Nowadays it is a fashion statement to be on Facebook or twitter or any other social networking website. So if you’re a Twitterer or a Facebooker, do you have something of value to say or we are just following the herd? Are we doing any value addition so as to help broaden the mindset of your followers with your information?
For me the social networking scene is good for my business, but am I contributing enough for others in my circle?
When the Facebook platform first became popular, it was primarily with college students who socialized about things that interested them: parties test scores, campus events, etc. After a while (like these days), you can find a lot more diversified audience of moms, freelancers and a host of businesses who connect to their own websites and product lines. According to Facebook’s statistics page, there are now over 200 million users on Facebook and that is a lot of people who have something to say!
With Twitter, it’s quite flattering to get a “ding” in your inbox announcing that someone is “now following you on Twitter.” We never tire or get bored with reading who’s following you because we want to learn more about them. I think that’s one component of Twitter that’s pretty good. And since Twitter responses are more succinct than Facebook’s (generally speaking), when you Tweet, you better be sure to have something to say, say it quickly (or succinctly), and move on. But what if you are of the ‘know-it-all types and like to explain things in detail?
These are only two social networks that I’ve mentioned, but there are countless more with new ones popping up all of the time. They certainly are here to stay, but are you as an individual, a business person or a corporate representative getting any value from those sites? Are you finding that they enhance your business knowledge, or do you find that you’re trudging through a lot of unnecessary information to get to the pearls? The answers to these questions will decide whether you add value to others or not.