How social media has changed my world

96432322 When I get into a conversation about social media — one of the questions people ask is "how do you find the time?"  The truth is…I can't afford not to find the time.  It's simply a part of my life/routine now.

Why?  Because like the other things that are a part of my life — it matters. 

It adds value. 

Deborah Chaddock Brown recently wrote a post about the 7 things she loves about social media.  She then asked a few of us to do the same.  

(By the way…I'm pretty sure you could make the exact same 7 statements.  If you couldn't — I challenge you to figure out how to change that ASAP.)

Thanks to social media, I'm smarter:  Never before have I had more information at my fingertips.  And when I have a question or want more — I just comment and voila, I get more. 

Thanks to social media, I'm better connected:  Social media removes artificial barriers. Bloggers, Tweeters, authors, experts — all willing to pick up their phone, answer an e-mail or fire back a text.  Incredible. 

Thanks to social media, I'm more informed:  Different from smart — this is about immediacy.  Remember when we had to wait for the evening news?  That seems so archaic now. 

Thanks to social media, I'm speaking across the country:  Sure, I was doing this before social media…but now it's much easier. Conferences and event organizers find me rather than me having to market myself to them.  I'm not longer a stranger — I'm Drew from the Marketing Minute blog.

Thanks to social media, I'm an author/editor of 3 additional books:  Age of Conversation I, II and soon to be released III.  If I had not met my friend (and co-editor) Gavin Heaton from Australia — it would have never happened.  Not to mention meeting the 200+ authors from all three editions.

Thanks to social media,I'm more accessible:  I love that people reach out to me on Facebook, LinkedIn, via e-mail and sometimes — just pick up the phone.  There's probably not a city in the world where I couldn't travel and find a reader, collaborator and SM friend to grab a drink or get help if I needed it.

Thanks to social media, I've met all of you:  I can't imagine not knowing you.  Or not seeing you at a conference and getting a huge hug.  Or getting a direct tweet with a question or atta boy now and then.  

Social media has not only changed my world… it has rocked my world! 

Thanks for being part of the ride!

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7 comments on “How social media has changed my world

  1. Elaine Fogel says:

    Drew, it’s so true how social media has been a game changer. I love it and wish I could spend more time networking online. Somehow, days can fly by without writing a single Tweet or posting a LinkedIn or Facebook update. Then, I scramble to catch up.

    Wouldn’t it be nice if we could make a living just connecting online without the need to actually…. work? 🙂

  2. Elaine,

    Boy, can I relate to that! Like you, I struggle with keeping up with it all (probably like everyone!) but I do miss it when I’ve been away for awhile.

    However…the bills must get paid and the beasts (pets, not children!) must get fed. So work we must. No matter how alluring SM is!

    Drew

  3. Hi Drew, you hit the nail on the head! So often people ask me “how do you have the time to be so active on social media?” – and to your point, how could I not? But the other piece of it is that because of the wonderful people in my network, my activity is magnified by them as they share my info out to their networks (just like I share their info with mine). So while it may seem like “I’m always online” I actually don’t get to spend as much time as I would like (to Elaine’s point, balancing work with marketing my business), but the time I invest pays back huge dividends. Thanks for the reminder about why we love it so much!

  4. Atta boy, Drew. I agree with it all. I make sure I have time for social media daily.

    Not only is it good for business, as you point out, but I’ve never received so many kudos from friends and total strangers. It lifts my spirits daily to re-remember that good people, who are happy for others, are in the majority in this world.

  5. Charlotte says:

    I like the mentions about “I’m smarter, better informed and connected”. I think that is so true! I use social media a lot. I’ve been going through Startups.com Q&A lately and joined to great conversations about business related topics.

    Social media has no boundaries, that is what I love the most!

  6. Charlotte,

    No boundaries indeed. Both in terms of geography, finding new clients, new connections or boundaries in terms of learning.

    It’s a beautiful thing!

    Drew

  7. social media is becoming a part of our lifes, i dont know if this is a good thing but we all are doing it

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