Fear of FEEDBACK?

We all have those ah-ha moments.  One came to me this morning when I became irritated by something and itched to tweet and broadcast about it across multiple social media platforms.



However, I had to hold myself back and remind myself that social media to me represents:
  1. A format to learn new and interesting things
  2. A way to share positive news, events, people, innovation
  3. To share the knowledge I have for free
  4. Share inspiration, motivation and knowledge
  5. Support causes near and dear to my heart (i.e. anti-bullying, education, etc.)
  6. Not to use it to express displeasure based on personal experience
  7. Stay clear of controversy 
  8. Be known to be a positive person and influence
  9. Attract positive people and organizations
  10. Promote greatness 
  11. Cheer on Canada and my home city Calgary
  12. Curate beautiful photography, imagery and art
  13. Be an advocate of social media and its ability to inspire positive change
OK, I may have slipped a couple of times.  I'm prone to mistakes like anyone else.  Those mistakes are there to serve as reminders to what my goals are and why I have them.

It did occur to me based on this irritant that people or organizations may be avoiding social media for one very big reason:  Fear of feedback.  Perhaps those who are accustomed to breaking promises, being unprofessional or unpopular conduct may just become targets of dissatisfied customers or people.  

It makes me wonder.  Would some organizations or people avoid social media for that very reason?  On the flip side, if you don't put yourself or your organization how will you know?  After all, we all learn from our mistakes and from feedback.  The more negative the feedback, the more there is to be learned by it ... right?

Certainly I observe a lot of people and companies who use social media to spam (aka broadcast) what they want others to believe about them.  Unfortunately, that perception cannot always be controlled.  I would suggest stop hiding behind excuses as to why you haven't launched your social media program.



Putting yourself out there demonstrates credibility in many ways.  If you are going to put yourself in the game, you have to accept defeat and celebrate success.  Don't expect to only be able to broadcast promos, success, etc.  

Embrace social media as a means to:
  1. Monitor your reputation
  2. Maintain a positive brand (corporate or "YOU, INC."
  3. Develop a positive reputation 
  4. Be known to support a cause, philosophy, innovation, inspiration
  5. Provide knowledge and educate others
  6. Avoid me, me, me
  7. Open doors on new networks, people, organizations
  8. Avoid or minimize negative publicity
  9. Be aware of what others are thinking or saying about you
  10. Show you care
  11. Use it to learn how you can be better
  12. Get the feedback that you may not hearing from your own team
  13. Be proactive rather than reactive
  14. It can drive awareness, generate new leads, create a better brand
I would suggest that you embrace social media.  It is a tool that is free.  Learn how to use it to your advantage, whether it be by learning more about yourself or your company's identity, or developing advocates who want to sing your praises.



Unless you are a celebrity or politician, you can continue to avoid Social Media.  Sadly, you are doing yourself and your company a disservice.  Oh, and don't just set up a page or Twitter account and let it sit dormant.  That is like having a sign "open for business" with the lights off and the doors locked.

Take the time to speak to someone who has developed influence (visit Klout or KRED.com or Linked In).  There are a growing number of professionals who will and can discuss its benefits without you having to sign up or commit to anything.  In fact, there are folks like me, who are willing to curate your content like any other outsourced, sub-contracted relationship.  They will post based on what you guide them to post and create content that can elevate your reputation just by having the right content.  They usually have high KLOUT or KRED scores themselves (these are independent third parties who monitor and provide diagnostics where everyone is on an even playing field and compared based on how credible they are based on topics they have expertise on).

Whew, this has been the best reminder possible.  I am feeling better and using my knowledge for the benefit of others and creating positive vibes.  It is far better than having tweeted or broadcast on Facebook what a *^%&*&# lousy experience I had and how I wished that #*&%*(&# would have reacted better.  After all, it is my reaction that has far reaching ramifications.  Yep, I feel better about myself overall.



More than anything .... I do feel wiser.  And yes, it reminded me of my own personal goals.


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VISUALIZE it ... photos and images draw attention to Social Media

“There are no bad pictures; that's just how your face looks sometimes.” 



I don't know about you but I am irritated by those posts that try to entice you by buy FOLLOWERS on Twitter or LIKES on Facebook.  Why not? Because you can attract your own followers and likes and it is easy.  How? Use beautiful images, funny cartoons, inspiring quotes, awe-inspiring photography with similar results.

There are popular social media platforms that at first glance you think it is the land of the "selfie" and in many accounts it is.  Then again, like anything online today, YOU have the power to x-out, close or block any unseemly or unappetizing visuals.

If you have something to say on social media, it will gain a significantly larger viewership than if it is simply text on its own.  Take for example, some of my favorites lately:

Nothing says hi-5, thank you, right on, cheers, better than bump it!

People like flowers.  Magnify a quote, give thanks or show appreciation.

Cute kids are a favorite to use to express meaning or create inspiration.

 Worldly advice, quotes, age or maturity

Beautiful world:  For poetry or song sunsets and oceans romanticize.


Setting suns, sailboats, water set wing to your thoughts and wishes.

Glorious skies in abundant colors for wisdom, dreams and faith

Celebrate events with fireworks that sparkle your words with color

Isolation is not always a sad thing with words.

Clashing emotions with self discovery can bring peace

Moonlight shadows create inspiring emotions

Whimsical and refreshing with the cherry on top

God and faith inspires many who find peace with words

Mother Nature is always hard at work to bring us beauty

Childhood and innocence are virtues that we like to revisit

Cats are popular characters for our imagination


Discover new places and adventure to far away lands.



People's faces teach us about tragedy, triumph and acceptance



Understanding bridges acceptance to unknown worlds and people.



Black and white or color:  we enjoy sifting through beautiful images.


If you enjoyed this visual story and want to find more images of your own, there are some great sites you can wander around in, like, follow or share the treasures you discover:

PINTEREST http://www.pinterest.com/
Pinterest is a company that provides an Internet service that they describe as a visual discovery tool. People use Pinterest to collect ideas for projects and interests. Users create and share collections (called “boards”) of visual bookmarks (called “Pins”) that they use to do things like plan trips, develop projects, organize events or save articles and recipes. There is also a like feature to save certain pins that may not fit with a board. The site was founded by Ben Silbermann, Paul Sciarra and Evan Sharp. It is managed by Cold Brew Labs and funded by a small group of entrepreneurs and investors.[3]



INSTAGRAM:  http://instagram.com/
Instagram is an online mobile photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take pictures and videos, apply digital filters to them, and share them on a variety of social networking services, such as Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and Flickr.[7] A distinctive feature is that it confines photos to a square shape, similar to Kodak Instamatic and Polaroid images, in contrast to the 4:3 aspect ratio typically used by mobile device cameras. Users are also able to record and share short videos lasting for up to 15 seconds.[8]
Instagram was created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger and launched in October 2010. The service rapidly gained popularity, with over 100 million active users as of April 2012.[9][10]



GOOGLE PLUS: https://plus.google.com/

 Google+ (pronounced and sometimes written as Google Plus) is a social networking and identity service[3][4] that is owned and operated by Google Inc. Google has described Google+ as a "social layer" that enhances many of its online properties, and that it is not simply a social networking website, but also an authorship tool that associates web-content directly with its owner/author.[5] It is the second-largest social networking site in the world after Facebook. 540 million monthly active users are part of the Identity service site, by interacting socially with Google+'s enhanced properties, likeGmail, +1 button, and YouTube comments.[6] In October 2013, Google counted 540 million active users who used at least one Google+ service, of which 300 million users are active in "the stream".[1][7][8]



TUMBLR:  https://www.tumblr.com/
Tumblr (stylized in its logo as tumblr.) is a microblogging platform and social networking website founded by David Karp and owned by Yahoo! Inc. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content to a short-form blog. Users can follow other users' blogs, as well as make their blogs private.[4][5] Much of the website's features are accessed from the "dashboard" interface, where the option to post content and posts of followed blogs appear.
As of July 1, 2014, Tumblr hosts over 192.9 million blogs.[2] The company's headquarters is in New York City.



FLICKR:  https://www.flickr.com/

Flickr (pronounced "flicker") is an image hosting and video hosting website, and web services suite that was created byLudicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, and effectively an online community, the service is widely used by photo researchers and bybloggers to host images that they embed in blogs and social media.


I hope you like this imagery shared ... now it is your time to reach out and click and discover what amazing, interesting and informative images await you.


Enjoy your summer!

NOTE:  Source used for descriptions en.wikipedia.org/


Wikipedia (Listeni/ˌwɪkɨˈpiːdiə/ or Listeni/ˌwɪkiˈpiːdiə/ wik-i-pee-dee-ə) is a collaboratively edited, multilingual, free-access, free content Internet encyclopedia that is supported and hosted by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Volunteersworldwide collaboratively write in more than 200 languages. The English Wikipedia contains over 4.5 million articles. Almost anyone who can access the site can edit almost any of its articles, which collectively make up[4] the Internet'slargest and most popular general reference work.[5][6][7][8][9] Wikipedia is the sixth most popular website.[3] As of 2014, it has 18 billion page views and nearly 500 million unique visitors each month.[10]
Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger launched Wikipedia on January 15, 2001. Sanger[11] coined its name,[12] aportmanteau of wiki (the name of a type of collaborative website, from the Hawaiian word for "quick")[13] andencyclopedia. 


REFERENCE:  Selfie

A selfie is a self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a hand-held digital camera or camera phone. Selfies are often shared on social networking services such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and Tumblr. They are often casual, and are typically taken either with a camera held at arm's length or in a mirror.


Selfie of amacaque who had picked up a camera.


“When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence.” 
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INFORMATION overload or PRIVACY invasion? A new era of advertising.

“I have a theory about the human mind. A brain is a lot like a computer. It will only take so many facts, and then it will go on overload and blow up.”
~Erma Bombeck

We're all bombarded by information overload with "BUY ME" screaming at us everywhere.  It doesn't matter if you're on a solo drive to work or on transit, relaxing at home -- we ARE surrounded by advertisements:  the radio, billboards, bus ads, vehicle wraps. We log on to our computers at home to check our email or check our social media to see what family or friends are up to and even that is surrounded with banner ads.  


 Certainly, information is getting more personalized.  Some folks even go so far as to say that too much trust is innocently being handed over to the big engines who monitor our clicks to tailor what we see.  Oh, boy.  Sure sounds like "Big Brother" has arrived doesn't it?  Of course.  There it is: the popular TV show where you can watch people hang out all day and night, get into fights, delve into relationships, intimate or lead others. That's entertainment!

There are plenty of people that are opposed to signing up to social media platforms, holding out and not caving in to what seemingly everyone is doing.  There are definitely good reason for many.  Except, if you think you are avoiding anything, you're being snowed.  Those individuals may see it as a waste of time, perceive narcissism, or simply state that they don't want to broadcast what they're thinking, watching, reading.   Privacy right? 

I'll admit, sometimes when I'm driving I may happen to notice a billboard or transit ad on the back of the bus I'm behind.  Usually the image first catches my eye and if I'm stopped at a stop light,  I might even notice the caption or tag line ... and then .... yes, there it is - the ULTIMATE:  the website.  OK, I ask myself, where is the address?  What about a phone number?  I'm expected to remember the website so then I can go look it up?  Geezwhiz.

Oh, wait a minute, where is that pen/paper or my soft phone to capture a photo of the moving ad to write the website down while I'm DRIVING! That seems pretty dumb, almost hilarious to me.  At least laughing out loud would be safer than juggling steering wheel, feet on the pedal, while keeping your eyes on the road.  Oh right, they want to take your eyes off the road so that you will pay attention to the ad, and memorize the website.  We're not burnt out from work, our eyes are not tired.  We want to jump up and say -- I wanna look that up by golly! 

 Forget kissing your spouse, asking your kids how their day went, or walking the dog.  First thing you will do is fire up the computer, log on to the computer to go to the website before you turn on the television or pick up the paper .... all which are tempting you with alternative offers to distract you so you forget about it until you are cleaning up the car you find the rumpled piece of paper or looking for what to delete off your phone to free up space.  By then, you probably won't even remember why you had it to begin with or your budget is already blown. Come to think of it, somebody else is spending  pretty big budgets to tell us to go to a website?

 What about when the television is flipped on to relax.  Yeah right!  Who can watch anything these days without being irritated by so many television ads?  Flip on over to Netflix, AMC or HBO special programs and notice if there aren't any product placements with brand logos?  Not too often.

 Have I made my point:  Someone is making a lot of dough justifying unsafe habits or invading your privacy so that you will only go to their WEBSITE. 

“There are many things of which a wise man might wish to be ignorant” 
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

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