Don't Take Social Media Personally....

...I mean it. Don't get discouraged if no one replies to you in Twitter. This is advice I shared with someone last night after I spoke on a panel at Bentley University. She is trying to launch a business and is frustrated with Twitter.

It's hard (to launch both a business and get going in Twitter). There are so many rules of engagement with Twitter. This is probably one you need to put at the top of your priority list - especially if you are new to Twitter. Why? Because if you give up, you'll never experience the thrills of Twitter.

Let me pick on Chris Brogan - he's a thought leader on Social Media, he's a big deal on Twitter...and he's a nice guy! He's got over (I wanted to say 100k followers, but at this moment he's 77 followers shy of that stat) - He's got a small city of followers. I can tell you, that he's talked to many of them in Twitter and in person. He has talked to me in Twitter a few times - but he hasn't replied to every thing I've sent to him.

This doesn't make Chris a bad guy - it just means something happened that he didn't get a chance to reply to a tweet.

It doesn't mean that I'm not sharing something of value with him (and his most recent tweet helps illustrate the point I'm going to make) - he might just miss it. He gets a lot of tweets directed to him each day. You may have some Social Media GOLD to share with him, but he might be stuck on a plane that hasn't started offering in-flight WiFi yet. He gets some more tweets, makes a few phone calls and your great tweet to him is just missed in "life happening" on and off Twitter.

Don't give up - Don't spam people either, but if you have something of legitimate value. Share it and send it out a few times. If you don't get any replies, move on to your next topic. People are different and if you keep trying, people will find something they value in what you have to say.

And then there's the flip side to this - on a rare occasion, you may just get a tweet that makes your day/week/month...

...this Tweet made my decade! BT is an "electronica" musician - Brian is my favorite musician of all time. I have been an adoring fan for over a decade. I have seen him in concert just about every time he has come to Boston. I saw him break his ankle on stage & I saw him (a few years later) shut down Avalon on Landsdowne St. I only missed him when he came to town on my due date. So anyone who has a favorite performer who is loyal to the end, knows how much I love BT. So how thrilled do you think I was to get this personalized message directly to me. How thrilling is it for me to have an interaction that is so enthusiastically appreciative of my fandom? (And yes, I'm giddy all over again - especially finding a way to use this interaction to encourage people to use Twitter.)

Your favorite musician/actor/whatever may not be on Twitter so you might not get an interaction this thrilling - but I hope it can illustrate just how rewarding engaging with people can be. It takes time to get used to Twitter and to connect with people - but you reap what you sew on here. Rewards will come in many forms from Twitter - I even scored a free pair of slippers. I'm standing by my opening statement - Don't Take Social Media Personally - because you could give up and miss out on some really cool online experiences.