I was recently interviewed by Chris Lunt, founder of Nombray, and the interview is now up on his blog. We talk about blogging, social media and building your brand. Nombray is an interesting new service that allows you to register your domain name and set up a simple website consolidating all your social media profiles, which you can access through tabs at the top of the page. It is a simple, yet effective way to start building your web identity if you still don’t have a personal website or blog.
Social media? As great as it can be, it can be a timewaster for some. Depends on what you’re doing online… Personal thought.
@Kudzai:
I’ve been reading too many posts lately bashing social media and calling it a waste of time. Most of that comes from the misguided believe that everything you do online “should” immediately generate a return in hard dollars and cents. If that is the expectation, then social media is a waste of time.
On the other hand, how do you put a value to publishing your thoughts for free on a blog and meeting hundreds or thousands of people as a result? Or finding work or speaking gigs through Twitter? Or friends putting a good word for you on LinkedIn. All that builds your credibility, your network and your personal brand, and just because you don’t see an immediate monetary return it doesn’t mean that you’re wasting your time.
For example, is social media a waste of time for a guy like Gary Vaynerchuk? Absolutely not. Is Twitter a waste of time for Guy Kawasaki or Chris Brogan? Again, no.
The point is that for social media to be effective you have to use it. It’s up to you to put the “social” in social media. And, of course, it helps if you also have a business model.