Let me just paint a (probably too familiar) picture for you.
You (likely to be male) have just purchased a new gadget. It is the latest whizzy snazzy Carlos Fandango gadget, and you just can't wait to see what this bad boy can do! So, you remove it from all its fancy packaging, you put it on the table in front of you (unless it's bigger than the table of course!) and then you try and get it to work! It isn't as obvious as you first thought, but hey, it can't be that hard to work out, can it?Now, sitting in the packaging is a comprehensive instruction manual, that tells you exactly what to do in a very simple way. But of course, YOU don't need the instructions, do you? You don't need to know exactly how it works? YOU are a gadget guru, and think YOU know everything!!
Now, before my lovely wife jumps all over this post and proceeds to tell everyone that I fit into this category 100%, I must first stick my hand in the air and admit ...’ I don't read instructions because I think I can work these things out!’ ......phew, I feel better now :-)
Now you may wonder where I'm going with all this, but the answer is a very simple one. We all now live in the social media age, and the one thing that is guaranteed with social media, is the proliferation of new social websites. Every single day something new seems to come along, whether that be a new application, a new product or the latest version of a new application (I think Firefox and Tweetdeck are having races to see how often they can actually bring out their latest updates!)
So here is the thing - for gadgets (in the above text) read social media websites!
Every single social media website works in a different way, they have different styles, different ways of working, different commands and more importantly they all have a different range of features. And yet many of us (me included) seem to ignore the one word that becomes so important with these new sites ... ... HELP.
These many websites, have invested a lot of time and effort into showing you how to use their site, and all the differentiating features that they believe makes their social media site different from everybody else.
And who are we to argue?
They build and create the sites, so they should know how they work, shouldn't they?
So why is it then, that sites like Mashable have so many ‘ how to’ blog posts on their website that are visited by literally thousands of people? What is wrong with just spending some time learning how to use a social media website properly? I already know the answer because I'm as guilty as the next person ... .... the answer is TIME. None of us want to take the time to learn any more.
The point is that for social media sites that you use on a regular basis, then surely it makes absolute sense to learn how to use them properly. You can only get the full benefit out of the sites if you actually know what they can do, and while they might make changes, put extra applications and improvements on the website, you should at least be using the standard functionality well.
The best example I can give you for this is LinkedIn. For many people LinkedIn is very confusing, and I must admit when I first saw the website and started using it I felt the same way. But, the moment the penny dropped, and I started digging around within the website I quickly understood how powerful it was. And no, I did not consult the help of areas, I learnt by painful, time-consuming trial and error! I just wish I had taken the time originally to take advice from the actual creators of the website. (Just out of interest, how many of you gazillion Facebook users, know how to use much of it's functionality?)
You can't rest on your laurels with the fast changing world of social media, and you need to make sure that you do check and read those latest updates that do arrive in your inbox telling you about the latest features. They can make your life so much easier! What makes it worse for us to the ‘ I never need an instruction manual’ brigade (like me), is that the social media websites have made it even easier nowadays with the advent of video. Nearly all of them now have video guides of 'how to do' everything on their websites, so the likes of me and you (you know who you are!) have now got no excuse at all (boo -hiss!)
However, I have already come up with a response, that I am trying to justify to myself....
“I am an early adopter of social media, and it is my role in society to try and understand these new websites without using the instructions. Without me learning how to use it, and I couldn't tell other people about it now, could I ?”
.......it still doesn't get me very far!!
This is article was inspired by the legend that is Alan Whitford, who prompted the idea for this when he had a mini rant on Bill Boorman’s radio show about this same subject. Thanks Alan!!
