Comments on: All or Nothing: Lessons from Leaving Social Media for a Month

By: Silence and a Celebration of Failure | wordpost

Silence and a Celebration of Failure | wordpost — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 14:10:27 +0000

[...] I moved to St. Louis six months ago, I was working just north of NYC in a great paying job with a profit sharing plan. I was given the [...]

By: The Paradox of Constant Connection | wordpost

The Paradox of Constant Connection | wordpost — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 11:20:14 +0000

[...] time my follower count on Twitter started to drop. My blog traffic decreased 94%. When I got back, I suggested that social presence has to be all-out, all-the-time for [...]

By: Anthony

Anthony — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:23:53 +0000

I've recently set up a Twitter account. I don't use it, but I wanted to 'claim' my name as an account. Could this be why some companies are setting up social media sites for their companies, but aren't actively using them yet? They want to maybe have the potential in the future to grab onto this opportunity, but aren't ready for it yet. It is perhaps flawed as you may lose people as they realise you aren't active in that space.
.-= Anthony´s last blog ..Been there a while? Must know what you’re doing… =-.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:52:57 +0000

Anthony,

You bring up a good point, but what I was talking about was not just the infamously parked “Coming Soon” orgs, but those who use SM as a broadcast platform.

Either way, IMO, showing up in the SM sphere without a long-term strategy is never a good idea.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:49:12 +0000

Abby,

First, yes I really did miss it. I missed interacting with smart people the most. I feel a total brain drain because I’ve been away.

Second, I was almost scared to come back, feeling afraid that I had lost too much traction (an irrational fear for sure). But in the end, I really believe that there’s value in humans connecting to other humans online.

Thanks again for commenting!

By: Abby Wambaugh

Abby Wambaugh — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:09:43 +0000

BTW interesting to see that everyone who commented thus far has a blog…I have a theory about that.
.-= Abby Wambaugh´s last blog ..What the Eff is Marcom? =-.

By: Abby Wambaugh

Abby Wambaugh — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:07:57 +0000

Thanks for this Andrew! If my job would allow me I would love to fast from SM for that long. I seem to go back and forth on worth of SM, healthy level of engagement, SM ROI, etc etc. All that to say, it's encouraging that you stepped away and came back seeing the value. I agree with the all or nothingness of it, which can make it difficult to obtain previously mentioned healthy level of engagement. So here's my question, did you really miss it? If so, what did you miss the most? Do you feel you've "lost traction" from being away for so long? .-= Abby Wambaugh´s last blog ..What the Eff is Marcom? =-.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 23:02:59 +0000

I’ve recently set up a Twitter account. I don’t use it, but I wanted to ‘claim’ my name as an account. Could this be why some companies are setting up social media sites for their companies, but aren’t actively using them yet? They want to maybe have the potential in the future to grab onto this opportunity, but aren’t ready for it yet. It is perhaps flawed as you may lose people as they realise you aren’t active in that space.
.-= Anthony´s last blog ..Been there a while? Must know what you’re doing… =-.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 22:37:04 +0000

Thanks for the props.

As I’ve been processing why orgs just park their name, I think it has to do with the fact that (1) many still don’t get how SM works (not that people have to be experts to use SM, I’ll be the first to admit I’m still learning!), and (2) sometimes orgs want to engage in the space, but don’t commit enough resources to the project.

And, sometimes, I guess that decision is justified. In essence, if an org is comfortable with a minimal level of response from minimal SM engagement, that’s okay—but the bigger worry I have is that they will turn off some customers who expect engagement in SM sphere.

So in the end, I guess it’s really my point that SM “results” are directly proportional to the amount of strategic involvement you have in the SM sphere.

And since I’m a relatively passionate person, I tend to go for broke on everything—so for me, it’s all or nothing.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 22:25:54 +0000

Jen, it’s a daily struggle for me to do all in all.

I think for me it comes down to a high level of discipline with regards to time management. But some days, life just gets in the way.

That’s why I think orgs need to think about social media teams instead of just pushing off the SM task onto one person who already has a full plate.