Do you suffer from Social (media) Anxiety Disorder (S.A.D)?

Message to readers,

Updated post due to the fact I didn't know Social Anxiety Disorder was actually a real medical condition (whoops!). I'm hoping now that the changes I've made will make it clear that it is a "tongue-in-cheek" post and will stop me receiving any more requests for interviews / guest articles on how to deal with the medical condition Social Anxiety Disorder.

Apologies to the confused or the offended...

warmest regards,
David Christopher

Have you ever been down the pub with a group of friends and interrupted a flowing conversation to answer that beep from your smartphone informing you that someone has commented on your latest Facebook status?

Maybe you have been having dinner with your family at a nice restaurant and excused yourself for the fourth time blaming it on a weak bladder because you needed to check what has been happening in your Twitter stream; a weak bladder that only manifested itself at the same time as getting your first smartphone?

Or maybe you were watching a film at the cinema and noticed a flashing coming from the hand where you are gripping your smartphone tightly, whilst your girlfriend squeezed the other hand harder and harder giving you that "don't even think about it" look?

If any of these sound familiar to you then you could have Social (media) Anxiety Disorder (or S.A.D for short).

S.A.D is a serious disease that is spreading fast around the globe and now starting to spread to the workplace as companies start to adopt social technologies to collaborate.

If we don't act now this could turn into a worldwide epidemic!

If you already do any of the following then it could already be too late for you....

1. You cannot resist the temptation to text, instant message, tweet, or generally converse via your smartphone than watch the 238 slide PowerPoint presentation on how this weeks strategy could increase the company margin tenfold
2. You give colleagues your twitter username when they ask for your email address
3. You suggest "I'll Friend you on Facebook" when you meant to say "lets do lunch"
4. You restrict your emails to 140 characters
5. You keep a running count of the colleagues you know
6. You host twitter chats instead of telephone conferences
7. You prefix forwarded emails with RT
8. You spend 10 minutes trying to find the Like button of a document uploaded onto your intranet site
9. You refuse to talk to a colleague you don't know without a verbal introduction from one of their team members
10. You first hear that your boss has left the company via their updated LinkedIn profile

For me it's already too late....but hopefully my suffering hasn't been in vain and this blog post helps you identify the signs before Social (media) Anxiety Disorder (S.A.D) takes another life.

UnChat Event (#SWChat)

Thanks to everyone who took part in this weeks Social Workplace Twitter Chat event (#SWChat).

UnChat Event

No topic or questions were pre-defined.

The participants who joined were asked at the start of the event what hot topic(s) they would like discussed.

The most popular were chosen.

Event Statistics

• No. of Tweets = 917
• No. of Contributors = 86
• Reach = 250,000
• No. of impressions = 2,400,000

Summary

Full Transcript Report via @hashtracking

Questions Asked

Q1) How do you separate levels of #SocialMedia info :fluff/substance, signal/noise (Thx to @CHopeMurray)
Q2) Should #SoMe measurements like #klout and #kred be a factor in who you engage with ? (Thx to @mbhahn)
Q3) What do you think about the LinkedIn password leak recently and how they handled it? http://t.co/XhTikJYz

Shared Reference Material

• Accessing Kredibility via Greg Stevens
• LinkedIn Passwords Leaked By Hackers via BBC News
• eHarmony Hacked; Passwords Leaked Online via abc News
• Why Isn't LinkedIn Proactively Alerting Members To It's Security Breach? via Mack Collier
• What Your Klout Score Really Means via Seth Stevenson
• Last.fm Password Security Breach via Last.fm
• SeeSaw for #SWChat via Gigi_Peterkin
• If Your Firms Not On Twitter & You End Up In A Social Media Firestorm via Puffles
• Is Social Media Right For Your Organisation? via GuideStar
• LinkedIn Was Breached. Now What Do You Do? via Nicole Perlroth

Useful #SWChat Links

Next Event | Schedule | Reminders | Archive | Advisors | Q&A | About |

Impact of Social Media on Recruiting (#SWChat)

Thanks to everyone who took part in this weeks Social Workplace Twitter Chat event (#SWChat).

Impact of Social Media Recruiting

Social Media is undoubtedly an incredible source for recruiters for sourcing candidates, but what is the impact of social media on potential recruits? Is the use of social media going to be an advantage when applying for jobs or a hindrance?

Event Statistics

• No. of Tweets = 755
• No. of Contributors = 104
• Reach = 249,000
• No. of impressions = 1,800,000

Summary

Full Transcript Report via @hashtracking

Questions Asked

Q1) Are tools like LinkedIn reducing the need for companies to outsource recruiting to external agencies?

Q2) Is your LinkedIn profile more important than your CV?

Q3) Should potential employers be allowed access to your private social activity before hiring? (see http://ow.ly/9OQwD)

Q4) <skipped>

Q5) <skipped>

Q6) What are the do's and don't s with regards to social media,. when looking for another job?

Q7) In 140 characters or less, how do you see the way recruiting is done today, changing in 5 years?

Shared Reference Material

• The 500 Year Evolution Of The Resume [infographic] via Rezscore
• Google Threatening To Replace The Traditional Resume [conversation] via @jocelynaucoin
• What If A Would Be Employer Wanted Access To Your Facebook Wall? via abcNews
• People Are Less Likely To Lie On Their LinkedIn Resumes via Business Insider
• The Thin, Digital Line via HR Executive Online
• How Recruiters Use Social Networks To Screen Candidates via Mashable

Useful #SWChat Links

Next Event | Schedule | Reminders | Archive | Advisors | Q&A | About |

Social Media for Small Businesses - Getting Started

I was recently asked for some advice on how to get started with social media to engage with customers for a small business. I thought I would share that advice with you...

Build a Knowledge Base

It's important you have a point of entry for your customers and with the size of it's user base Facebook is a social platform you cannot ignore. If just starting out, I would use this as your knowledge base where all other forms of social media point to.

Create a buzz about your business

There is no greater tool to create a buzz than Twitter but you need to use it smartly.

Here is what I advise:

• Start with the basic Twitter web interface to build up that trust and following
• Identify a hashtag associated with your business that you can use in all your tweets
• Once you are comfortable with the Twitter concept then I would start to look at third party tools to help organise information, schedule tweets, search on key topics, and engage in conversations. I would recommend Hootsuite as your user interface and something like a Tweepi to help build up a following fast
• Once you are using a third-party tool like HootSuite, use this to integrate your key messages across all social platforms (there are many many other tools that claim that they can integrate your messages across all social platforms but many hinder rather than help. My advice is keep it simple initially)

Some general social media hints and tips:

• Use the same avatar across all social platforms
• Regular tweets are better than a lot of tweets over a short period
• The general rule of thumb is that if someone follows you on Twitter they will follow back so build up your following by following others. If this was a personal account then I would dissuade you from this approach but as it is a business account you are looking at then I would encourage it
• Engage in conversation with other people - don't just post / tweet out your own content
• To build up a following will take time – be patient
• If people ReTweet your message it is good to thank them (I tend to wait til the end of the week to do this and thank 5 / 6 people in one go). They are likely to retweet it again in the future if you do

Checkout some of my other posts on using Twitter effectively:

 How NOT to Get Twitter Followers
 How NOT to Get Twitter Followers (The Sequel)
 Twitter: Learn to Listen and Stand out from the Crowd

Other Social Platforms to Consider

Once you are more established with the above then there are other social platforms that you should consider:

1. YouTube – If you have some videos, create a YouTube account and upload them there. You can also use your Facebook and Twitter platforms to raise awareness
2. SlideShare – This is also a very powerful medium for sharing messages. If you have powerpoints that you would like to share, then SlideShare is a must. Slideshare also has its own social network as well as integrating with Facebook (i.e. people can Like your slideshares)
3. LinkedIn – This is much more than just a job resource tool now. With 100,000,000 professional people it is now a valuable and resourceful knowledge sharing community. Join communities that relate to your business and start engaging in conversations and building up trust. Once you have done that you can start “advertising” in these communities. It's useful to try and build up a good relationship with the Community Manager as it is the Community Manager that will kick you out if you just "advertise" your own products

There are literally hundreds of different social tools / platforms out there but don't panic!  Start off small, build up that following and most importantly, engage in conversation with people. Afterall, it is people you do business with not tools.