Right now, it is like the wild wild west for social media. New networks and platforms are popping up each day, which only convolutes the playing field even more. This makes first time social media users feel like they are behind the curve when all they really need is a clean Facebook profile, a blog to become a thought leader and possibly a twitter account to start out. The biggest misconception I hear day after day is that Gen-Yer’s are avid users of social media, which I hold to be a fallacy. Most of my friends don’t have a blog or comment on any and only know about twitter because everyone is talking about it. Please don’t get me wrong though, there are some amazing kids out there changing the world with social media everyday.
I believe that the largest users of social media are our parents and the older generations because they find it fascinating and are intrigued by it while we are jaded by it. This poses problems when an employer Googles your name, which they will, what they find (or don’t find!) will be their first impression of you. Using simple techniques you can manage Google results of your name and control how you are perceived online.
For anyone starting out with social media, here are a few things that you need to be conscious of:
- Set goals/milestones for yourself before you start to use social media
- Add value to the conversation before you ask anyone for anything
- You’re not special and won’t become a star over night, it takes time
- Comment on other blogs and @ reply them to get involved
- Monitor your reputation online using Google, Google alerts and other search engines.
- Be transparent, no one likes a liar or talking to robots
So what’s next for social media and when will it start to slow down and build a solid foundation? Will we be able to regulate it with sheriffs in each domain or have an overarching law enforcement agency? What’s next for social media?
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