In my social media strategy presentation, I used to open with a slide about suffering from Social Media Obsessive Compulsive Disorder 2.0, i.e. never seeing a social network I wouldn’t join. Fortunately, the need to build The Brainzooming Group business coupled with sleep and creative energy limitations have curbed my personal case of social media information overload.
And by "curbed," I mean “slowed...somewhat.”
The other day, I followed a tweet to a cartoon video blog post illustrating the anxiety caused by expectations of always being online and accessible via email and every other known social network. The cartoon wasn’t very compelling, but I left a comment nonetheless…because I haven’t been doing enough commenting on other blogs lately.
See what I mean? There’s always an opportunity for a relapse.
The post got me thinking, however, about what strategies have helped me feel a little bit better in dealing with the reality I can’t be meaningfully active in every social network:
- Come to grips with the fact there is information (even really cool information) being tweeted and posted which you'll never consume. I know it’s scary, but get over it. It just is.
- You won’t know the most current details about every topic someone asks you about. Get really good at replying to questions about an unfamiliar topic by firing back with a question of your own.
- Scads of fringe social networks getting lots of hype will go away before you ever figure out why you’d need to know about them. They’ll be replaced by other social networks. Maybe start paying attention to the social networks appearing after that.
- Replace “social networks” with “news” and “them” and “they” with “it” in the previous bullet point. The statement’s still true, isn’t it?
- Invest a majority of your learning time becoming world-class at how to find information, how to learn, and how to process information topics. Use these killer skills when you really need to go deep on a topic.
- Invest lots of your networking time creating a diverse group of individuals to keep you informed on detailed (yet relevant) topics you can’t possibly follow yourself. Ask them lots of questions – on a "when you really need to know it" basis.
- Lots of people know much less than you may give them credit for. Surprised? Don’t be. They’re dealing with the same anxieties about information overload you are. Quit angsting about your own information capacity limitations.
- Ask people you trust what tools they use to cope with too much information. Far better to let others be the guinea pigs for the latest apps.
- Social media metrics and follower counts aren’t linked to your worth as a person. Enough said.
Those are my nine.
Now let me ask you a question – what are your strategies for coping with your own social media and information obsessions? – Mike Brown
The Brainzooming Group helps make smart organizations more successful by rapidly expanding their strategic options and creating innovative plans they can efficiently implement. Email us at brainzooming@gmail.com or call 816-509-5320 to learn how we’ve developed integrated social media strategy for other brands and can do the same for yours.
