best to follow your own instincts, and seek advice from critics you know and trust. If, that is, you choose to listen to them at all.
chrisbrogan
· 10 months ago
I should be really clear: I love critics. I love when people tell me that I'm wrong. I learn from every single interaction, positive or negative. None of the above is strictly about me. None of the above is strictly about you. Some of the above is satire. The thrust of the piece entirely revolves around how people think their way is the only way.
Make sense?
Rick Morgan
· 10 months ago
Kind of like McDonalds Vs Burger King - I like it my way - thank heavens we are all unique individuals with our own quirky selves.
Joe Natoli
· 10 months ago
Makes all the sense in the world Chris -- that's how I took it. Wondering if the issue isn't so much critics, but the fact that there are so many ways to peel the apple, as it were...
Joe Natoli
· 10 months ago
btw -- and this is really strange -- that pic isn't me! It's the CEO of our company.....anybody?
Karen Highland
· 10 months ago
Nicely done! Right or wrong isn't the issue, so the Social Media Police need to find another hobby.
Jeannie Christensen
· 10 months ago
Pleaseeeee find a new hobby.... ;)
Jordan Pearce
· 10 months ago
You complain vehemently about said users in your list. Ha ha that's the best. "I'm going to ignore you now...because you're doing it wrong."
I'm too laid back to get all freaky bent over Internet stuff.
People speak LOLcat so what! In UR Internetz Just 2 Anoyz U...
Too many laws, too many rules. Non-conformity: It's for outcasts.
Phil Glockner
· 10 months ago
Exactly. Exactly what I was going to say. Bravo!
chris brogan
· 10 months ago
Contradictions are like free puzzles.
Bamboo Forest - PunIntended
· 10 months ago
There is only one way to blog.
The way that works!
nancy white
· 10 months ago
in yer box makin' a comment. LOL ooops, that was wrong.
How 'bout weighing in on: - emoticons, wrong or just WRONG? - tweeting up the contents of your dinner plate? (A lot more common in foodie circles, I can tell you)
Jean Ghalo
· 10 months ago
well it is nice to be urself, do what you feel better for you and the community. But also it is nice to follow and do what the books say without loosing yourself. Also nice to learn from others mistakes.
So what I do is: - I network with people on LinkedIN and Twitter. - I Blog on my personal blog - Post comments on blogs and posts that interest me. - I use facebook if I want to waste sometime (i just reactivated my account and barely use it) - etc...
I do it My Way but it is the never the right way always!
Cheers! Jean
CoCreatr
· 10 months ago
(i) inspired, Chris. Thank you. Comment #99: How would YOU like to be wrong today?
Adam Singer
· 10 months ago
I would say you're doing it right, Chris ;)
Gwynne Kostin
· 10 months ago
Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I would like to add to the analogies (I especially related to parenting "rules").
"Right way" rules for social media reminds me of the cool-kids or mean girls keeping control by creating a bunch of social mores. This hits our worst high school memories lurking in the reptilian parts of our brains. Rather than be "uncool," people stay on the sidelines. And the mean-girls rule the roost. (Where is Lindsay Lohan!!?)
In fact, the only way to "get" social media is to use it. Thanks for pulling back the curtain on the "rules."
kat amaran
· 10 months ago
you are beyond nicer than i could ever be about this what? shut-up hooker
compassioninpolitics
· 10 months ago
Great post. I'm not sure I'm down with:
>>>You use partial RSS feeds.
I think this is a great idea. It increases personalization, which is at the beating heart of social media.
I guess we can agree to disagree..
Buzzlair
· 10 months ago
I ♥ to know it that i was doing all wrong.
Kishau
· 10 months ago
Thanks for this. One of my social media pet peeves is the determination of the 'social media elite' to develop hard & fast "rules" that EVERYONE ELSE must follow. The problem is that the 'rule makers' give themselves permission to be wrong, changing their own hard & fast rules by the day. Meanwhile, the followers follow and wait for the word to come down 'from on high' that it is now okay to use partial RSS Feeds. For every expert that rejects Partial RSS Feeds, there are 5 more that embrace them. So, do you.
Hopefully everyone is learning about social media by trying different tools and methods, then developing their own strategy by listening to their intended audience.
I'm glad I'm doing it wrong.
Karen Sugarpants
· 10 months ago
I do it wrong...and yet you still follow and interact with me. That proves that you're accepting of my doing it wrong. Which means I must be doing something right. Right? :)
michellew_
· 10 months ago
Hey *I* am not doing it wrong! *You* are doing it wrong!
annie
· 10 months ago
Not doing it right is the story of my life. Seriously. I could be rich if I was paid every time I got it wrong because I am the squarest peg on the board.
valmg
· 10 months ago
There have been days where I thought I was doing it wrong and other days where I thought I'll do what works best for me whether it's right or wrong. You've made me feel much better in knowing there is no wrong. I wonder if perhaps not doing it at all is doing it wrong.
Sherrie
· 10 months ago
This reminds me of the motto I adopted several months ago for when it comes to posting to livejournal. "It's my blog, not their friends page."
I used to complain to about some people's posts, but the penny dropped so to speak when someone complained about the width of a photo messing up 'their' livejournal layout.
usedtobeme
· 10 months ago
Beautiful!
graceonline
· 10 months ago
Thanks for the insight. So many rules, so little time. You gave us all a little breathing room today.
SuburbanOblivion
· 10 months ago
I'm never wrong, and even when I am, I'm still right.
Or something like that.
The Loss Adjuster
· 10 months ago
Agreed. We all are doin' it wrong!
Jack
· 10 months ago
People over think blogging. It doesn't have to be complex, there is certain beauty in simplicity.
Chris Marsden
· 10 months ago
I love this. And it applies to EVERYTHING. It is not about doing it right or doing it wrong. It is about doing it.
The Gonzo Mama
· 9 months ago
I thought this post was going to be "You're Doing It Wrong" as in "Hi. Jack? I'm Annette. You're doing it wrong." (Remember Mr. Mom, anyone?)
I am so pleased to find out I'm doing it wrong, as in "so is everyone else."
Jessica's point about parenting is right on the mark. I always say, "sometimes, parenthood is all about surviving it." As long as I'm surviving, I trust I'm doing it right!
Rob
· 9 months ago
The internet is all so, so wrong ;)
Wendy Merritt
· 9 months ago
I think we get too caught up in doing it "right" anyways. I think most of the time the point is to just do "it." You will waste all of your time trying to figure out the right way instead of just moving in a forward direction doing "it" at ALL! Get in there...make a mess...and clean it up later :) Life is too short to waste time trying to find the "perfect" method. There is no perfect method...it is an every moving target, an illusion (last week we brushed our teeth in circular motions, this week in up and down sweeps, next week...)
...just DO something in a forward motion.
blessings, Wendy
ppierodds
· 9 months ago
chris, i loved the teeth brushing analogy last week up and down, this week back and forth, next week....... no brushing at all see what im talking about at www.dentalairforce.com really i promise its true no brushing at all p.,piero d.d.s.
Scott
· 8 months ago
Don't know how I missed this post when it was new, you're spot on that there is no single way to do it right or wrong. However, for those using social media and networking to reach a specific audience would you agree there are ways to "do it stupid"?
Just curious.
alwaysoptional
· 4 months ago
Glorious!
Who'd of thought a guy could be as smart as you. :) Thanks Chris
Aubrey
· 4 months ago
Personally, I love the LOLCats comment. I know people who actually do that, sadly.
Thanks for the Twitter add by the way.
Raymond
· 4 months ago
Thank God. According to this post I'll be considered an outcast rebel who doesn't comply with the rules set forth by "The Man". I don't do any of that.
I'm unique... just like everyone else.
Todd Harris
· 4 months ago
I do enjoy doing it wrong. If we all did it right, we'd all be the same and that'd be boring as shit. :D
ChrisDonaldson
· 4 months ago
Interesting #moonfruit promotion on Twitter - whoever includes this hashtag in their tweets gets entered to win a MacBook Pro. Must have the purists cringing. Me? I think it's good marketing. Everyone's talking about it.
Jillian C. York
· 4 months ago
What on earth was the point of this relatively non-sensical post?
Blogging for the sake of blogging...you're doing it wrong.
Erika Berry
· 4 months ago
How freeing to know that I am so wrong!
ria_altax
· 2 months ago
Really hilarious... Yes i go on with you. "We all doing it wrong" Only. Nice post!!!
Wayne Bevins
· 2 months ago
Cool - good enough for you Chris - will be good enough for me. Thank you
3dBloke
· 1 month ago
I follow the "do what I like doing, and hope it works" approach. At least if it doesn't work, I'll be enjoying doing it.
All Comments
Blogging and parenting are exactly the same. Anyone who asserts that they have "the formula" is someone you should run from... quickly (and maybe scream a little).
Seriously, there's only "more likely to achieve your goal" and "less likely to achieve your goal" - but who says our goals have to be the same?
Great post as always Mr. Brogan!
As my wife is fond of telling me: 'you're so far behind you think you're first.'.
The real social media experts will be the ones that are able to look at a customer and figure out what is right and what is wrong in each specific case, not set a bunch of rules that they apply to all customers. Sometimes its important to try things, even though others have tried it because you don't know if it will be right or wrong for YOU...and if you're wrong you learn from it and do it right.
Dave
@DDGriffith
Just loved the post and even better it made me feel less of an island. Seems now, oh joy, oh joy I can just be me and live on for another blogging day. I would love to quote your post on my blog with a link back to yours. Let me know if ok. In the meantime thanks for making all of us feel much, much better.
Celebrate Life
Lorrette
Keep throwing the light from up there.
Enjoy your posts & the tweets
Prakash
'Nuff said, Chris. :)
That should have read: "If it's better than sex, you're doing it wrong." Obviously.
Thanks for sahring.
Murat Esenli
http://www.markasizsiniz.com
http://muratesenli.blogspot.com
Can you perhaps do a piece on how you use Friendfeed as part of your arsenal, and the main pros associated with it?
Kind regards,
Kevin
You know when you've done things wrong when you've crossed the line and been hit on the knuckles for instance... or when it produces no results too.
Sometimes...hahah...
Good topic, again!
You just preached a wonderful sermon about 'grace' in the world of social media. Nobody's got all the answers, and we all need a little help from our friends to figure it out. Preach it, preacher!
And why I'm beginning to think doing business using all these Web 2.0 tools, Social Media etc is just smoke and mirrors for folks trying to get out of actually doing anything.
The question, which I love Chris, and see you demanding each day: do we have to courage to be ourselves out here?
Nice list. One thing puzzles me: how do you match "I follow too many people on twitter" with "I don't follow people back"? It seems like you advise not to follow and befriend just everyone, yet people who follow you should be followed back?
Anyway, thanks for making me wonder :-).
Hannes
We're all growing WITH this industry every day. There are things some feel should be set as rules, some think otherwise. There's always going to be a struggle but as things evolve in SM, as will standards - but there's no 1 end all to SM and what the 'perfect social mediaster' looks like. There's different variations, different applicable strategies, different ways things work - we need to be vigilant in letting the mistakes and the wins happen, regardless if we agree with it or not. Having a stranglehold on what we feel is right and what's not, isn't going to allow for that evolution.
Thank you for the reminders, Chris. :-)
-- Finnnnn
Thanks as always, Chris, for a great post infused with insight and humor...great combo!
Best Always,
Henie
[But naturally, it's not wrong to disagree with me. :) ]
One of the things I love about the internet is that there are so many ways an individual can get from point A to point B. These tools are designed to be open ended so that we can figure out what works best for our individual needs. How awesome is that?
There's no wrong way to eat a Reece's, it just takes time to figure out a personal system. After months of playing around with different social tools, I'm just now piecing together a holistic strategy around my preference for using some of them. For those who don't want to put the effort in, there will always be someone somewhere telling you what to do... :)
So I'll keep on doing it wrong and be proud that I don't have to do like everyone else says I do. What would be the fun in that?
Perhaps it's not that we do things 'wrong' its that we weigh up the consequences of one action against the opposite action and accept those consequences. Important to know what they are though (e.g. spamming your blog posts on Twitter may lose you some followers but gain you others). Blindly following "everything is fine" would be great in a perfect world, but many social networks have unwritten rules.
It's actually fun to find them out, work out the consequences of breaking them and then doing it anyway :P
If it's better than sex AND MUSIC, you're doing it wrong. =P
May =]
Then again, we might just go out and try what really works - for us.
What works for us, might not work for other sites, as you all know.
Cheers!
I think there is a difference between Chris' "doing it wrong" and your "doing it wrong." Chris means it from a personal, 'my perspective' way, while your version is more about improper usage as defined by the majority. Wow, I'm really treading a fine line there, but I think you might be taking this too literally.
Are you saying wrong is the new right? I think so.
The technically correct are rarely the real winners. That's boring. There's so much more personality in succeeding even though you are doing a few things wrong.
This video says it better than I ever could.
http://garyvaynerchuk.com/2009/01/05/1-show-doe...
I'm deaf I'm blind hey aren't we all.
Great post, Mr. C!
Keep the faith and keep being you!
~Ronald
TrueBeliever & HopeDealer
Good stuff man.
If anything, we should do our best to learn from the way others are doing things.
This is a reminder that one size does not fit all in social networking just like in-person networking. We need to tweak and figure out what works best and some else's formula or combination of networks or networking "philosophy" might not work for me. Seeing your list made me think about what does work, and realize we all have opportunites to make it work better if we reassess and learn from each other, our readers and our customers.
I am writing an article on poor etiquette in social networking for Competitive Intelligence Magazine which will come out in Mar/April. I would like to use your list to start it, since it illustrates what's right or wrong depends on you, your goals, your practices and your philosophy. I do plan to then go into some of the obnoxious behaviors I have noticed mostly on Twitter, LinkedIn and blogging since I think those 3 ways of communicating can apply for the others.
Thanks for this post...I selfishly needed this...and I will let everyone know where I got it and will tweet it today too, right now!
Love your posts!!!
see ya!
It communicates a large degree of transparency, and even hope to those that are just starting to know that it is a work in progress.
great post! Yes I do have ads on my blog! I look forward to your take on the solution.
Gee, I GET it now :-)
Gratitude.
Make sense?
;)
I'm too laid back to get all freaky bent over Internet stuff.
People speak LOLcat so what! In UR Internetz Just 2 Anoyz U...
Too many laws, too many rules. Non-conformity: It's for outcasts.
The way that works!
ooops, that was wrong.
How 'bout weighing in on:
- emoticons, wrong or just WRONG?
- tweeting up the contents of your dinner plate?
(A lot more common in foodie circles, I can tell you)
So what I do is:
- I network with people on LinkedIN and Twitter.
- I Blog on my personal blog
- Post comments on blogs and posts that interest me.
- I use facebook if I want to waste sometime (i just reactivated my account and barely use it)
- etc...
I do it My Way but it is the never the right way always!
Cheers!
Jean
Comment #99: How would YOU like to be wrong today?
"Right way" rules for social media reminds me of the cool-kids or mean girls keeping control by creating a bunch of social mores. This hits our worst high school memories lurking in the reptilian parts of our brains. Rather than be "uncool," people stay on the sidelines. And the mean-girls rule the roost. (Where is Lindsay Lohan!!?)
In fact, the only way to "get" social media is to use it. Thanks for pulling back the curtain on the "rules."
what?
shut-up hooker
>>>You use partial RSS feeds.
I think this is a great idea. It increases personalization, which is at the beating heart of social media.
I guess we can agree to disagree..
Hopefully everyone is learning about social media by trying different tools and methods, then developing their own strategy by listening to their intended audience.
I'm glad I'm doing it wrong.
I used to complain to about some people's posts, but the penny dropped so to speak when someone complained about the width of a photo messing up 'their' livejournal layout.
Or something like that.
I am so pleased to find out I'm doing it wrong, as in "so is everyone else."
Jessica's point about parenting is right on the mark. I always say, "sometimes, parenthood is all about surviving it." As long as I'm surviving, I trust I'm doing it right!
...just DO something in a forward motion.
blessings,
Wendy
i loved the teeth brushing analogy last week up and down, this week back and forth, next week....... no brushing at all see what im talking about at www.dentalairforce.com really i promise its true no brushing at all
p.,piero d.d.s.
Just curious.
Who'd of thought a guy could be as smart as you. :)
Thanks Chris
Thanks for the Twitter add by the way.
I'm unique... just like everyone else.
Blogging for the sake of blogging...you're doing it wrong.