Conventional Wisdom about Social Media

I guess for me seeing is believing. Like many people, especially of my generation, I have entered the world of social media begrudgingly, participating some but never truly embracing it. That changed earlier this week when I attended the 2012 NACWAA Convention in Kansas City.

At this multiple-day event attended by hundreds of people, I could observe how the organization promoted the use of social media, primarily Twitter, and the response it got. I could also read the individual tweets and see what elements other people chose to highlight about an experience I was sharing.

Based on both observation and presentations I heard, here are a few thoughts I came away with:

• There will be some trial and error in building a platform.
• Platform building also will take time, and therefore, patience.
• You can tell a story even if you only use 144 characters.
• An important part of a platform is helping others.

So, I think I'm finally ready to embrace the use of social media. How about you?


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