Social Media Circus … by Jocelyn Faire

Social Media, is like managing a three ring circus.

 

Between the blog, Facebook, tweets, twittering, linking in, linking out, podcasting, Instagram, webinars ... The jugglers throw so many balls in the air, I am kept in constant activity of spinning wheels, needing to add one more hula hoop while maintaining the balance of a tight rope walker. My father used to get anxious watching the trapeze artists fly through the air without a safety net. He thought they should just lock them all up and put them in prison. He did not want to see anyone plunge to their death while he sat on the bleachers with his popcorn. Social media has moved the circus from being a spectator sport to a participatory one

Social media experts say the blog is 20% about what you write and 80% marketing. (Stats vary with site) You may write well, but if the marketing is not put in, few will read what you wrote.

And how can one person manage all the acts? The novice writer is a one man show. Social media appears the way to go.

At a job interview, I was asked if I found large projects overwhelming, and how did I manage them. I cannot remember my exact response ... although I went over it for a few days, kicked myself for not seeing that question coming. My response should have been: “I break big projects down, and do them one step at a time. And I relegate tasks to others as well.”

As a mother I learned to do many tasks, I was chief cook, bottle washer, domestic engineer with a flair, social worker, encourager, therapist, buyer and seller of goods. Who could argue that I have not managed three ring circuses before.

But this business of Social Media seems like another game.

Perhaps I don't have to buy into the whole package. I need to focus on the aspects of what works for me, and be willing to move and grow in the other areas.

I also believe this world needs more genuine communication as opposed to more noise. Social media often adds noise without adding value. In my travels, I have picked up a few foreign language greetings ... that led me to pen the following lines.

Guten Tag, wie geht es dir?

Danke es geht mir gut.

La Bess? Bon Jour,

Konichewa, Salemm alla Kum

And you? How are you?

We learn the greetings by rote

And the answer is all the same

The universal language

of that familiar greeting game.

'How's it going? It's good'

Needn't bother to listen

the answer will be the same

Cover up with pleasantries

Just add a different name

With all the new technology

Everyone can keep in touch

In touch without touching.

A smiley face symbol

And a texted XX

Meant to let someone know you care.

But can we care enough to

hold a hand, give a real hug, pick up the phone?

When the going gets tough

I'll take someone who cares over a

Forwarded message of hope.

Chain letters of encouragement

oft veiled with a threat

if you don't pass it on

something worse to expect

The sea of faces have blurred with despair

All wanting to know, someone does care.

The more time we spend interconnected via a myriad of devices, the less time we have left to develop true friendships in the real world.”
― Alex Morritt, Impromptu Scribe

The traveling circus I grew up with may have moved out of town, but Cirque du Soleil is the Social Media version—great ideas taken to a new level. And many are running away from home to join the circus, while I'm still munching popcorn, like my father. 

Jocelyn blogs at:http://whoistalking.wordpress.com

She is author of Who is Talking Out of My Head- Grief as an

Out of Body Experience