I've never liked small talk. I like to jump into the deep. To find out what makes two people tick together like an old fashioned grandfather's clock. I seek conversations that juice my creativity, that help me navigate all types of love and to put in perspective the difficulties of this wild life. But I do this in person, with my friends -- in a Yoga or Aikido class, over dinner, on a walk, on the phone -- not through social networking.
I don't want to know when you're going to sleep or if you sweated up a storm in your latest workout. I don't want to hear about your baby's poop habits, or the tiff with the neighbor. Give me nourishment, not trivia.
On social networks I want five things.
- To learn something.
- To laugh.
- To be surprised or delighted.
- To be uplifted.
- To be provoked.
On social networks I don't want to know these five things.
- When you wake up or go to sleep.
- What you ate.
- Where you are shopping.
- What you are doing in this moment.
- The newest thought that just popped into your head apropos of nothing.
We have all read and heard, ad nauseum, to be in the moment and just do what you are doing. Nike's famous phrase comes to mind. "Just do it." This doesn't include Tweeting on Twitter, posting on Facebook, or now, Pinning on Pinterest. If you're doing something, just do it. Thinking about how you're going to share it with all the people you don't know on all your social networks sullies the experience. It takes you away from the full pleasure of just being. Just be for godsakes. You don't need to pin it, post it, blog it or tweet it.
Susan Harrow is the author of Sell Yourself Without Selling Your Soul. She runs a Media Consultancy where she helps everyone from Fortune 500 CEOs to celebrity chefs, entrepreneurs to authors grow their business through media coaching and the power of PR. For more information please contact Susan.