Of Social Media

I have always been an early adopter of new technologies. I love exploring the endless possibilities offered by these new shiny things.Social Media tools have been around for years. In my opinion they are simply extensions of who we are as people. We communicate. We discover areas of common interest. We work together to a common goal.I think my first real foray into Internet-based Social Media was probably OldFriends. A great way to reconnect with the kids at school you couldn’t really stand. Those who bullied you and made your life a living hell and who happily are now fat and bald. Well... except for Shane Cortese who has aged ridiculously well. (Yes, we were in the same school, when he turned up!).Facebook is an interesting platform. It has allowed people to reconnect on a global scale. But in my experience it’s a little more passive. You do status updates. See what your friends are doing every other day. I quite like the online chat function. However my personal usage of Facebook has changed. I initially collected ‘friends’ without thought, but after a few bad experiences I have culled and have become a lot more self-protective. My Facebook friends are now limited to family and people I would have a drink with. It is now pretty much a place I only post pictures of my cooking and matched wines. (Thanks @jaysonbryant for your input there!). Oh, and deal to my addition to Farmville.Which leads me to Twitter. Many of you reading this already use Twitter to its fullest, but for the benefit of my readers who don’t fully understand what Twitter is, allow me to talk a bit about my Twitter journey and how it has revolutionised my life.I joined Twitter in late 2008 as @nzrckstr. And sat on my account. I just didn’t get it. There weren’t that many people using it then and it didn’t seem to make a lot of sense. I wasn’t active. Then I discovered FourSquare. I decided to explore this new thing and started checking into places. One day I became mayor of a local bar. At 7 in the morning. Suddenly I got an email from an @tarasutherland wondering what the hell I was doing going to her favourite bar at 7am and ousting her from her mayoralty. Huh? I brushed off the cobwebs and logged into Twitter and discovered that it was now a thriving and active community. I met Tara for a coffee to say hi, and that was my first initiation into an entirely new network of fun, entertaining and challenging individuals.Since then I have become a fairly active Twitter user *cough* and I have met many of those I spend time with laughing and ‘chatting’ with online. It has led to the creation of some wonderful friendships and new experiences. And for me personally, it has allowed me to find my voice. Something that had pretty much been crushed out of me over a lifetime. Twitter has enabled me to get off the couch and talk to people (and yes, women!) in a context other than business.So to all my Twitter followers and those I follow, I thank you. You have added more to my life than you can possibly know.If you are reading this and are in a similar place I was my suggestion is to get active on Twitter. Have conversations. Learn to be a little open and a little unguarded. Be honest about yourself. And get out and meet people in real life. It is an absolutely amazing thing.Simon.