Digital Marketing Specialist, Social Media Consultant,
and Tech Geek at Heart

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Social Media Insecurity: What to do When Online Activity Affects Your Offline Relationships

August 18, 2010

As social media enthusiasts, we often forget that we live in a different type of world than everyone else. We might be more keen to open up to strangers and share our feelings with people we don’t know. It’s the world we’re living in — for us, at least, and it will continue as we spread these ideas to our peers and colleagues, all of whom will likely slowly open up to this world in due time. All paths will ultimately lead to here whether or not these “outsiders” have chosen to accept it yet.

I can empathize with the holdouts. I have family members who are really confused with how omnipresent I seem online, but at the end of the day, they take pride in that. My uncle knows a young girl from his community, a recent college graduate, who is looking for a social media job. When she found out I was his niece, she became ecstatic. I told her to reach out and I embraced the opportunity to help her. (If you’re hiring for entry level in NYC, let me know and I’ll pass on her info!). Meanwhile, I did my uncle proud. Social media is about helping one another and building real strong friendships, usually around a certain interest or activity.

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A Virtual Hug: As Touching as a Physical One

August 7, 2007

Virtual HugSome of you may know that my grandfather is quite ill and has been in the ICU for the past few weeks. I’ve been spending a lot of time focusing on family and in the hospital. A number of friends online have helped me be strong. One in particular, Miguel Lopez, shared this story (below) with me about how online relationships have helped him cope with the illness of his mother.

It started with a headache.

My mother, like most senior citizens, has more than a fair share of health problems. But a few weeks ago, they turned worse. She started complaining of severe headaches, then dizziness, then vertigo. Worried, we called 911 and soon she was in the ER, being subject to all kinds of tests.

I’m sure most of you have been in a hospital waiting room. In most circumstances there is not much you can do to try to keep your mind away from the uneasy feeling creeping out of your gut. You call your immediate family or close friends, watch the TV, read a magazine.

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The Many Uses of Twitter

June 15, 2007

Twitter LogoAs I promised in my earlier thread, besides answering the typical question, “What are you doing?”, Twitter has many additional uses. What are my top picks?

  1. Twitter as a tool to communicate during conferences. After attending SMX (I’ll post something on that soon) and SES NY, I realized that Twitter is a useful tool for conferencegoers to communicate their whereabouts or to share breaking news and announcements. This was particularly prevalent during the South by Southwest conference several months ago, which helped fuel Twitter’s growth. The SXSW Twitter feed helped many communicate with each other and even allowed for individuals to meet for the first time. Similarly, Michael Twittered during SES in April. So did I. I also did so during SMX.
  2. Twitter as a tracking device. This is an interesting and unconventional way of using Twitter. Personally, I haven’t seen it that often (with the exception of this cute little flight post Barry wrote about me), but I think it has potential. Last week, when I went to Seattle, I was in a timezone that put my family three hours ahead of me. Still, they were interested in my whereabouts and wanted me to email them. When email is unavailable, there’s almost always SMS. It’s much easier to send a text message to 40404 than to buzz your sleeping family member letting them know you landed. Have them check your Twitter page to see that you are safe and sound. If you’re someone who spams Twitter often, your family (and friends) should see a lot of updates from you.
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I Am Clueless About Your Product. Sell it to Me Correctly.

February 21, 2007

Eye OpeningOne of the biggest mistakes you can do is use terminology that goes over the heads of your prospective clients. Time and time again I am asked to review a website and I end up reading copy that makes me feel stupider than I felt before I visited the site. What the heck are you really selling? How will it benefit me? Why should I buy it?

What is the goal of your website? If it’s informational, give me the right information. If you fail to do so, I cannot learn from you. I will go somewhere else. Thank you for your time.

I have checked out numerous sites of people who are not actively seeking to change their web presence at all. In good intent, I have given the solid advice that it would be in these people’s best interest to have a website that people can understand. With this, there’s greater likelihood for conversion. Understandable content, or good copy, is critical. Further, if you’re exactly what your searcher is looking for, the right copy will rank you higher. If this is a long tail search, so be it. Even better. Without any copy, you might as well not have a web presence at all.

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Online Dating: Content isn’t Everything

December 12, 2006

Online DatingHere’s a little known present-day fact about me: when I was 15, I had an “AOL boyfriend.” (My parents, had they known, would have freaked.) In my high school yearbook, I was voted most likely to have an online wedding.

Back then, it was strange for people to grasp the potential of online networking. It was geeky. (I never minded.)

Fast forward 11 years. I’ve been married for nearly two years. My husband and I met the old-fashioned way. “AOL boyfriends” are not so abnormal. Online relationships are flourishing and people going great lengths to meet their dream dates that they met online.

Online dating communities are very active and people often make their own assessments of an individual based on an online profile followed by a few email exchanges and maybe a phone call or two.

I’ve seen successes and failures with this model. I’ve had a friend from Falls Church, VA meet his “AOL girlfriend” who lived in Seattle — after meeting, they decided they were meant for each other. I believe they’re on their 7th or 8th year of marriage now.

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