Social Media, Creativity, and You.

Tweet

Turquoise Flowerpots

Google+, as of this writing, has hit about 90 million with around two-thirds active on the social network. That’s a far cry from the membership of that monster we all know as Facebook, with over 800 million.

Let’s keep in mind that the dynamics of Google+ are much different from Facebook, so should we even be comparing? There seems to be all manners of ways to bring together people on Google+ that just don’t exist on Facebook.

Like this:

Towards the end of the year, I received a shared message on Google+ regarding a photography project. There are several of these projects out there going strong; the one I was notified about and ultimately jumped into is called the Creative 366 Project.

The “rules” are simple. Take a photo every day in 2012. Post the photo, use the hashtag #creative366project, include +creative366project in the commentary for the post, and tag Creative 366 Project. If you can’t load the photo up on that day, it’s okay, upload it tomorrow.

Walmart Ladies Room

The important aspect is to take a photo EVERY day. There isn’t a selling or marketing motive behind it, however, professional photographers and artists will ultimately benefit as more eyeballs will have an opportunity to see their work as the project grows via the  sharing of photos.

The results so far? A mind blowing display of creativity; some are great beginner photographers, while others are more seasoned. This is a lot more exciting than Facebook where the norm is share after share of an animal in a compromising position with a caption saying something silly. Not only that, a quick search revealed that projects like this just don’t exist on Facebook. How could they? Facebook doesn’t have the easy “share-a-bility” in place that Google+ does.

The project brings us sunsets, sunrises, trees, flowers…okay, some of the usual. However, there's a lot of out of the box thinking as folks explore everyday life and objects. A photo of a turquoise house generated quite a bit of conversation. Some examples of the comments include:

“That's an old house. Look at the cellar.”

“Reminds me of the house I grew up...similar shape, but wasn't turquoise!”

From the gent who took the photo: “I was hoping someone would notice the cellar. I wanted to take this picture yesterday, but I did not have my phone or a camera. The sun was not out today. Darn it!”

The commenting did drift and turn towards business page issues between me and the photo taker. Ultimately, he circled both my business pages, we circled each other, and a new friendship was born. Nice!

A third person jumped in and was very helpful as the conversation further expanded, this time to the quirkiness of Chrome. She was not part of the Creative 366 Project; however, she does post a lot of interesting information about technical issues. Boom. Another circling!

Mid-century modern chair

Now this project just oozes with the essence of social media: Sharing, lively dialog, creative expression, people coming together, making the acquaintance of others. You get the point.

You're probably wondering why I decided to participate? Three reasons:

#1 The opportunity to share my creativity with others for the sheer enjoyment of it.
#2 Allowing greater exposure for my Groovy Reflections endeavor. This is where I post the photos.
#3 Having a record of my growth as a beginner photographer (I take 50 to 400+ photos a day, then choose ONE.)

Thank you Google+ for designing such a fine platform.

I can’t wait to see other interesting methods of engagement emerging in the future; can you? What heights can social media soar to?

Come fly with me! 

The photos in this post are my Creative 366 Project entries from Day 9, 8, 12, and 21.

Google+ Breakups; My "First"

Tweet

“Self-serving” …verbiage recently used to describe a prominent author (among other achievements). Let’s call him “Ned”. The phrase came from someone who is well schooled in the social media field and has a healthy following and reputation.
 

Specifically, the phrase was part of a declaration of why the poster of those words had come to the decision to “uncircle” Ned. I too had brought Ned into my circles; the respectful gesture was not returned but I didn’t mind; here was an opportunity to easily keep tabs on all the important things that he had to say and teach me. No longer was Ned lost in the Twitter clutter; he was now a part of small but growing group of my Google+ “adds”!
 

Well, I was in for a surprise. Every post was me here, me there, look at me. Non-stop. At first, it was entertaining….wow, a look at Ned’s life! Our “relationship” was fruitful albeit one-sided for those initial days on Google+. Then, the post from the SME caused me to evaluate the relationship.

My conclusion? Some sad truth: Ned seems to have missed some important points about social media. Wait a minute. He KNOWS much about Social Media, however, perhaps he no longer feels the need to follow the “rules”.
 

So here’s a quick refresher course in the unlikely event that Ned would bother to read something from a not-so-well-known but mighty force (uh, that would be me I guess).

• Social Media is not about you.

 
• Social means “allowing people to meet and interact with others in a friendly way.”

• If you treat social media as if it’s a one way street, it is not social.

 
•  Engaging is perhaps the closest word related to Social Media.

 
•  Posting 24 hours a day every five minutes can be exhausting for us on the receiving end.
 

You get the idea. And you probably figured out what my next action was. And yes, I certainly could filter via circles, however, I would like to offer the opportunity for others to be heard. There’s new people to meet who aren’t household names and lots of talent to learn from them AND acknowledge. No need to have to skirt around hurdles to discover all that creativity out in cyberspace.
 

For me, personally, Social Media is about sharing information and joy. And I’m thankful for the new relationships I’ve made because of Social Media. 
Here are a couple of simple guidelines I go by, no matter what social platform I’m on. You may or may not agree with me, and that’s perfectly okay.

• Respond to people. I’m a “people person” and I do care about you.

• Reach out and say hello. 
 
• If something is interesting, acknowledge that person via retweets, sharing, etc.
 
• It’s impossible to see everything, everywhere and much as I’d love to see what you have to  say all the time, please don’t expect me to be able to do so. If there’s something you REALLY want me to see, PM or DM me and alert me to it.
 
•  Be kind. No point in making negative or rude comments; it’s not engaging. Friendly debate; now that’s another story…
 
• No whining. Hello, we’re talking about public forums here. Deal with it on your own or with a few close friends.

• Social Media is not a chore; it’s a part of your lifestyle. So have fun. If something ISN’T fun, you shouldn’t be doing it. 
 
•  Be original and authentic. Display your own creativity instead of constantly borrowing someone elses (namely photos) from the internet. 
 
• The use of LOL does not promote conversation; use it sparingly or along with a comment.
 
• Respect people. Everyone deserves that.