email & web 2.0 obsession

September 10th, 2008

I’m going to do my damnedest to write this entire post without being wooed away by the buzzes and beeps of my email, Skype, Twitter (and on and on) accounts. If I can do it (oh no, there’s an email now!), you all owe me $5.

Does anyone else have this problem? (oh! another one! This is painful.) I’m trying to write a post, an article, a website - and my email is beeping at me, my phone is buzzing at me, Twitter is tweeting at me, Facebook is dinging at me. The desire to go running to each of these calls is immense. It’s my curiousity…and just a wee bit of ADD. But, all in all, it’s pretty classifiable as an addiction - I jones for the information behind the techno alert, literally. I get high off the fast pace set by my fingers, eyes and brain as I cruise from page to page on my browser and from app to app on my computer.

I’m completely convinced that if I could do what many experts, like Tim Ferriss and Stephen Covey, suggest, I would be much more productive. I’m already pretty gosh darn effective, so just imagine what I could get done in a single hour, let alone a day, if I just stayed put?!

They recommend, in their own ways, that you only check these connective activities 2-3 times PER DAY. And that you schedule these times and stick to the schedule. Whoa….the willpower that would take.

I’m making a pros and cons list:
Pros of only checking email, Twitter, phone, etc. 2-3 times per day

Increase in productivity
Greater concentration
Calmer atmosphere
Calmer mind (unless I’ve gone mad wondering what I’m missing)
Less distraction

Cons of only checking email, Twitter, phone, etc. 2-3 times per day

What if Oprah emails me and says I only have one hour to get back to her, but I’m not due to check my email for another 3 hours?
I’m already shaking, and I’ve only been practicing this for 15 minutes
Back to #1, what if I miss something really important?
I’ll miss the frenetic pace of moving here, here, here and here - in moments.
By the time I get to check my email, there will be a billion stacked up.

Hmmmmm….this is very interesting. Although every fiber in my being doesn’t want to go to the 2-3 times per day schedule, my only real reasons for staying with my current practices are my addiction and this completely 8th grade fear that I’m going to miss out on something.

If you read the two lists, you can see that the pros list reads slower, more peacefully, it’s almost elegant. The cons list reads like Chicken Little on crack and with an exaggeration problem. I didn’t do that on purpose - I just reread what I wrote and it became painfully clear.

Maybe I’ll try it for a week…but I’ll have to warn all of my clients because they’re used to immediate feedback. Can the world really wait 3 hours for me? This is insanity. You are all witness to a madwoman. And what about meetings? Will I have to schedule my meetings around my email checking times?

Listen, for all of you snickering out there, I don’t eat white sugar or flour, I don’t drink, smoke or do drugs, I’m terrified of internet porn (just look what happened to Duchovny), my 2 year-olds make knitting impossible….this online, internet, emailing mass of activity is my vice (and, funny enough, my profession).

FYI, there have been 20 Twitter updates, 8 emails, 2 phonecalls and 8 Facebook updates in the 30 minutes I’ve been working on this post…and I never veered off the page. And, will you look at that, I feel pretty calm, pretty good. I can check this task off my list.

Eureka! Maybe my own personal answer is this: it doesn’t have to be 2-3 times per day, but I have to abstain per each project. I like that. I’ll get each project done with total concentration, no distractions. My reward is a check into my online social/work world. Nothing will get too backed up (which would only cause further stress.)

I’m psyched and I’m officially starting now…oh, and you all owe my $5.

Anyone else dealing with this? Any good or proven bad solutions?

Filed under Critical Copywriting, How To, Networking | Tags: copywriting, email, freelancer, Julie Roads, marketing writer, online social networks, time management, Writing Roads | Comments (8)

bridging the web 2.0 gap: when social networking means different things to different people

August 27th, 2008

As you all know, I enjoy me some online social networking. I like my Facebook, my Twitter, my LinkedIn in particular. But, lately, I’m noticing this clash of the generations (or sensibilities, perhaps?).

Basically, people are using these networks for one of three reasons:

1. business activities

2. personal activities

3. a mixture of the two

But what happens when these groups bump into each other?

Sometimes it’s okay. For instance, I do love catching up with my high school friends on Facebook, and when I market my business and my blog there, they’re potential clients…it is a network, you know. And at least they all have jobs(ish) and understand that I’m making a living.

But then, my nieces friend me and they’re 13 and they put up ridiculous pictures of me from family gatherings. And my sister-in-law writes ’stuff’ on my wall that I don’t want anyone else to see because she’s 23 and using Facebook in its original configuration - as an online yearbook of sorts for the college set.

None of this is a huge deal - I can delete and manage my page…but I find it fascinating to watch as Facebook grows and builds into something more professional and business networky than it once was. And, I’m enthralled by the friend numbers that the younger folk have - think of the network at their fingertips when they grow up and have something really important to share. Hmmm, guess I shouldn’t delete them as friends, they’re holding some prime real estate…oh, and I love them, they’re family after all.

Filed under Networking, The Business | Tags: copywriting, Facebook, generation gap, Julie Roads, LinkedIn, marketing writing, Networking, online social networks, Social Media, social networking, Twitter, Writing Roads | Comments (4)

are social networking sites redundant or do you need to belong to more than one?

August 19th, 2008

You should know by now that, with me, nothing is black and white. So, here’s my answer.

Occasionally, there is some redundancy when you have the same certain people in more than one of your networks, but that is more the exception than the rule - not to mention that those folks are usually die-hard online networkers, and they tend to really ‘get’ what you are doing with your broadcasts. And, if they’re following you in all of those places, they really like you and will just be happy to hear from you.

So, on this question, I lean heavily towards the ‘you need to belong to many social networking sites’ side. Simply because there are a gazillion people online and they choose to belong to different social networks because each network presents a specific personality, attitude and interaction capability - oh, and that’s where their friends play. As a result, when you decide to belong to a variety of networks, you are reaching a more diverse audience. You are reaching the Twitter people, the Facebook people, the LinkedIn people, the Tagged people, the Squidoo people, the de.licio.us people - and you are reaching them where they are.

To participate on multiple networks is to build, activate and inspire multiple audiences and to foster a bevy of solid relationships. My raison d’etre exactly.

Filed under Networking, The Business | Tags: copywriter, copywriting, Facebook, Julie Roads, LinkedIn, marketing writer, online marketing, online networking, online social networks, Squidoo, Twitter, Writing Roads | Comments (2)

when are online social networks NOT time-suckers?

July 31st, 2008

When you use them strategically for your business. Simply put, we participate in online social networks to connect to others. For your company or work, this connection parlays into new clients, new ideas, new business. So, how do you do it? How do you use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn…and so many more, as a real marketing tool and not as a time-sucker?

1. Define time-sucking. Realize that to use these networks effectively, you have to spend some time on them. At the beginning you need to set up and personalize your account, connect to people and then continually communicate with them. This time spent is markedly different than time spent playing Scrabulous, tweeting about your lunch, etc. Though I’m sure you deserve a little bit of this mind-numbing, fun time every day as well. (no judgement)

2. Set up your profile to showcase your business. When people friend you or link to you or view your profile, make sure they can see who you are and what you do. If you can syndicate your blog on your profile, do it; if you can add images, do it. If you can add links, do it. And, show us your pretty face, do it.

3. Syndicate your work. Blogs fit in nicely here. When you put up a post, tell your network about it and give them the easy link. Blogs are an instant introduction to your personality and your expertise. If a project you just worked on went live, tell us about that too…showcase yourself. And, won’t your clients be thrilled.

4. Broadcast events, success, interesting news. Literally shout it out from the rooftops, you never know when someone will be looking for exactly what you’ve got.

5. Realize the breadth of your network. It’s not just the people you are linked to. It’s also the people they are linked to and beyond. Be interesting and use the words that are key to your business, company, industry…these things are searchable, you know, if you want them to be. They can also be viral. If you broadcast something that your network thinks others will find interesting, they will share it.

6. Participate. If I’ve said it once…Seriously, why should anyone listen to you, visit your link or syndicate your info if you aren’t doing the same. Your participation demonstrates to others that there is something in it for them as well. Don’t make it all about you….even if it is.

7. Network with your network. When it comes right down to it, this is good, old-fashioned networking. Talk to people, find out about them, see where your common interests are…suggest ways to move forward.

Some days will be more beneficial than others…that’s life. But on those really good days - the days when you make an incredible connection or strike a golden deal, any time-suckage will have been worth it….and so will the good karma you sent to a friend on Facebook.