{"id":2412,"date":"2012-02-08T01:00:23","date_gmt":"2012-02-08T06:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aboutrc.com\/?p=2412"},"modified":"2012-02-08T10:15:41","modified_gmt":"2012-02-08T15:15:41","slug":"2412","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aboutrc.com\/?p=2412","title":{"rendered":"On Social Noise"},"content":{"rendered":"

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(update: \u00a0There has been some great comments and conversation about this topic on Google+<\/a> – make sure you go read their comments there and join if you’d like)<\/p>\n

A couple of weeks ago, I reconnected with my friend J back in NY over a couple of text messages. \u00a0J was this person who I loved having late night chats with about all sorts of things – from Middle Eastern studies to future technologies – the conversations were always wonderful. \u00a0Life gets in the way and these conversations slowed to a drip. \u00a0It was great to hear from her. \u00a0Immediately I had asked her if she was online somewhere – perhaps Google+ so we could keep better touch. Her response was that she had stopped using these channels. \u00a0When I asked her why, her response was what left me thinking..<\/p>\n

“..Felt like this seamless sharing crap is just throwing users under the bus for bigger valuation.”<\/p>\n

Interesting indeed.<\/p>\n

Press Pause Play<\/h4>\n

I thought about what J said over the next few days, then stumbled onto a great documentary on the new digital age called Press Pause Play<\/a>. \u00a0This documentary, filmed last year, talked about how the advances that we are seeing right now have taken us to a point where being an artist that produces music and film is entirely reachable – creating this huge crush of artists on the internet space. \u00a0With everyone clamoring to be the best artist, the field is full of noise – leaving the best in the field, swimming in a sea of mediocrity. \u00a0Add to this Saturday Night Live’s skit “You Can Do Anything”<\/a> and you have an amazing portrait of where we are at this point. \u00a0After watching both of these, I started looking at the sea of tweets, posts, and comments in my space of digital imaging and technology, and wondered how much of this held any merit. \u00a0To be honest – I still don’t quite know how I feel about it just yet. \u00a0But, I do know that there were some things that I wanted to change for myself.<\/p>\n

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Making More Signal, Less Noise: The Follower Race<\/h4>\n

I love the creative environment that Google+ has brought to the table (im on Google+ over here<\/a>). \u00a0I feel like there is an incredible community of artist there sharing and talking, and I believe that this is great for inspiration and growth. \u00a0What I did notice on there as well was a reshuffling of the Social deck – so to speak. \u00a0People who I long followed on things like Facebook and Twitter held fractions of an audience in this new space, while entirely new players started gaining incredible mass – faster than any other platform had given them before. \u00a0 In the middle of all of this I started noticing that the currency of all of this was in followers – just as it was in Facebook and Twitter. As the legions of people were added to the coffers of the new social circles, I started noticing that the attention on the platform started getting more associated who was recommending you more than what you were actually saying. \u00a0It became less and less on what you were sharing, teaching, or giving, and more what “list” you appeared in. \u00a0Little by little, I felt that the message was\u00a0inexorably\u00a0tied to the mass that a person had rather than the masses flocking because of the message. \u00a0Earlier in Google+, there was this talk about whether Google+ was suffering from a “Gatekeeper” syndrome. \u00a0I still don’t think that’s the case – but I could totally see where a person would think that, if they came upon the site. This entire process gets endlessly complicated as we start using our “Good Job” and “Great Stuff” or “Let me tell you what I think” as food to attract more followers.<\/p>\n

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A few days later, I was sitting around talking to Jason Joseph on Google+<\/a>, who had noticed this as well. \u00a0In a Google+ hangout, he relayed to me the story of his father, and how well he was respected in his community. \u00a0He noted that his father never really mentioned this- and only came to hear of this after his fathers passing. \u00a0Finally he stated that his father, were he here now, would look at him and ask him what importance would there really be to the amount of people that followed him. \u00a0Why would he really care about the people that are watching.. that’s not why you do what you do.<\/p>\n

His solution: \u00a0He went into his profile, and hid the number of people that were following him. \u00a0In doing this – you could not use how many people follow him as a metric as to whether or not you wanted to listen to him. \u00a0You could only make that decision based on what he actually said<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I went into my Google+ profile and did just that. \u00a0Now, it’s not really relevant who is following me. \u00a0What I say is the only relevant part. \u00a0This, I feel, can help de-clutter a little bit of the noise I may have been contributing.<\/p>\n

Sharing Me: Inspiration and Pride<\/h4>\n

The second thing I started thinking about is what about the things that I am sharing socially. \u00a0For the most part, there are three types of things that I try to share in my blog and on social networks.<\/p>\n

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(an accurate description of what I feel like sometimes. Not just ‘wrapped’ but powerless. Fun tho \ud83d\ude42 )<\/div>\n

Things that tell you a little bit more about me: <\/em><\/strong>
\nObviously I can’t have everyone over for coffee, but I take an interest in being able to share the fact that I am just like everyone else out there. I am absolutely in love with being a dad, and I spend a lot of time showing the cool little daddy things that I get to work on for fun. \u00a0I put my pants on the same way everyone else does, and “how I roll” is prey to the same things that everyone else faces out here. \u00a0I appreciate any attention that someone may give me, but I would never want it to be inspired by my lifestyle.. I want it to be inspired by what I can teach. What I can share. \u00a0Thats the measure I want to be remembered by.<\/p>\n

Singular Things That Inspire Me: <\/em> <\/strong>
\nI keep very very weird hours, and work on 1000 things at once. \u00a0That said – I can find it almost impossible to be able to tell you “These are the following 500 people that I draw inspiration from. \u00a0Here.. have at it”. \u00a0I think it’s ludicroous to believe that you can do that, and be completely sincere on that. \u00a0Again.. I fall back on my being a teacher. \u00a0I would find it a big disservice to anyone who would want to learn from me to say “Ok.. stand there and open wide” and open a fire hydrant and aim it at them. \u00a0I dont learn like that.. and you probably dont either.<\/p>\n

Instead of telling you about 500 people that you’ll almost certainly not follow, let me tell you about one thing that I found that was great. \u00a0One thing that I found funny. \u00a0If I am going to recommend a person for you to check out, let me not bury that person in a list of 300. \u00a0Let me tell you what that -one- person is worth looking at for me. \u00a0If you agree with that analysis, you can follow them. \u00a0If not, you’ve at least learned something about that person.<\/p>\n

Tips and Tricks I stumble On<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

I have the\u00a0privilege\u00a0to spend my days working on developing cool ways to teach on things in the digital imaging and web space. \u00a0This means that we get to hear all sorts of little problems, and work on solutions for them. \u00a0Sometimes, they are just\u00a0things\u00a0that dont really need to be involved in an entire class –\u00a0they’re\u00a0just tips that would make peoples lives easier. \u00a0In that, I can’t wait to just fire up the computer, and record the little tip to share for everyone.<\/p>\n

What I Do For A Living<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Going back to\u00a0privilege\u00a0– I feel so lucky to be able to work with someone who epitomizes all of this –Scott Kelby<\/a> and Kelby Media Group<\/a>. \u00a0Not only do we spend an incredible amount of time solving problems and providing free stuff, we also spend a great amount of time designing training for you that is quick, to the point, and focused on exactly what you want to learn. \u00a0Because of this – I am completely unabashed in telling you “Go to Kelby Training and sign up. \u00a0It’s the best money you will spend on training”. \u00a0I won’t obscure this message as this is what allows<\/em> me to do what I do . I’m extremely proud of it, and feel completely happy to espouse it to anyone who listens.<\/p>\n

What This Means For You<\/h4>\n

So now that i’ve gotten off my chest what can you gleam from all of this?<\/p>\n

On your Website or Social Media circles – do you talk about stuff that interests you or do you just talk about things for the sake of drawing attention. The people you want to reach will appreciate sincerity. Theyre going to want to know as much about you as the quality of work you can produce. \u00a0Think of this as a job interview- so long as you’re cool.. it’s cool.<\/p>\n

Do you find yourself following, friending, and circling hoping for an exchange? \u00a0Leave that behind. \u00a0All of the time you spend chasing that tail, you could spend focusing on creating something that you can put onto the world that will bring people to you. \u00a0Rather than hope for sharing power, make power.<\/p>\n

Dance like no one’s watching.. \u00a0but if you’re Dancing the salsa – make sure its the salsa. \u00a0The best way for you to put your best foot forward as a person who shares great things is to stop sharing everything, and share selectively. \u00a0If you dont believe 100 percent in your picture, believe me, people can smell that. \u00a0Trust me, Ive learned this the hard way. \u00a0That said – want an instant pass? \u00a0Any experimentation you do with your iPhone (or other mobile phone) is never really counted against you. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

Forget about the numbers – focus on your message. \u00a0Keep in mind that any large amounts of numbers may just be spam and you’ll be cool. Also understanding that a large amount of followers does not mean a large amount of engagement. \u00a0A large amount of +1s does not mean engagement. \u00a0I once saw someone with 100\u00a0thousand\u00a0followers make a call to arms to help with donations and generate less money than i’ve sold a print on. \u00a0It’s not about money – but the moment you throw financials into this.. these numbers comes with very big asteriks. So focus on engagement.<\/p>\n

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Remember when you had to call someone to tell them Happy Birthday? \u00a0A long time ago, when you got a call from someone, it totally made you feel good. \u00a0Now on Facebook, you click a button, you see how many peoples birthdays happen today. \u00a0Type “Happy Birthday”, press Copy\/Paste several times.. done. \u00a0Frictionless. \u00a0 What did that do to the concept of someone wishing you Happy Birthday. \u00a0Now, everyone wakes up to a bevy of Happy Birthdays on Facebook – and for the most part – they have a much lesser meaning than when someone took the effort to do it in an email or a phone call. \u00a0 Thats exactly what it’s like with a “like” a “+1” or a RT. \u00a0If you think about how easy it was to do the happy birthday, you’ll sober yourself into realizing just how valuable your +1 can actually be. \u00a0If they come, great. \u00a0If not, that’s fine too. \u00a0You’ve got bigger things to think about.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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