Photo by hmm360.
Sarah Morgan shares where you can find her online, opining why she uses Google+ for this and Goodreads for that; and reasoning why she doesn’t care for Ping or Ryze anymore.
What works for one person will not work for someone else. It’s a fact of the social web. We are individuals with unique characteristics, interests, and passions that set us apart from everyone else on the planet. The same goes for businesses and organizations, for no two share the same mission, vision, and staff. We all — people and organizations — do what we do because of rationales specific to ourselves.
This is hard for many to understand.
It is common, especially when attending your first social media workshop or listening to your first conference panel or webinar on the topic, to be confused. We believe we should join and participate in Facebook groups and Ning communities merely because someone we trust and respect invited us to join and participate. Books that cater to the dummies in all of us present case studies and best practices, and we walk away after reading their pages with a desire to do what the experts do.
Life doesn’t work like that.
You are born out of a womb and it is up to you to manifest your destiny. It is up to only you. Your parents, family, friends, and educators will guide you on proper decorum and what-if roads to travel — but your life is yours, to do with what you please.
The same is true of your digital life. Sarah’s reasons for using Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ will always be different than your reasons. We have our own reasons to connect online, and our reasons are predetermined by greater powers to be unique to ourselves.
The quicker you understand that tools are used differently is when you reach social media nirvana — and you can begin experimenting with each tool to use them the way that makes perfect sense to only you.
Questions?