In a couple weeks, I’m presenting at the 2010 Career Summit. My session is all about taking control of what you’re doing online, unlearning bad habits and being smarter with your time. It’s something I’ve struggled with a lot as a Community Manager and I’m hoping that I can help people avoid some of the core mistakes that I’ve made.
Social media is great, but there are also a lot of things that social media is not good for. Here are are few that I have learned over the years:
Plenty of talented individuals have made a small fortune from blogging, but most of us aren’t them. Posts that talk about how easy it is to set up a blog (like this one) and make lots of passive income are stupid. You should ignore them. It’s not that easy.
Passive income is a joke. Ramit Sethi compares passive-income seekers to people with bad taste. They’re easy to pick out in a crowd. I think this is particularly true for bloggers seeking passive income. Their blogs remind me of used-car lots.
And WTF is passive income anyway? Selling eBooks? Advertising? Webinars? Most of the people who are doing this well (Chris Guillebeau is a great example) have made managing their online presence a big part of their life in order to make it work.
The better way to get value out of your blog is to focus on selling your offline skills because that’s where most of us have the best chance of making lots of money anyways. I never made a dime off of my blog, but I did start a company with two other brilliant people because of blogging.
I realized this was true after Jamie Varon didn’t get a job at Twitter and instead got the attention she needed to start her own company. Twitter isn’t for job seekers. Twitter is for entrepreneurs.
Twitter worked well for Jamie because she came up with a creative way to showcase her talent. And Twitter is a great way to showcase your talent to a lot of strangers at once. The problem is that most people who use Twitter aren’t being creative like that..
Unless you’re tweeting for recreational reasons, tweeting seems worthless without something else compelling to share with people. Not to mention the fact that 71 percent of tweets are ignored anyway. Nobody gives a damn about what you have to say in 140 characters or less unless they know that you’re interesting beyond your tweets.
We’ve been programmed to believe that more equals better, but this is wrong. What I’m discovering is that the most talented people are being exclusive about who they network with. There are only a handful of people out there who can significantly help you out anyway. So this seems smart.
Being stingy about the amount of time that you spend online is a good thing because while you’re ogling down your Google reader for hours on end top performers are out there getting all of the real work done. A good rule of thumb is that top performers spend about 15 percent of their time online and 85 percent of their time doing behind-the-scenes stuff. I read this on Ryan Rancatore’s blog.
This makes a lot of sense to me because if I ever have a day where I just want to idly surf the web from the comfort of my own bed it doesn’t take long for me to get an email from my teammates in DC. It’s easy to identify who is doing real work versus who is just screwing around all day.
36 Responses for "Things to unlearn about social media."
I have found that blogging is a better source of creative inspiration than income. Writing your own blog is about showcasing your talents, and its about growing and exploring yourself.
Great post Mr. Paugh. I really believe that you need a clear strategy when you build your online presence and then you need to maintain it for a long period of time (FOREVER). Most bloggers make their money indirectly, through consulting and speaking, instead of banner advertisements. Twitter will only get a you a job if you have a strong online presence and you're specific with the companies you're going after.
I disagree and heres why-
the price of admission to entire into the online world and compete against the top dogs and gatekeepers is zero. With all the blogs, forums, and social media platforms available there are TONS of conversations going on in regards to whatever it is you are trying to acomplish.
You have to work harder then anyone else, you have to care more then anyone else, and you have to interact with your community. The ability to create something based upon hard work and interaction with people that are conversating about your topic is something that wasn't able to be done even a few years ago.
I 100% disagree that you shouldn't be using twitter…Twitter search is a easy function where you can type in your topic and instantly have hundreds of people- step up to the plate and get involved- if you care you win.
The internet is young and I think that anyone starting out should be using it the internet fulltime building there community .
Using the Internet full time? How are you going to get any real work done? I don't believe that spending all of your time on social networks is the best way to advance you career. I'm a cofounder of a social network by the way.
That's the best approach I think. Use your blog as a self discovery tool and focus on career development offline. Eventually the two might intersect. You never know …
You work your 9-5 – spend some time with your family- then you go to town on whatever it is you are trying to build online.
There are SO many people talking about whatever it is someone cares about- you can either be apart of those conversations or not. You have to be the expert, you have to care, and you have to be patient. It's not a sprint its a marathon.
I understand where you are coming from but I also think that we all have a GREAT opportunity to create online communities around what we love. Everyone has the chance to take on the big boys by creating great content and getting involved with your community.
What social network did you co-found? Pretty neat I would love to check it out.
I have created my own community as well!
Speaking of people who do a lot of behind-the-scenes work. I was thinking about you when I wrote this. Being a friend of mine I know that most of your hard work is spent doing real work and not chatting online. Except for G-Chat of course. Haha!
*For everyone else that last bit was an inside joke. Dan loves G-Chat. Possibly in an unhealthy way
I'm one of the cofounders of Brazen Careerist http://www.brazencareerist.com.
I'm one lucky broad to have you as a friend and a colleague.
No way jose! I'm the lucky one because you hook me up with such great opportunities. Presenting at The Career Summit with people like Jonathan Fields is so badass. You're the best.
Dude! Madden Bible is pretty awesome by the way. I don't play Madden because I'm more of a Mario Kart level gamer but I have to give you props for putting together a great community. If you ever want to do a Madden Bible careers edition you let me know. I'll be there
@Ryan Jonathan Fields is awesome. You're pretty awesome too Ryan have fun presenting.
Thanks Solomon. Just followed you on Twitter after reading the headline to your most-recent post. Stop fear from stealing your funk. I like that.
I always try and give the guys in the Madden community some insight about what they can be if they just stay focused, care about what they are doing, and never stop hustling!
I think it be great to potentially have you come on TWIM (it's our live show that we do every thursday night). Maybe have you come on their and we can have you talk to them about setting goals and building relationships with Brazen! We have a great following where we get about 500 viewers in a 2 hour span so you would be able to inform a good amount of people!
I'm so glad you didn't call this post "3 things to unlearn about social media".
I might never have read it.
Great post Ryan.
Telling people how many things you're going to teach them in your blog post titles is so out of fashion right now
I'll shoot you an email so we can talk more. Sounds like a great time.
the summit conference- i checked where its being hosted…didnt see address. maybe im totally missing it haha.
im in Boston, MA -close by?
Thanks Ryan. Keep up the good work dude. You shine!
Hey Ryan — nice post. I won't be at the Career Summit but it looks awesome.
The only point I would challenge you on is your comment on Twitter. I found my current job on Twitter and met my last boss on Twitter as well. I suppose my situation is slightly differently because I work in social media marketing….but still, it happens. I wrote a post explaining it —> http://nateriggs.com/2010/09/15/how-to-find-a-job...
Good luck at the Career Summit – Cheers!
just noticed its online- DUH
Point #5 in your blog post sums is up. Get on Twitter to find people, not find a job. You got hired because you're so talented at what you do and you were doing other cool/creative stuff with your blog, TNGG, etc. You're creative, likable and fun. Not everyone can hop on Twitter and do what you did without some serious strategizing. How's it going down under anyways? Do Australians get pissed off when you call it down under?
That's what's so awesome about this conference. You can attend from anywhere. I think I'm going to present in my boxers.
Thanks for the kind words Ryan. I would agree not everyone can just hop on Twitter and find a job, but it's definitely a great tool to help you listen.
Australia is awesome and things are going well. I haven't tried calling it "down under" yet — they already enjoying teasing me for my accent and saying "American things." I'll ask around for you
I definitely can get bogged down in posts on my reader and mindlessly surf the web instead of really working. I think what works for me is setting very short term goals, like making five calls in the next hour, which helps me to focus. And being able to tick stuff off a list is good for motivation. And sometimes I find it draining to build my online presence, since it can seem so daunting. It's easy to get off track, especially when I'm working from home, since then it's really easy to be immersed in posts about funky pendant lamps and watching Say Yes to the Dress at the same time. (Not that I do that. Ahem.)
Ryan, I think your post is well written, thought provoking, and spot on. However, coming from the public Higher Education sector, I can tell you that Twitter can land people jobs, Graduate Assistantships, and other opportunities, when one networks and makes connections well in online communities, like Twitter. Some of the best work we do in building online learning communities at the University level are through connections and conversations we have with our students online. This leads to more engagement outside the classroom and better learning experience/environment for everyone.
I agree with you on the "making money with blogs" part (just doesn't happen), as well as making sure that there is balance in the use of online tools. As we teach students and others how to navigate this online world, we must keep in mind that many people are stumbling upon it for the first time and they need the gain the same experience we did in our online "ah-ha!" moments.
Just my two cents, thanks for the opportunity to share
Hey Ed — Thanks for reading and commenting. Twitter is a great place to meet new people that might have opportunities for you. My argument is more along the lines that Twitter is not going get you hired. YOU are going to get you hired. The people that do best on Twitter have something interesting going on somewhere else online, like a blog, or a video series, or a really great portfolio. Twitter alone doesn't do your talents justice. You're just another resume, so to speak.
They call that insecurity work and we all suffer from it to some extent. My biggest challenge is checking email too much. It's such a bad habit because I end up wasting a lot of time that I could be using to do something productive.
I totally disagree with the Twitter comment you made. This is simply not true. I collect stories of people finding work with Twitter, not to mention the contacts to be made directly into a company. Offering 1 anecdotal evidence of someone you know doesn't make the point. Don't blame Twitter for the fact that it's just darned hard these days to get a job. The more tools you use, the better off you are.
Also, in what way is Chris G successful in a repeatable way? How much money has he made? If it's not about money, then how can people who aren't brilliant writers copy his strategy? I doubt this is possible.
Twitter is a great way to make new connections. Yes. However, the point I'm trying to make is that it's not going to land you a job on it's own. You need to have talent and a more high-impact way to share that talent than Twitter offers. Like a blog.
Chris makes money through eBooks, published books, ads, etc. He's able to do this because he makes his personal brand a huge part of his day-to-day work. How much money does he make? I don't know exactly. Enough to travel all over the world, which seems like enough to me
Amen to that! I do get a lot of business opportunities from networking with people online, but I still meet the very best people in person, over the phone, etc.
Good point! Yes, Twitter alone can't land anyone a job. Same is true for a video resume, online resume and other modern accouterments. But a blog does indeed make you attractive to an employer. I agree. And I have the hardest time getting job seekers to actually do it!
Chris does have a brilliant brand. I agree. But I think he (and your brand for that matter) are outliers. You are excellent at it. And most people are not going to come close. Therefore, it just doesn't seem like very good advice for a job seeker, who, let's face, has bigger problems then how their blog colors impact brand perception… Their brand just needs to be "good enough" as Barry Schwarz said in "The paradox of choice."
My point exactly. People like Chris are outliers. They're excellent at personal branding. Most of us need to focus on our offline skills in order to make money. You're blog doesn't need to be whiz-bang awesome in order to do that. It just needs to focus on your talent, ideas and value.
Great post. Really. I haven't been around here in a while, nor Brazen. Boy it's changed!!
But yes great post and I have been working on business development intensely for the past 2 months. I'm looking into real, local people and twitter really helps when you have that goal.
Keep up the good work.
-Torbjorn
Great to hear from you Torbjorn! Come back on Brazen once and awhile and hang out with us. We miss you!
Blogs do generate money but not to the point to make you financially stable, eh. I agree with you that there are only a handful of people out there who can significantly help you out anyway, so building trust and authority is more important than anything else. The question is, how can we build trust anyway?
-Penelope@PulseUniform
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