It’s not the seeds that matter, it’s the flowers.
This article is in response to another article: Don’t Post The Same Content On All Your Social Profiles.
It does not matter whether or not you post the ‘same content’ on multiple social networks. There are many other examples of where the ‘same content’ is posted: direct mail, your answering machine, your website, the Associated Press, syndication, just to name a few.
What matters is that you converse with others (friends, family, followers, prospective clients, fans, whomever) wherever they choose to be. I have many conversations. I often forget whether I had a ‘conversation’ with someone in person, via email, via text message, or on social networks. In all likelihood, it was some combination of the above. It doesn’t matter where or how the conversation occurs. What matters is that the conversation occurs.
If the Associated Press thought that its stories would never get picked up, then it would stop writing them. But AP wire stories often blossom and grow into other conversations. Imagine if, based on advice from so-called social networking experts, the AP had to rewrite its headlines for each of it’s target networks!
Some social networks make having conversations extremely difficult. LinkedIn, for example, limits comments to 144 characters, so I hardly ever converse there. But LinkedIn is important for other reasons. Twitter.com is terrible for following conversations, but that’s why the TweetDeck application was created. When I blog, I get more comments on blog posts on Facebook than I do on my blog itself. And lately my techie friends, many of whom are absent from other social networks, have been appearing on Google+, which is nice.
For the record, I moderate all comments on my blog (and other social networks) and delete all of those that add zero value to the conversation. It’s not hard to add value. But just saying ‘yah’ or ‘me too’ isn’t enough. You actually have to do the hard work of thinking.
Yes, Virginia, social networking involves hard work. So while I use services such as Ping.fm and Seesmic to coordinate my seed-planting across multiple social networks, I follow up personally.
When I was looking for office space, I got some good advice: go where the clients are. My clients are on various social networks. As such, I do not discriminate against social networks. I’m even on Pinterest! Plant the seeds of conversation on many social networks. Then have the conversations wherever they take root. Some seeds may rot, others may blossom.
But don’t try to guess where conversations want to happen. Unless you want to reap nothing. Like information, conversations want to be free. Free to happen anywhere.
And beware of self-appointed social networking experts peddling their wares.
Related Posts
- Drawing That Explains Why Google+ Doesn’t Suck (8/31/2011)
Any why Facebook is panicking. - Top 10 Questions To Ask Before Your Company Spends Money On Social Media (9/12/2010)
Social networking is not magic. - Google Legal Summit NYC 2010 (4/28/2010)
Innovation And Disruption As A Google Core Value. - Drawing That Explains Google Buzz Privacy Problems (2/14/2010)
Think visually before launching technology products. - Drawing That Explains Contact Syncing (2/4/2010)
Email is social networking glue. - RT @ErikJHeels How To Write Web Headlines That Work In #Twitter https://www.giantpeople.com/1800.html (4/28/2009)
All web pages are shareable items. All titles are Twitter tweets. Get used to it. - How To Be A Millionaire On #Twitter (2/25/2009)
In two easy steps! - Three Free #Startup Ideas For The Taking https://www.giantpeople.com/1394.html (2/13/2009)
Ideas are cool, but execution is key. - How To Twittersquat The Top 100 Brands (1/8/2009)
A call for the creation of the Uniform Username Dispute Resolution Policy. - Rolling Stone Announces More Five-Star Rated Albums And All I Got Was This Lousy Feed (11/25/2008)
Want to know why the music business is broken? Look at how Rolling Stone Magazine mismanages its most prized asset: five-star reviews. - Drawing That Explains Social Networking (11/3/2008)
How to visualize social networking. - LinkedIn: Erik J. Heels: USAF (10/26/2007)
Reese AFB, Lubbock, Texas. Hanscom AFB, Bedford, Massachusetts. - FreakonomicsSucks.com (8/9/2007)
In which Erik Heels demonstrates that domain names – not diamonds – are forever. - Funniest Movies Of The 2000s (7/29/2007)
Funny movie clips from the 2000s. - Funniest Movies Of The 1990s (7/29/2007)
Funny movie clips from the 1990s. - Funniest Movies Of The 1980s (7/29/2007)
Funny movie clips from the 1980s. - Funniest Movies Of The 1970s (07/29/2007)
Funny movie clips from the 1970s. - LinkedIn: Erik J. Heels: Cayman (12/26/2006)
Cayman Systems Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts. - LinkedIn: Erik J. Heels: BBN (12/22/2006)
Bolt, Beranek & Newman (BBN) Advanced Computers Inc. (ACI), Cambridge, Massachusetts. - LinkedIn: Erik J. Heels: Rautaruukki (12/19/2006)
Rautaruukki OY, Raahe, Finland. - LinkedIn: Erik J. Heels: MIT (12/16/2006)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology class of 1988. - LinkedIn: Erik J. Heels: CEHS (12/15/2006)
Cape Elizabeth High School class of 1984. - LinkedIn: Erik J. Heels: Verio (12/13/2006)
Verio coworkers. - Business Is A Conversation (Or Clueful Lawyers) (10/1/2000)
The business of law is a conversation. Are you conversing?
Erik J. Heels is an MIT engineer; trademark, domain name, and patent lawyer; Red Sox fan; and music lover. He blogs about technology, law, baseball, and rock ‘n’ roll at erikjheels.com.
