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I spoke recently at an event for master coaches that was unlike any other I've attended as a speaker. Rather than take an instructive or consultative role like I do with companies, I was simply required me to "start a conversation" about social media. This unusual approach afforded me an opportunity to take a step back from an evangelizing role of social media and to take more of an objective look at it.
The audience seemed split down the middle in terms of what they wanted to discuss. Some wanted to understand how to leverage social media to build their platforms; others seemed more pensive. One coach said:
"I don't need to be explained the importance of social networking on my business. I get that already. I know I'm supposed to blog and nurture a social network, and I know how to do that. But lately I've been questioning how social networking impacts my work -- my real work."
I wanted to offer up strategies for overcoming blog burnout and information overload, but I could see that he was struggling with more than that. His question was one that so few of us who make our livings either in the industry or as a result of it ask ourselves: Is social media making us more effective at what we do, or is it distracting us? And where is the balance between building networks and contributing to them that will ultimately make networking most effective?
I've been asking myself questions like these more and more lately, as I've been spending an inordinate amount of time responding to Facebook, Linked In, Plaxo, Hi5, Twitter and now Foursquare friend requests. I turn to these line items in my inbox first now, almost instinctively knocking out these requests because this more passive form of networking is easier than writing a blog post. As much as I would love to dig into the abundance of content online, social networks, by virtue of their mere proliferation, are taking more of the time I once allocated toward creating. As a writer this is alienating.
With the growth of social networks comes a shift from creating to consuming, a distinction that Rapleaf Founder and CEO Auren Hoffman discusses in a recent piece he wrote:
We are meant to be both creators and consumers. Today, however, most people consume far more then they create. Part of the reason for this is because being both a consumer and a creator at the same time is very difficult, and because goods and services have never been more accessible. But a healthy life is one that balances both creation and consumption ... People need to create and they need to have a creative outlet. Creating things lets us use our imagination, add value, provide a sense of accomplishment and ownership, and is both rewarding and satisfying. ... This is not to say that consuming isn't important. It is. Consumption and appreciation play a central role in our lives. But most people need a diet of more creation and less consumption.
I agree with Hoffman: There's nothing inherently wrong with being a consumer, or in the case of social media, consuming the content of your network and focusing on acquiring contacts. But if the balance between growing networks and creating content for one shifts too much toward consumption, we not only deny our own personal need to create, we threaten the quality of our networks. There won't be enough quality fuel to keep them engaged.
I know a book author who recently bragged to her cadre of Facebook friends: "I've just hit 1,000 friends!" This, from a woman who spent the bulk of her career writing books and articles. On the one hand, I applaud that she's embraced the new rules of promotion and takes it upon herself to cultivate a fan base, but I'm also concerned that she now seems more focused on her network than the content she can bring to it.
I've held fast to a rule I set years ago, when I first started building my social network: I would not spend time recruiting members into it. This may sound counterintuitive to how social networks -- which require care and feeding -- operate, but I established this limit for a very practical reason: to keep me more focused on the creation side of the social media
