Don't Forget People Matter

People disappear and reappear all of the time on social media channels. It's part of what makes it great. If you can't take a break from Twitter long enough to do your laundry, go shopping, and attend elocution classes, then you need to question why you are flailing your arms about to get noticed. Social media is great when you are genuine. It's better when you are grounded in who you are. It's best when you pay attention to other genuine people.

Pay attention to your stream and make an effort to periodically give people an individual shoutout. When somebody is gone for days, do you notice? It's easy to maintain friendships online. You can be a butterfly and people get that. But stop periodically and remember who these people are and what they mean to you. They are not money trees, zoo animals, or even an alternative to you doing absolutely nothing. They are people just like you and I'd like to think we all need somebody singling us out and saying "hi" to help us know we are not alone living our lives and supporting our families.

I don't ask a lot from people but I'd like to ask you today to think about who helped you in the past with an Illustrator question or didn't give you a snarky let-me-Google-that-for-you answer when you tried to figure out where to get budget numbers. Remember who retweeted something funny you wrote. Remember who put up with your self-indulgence when you went on about your good time at SXSW. Remember who live-tweeted your presentation from a conference with supportive comments. Remember those who first helped you get started in your career. Remember that your network is made up of people and don't take them for granted.

Popularity: 1% [?]