Very busy as of late and this morning I was catching up on my favorite bloggers. This particular post grabbed my attention, “Social Media is a Lotta damned work”. First, I laughed, thinking “isn’t that the truth”, but then continued to read and found Mack’s candor on the topic refreshing.

I was first drawn to The Viral Garden, though a meeting with Mack Collier, the author on Twitter. I enjoy his candor on Twitter and then began to explore his blog and have been a fan every since.

There are many great blogs writing about etiquette, what to do, what not to do, networking strategies, tips, applications and other services to engage in social media, but few so openly discuss the true time commitment involved. Mack sums it up.

Social media is a lotta damned work, and if you’re only interested in using the space to promote yourself, you’ll quit before you see the results you want.

Why don’t more openly discuss the time commitment? Would the truth detour people from participating in social media? Truth be told, if someone had pointed out the true time commitment, prior to my exploration into social media, I may have put if off until I had more available time. More time….. and we all know how that stories goes.

In the beginning, in addition to the time spent interacting, there is a learning curve for each service and application one might choose use, both online, desktop and even mobile.  Depending on each individual familiarity with these topics, learning curves will vary.

Having support system is a definite bonus.  There are many people to help, co-workers, friends, the online community through social networks, blogs, podcasts, videos, ebooks, manuals as well as service providers and application developers.

Through my LinkedIn network, I was able to find the education and support I needed to begin. Here are a few of my favorites:

• Real People Don’t Have Time for Social Media
• On Managing A Community

Social networking, social media or building community, whatever term you wish to use, is NOT easy, fast or a rainbow that leads to the pot of gold. If this is what you believe it to be, then please invest your time in further research, before you are disappointed.

The network you have created is an important one. The same time you invest in your personal face to face relationships, you will need to invest in growing and enhancing your online relationships. Being active and engaging in your community is vitally important.

Now that your eyes are open, I must state Social Media is one of the best professional and personal decisions one can make.  You will have the potential to strengthen your network, expand your resources, encourage collaboration and meet like-minded individuals.

Why don’t more openly discuss the time commitment? Would the truth detour people from participating in social media?  What other bloggers have written on the topic of the time investment?

If you found this post helpful, please consider subscribing to our feed.

Related articles:

• Using Twitter to Enhance your Social Network
• Twitter – How Do You Manage the Noise?

Popularity: 44% [?]