Credit: Jayme Soulati
Hi! I feel like I need to say hi to reconnect with y’all. Between travels, time zone changes and spring ahead plus an exorbitant amount of client work (that’s good, right?), I’m swamped and finding no ability to write, tweet, post on Facebook, pin to my boards, or breathe.
How’s by you?
I asked this question about a week ago on Facebook whether anyone thought Twitter was a ghost town (besides me). Because, I do think the tweet stream (there’s always something there, of course) has consistently withered to a dull roar.
My favorites column doesn’t move at the pace it used to, and original content by many is relegated to “tweet old post” or “from the archives.” Other tweets are RTs of others’ blog posts, and original commentary…? Fuhgeddaboudit.
Jason Konopinski had a great thought when I was lamenting (or was I whining)…he said we were on the edge of economic recovery and people were becoming employed (oohlala Lindsay Bell and Jugnoo Me!). Time was indeed becoming limited.
Could it also be the weather? The mild winter and the summer temps in March?
I haven’t felt this kind of pace in awhile; the clients are fewer, but the load is higher (not the money, sadly). There’s perhaps something there, too; clients/companies are feeling positive and investing more in marketing. In turn, that means more work for teams.
I’m not including attendance at South By Southwest this week, either, although that has definite effect on customary social media engagement.
What are you feeling? What do you think?
I love your pic! You, me, martinis and Social Slam…can’t wait! 😉
I think you and Jason are right…we’re all like hamsters on a wheel right now, trying to keep up and recover from the downturn that we’ll feel for years to come. No one is the same and all bets are off. Nothing that we think is consistent can remain consistent (that sounds so OMINOUS….) if we’re truly on our A-game and trying our level best to make things hum along.
I think it’s also the time change and natural cycle of things. There are ebbs and flows…we’ll see another one, I’m certain of it, as summer comes along. See you soon, chica!
@EricaAllison Oh, you’re so good for stopping by so soon to let me know I still got some love! Tell me it’s a cycle; please. I want to crawl under a rock with my iPad and just write already. Sadly, that is IMPOSSIBLE. But, it’s such good therapy to put away the must-do and do the want-to. See you in April, Sweets!
@EricaAllison @Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Ooooh, I’ll be at Social Slam, too, you know. 😉
Activity on social networks follows some interesting patterns, I think. Some will take to their channels as a means of cathartic release when personal circumstances are challenging. As you know, I’ve been searching for full-time employment since the 1st of the year – and progress has been slow on that front though I feel the winds shifting this week. My freelance clients have kept me busy – thankfully – and I noted just yesterday that I’ve not published a new post to my blog in nearly a week and I was getting twitchy. I’ve been writing a ton, but it just hasn’t gone primetime – yet. There’s also something to be said for just taking the time to unplug and do some real living.
ericries , author of the Lean Startup, talks a lot about ‘start up theatre’ – the tendency for us to pantomime actual work to appear busy i.e. attending conferences, reading all the materials, etc. Maybe he’ll pop in….
@jasonkonopinski @EricaAllison ericries i didn’t know you were planning to attend! I’m writing a blog post for final registrations and we’re going to have a tweet up on Thursday somewhere. I’ll look around. Very excited about this event!
Also, if you want a new set of ears on your job search; let me know…I love to offer the support — ask @belllindsay !
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing I’ll DM you, lady. That would rock faces.
Hi friend! I think it could be any number of things that you’re seeing right now. But, I wondered what impact tools like Buffer are having on social interaction. I know I love Buffer. I think a lot of folks do. And, if they’re anything like me, they read a bunch of stuff early in the morning and schedule stuff to go out all day. It makes me wonder if social media is turning into a “set it and forget it” solution. While that’s appealing, is there anyone there to actually read the tweets when they go out? Maybe this is far fetched, but the thought has crossed my mind.
For me, personally, I’m still trying to find my rhythm with my new business. Like you, I’m busy with client work (yay!). I thought moving to full-time entrepreneurship would give me MORE time to blog and interact on social channels, but in reality, I feel like I have less. No matter where you are in the cycle of business ownership, I’m sure plenty of folks feel this way.
Sorry for the ramble. Those are just my thoughts. I’m sure there are a lot of reasons for this phenomenon.
@lauraclick Look at me; terrible. I hadn’t known you migrated to entrepreneurship…I am so sorry and should’ve been there to send all the good vibes for launch to you. See what has happened? NO TIME!
Thank you for coming over in support of this piece. Fascinating thoughts re Buffer, and I believe you’re so right! I’ve been testing crowdsource and it shows at what time my tweets are being opened and by how many. Not totally certain they’re all getting recorded, but I see that automation has really taken over the controls.
I’m sure each of us has written at some point or another about authenticity? Well, this is a time I worry for the lack there of.
See you next month!! Thanks, and congrats, Laura!
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing No worries, friend. I only made the leap last month. You can read about it here: https://flybluekite.com/2012/02/02/today-everything-changes/
@Soulati | B2B Social Media Marketing Oh and yes, can’t wait to see you at Social Slam!!! 🙂
@lauraclick I didn’t know you’d gone full time with that – CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Buffer really helps me at work when I can’t “be there” or when I want to space out my tweets a little better. BUT. I still show up and interact throughout the day. I can’t automate tweetchats that I participate in.
@jennwhinnem Thanks, friend!
And yes, that’s why I like Buffer too. And, I come back and “dip in” throughout the day. But, it does make me wonder if there is less interaction because many may not come back and do that.
I swear we had this same conversation last year as spring arrived, bringing with it sunny skies, balmy temps, budding daffodils, and chirping birds. remember? We were asking, “Where is everyone?” It’s a recurring pattern all of us have seen the past two years, and here comes Year 3. It’s called Spring Fever! This is the time of year when companies are looking to put their brand new marketing and advertising budgets to work for them. That’s why we’re all so busy right now. Those of us who worked hard last year to reach out and plant seeds, till the soil, and build trusting relationships with our target audiences via social media are now reaping the fruits of our labors. Awesome!
@New England Multimedia Impressed you have the memory to pull that out of wherever it came from! Hah, and even happier you have a solution. #RockHot!
Great post – you’re right on the money – I think it’s a mixture of all the things you mentioned here! Personally, I’m itchy with spring fever – in the sense that all I want to do now is work on my (never ending construction zone and not in a good way) house! Aside from the fact that I’m back to work next week (woohoo!! finally!) and that will cut into my online time, I am spending more ‘home time’ offline doing other things – it’s been darn near summer like here this week! 🙂
@belllindsay Today, I snuck out to do some yardwork. If that’s what I need to do to bring my stress level down, then that’s what I need to do. The weather has forced my hand; wasn’t ready. The weeds are growing everywhere already; this added work load is absolutely getting me messed up.
So, enjoy your last week of holiday, Friend! Oh, yeah, and ensure the dude managing corporate taxes has his act together? Good luck!
Hi my friend! I wish I could cite spring fever, but I’ve just had a run of personal calamities (the tally right now is 4) and that is eating up my free time. My boss suggested that perhaps I’m just getting it all out of the way in the first quarter! I hope she is right.
I even thought about canceling #soslam to save $ but then I was like okay I can’t be a hamster on the wheel, I gotta see my Twitter buddies and hang. So we are gonna rock solid. And after next Wednesday I will be more available on Twitter!
@jennwhinnem Gosh darn it…you’re NOT cancelling #SoSlam…good. You would’ve felt my wrath. Now, I have learned Jason Konopinski is coming, too! We’re gonna have a fab time. You’re through the door with your 3 debacles. Peer-to-peer smiles and group hugs ALWAYS help!
I know for me, I’ve just been swamped. Mostly a lot more work, while also trying to keep up on family stuff. I’ve been tweeting/sharing less, reading less, and writing blog posts not at all! Witness my late arrival to your own post. I didn’t even get to read anything online yesterday.
If this is mostly due to the economic recovery, I’ll take less online activity in exchange for people getting more business!
I am not seeing the recovery yet, not in my neck of the woods so I am not convinced that is the reason. I think that things just move up and down. I expect we’ll see the interaction pick up again soon.
With spring fever and new year’s enthusiasm behind us, the second wind usually kicks in about May. If it doesn’t, that would be bad. [grin]
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