Don\’t Be Stupid

Social media is not rocket science. But many people approach it as though there is some big secret to getting and retaining a following.

Once you get past the myriad sites; once you reach beyond the seemingly infinite and ever-growing arsenal of tools; and once you have read books teaching you how to become the social media expert that you know you can be… you\’ll discover one simple truth that without which none of it really matters.

Authenticity.

What exactly does that mean?

It doesn\’t mean sharing every little detail of your life, but it does mean sharing what\’s on your heart and mind at the moment.

It doesn\’t mean being inappropriate and risking relationships by over-sharing details of your personal life, but it does mean allowing people to see that you are a feeling, emotional human being who bleeds when he or she is cut.

It doesn\’t mean venting a tirade which you will never be able to delete from the archives of the Internet, but it does mean that you are capable of sharing your frustrations in a healthy and constructive way.

Authenticity doesn\’t give you license to be a fool. It gives you license to be who you are within the protective boundaries of wisdom. And if you ARE a fool, I suppose you will be authentically exposed as one.

It\’s all about keeping it real, but engaging the rational part of your brain which should be programmed to understand one basic tenant of the internet…

\”If you post it, it\’s out there forever!\”

In other words, don\’t be stupid. :-)

And if you do post something you later regret, it\’s okay. You\’re just human. It\’s hard enough to hold our tongues in common social settings. Social media just makes it so much easier for our fingers to type faster than our brains can rationally process.

Being authentic means you are who you are. It\’s not about your past mistakes. It\’s not about what happens in the future. To be authentic means to live presently in the here and now.

That doesn\’t take much effort. If anything it means that you don\’t have to try so hard.

And that\’s a relief.

As always, your comments are invited and welcome below.