What happens when you engage on Facebook?

Yesterday was part experiment, part challenge, part fun… My friend, Michael Schroeder and I have had an ongoing debate about the time impact of using social media.

As a musician, he used MySpace successfully but it was an intense battle of trying to keep up and keep it meaningful to his followers.

With a musical career spanning more than 20 years, his privacy is very important to him and the exposure from social media as well as the responsibility of communicating makes both difficult.

Social Media Community and Conversation

He knew I was using social media or as Danny Brown recently commented, it is more than social media. Danny’s tag lines on his blog now read “Connection… Conversation… Community” Danny sees it my way. My journey with Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and blogging have led me to great new friends, conversations I have never had before with people I would never meet normally. I have built multiple business relationships and continue to grow in those connections. I have wonderful new clients who met me in one of these places.

Mike finally gave in and set up his page. He was coming to my office to work on a grant for Wausau Whitewater so I couldn’t resist giving him my tips and tricks with Facebook. Before he got here, I sent an invite to many of my friends to his Michael Schroeder Facebook page and then being somewhat competitive, asked more of my friends to my Design Resumes Facebook page.

The Likes on Mike’s page grew from 0 to 44 and mine from 62 to 100 yesterday.  I’m guessing it won’t be long before he passes me up. He has fans all throughout the nation and world. I am very excited about the new Praise and Worship project he is working on here at Dark Horse Recording, the same studio where Neil Diamond, Amy Grant, and Michael W. Smith and many others have recorded. Though Mike has his own studio, producing this project in Nashville with the talented musicians he is working with will change the final project.

I’ve said I’m Not a Numbers person… but no one can survive in a vacuum.

You need community, conversation, and connections to be able to reach new people. As much as I love writing, I love being read too… and more than that, I love conversation. I love talking back… see my current signature line at the bottom of every post, “Talk to me… I talk back!” We need each other. I need you to get to know me and if you need my help with your career, so much the better.

I view whatever we call this – social media – as an adventure that will open new doors. My clients have been benefiting from my exploration and I just find it fun. If you have not been to the Design Resumes Facebook page, come visit. I’ll keep you informed with career strategies, tips, favorite bloggers, and much more.

But come back here often too… because this is where you will hear me talk to you.

Talk to me… I talk back!