How to use social media more effectively in 10 minutes, one month, or a lifetime

Does social media sometimes make as much sense to your work life as this pavement did to me when I walked by it - it looks all very exciting but you don’t have an idea about to apply/use the information at your disposal?

Even Einstein would need help in this game of hop skotch

Well here are three suggestions to make you a better informed HR/L and D professional when it comes to using social media that take either ten minutes, a month or a life time. Happy learning and remember - like the booklet below says, just because it is social does not have to make it casual.

(NB Got better suggestions? I would love to hear from you so we can spread the wealth! Please feel free to email/comment at the bottom of this post)


In 10 minutes

Order and then read ‘The Little Book of The Future – A Guide to Collaborative Learning’ from Reed. It is very small and really should take no longer than 15 minutes to read if you get distracted – though with this little book of tips and suggestions I cannot imagine that hap- oh check out that pretty butterfly…

Anyways, where was I? It is a little booklet of tips and suggestions of using different elements of social media, from using Twitter to the top 10 online learning tools. I should mention that some people who provide suggestions are pushing their own agenda (did not want you to get a shock when you realised the column on the benefits of Linkedin was written by their PR Manager) but I don’t let this put you off – it’s a great freebie that is small enough to be digestible without being lightweight.

In one month

I have banged on about this book in a variety of different contexts on posts on here but when ever I feel flush out of ideas for this site or feel I am losing interest in the possibilities of social media I reach for Gary Veynerchuk’s ‘Crush It’.

I won’t bore you with a potted history of Gary V, Winelibrary and his other ventures, you can find him everywhere online. Needless to say he is not in the field of L and D or HR but I think you can take inspiration from his ideas and apply them to most areas of your work to come up with new approaches and solutions. He can be a little rough around the edges for some (i.e. he swears now and again) but I find his authenticity and honesty appealing (i.e. I have been known to swear now and again) and his enthusiasm is very contagious.

In short, a fun read that can help give you some new ideas and it is pretty short at 142 pages, so a month might even be stretching it – Go on, I can feel your curiosity getting the better of you already!

(Looking for something with less of a social media focus? Perhaps Seth Godin’s ‘Lychpin’ or ‘Rework’ by Jason Fried and David Hansson – more about, you guessed it, how you work and what you do. Some social media stuff but that’s not their focus necessarily)

In a lifetime

Learning never stops and social media can be a great platform to make sure this is the case. So here are some suggestions for great sites that I use in my spare time for either professional or personal development:

- TED
‘Ideas Worth Spreading’.With a tag line like that does it even need any further introduction?! Listen/watch podcasts = you feeling smarter and better informed: http://www.ted.com/

- Open Culture
Just discovered this recently, seems to have crazy potential as a personal learning tool given the quality of some of the lectures and resources they have on here in the form of podcasts, ebooks, free courses etc. Have a look and see what catches your eye: http://www.openculture.com/freeonlinecourses

- Stumbleupon
I found this a few weeks ago and tweeted that it was ‘the social media equivalent of cave man discovering fire’. This requires some input on your part so it has an idea of what is to your taste but once it does it provides a world of sites, blogs, videos, podcasts on whatever you are interested in. I view it as my psychic Google – it finds stuff relevant to what I do before I realise it mighty be of interest.

Overblown? Maybe – check it out for yourself to decide: http://www.stumbleupon.com/

(Don’t fancy this? There are other similar sites - try alltop.com for a start)

How to be a courageous professional? Be vulnerable!

It seemed a good idea at the time.

New Year and I was looking to get things back on track with mind and body this weekend. Covering the later I attempted running home from my office in South Kensington to Embankment underground- for none UK/London based readers its a long enough run for the month of January, if you follow my drift!

(Top tip - if you ever do it is to always be on the opposite side of the road to Harrods in Knightsbridge. I have collapsing on tourists in a wheezing, exhausted heap is not what they expected from their trip to London and not what you want from a pleasant Friday night jog)

You do not want to be on this side of the street. Unless you have a small fortune to spend - and do not fear knackered runners (Image via Wikipedia)

As for my mind I am attending The Coaching Academy's free introductory course this weekend. If any one is interested how I get on with it give me a shout next week but I am hopeful to get something from it from the anecdotal reports I have had. The three areas they seem to offer being life, executive and NLP coaching, the last which seems to keep cropping up in texts and books I have been reading up on recently.

The most recent of these, Robbie Steinhouse's 'How to Coach with NLP', is proving to be an interesting read for this relative new comer to the field. I love his summing up at the end of the section on Mapping the Client's Inner World - essentially it is saying don't expect to have all of the skills and techniques nailed when you first step up to coach clients. Everything requires practice and development but you need to get amongst it, get involved so to speak.

It made me think about the value there is some times to being vulnerable or, at least, being able to admit when you are coming up short in terms of skills or experience. Sure.you need skills to get hired to help any client/department/organisation move forward, but don't be afraid to put your hand up to admit when you are going out on a limb and perhaps need to draw on the resources of others.

Don't want to take my word for it? No worries - perhaps its a reflection of my vulnerability to writing unconvincing blog posts!

But before you do dismiss it, check out this TED talk from Neil Pasricha in September 2010.

I was staggered at his honesty when talking about his personal life near the beginning of the presentation and felt it immediately drew you in to listen to him talk further about his 1,000 Awesome Things blog/book etc.

Why? I think because he revealed elements of his life which would have been difficult for any one to deal with, let alone speak about on such a stage and it gave an authenticity to what he had to say.

One could argue that in showing a certain vulnerability he showed real courage - who would not want to be a little bit more like that in their approach to either their professional or personal life?