Hi Mark,

Can’t argue with anything you said here. It is about people and how you treat them. If you make them part of a collection you will get much less out of this than if you look for people to speak with.

Hi Jack – thank you sir for your support and speaking your mind here – I appreciate it very much.

You can’t expect people to get interested in you if you’re not purposefully reaching out and introducing yourself to them. Make your connections count.

Instead it seems for many that they would rather hurry on to follow a thousand more folks who don’t know they exist!

It’s silly.

Cheers Jack!

Hi Mark (Hi Jack!) I’ve been thinking about this in my never-ending quest to know what the heck I’m doing with social media (apart from my baby blog) and I agree that it’s the connections that matter. Assuming they lead you where you want to go. I watched a Webinar yesterday which talked about engagement on Facebook.When I showed my coach the new schedule I’d drawn up for myself (a more doable one) he said wait a minute! This doesn’t lead to traffic, this doesn’t lead to sales. It’s not about spending the time there it’s about spending the time doing the things which lead to your goals. Having fun is just a perk. So  I have to look at my business (which is unlike yours) and see what kinds of connections will build my business. It seems after all this time Google is responsible for the majority of my traffic. So While I have fun here in the blogosphere, I concentrate my efforts there with my other site and SEO. Maybe one day you’ll want an essential oil diffuser and remember my family business makes them. But in the meantime, I need to connect with people who are actively looking for what I sell.
What I’m saying is that we need to know we’re on the right path before we get too far down it. If you sell coaching online, the whole world is your market. (generally speaking But I sell tools for people who want a way to enjoy their essential oils and that market is narrower. 
Connections for me are lifelines. Community is so important. What comes of that doesn’t matter because as we come together in community something bigger than all that has already happened. Still I need to pay the bills so it’s a balancing act! Yikes – what do you think Mark? Jack?

Hi Lori – well I certainly don’t know your business, but I would imagine there are communities of folks who are interested in your business on the social web?

Industry peers?
Potential customers?
Related conversations?

I’m not positive on this obviously, it would require research – however, I’m sure you are. You’re a natural conversationalist and relationship builder, so if you can identify communities of people you can tap into, that would be a great place for you to be : )

Maybe you can help folks in your industry socialize their business?

[...] Are Just You Following, Or Connecting with Others? [...]

Hi Mark,

I have seen so many people who are not just following, but it’s way too easy to see that they’re selfish and only thinking about their benefits in what they’re doing. This way, they’re not a connector at all. For instance, I get requests for guest posts on my blog every single day. And about 99% of them are from people I have never heard of and never talked to. There’s no problem in that, but it’s more the way they contact me, and that they’re using a standard email that I can spot a mile away. It’s been sent to hundreds of bloggers just like me. If they had been following me for a while, and had something personal to say, and spent a little time to get to know me, it would be a lot different

As @TheJackB:disqus said, it’s all about people and how we treat them. 

Thanks a lot for sharing the articles. I have read some of the pages in the tipping point, but I haven’t finished it. 

Some folks just don’t get it Jens. I get those all of the time too and I delete them. 

I care about the people who have given me their time, their ears, their support et al.I don’t take my relationships lightly or for granted. Some folks just aren’t wired that way I guess.