Social Media Is Turning Me Into A Social Delinquent

This is nothing more than an observation and a bit of confession. No solutions here – you’re going to have to figure those out on your own. Feel free to reaffirm me, however, if anything I say rings eerily true.

I’m a pretty social guy. I enjoy talking to people, not a lot intimidates me. As I’ve discussed too many times on this blog, I’ve run the gamut on social media, going from neck deep into the subculture of social media marketers, to a “social media cynic”, to finally understanding it’s value and being able to analyze it’s power objectively.

Now, I’m running a business with two partners. Forget the marketing value of social media for a second. Of course, it’s a daily topic of discussion internally and with our clients, considering the nature of our business. I’m starting to find that social media can be an inhibitor to the social aspect of business just as much as an enhancer. Here’s where I keep screwing up:

Conflict: I’m awful at conflict to begin with. I hate it. It leaves my stomach in knots until it’s resolved. But now I’m worse. I try to solve problems over fb messages and drawn out e-mails as opposed to face-to-face discussion. It’s pathetic. My reasoning is that I have the opportunity to arrange my thoughts, present them respectfully, yada yada yada. Has anyone actually been confronted over fb and been pleased? I don’t care how well-presented the argument or confrontation is – you can’t have healthy conflict over a fb message, chat box, whatever, and I won’t go into the reasons why that is. My comfortability on these platforms allows me to be a huge sissy in delicate situations.

Identity: Online, we get to be whomever we want to be. This is just a fact. Have you ever noticed how differently people behave behind a computer screen or behind the wheel of a car? I have a tendency to fake expertise in fields in which I’m far from an expert…who’s going to call me on it? And even if you do, I can just go Google an answer and fake that as well. This makes me less effective in debate and one on one communication because I get so used to just faking and not perfecting the communication of my true abilities and skills orally.

Internal Communication: We’re all creatives. Whether we execute or not, if you’re in this business, you want to be and you’re pretty good at it, you’ve got some creativity in you. This usually means that we don’t like meetings because that’s what “corporations” do. Meetings are nothing more than a real life platform to openly discuss and get things done. Whether it’s planning meetings with your partners or meetings with employees, you have to get in front of them. I far too often take the easy way out and consolidate thoughts in a weak, bulleted e-mail.

I like social media and certainly appreciate what it’s capable of (yes, I ended a sentence in a preposition – thank you). But I do think it’s time I start paying attention to the compromises I make as a leader and consultant by allowing it to become my norm and comfort zone.