Tuesday, May 15, 2012

The Internet, Sharing, Family, Social Media and... Authenticity





These are truly interesting times in the Social Media World...

Do You trust yourself and others ???
Are You willing to meet people from across the world you 
have never met ???

Are You using Social Media authentically ???

Do You respond yourself or use automation ???


Is Social Media just a numbers game to You ???

Do You say one thing on the internet and then in your private world do another ???

Are You really where you say you are ???

What type of Social Media person are You- Introvert or Extrovert ???

To me the World is my family, and I have met some AMAZING people from around the world on the internet.  I will share a story of how amazing... I just relocated back to CA. from the Big Island of Hawaii where I lived for 3 yrs..

While I lived in Hawaii I met an amazing person whom I became good friends with over the internet, we talked almost everyday, yet we never had physically met, well one day on a business trip where I was supposed to stay feel thru, and YES, I could have stayed at a hotel, yet as I sat on a chair after I got my luggage with the news of my stay with friends having fallen thru and got really quiet, and all of a sudden I had this inner voice say call "_______".  

I called this person and they were like absolutely, and it was the most amazing, fun, in depth conversations ever...  Now mind you, his friends and my friends were telling each of us are you YOU NUTS this person could be crazy, dangerous etc...  All you have done is talk on the phone... 

My point is ONE must use their intuition, FEEL from their HEART not your belly where the butterflies of fear live... I have traveled across the country to meet people I have never met in person- males and females... One must take risks in live... Be daring, bold to expand, learn and grow...  

I am truly happy I am for the most part a fearless person, now; I am not saying I don't have certain things that I don't like or am not afraid of like "SNAKES" LOL... Just saying I don't live from a place of fear in my daily live... and I am sooo GRATEFUL for that...  

The funny thing is, on the phone and in person people tell me WOW... You are one of the most high energy, positive, passionate persons I have met,  and would have to agree that when I am on stage, performing, speaking, in front of the camera or live I am quiet the extrovert.... Yet once I am settled in I am very much the introvert, quiet homebody... I think it is because I use so much energy when I am in introvert mode I really relish and enjoy the quiet introvert time Hm... Not to say that even when I am introvert mode I am still not happy, passionate or energetic, I am just in a quieter more introverted state.

I have to say that in today's world of Social Media, I think it has truly helped those that are primarily introverts reach out and connect with others.  I also think it has helped the disabled population and those who can't get out,  have interaction and develop a circle of friends and build a support system.

On the other hand, we have people that have become so attached to Social Media they do nothing except surf on the computer and it consumes their life,  and they become shut ins... So at what point does Social Media become a problem ???

And... to what degree are you being honest when you are socializing in the Social Media world.  I have found some of Social Media to leave a BAD TASTE in my mouth because Social Media has become a numbers game, a score and some folks are NOT being authentic and honest.  

Example: Foursquare: It is meant to share where You are, what you do, and tips for others, instead I have seen people just to raise their scores checking into places they aren't even at.... 

Empire Avenue: People clicking on missions and not doing the missions, just collecting the Eaves...

WHAT the heck is that all about... Come on people... Are you that desperate to be the leader on a board and what does that say about you ?  

And... then of course we have all of the computer programs to do the work for us, auto responders etc... again which I can understand if You are a large company or famous... Yet my take on that is if you have a large company or are famous PAY a Virtual assistant with a POSITIVE caring, amazing energy can do attitude to handle it for you, so there is still a HUMAN element... Ok another pet peeve, Please CREATE Your OWN replies, in Your OWN words, so that it reflects YOU and not the assistant's words or style...  GEEZ... We are human beings after all that like real HUMAN caring and interaction...

Solution: one thing that I do is I have created all of these replies and action steps and have them in my email draft and a doc on my desktop so my assistant can just cut and paste my replies and I also have her leave me the DIRECT emails for me.  And... I have a list of people the VA's know to leave for me, I communicate directly with my inner circle people...  Why is it called SOCIAL MEDIA if we aren't willing to interact or socialize with others and truly show we actually care...

Ok the last thing that really drives me insane about the tech world... How many of You are silently cursing in your head when you call a number and you get these LONG messages with Please select option 1, 2, 3 etc... or a computer voice saying "how may I assist you" ? And then the voice says, Sorry I didn't get that, did you say this... PLEASE, that is such a WASTE of time... I would much rather have a live voice who knows the answers or where to direct me then wasting my time on a phone with a computer when half the time I am still going to have to speak to a live person anyway and I just wasted 10 minutes navigating the options and sorry I didn't understand that, let me connect you to an operator... LOL...  Yes, there is the short cut hit "OOO" for operator a ton of times LOL... and eventually after a few repeated "OOO's" you finally get connected.

So what was the POINT in writing this Blog...  The point was to bring to everyone's awareness, are they truly being authentic in the game of Social Media, are they truly creating Collaborations, sharing, and team work, or are they strictly in it for a higher klout score and automation...   

Please leave Comments on what your feelings are about Social Media, Automation, and the Numbers game...  

Also, if You have some unique tips and tools on how to solve some of these issues, share them...

Thank You all for being a part of the World's Co-Creating...  Team work is what makes the dreams work...


The Muses of Carly Alyssa Thorne  
Another midnight production....  

Copyright © 2012 Carly Alyssa Thorne  

6 comments:

  1. We hear about how technology has distanced us and de-personalized everything ... and then you see people hiding on social media behind artificial façades! It's so much easier to just figure out how much you're comfortable sharing publicly ... and then share authentically. And that's where those magical friendships come from, Carly, that survive the transition from online to offline ...

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    1. Indeed Sharon couldn't agree more. Thanks for sharing...

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  2. Totally agree with you. Authenticity is so important in social media, like in every communication. Great story!

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    1. Thank You Tereza... and yes Authenticity is CRUCIAL...

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  3. Truly laughing out loud Carly! I too hate, truly HATE, that automated bot trying to act all human. If you cant decipher between "floor" and "four" transfer me already! Don't hang up. Ugh! I'm all for automation but sheesh, this is counter productive.

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We are the Actors-Actresses, Writers, Editors, Producers, Directors, Co-Creators of Our Lives, We can create anything, anytime... Lets Do it -
Carly Alyssa Thorne