Authentic Internet Social Netorking

Writing the first post on my blog and reading the subsequent comments was an eye opening experience. First of all, writing the post made me see my own patterns of behavior with social networking.

Now that I look back at my social networking experiences, I realize that I got on Twitter and got comfortable on Twitter and developed a more formal relationship with my other social networking sites. It is kind of like feeling “at home” on Twitter and when I go to other social networking platforms, I behave as if I am a stranger: “company.”

Since the post, I have gotten a lot of feedback from uber-Facebook users and now I have a greater appreciation for Facebook. I have gotten way past the first level of setting up a profile and getting folks to follow me.

The first step was getting my Twitter feed to talk to my Facebook feed.

The second was grouping my friends so that I can find that needle in the haystack of a particular comment or feed from a particular person.

The third was putting up a couple of videos.

The fourth was getting my blog post on Facebook.

All these additional steps have me “nesting” very nicely on Facebook.

Now, I am not feeling that when I get to Facebook, a bunch of stuff is just being thrown at me and I do not know how to sort through it all.

I am more deliberate about what I do now that the vibe that I get when I log on to Facebook, is that “This is familiar” and “I have mastery and I am here to connect and give value.”

Yeah, Facebook rocks and I am enjoying my time there!

Lesson learned:

As humans, we feel that we “belong” to those things that we know. That is our default definition of identity. It is based on what we know, not what we want.

So back to Facebook and Twitter.

If the culture of a particular social networking platform seems that it does not resonate with you, go back to your original intention for joining: Connecting, getting good information, meeting great people, connecting with like minded people and ultimately making great business connections.

Now, ask yourself the following questions:

Are you presenting yourself to this social networking platform or are you hiding and lurking?

When you present yourself, do you present from a place of value or are you feeling so insecure and wondering if anyone will like you?

A year from now, if someone were to look at your social networking footprint, what will it say about you?

Did you add value to others lives?

Did you express your authentic self and can that we consistently traced on your social networking footprint?