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Chris Orwa

Software Developer,

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Do individuals have a social media strategy

Do you blog? do you tweet? do you tumblr? Why and why not . Do all these decisions form a persons' social media strategy? or that's a thing only for corporations?

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Topics: choices social media
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    Kieran Preissler

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    Feb 23 2012: Social media has the potential to create many new ideas, depending on how someone uses it. It could be used to spread ideas and branch out. Other times, it provides a place for people to vent. I guess I fall into both these categories but I also use social media to put my artwork out for people to see and talk about.
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    Niaz Uddin Sohel

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    Feb 23 2012: As social media has become a grand corridor of marketing, people must have strategy. But it depends on so many things. I know some people invest more time and money on social media strategy rather on business strategy.
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    Gary J. Nix

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    Feb 23 2012: Depending on one's goals, a social media strategy can be right for you. Its about using the channels at your disposal to form your voice online. I blog, I use Facebook, I tweet (incessantly), I pin. Sometimes all I do looks random, but if you look closer and actually converse with me, you soon realize that the randomness is for a reason.

    If you're interested in looking at the channels I use, you can do so by going to http://about.me/thegaryjnix
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    Kathy Castle

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    Feb 21 2012: Hi Chris,
    My blog is actually a culmination of personal and professional thoughts---it's where I apply what I study and consider in my "academic life" and how that applies to my personal roles (as mother, wife, friend, concerned citizen)...it's a chance for me to sort through my thoughts and try to see how things connect...hopefully leading to a more productive application and connection between these two worlds that are often held up as disparate--public vs private selves...I guess you could say that my blog is a challenge to that separation.
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      Chris Orwa

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      Feb 21 2012: Thank you Kathy, I am in the process of re-evaluating the social platforms that I need, getting a 'social media strategy' would come in handy, I am jittery to share personal experience at the same time have lot's of professional info I can offer.
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    Rohit Garg

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    Feb 21 2012: Well... I do use facebook, twitter, linkedin etc and i use them because I find them the most easy and convenient method to spread something which is good or beneficial to others!

    Infact, the most fast approach to spread the word. And not just to spread good things, but also to warn others of some obstacle/risk they might face!

    In a way, if I can help someone through this, that would be great!

    But, I would not call it my social media strategy!
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    Viet Dung Pham 20+

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    TED Translator
    Feb 21 2012: In my opinion, I think we should better choose 1 or 2 as the maximum number of social media as the tool to introduce ourselves. Cause we do don't have much time and so we need to put a lot of effort to keep it alive and act deeply for our personal brand. Using too many social media strategy might lead you to go insane and a waste of time.
    I myself only have 2 social medial strategy: my facebook and my TED. One to update my daily life, my picture, my thinking with close friends and one to study, to share my ideas about the world, to learn how to inspire people and to develope myself as a global positive person.
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    Cinque McFarlane-Blake

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    Feb 20 2012: Heres my strategy, http://selfsustainworks.com/beta_site/. i think its worth a shot :)
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    Fritzie Reisner 100+

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    Feb 20 2012: I think "social media strategy" can be interpreted in several ways for an individual. People who seek to promote themselves as a brand or to promote an independent commercial venture will tend to think through the sort of social media presence they want. Others may want a platform or several to communicate ideas worth sharing. I do that in a blog, but my blog is actually anonymous. I am happy with disseminating the ideas without bringing attention to myself.A third dimension or type of social media strategy is a decision as how to integrate social media into a productive working life. In the same way that businesses may assess the cost and bemefits of marketing themselves through a myriad of channels, I know many individuals who are strategic in deciding how much social media they can afford to build into their lives while still remaining productive. For example, I know many creative professionals and hobbyists who worry that social media can become a time sink that distracts them and impairs their productivity in their creative work after a point. For these people, the social media strategy is about how to budget the time they spend engaging socially or even passively in social media so as to be as productive in their primary undertakings as they would like to be.
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      Traian Popa 50+

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      Feb 20 2012: Dodging the current social media juggernaut is in itself a strategy. Strange enough, the friends who I find most communicative and really supportive in real life maintain a surprisingly low profile online! It seems to me that very often social media is just a surrogate of human touch there where true and direct human touch is too problematic to get.
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      Chris Orwa

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      Feb 21 2012: Thank you Fritzie Reisner for your insights, what happens to the individual who doesn't wan't to promote a brand but just use social media e.g.

      Rule 1:
      Use Facebook only to connect to personal friends and share personal stuff.

      Rule 2:
      Have a LinkedIn account to look for new job opportunities.

      Rule 3:
      Twitter to be a middle ground between personal and professional life.

      Rule 4:
      Have a blog to disseminate random ideas
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    Jimmy Strobl 30+

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    TED Translator
    Feb 20 2012: I use as many tools as I can for spreading "ideas worth spreading" among other things. These tools include Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Tumblr, Blogger and Flickr... Some of my accounts are available through my Klout http://klout.com/#/JimmyStrobl

    Please check my Conversation http://www.ted.com/conversations/9406/how_do_you_use_social_media_to.html
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      Chris Orwa

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      Feb 21 2012: @Jimmy Strobl : What's your take on 'Less is More' idea on Social networking platforms. Should you only choose a few platforms that have the highest impact?
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        Jimmy Strobl 30+

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        TED Translator
        Feb 21 2012: Hi Chris

        I think that to have the maximum impact you should definitively go for the biggest, first! But reaching out, or at least having a somewhat good profile across many different platforms can certainly have it's upsides.

        I think that It all depends on what you're aiming for...
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          Chris Orwa

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          Feb 21 2012: I find it quiet cumbersome and time consuming to maintain numerous account, to add on blogging. Maybe creating a personal social media strategy could straighten that out. Another aspect I discovered is that if your content (blog, tweets) is good enough, other people would carry them to the other platforms, to me the focus should be on good content and a few outlets (Twitter, LinkedIn) to disseminate them.
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    Kathy Castle

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    Feb 20 2012: I absolutely have a social media presence--whether it's a strategy or not, I'm not sure. I think it's vitally important to assert yourself in social media mainly because I wish to have a voice--and without a clear presence in social media, I am not able to contribute meaningfully to the global discussion. My social media presence is my way of countering the absence of power I have in traditional media--it's my way of pushing back a bit against the messages that are imposed on me to which I cannot respond in the formal media environment. So, yes, I do have a blog, and a website, and a profile on LinkedIn and an active Facebook page and I use Twitter to a certain degree. As an individual who hopes to make some kind of a difference in the world around me, I see this as one viable avenue through which my voice can have an impact. My blog: http://kathy-momphd.blogspot.com My website: www.kathycastle.com
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      Chris Orwa

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      Feb 21 2012: @Kathy Castle: From the conversations gathered above we can safely conclude that the collective set of your decisions constitute your social media strategy. The other aspect that I am interested in is Do you choose what goes to your blog (private/personal issues and professional life or both).
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