Reflections from a Social Media Hiatus
I started reading Getting Past Ok: The Self-Help Book for People Who Don’t Need Help, by Richard Brodie last week. I picked it up not because I need help (in fact, I’ve sworn off self-help books and instead am relying on my own judgment) but because Richard Brodie is a name regularly bandied about in our home. Brodie, in case you don’t know, wrote the first version of MS Word and retired rich. 
Family friends of ours are friends with Brodie and due to this connection, my son, who is a total geek, was able to meet the famous Brodie at their house one night when he spent the night. He and Brodie took an instant liking to each other. (My son attracts intelligent adults the way his bedroom floor attracts his dirty clothes — like a magnet. It’s rather amazing.)
I’ve actually had Brodie’s book for a while, but due to the aforementioned ban on self-help books, it was gathering dust on my shelf. Another friend had passed along the URL to Randy Gages’ e-book, Accept Your Abundance, where Gages mentions Brodie in passing. I had no clue Brodie’s tentacles reached so far and wide, so I started reading his book.
In the book, Brodie talks about what makes up our truths and belief systems and how memes — pieces of information that get replicated — become the basis of our belief systems. (If you’re short on time, you can bypass his whole book and just follow his advice in the last sentence of the first chapter: trust yourself. You don’t need a self-help guru to tell you what’s right and wrong.)
In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been on a social media hiatus, which started when G+ came out. I remember thinking at the time, “You know what? I’m a little overwhelmed with social media and need a break.” So I took one — without telling anyone even though a social media “truth” is that you’re supposed to tell everyone when you’re taking a break.
This break gave me time to think through the memes that I’ve bought into with regard to social media.
- “Because I’m in marketing, I have to be a social media expert.”
- “I have to produce content on a regular basis.”
- “I have to be ‘on’ 24/7.”
- “I have to be a thought-leader.”
- “My content isn’t that great if it’s not getting retweeted or reposted all the time.”
- “I need to read all the experts out there and keep abreast of all the new trends.”
After thinking about these memes and how they’ve upended my business and personal life, I came up with some new truths:
- “Social media has been fantastic for my business but I don’t need to be connected to it 24/7.”
- “It’s ok to do social media my way versus how I’m being told to do it by the experts.”
- “Less is more: More time, better quality work, more business.”
- “Tuning out the social media hype has allowed me to focus what’s really important to me: building the type of business that reflects who I am and my values.”
- “Social media is based on the old-fashioned value of forming caring, trusting connections and relationships with others.”
- “Forming relationships and connections is not new. I’ve been doing it since before social media and indeed, the Internet, came into existence.”
- “I’ve made some real connections with people that I highly value and these connections have absolutely nothing to do with scores, or numbers of followers or RTs or any of that stuff.”
- “My strongest connections are with those people I’ve connected with offline and with whom I’ve built trusting, solid relationships.”
- “Many of these people have become clients; all of them have become friends.”
Someone I’m following on G+ posted a link to an article about how social media is driving the publication of too much content, much of which isn’t very good. I found myself nodding in agreement.
During my hiatus, I found myself vowing to stop posting so much stuff in order to meet someone’s definition of a social media “truth.” Instead, I’ll post when I have something to say — and that I think you might find interesting. This means I’ll be posting irregularly — versus regularly, which is another one of those memes we’ve all bought into. I’d like to spark more discussion and hopefully, more connection.
What do you think? Are you overwhelmed by social media? Have you taken a break? Do you find yourself doing more of it or less? What are your social media truths and are they yours or someone else’s? Leave your comments below.
About the author: Dianna Huff
A B2B web marketing expert, Dianna helps B2B companies grow through SEO, marketing writing, and social media. A frequent speaker, Dianna has been quoted in numerous blogs, books, and articles; her client list includes large and small B2B companies across the U.S. Follow her on Twitter @diannahuff. To receive her e-course on creating great B2B marketing content, subscribe to her newsletter, The MarCom Strategist.
September 12th, 2011 at 1:34 pm
Dianna,
Your post makes me smile and nod my head in agreement. Of course the irony being that I read this as I was posting to 27-hundred different social sites and agonizing over my own overdue blog post and a presentation for Friday.
I always find value in your words, my friend, whether spoken over the lunch table, the phone or read on your blog or as a social network update. Thanks for this one. Timely and made me smile–and reflect.
September 12th, 2011 at 10:14 pm
Great food for thought, Dianna. I’ve been feeling a similar overwhelm and wondering why we’re all scampering like over-caffeinated lemmings towards the edge of a social media cliff. Like most knee-jerk reactions, I think this stems from fear – fear of falling behind, fear of looking like we don’t know what we’re doing, fear of getting left out. I like the idea of stopping the stampede for a minute so we can think clearly about our goals, what we need to do to accomplish them, and how it all fits in with reality … OUR reality.
Thanks for sounding the alarm.
September 12th, 2011 at 10:45 pm
Jamie — Love the visual — “over-caffeinated lemmings.” Ha! Thanks for stopping by and for the comment.
September 13th, 2011 at 2:38 pm
Hey Dianna! What a fabulous post. Your response to social media overwhelm is actually much more healthy than mine has turned out to be. I felt myself spinning in circles and it got so uncomfortable I quit. Cold turkey. And haven’t been back. Some days I wonder what I’m missing, but more often than not I just feel grateful that I’m not as frenetic as I was months ago.
I’ve come to the conclusion that social media is just like most things in life – great in moderation. It’s like rich desserts – tempting, pleasurable, filling, but too much is just … too much. To extend the analogy, if I’m given a dessert (say creme brulee, which I adore) there is nothing inherently wrong with the creme brulee. The creme brulee doesn’t need to change. How I approach the creme brulee (gobble and overindulge and feel awful afterward vs. nibble and enjoy and come away refreshed) needs to change. So much of our society pushes us to excess, to “more is better”. If we could get a CLUE that a little can be enough (in social media, dessert, and most everything else!), we’d probably all be better off.
I may yet jump back into Twitter and blogging. But if I do, it will be just a little. For me. Though I freely admit I do miss your witticisms in 140 or less.
September 13th, 2011 at 3:25 pm
Debra — It is SOOO nice to see you and thank you so much for such a thoughtful reply. I think a lot about how social media has changed all of our lives and in some ways not for the good. When I found myself living more of my life in social media versus actually living it, I pulled back. I purposely keep my FB profile limited to 20 or so really good friends — which keeps everything totally manageable and as you say, “refreshing.” I love the dessert analogy. I hope all is well with you. I certainly do miss you!
September 15th, 2011 at 3:14 am
Dianna – excellent post! As a business owner, it sometimes become overwhelming trying to play catch-up with other businesses heavy into Social Media Marketing. We have finally begun the process and your post has also caused me to nod in agreement and breathe a bit easier. Hope you are well!
September 15th, 2011 at 6:42 am
Dianna, welcome back. Love the path you are taking and look forward to hearing how it works for you. I agree with you, particularly on the value of relationships that are formed. Those relationships are the real return I have had on social media, and they have nothing to do with Klout, RT’s or visits, but real connections that have extended across channels and time.
And I wholeheartedly agree about the quality of content being shared today, I wrote a post on that idea a week or two ago, and Ardath Albee had a great post with an example list of content people try to hold themselves to last week. No wonder…
Welcome back!
September 15th, 2011 at 12:17 pm
Eric — Yes! It was your post that I read — this one:
http://digitalb2b.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/social-media-is-lowering-our-content-standards/
One thing I didn’t say in my post, because I was too afraid to, is that I’ve stopped reading so many marketing blogs. One, I’m starting to feel like I’m reading the same post that’s been written ten different ways, and two, the content is starting to blur. I want to be more selective in what I read so that I can respond to people like you who are posting thoughtful, insightful content.
Back in the old days, one subscribed to a few magazines (and I still do) that covered a number of different interests. I still get and read: Handyman (because I’m a DIYer), Moment (Jewish culture / religion), Better Homes and Gardens, Fortune, Inc. and Fast Company. I subscribe (and pay for!) these pubs because they provide EXCELLENT content. I often tear out articles and send them on to others.
I think we need to apply the same concept to blogs and social media. I’m going to do what you did and start culling who I follow on Twitter just so I can lower the noise level.
September 15th, 2011 at 12:18 pm
Lance, Thanks for the nice words. Good luck with your social media work and yes, breathe!
September 21st, 2011 at 4:21 pm
Well, this one needed to be said.
Social Overload dogs my days, too.
And Social Media Guilt.
It’s nice to be reminded that you can take a break and the world doesn’t collapse.
Ironically, I wouldn’t have discovered this post if I hadn’t been scanning my NetVibes dashboard of favourite blogs.
September 22nd, 2011 at 11:43 am
Doug — I understand the irony. The irony is that I had to use my blog and social media to tell people what I learned from my social media hiatus.
September 24th, 2011 at 11:59 pm
Dianna, I loved this post and it really resonates with me these days. I’ve always thought the social media “rules” are a bit silly…do what works for you is the best advice. I have met great people via social media but the relationships were solidified outside of sm. I’ve also been saddened when some people turn out in real life to be very different from their online selves.
Every few months I cull through my twitter account and am relentless with my unfollows. The first filter is, “do I have a clue who you are? do we engage one another?” if the answer is no, I ask myself, “do you entertain me?” If it’s still no I hit the unfollow button.
Thanks for the book recommendation!
September 25th, 2011 at 2:16 am
Traci – You’re the second person who has said you clean out your Twitter follows. I’ve decided I need to do that too, and to be a little more selective in who I follow. I’ve realized that by following so many people, I’ve become overwhelmed and have lost the fun in Twitter.
September 30th, 2011 at 2:08 pm
Hi Dianna,
I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus (and my first real vacation in years) as well, which is why I am just reading your post now! But, I had to chime in as I wholeheartedly agree with you.
Like you and others have said in the comments, moderation is key. I love social media, it’s helped me professionally, and I do think marketers should understand the basics. But, it doesn’t mean we have to live it 24/7.
Once I started putting real boundaries on my work life, my involvement in social media has declined considerably. Sure, I feel guilty sometimes as I know there is something going on that I should learn about, but mostly I’m really happy being offline and spending time doing things that are really important to me (like hanging out with my family). Thanks for sharing your experiences!
Michele
October 1st, 2011 at 5:11 am
Michele, Since cutting back on social media, I’ve accomplished a whole lot more. I’ve also developed deeper relationships with people offline. I’m glad you were able to take a vacation.
October 7th, 2011 at 7:02 pm
If social media had no business benefit to me…. I’d probably use it A LOT less
but it does…
Anna