Chapter 1. Above All Else—People
Have you had a good conversation lately? What do you remember about it? Who do you enjoy having conversations with?
Conversations require people, and the purpose of social media is to empower and enable conversations digitally. Blogging, podcasting, video blogging, and all the various social networks we use are all geared toward one thing: giving us a way to reach out and connect. With that in mind, let's start this out right and consider people. Let's think about people from their perspective.
What follows are some ideas for engaging, respecting, and appreciating the people who will interact with your social media.
PEOPLE LIKE TO BE ENGAGED
Imagine there is a choice (because there is). You can either speak at people or you can speak with people. One assumes that the other person or persons will have an opportunity to say something back at some point. Which scenario would you prefer: one where you're sitting idly while someone goes on and on, or one where you're just as important to things as the person who started the conversation? I'm going to say the latter.
One way to engage people is to ask a question. How did I start this topic? I asked a question that put you back in your head.
Another way is to encourage people to take part in the activities. Don't let them be the audience. Audience is a passive term. Think of ways to get people into the story. Can you come up with a way that they can contribute? Are there ways you can encourage follow-on activity ...
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