I like social media. There, I said it. I know this isn’t necessarily a popular opinion but I have come to really enjoy how I use Facebook, Twitter and my four Instagram accounts. Each platform is slightly different but I use them all in very similar ways.
First, Facebook. Well, I’ve been using it the longest and it has definitely morphed since I first opened my account in 2008. Back in the early days I was saying random things like “Brie…is going on a bike ride with her kids”. I’m honestly not sure who would really care what mundane things I was up to. But, because I had younger kids at the time, it was a way for me to connect with others outside of my small bubble. This is still true today. I love being able to make longer posts, share images or even videos or links. It’s more conducive to longer, more thoughtful conversation. For me it’s been a wonderful place to make new connections in the photography world, reconnect with friends and acquaintances and continue my connections with friends spread across the world.
Did I mention I have four Instagram accounts? Personal, photography, business, and podcast. The last two are the most recent and over the past two years I can count on one hand the amount of posts I have made on my personal account. The business and podcast accounts are pretty new and I am still in the process of figuring out how exactly I want to use them. It seems obvious that the one for the podcast is to basically let others know when we release a new episode. And my business account, @creativemindscoach, will be to inspire others in their creativity and mindset . My use of Instagram has mostly been to share my photography and get to know others in the photographic/creative community. I’ve had so much fun sharing the progression of my work as well as being inspired by the work of others. And, ever since I figured out how to do a story, I’ve found satisfaction in sharing glimpses into my personal travels and daily life, invitations to join live conversations in the Clubhouse app and, most especially, photographs and/or art that personally inspires me. And, the most fun is being able to see what others are doing and be able to share in their struggles, regular daily life and thrilling moments.
On to Twitter. This is a pretty new platform for me. I’ll admit that I don’t exactly know what the “best way” of using it is, but I’m already enjoying the ability to have fast moving conversations. I’m also finding it’s great for sharing images as I can share photographs that are higher resolution. It also took a bit too understand the re-tweeting feature but, now that I do, I love it! I’d like to be more active there since it seems like there are many more lively and/or better conversations to participate in. As with any platform, I think it just takes some getting used to.
Whew! Now that I wrote all of that, I’d like to share my mindset behind my enjoyment of all of these platforms.
I never, ever think there is a time I HAVE to post, tweet, comment or do anything on social media. I do it all because I WANT to. And, if there is ever a time I catch myself starting to think I have to, i’s usually because my motivations aren’t strong enough to gain the satisfaction of it. When that happens, I usually put off my interactions until I can coach myself and feel the shift, or I can always decide not to do it. And, let’s face it, no one really misses me if I don’t post or share a story or whatever for even a few days.
Now, many people dislike social media because of perceived negative commentary, etc. I don’t have a ton of these kind of interactions but when I do I choose not to believe it means anything terrible about me. To be honest, I like myself so anything someone else says isn’t going to change that. My favorite tactic for dealing with this is just to wait. I wait to comment back or do nothing but either way I always want to be proud of how I interact with others.
All right, to wrap up one of my longer blog post, here are some questions I ask myself that I have found extremely useful.:
- Why am I sharing, commenting, etc.?
- Do I like my reasons?
- How often do I want to interact and what kind of interaction am I looking for?
- Am I having fun?
I seriously ask these all the time. It keeps my motivations clear and my enjoyment level high. It’s possible that one day I will decide that I don’t want to care about or use social media at all. But, until then, I’ll be ignoring the algorithms and using it as a tool to benefit me rather than the other way around.
