5 Social Media Resolutions for 2012

Inspired by Dan Gershenson over at the Personal Branding Blog, here are my Social Media Resolutions for 2012.

1. ENGAGE 

Of course any so called social media guru, maven, expert, specialist, will tell you that THIS is the secret sauce to building relationships online via social media channels. It’s a given to ENGAGE online, but MY RESOLUTION is to ENGAGE MORE and by more I don’t mean just more often but more meaningfully. This year, I intend to read relevant posts and get to know the other person on the line, the person behind that Twitter handle, that blogger behind that blog. Well, you get the picture.

2. ORGANIZE

Naturally, I resolve to be more organized every year and believe me, I die trying each time. But as hard as it is, to get organized in “real life,” you should see my Dropbox, and please, don’t even look at my C drive.  So if anyone out there has tips or tools to help me organize my downloaded files, blog posts, press releases, proposals and random ideas – SAVE ME as I am drowning in  a sea of digital disorganization (Fortunately for my images, iPhoto and Flickr make it easy to organize.)

3. CREATE

With Pinterest, re-tweeting and Facebook sharing options, it is more convenient to NOT CREATE ANYTHING.  In today’s online world, with social media sharing tools at our fingertips, one can easily repeat or echo someone else’s image, words, ideas and what have you and claim it as their own.

This year I will double my efforts to CREATE MORE ORIGINAL CONTENT.  This means, I will write more and actually post them on my blogs. I will take more images and not resort to stock photos.

4. PAY IT FORWARD

Last year, saw the power of social media for social good come to the fore with the Arab Spring and natural disasters like the earthquakes in Japan. Never has it been easier to communicate with large networks of people and as a result, mobilize people into action. Facebook and Twitter have given the power of the (digital) pen, which as you know, is mightier than the sword, to regular people like you and me.  We can make a difference with our words or even just 140 characters.

This year, I resolve to “pay it forward” more whether it’s pushing out good content, or promoting and supporting causes.

5. LOOK UP

This is my version of stop and smell the roses. 2011 saw many of us glued to our smart phones. At social events, we tweet like mad men, documenting every single detail including the food we eat and the shoes we wore, but too often, we forget that right next to us is an actual live human that we can connect with.  This year, I say, take your finger off that touch screen and instead of searching up the person’s Facebook profile, LOOK UP and say hello. That PROFILE you just looked up is standing right next to you.

Memory Flashback from 2011.