This is an unofficial boycott of status updates of “What are you doing?” (The word “Boycott” does flow well with the “Universal No” symbol.) 
I am not, however, updating Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn with answers to the question, “What are you doing right now?“
A better title for this post could be…
Why I am on Social Media
My Social Media participation began in 2007 to the need to stay current with rapid changes in Internet Marketing vocabulary and how Social Media ties into SEO. People in this industry were many of the first to gravitate to Social Media. So I started the long learning curve.
LinkedIn was a given. It’s a professional networking site. Connections made through LinkedIn have opened possibilities and resulted in work relationships numerous times already. LinkedIn is pretty incredible from a business approach.
Facebook was a learning ground. To date, I’ve only uploaded a couple photos and realize I’m missing out on much this platform has to offer for networking socially. I started connecting with people in the search marketing industry, joining groups and conferences, etc. Now, people from high school, cycling and other aspects of life are on Facebook. (I’m also connected with people I don’t personally know and no longer accept such invites.)
Twitter became a text messaging and networking steroid for connecting with industry peeps and staying staying current with latest news. It’s often my RSS and email replacement. Twitter gets credit for building relationships and serving as my “go to” resource for news, resources and help for technical questions.
My “friends” connections grow daily along with my quest and thirst for information about search and social media marketing. The majority of people I follow are business contacts or are people “in the industry.”
Twitter is also a customer service portal for posting questions to businesses. It’s the one social network I couldn’t do without. But I’m now using it in moderation.
Another possible title for this post could be…
My Opinion on Social Media Status Updates
Some people using Social Media only update their status with the answer to, “What are you doing?” The result is a high signal to noise ratio - IMHO.
Define “noise”
Noise is not adding value, talking solely about your basic activities, often all day long. Me, myself, and I – over and over.
The personal aspect of each person’s life is key for building relationships. Experts suggest a 10% “personal sharing” on social networks is enough to build relationship.
@GuyKawasaki looks at his participation on Twitter as:
“a weapon for subject matter experts.”
He’s a combo of PBS (public service) and QVC (sales) with a little personal thrown in. (There is debate about his use of Twitter in that he doesn’t engage in conversation with others, but that’s another subject.)
Examples of “noisy” answers to the question, “What are you doing now?” include:
- “…is going to the grocery store.”
- “…is washing the dog.”
- “…is at work.”
- “…is bored.”
I found this post Facebook’s Signal to Noise Factor when looking to see if others felt the same way. The author wrote:
Personally, I still like Facebook and find it useful—but I’m considering turning off some features that clutter my inbox. For me, 2008 is all about increasing signal and reducing noise.
AGREE! For me, 2009 is all about…
- Increasing and selecting my signals and reducing the noise.
- Focusing on developing new websites and SEO, which means building great content and getting incoming links.
How do you update your status?
Facebook asks, “What are you doing right now?’
I mentioned on Facebook that I don’t see myself updating my status with an answer to that question very often, and one friend replied:
“And its not like you have to use that box for a status update anyway.”
Exactly! Amen! So be it!
Twitter asks, “What are you doing?
Few of my connections on Twitter answer the question, “What are you doing?” It’s an instant messaging service for many of us.
LinkedIn’s status update provides some suggested “fill in” options:
I’ve gained respect for many connections by learning of their accomplishments and goals from their status updates on LinkedIn!
I was amazed, however, to see someone update their LinkedIn status with their “evolution of inebriation” including steps 1, 2 and 3!! They told us how they got drunk over the weekend!
No joke!
Another possible title for this post could be…
Status Updates = Your Online Reputation
Think about how you answer the question, “What are you doing now?”
- Are you just talking about yourself?
- Are you just marketing your hype?
- Are you sharing resources and adding value?
- Are you engaging with your connections?
- Do you really care what shows up in the search results?
Every LinkedIn profile shows up in search results. My LinkedIn profile data shows:
In the last 3 days, you have appeared in search results 11 times.
Each person’s reason for participating in social networks is unique and different.
How you fill in your status update becomes your online reputation. It can be the difference of gaining or loosing a job and/or friends.
Eric Lander, a respected SEO, recently reduced his LinkedIn network. He notes ethical concerns and considers each connection a vote. A vote? Think about that!
Warren Buffet said
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.”
How you answer the question, “What are you doing” can make or break your reputation.
Now you know what I’m doing and about my unofficial boycott!
Dana, thanks so much for referencing my LinkedIn post as well as taking a much deeper dive into this entire “question” and how social media distorts things.
So.. What are you doing?
I’m not telling you! LOL
Eric, your decision to seriously consider your “connections” provided me with one of those “ah ha” moments. Greatly appreciate your transparency!
Thanks for stopping by!
The “noise” was exactly WHY i never joined these Socnets in the first place. When I entered the job market in the early 90’s I taught myself how to network, using the phone, lunch meetings, social gatherings, etc. I got every job through networking the old fashioned way. FB is addictive because its fun. I turn off all apps because they’re a waste of time. I like to look at people’s status because sometimes they make me laugh. And it feels like I get that cool part of working in an office again by being connected to people instantly, like telling a joke to my friend in the next cube. Since i work from home, i don’t have it and i miss it, so i use FB that way. to say stupid stuff and read stupid stuff. As a little break from my daily work tasks as a web developer. I looked around and tried twitter, linked in and FB and settled on using FB for fun and linked in for “limited” business networking because i’m privacy nazi and prefer my information be retained on my server and my really “personal/personnel” information (CV/resume details) be given out at my descretion and offline. I think there’s a limit on what we should put out on the ‘net becuase of technology is growing faster than we can turn on our privacy blocks. That should concern EVERYONE. I think though many in the SEO/SEM industry hype Socnets as “THE TREND” in SEO and they way to do business, i see them as a passing trend and only another way to give big biz more information (from people putting it out there/profiles) for more marketing and most people will after a while will NOT engage in social networking with corporations (like Coca Cola on FB) for that reason. socnets will evolve to be more noise than business use. its just the nature of the biz. tho i do get “some” biz from online referrals (they go to my site, not my socnets), the majority of my biz is face-to-face/word of mouth networking. i for one will continue to do biz the way i always do it–face to face. who knows, maybe that will be my new differentiator! and i’ll continue to use Socnets for what they really are: a fun silly distraction.
MVP:
@WildDingo You’re right about the importance of picking up the phone and spending time face-to-face. Nothing replaces that for personal socializing. Most people are drawn to socnets for that reason alone, a valuable tool/use for many. Twitter and Facebook are often called “water coolers” and serve as such for many who work remotely.
Privacy is another concern, but that’s not stopping participation when you look at the exponential growth of new users each day. They should be aware of the ramifications of what they type into status updates. Latest news stories include a kid being kicked out of school and two people loosing their jobs for what they posted on Facebook and MySpace.
100 years of marketing practices are out-the-window as a result of social media. Businesses are changing their customer service models. Twibs is a business directory for Twitter. One can view their tweets to see who is doing a good job at engaging customers. Not everyone will do it right. There is no cookie cutter or textbook approach. We can’t predict the future, but many companies are embracing the current trend.
Just one small example of how social media affects search results (SEO) can be found in Google showing http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=site%3Atwitter.com” target=”_blank” rel=”nofollow”>Twitter has 39.1 million indexed pages!!
I hope this helps anyone reading to think twice when telling people what they are doing and the viral effect of connections. Maybe one solution is to keep a very small network, but one never knows who is listening!
39.1 million pages is exactly my point on “privacy” and you are what you ‘tweet’… businesses LOVE people putting out the info, whether they say they had 3 beers at lunch (and it gets them fired) or not. to me, the tools don’t matter (internet, tv, radio, magazines)…the model stays the same. hang your billboard wherever you think audience is: at movie theaters, on tv, in magazines. marekting budgets will always be the same but methods will change and perhas socnets will replace movie theater budgets or magazine budgets. but my thinking is that socnets will come and go and over time, they will be as water-downed as the other forms of marketing.Socnets (unless REALLY targeted, such as linked-in…lets hope they stay targeted and away from tweeting/fbooking tools) will evolve into just noise and companies will always resort to traditonal marketing tactics. “myspace” was all the rage until it got some teen (or a few) killed. the human being can be a strange creature. i still cringe at the leg warmer trend in the 80’s!
LOL!
MVP:
Many people thought rap music was a passing fad, but the subculture continues to influence genres of music and even clothing styles.
Connecting and sharing with others will not go away. Currently, social media provides multiple platforms for people to do so. People do leave a digital (and mental) footprint by how they update their status boxes.
An article that explains how search has shifted from static to real-time search is “The Conversation is Shifting“:
“Social intention” is the key takeaway. Companies can now listen to what people want, read their reviews, and many are using this as R&D to improve their services. Consumers have a voice like never before.
A couple comments from the referenced article are pretty funny. One person says,
Maybe I should tell them about my boycott!
“Consumers have a voice like never before.”
I always wondered where the WP “kvetch” thingie ended up. i think it goes right into some server trash can. LOL! I once used it thinking my kvetch would be put in some bug list. doh!
I’m not saying that socnets will go away completely and people will stop using them for personal or “product” review…but i am saying that they will become just another tool and not always the marketing tool of choice. right now, i cannot deny that they are a hot marketing tool for companies. But for the very reason of “noise” i think they can become less impressive as other marketing tools come out in the future.
But what i can’t understand is why it even necessary to critique the way people use the tools, whether its for their own voice/to hear themselves speak useless drivel, or whether it is for “constructive” use like product reviews? As a person who didn’t want to hear the “noise” of a socnet in the first place, i whole heartedly admit that i contribute to the “noise” and useless drivel. I also use it for advertising free stuff i give away (so its partially informational). Isn’t noise subjective? why is stuff that is useful to companies not considered noise but stuff that can be silly and a distraction considered noise? My definition of noise may include hearing about new products from a company. I’d rather hear about someone’s fabulous weekend or baby’s new tooth coming in. I have to admit, i like the filters FB employs to help me reduce “noise” w/in my own FB friends. i guess i like that i can choose my “noise” wisely!
Now for my own critique: the amount of “causes” and “groups” that sprout up on FB blows me away. i mean, I like David Zabriske and all and am sad he got robbed, but isn’t there insurance for all his stuff that got stolen? why is there a group dedicated to helping him get his stuff back? why do people even join these things? They seem to be like no-where causes/dead-end causes/groups that do nothing but get members. so odd. now that’s an interesting phenomenom.
Am I now harrassing you Dana? Hopefully not. It’s fun chatting about this. I think the Socnet thing is fascinating and fun to talk about sociologically, politically, economically, culturally, etc. feel free to block my crazy opinions from commenting on your awesome blog.
MVP:
We all manage our time and prioritize differently. As stated, each person had different reasons for being social online and different uses, which may vary by time of day and day of week. Noise, IMHO, also varies depending on if it’s during work or socializing hours.
My goal and boycott is to focus on priorities, which includes:
Social media can be a distraction. It takes a lot of discipline and filtering.
I’m hoping people will realize their status updates are a footprint that stays in the minds of their connections as well as in the search engines. As stated in the heading above:
Status Updates = Your Online Reputation
Updating how one got drunk over the weekend, on LinkedIn of all places, is more than noise!
I now ask myself if I want to consider my connection as a “vote.” It’s a good opportunity to evaluate friends, connections and who we follow.
oh i totally agree on the “drunk” thing on linked in. i can’t believe what people write. it’s one thing to write…going to costco (like i do sometimes) but its another to really soil the rep. even my boy loki sometimes pens a little TMI in his facebook!
MVP:
Twitter is my main conversation tool of choice in the social media world. I use Facebook & LinkedIn also, but much more passively. Twitter has some exciting things going on that stretch far outside of just updating a status with ‘what I’m doing now’ …
This whole concept took me a bit to figure out and get used to, but now it makes total sense. The tough part now is trying to explain it to others … that can be challenging!
I use my Twitter status to share resources/links , talk to people , let folks know what I’m working on / thinking and a wide variety of other things.
http://twitter.com/franswaa
franswaa: @LifeRollsOn COOL to see you on Twitter. Would love to hear more about how u get on and what ur doing? Twitter rocks: http://bit.ly/8y7Y:
Frank, thanks for the input. I have enjoyed the value you add to my Twitter stream.
Thanks also for sharing the exciting things going on with Twitter for fundraising and non-profits.
Readers, check out Don’t Fall Behind, Fundraising is Moving On! to learn about some cool events on Twitter: Twestival, Tweetsgiving, Pledge to End Hunger, Tweet-a-thon, and other fundraising efforts.
Frank, you’re showing great examples of how people are using Twitter to make a difference.