I think the amount of time we invest into Social Media is worthwhile if it’s “sticky”. If it’s something that comes along with us after the fact.

For instance, I knew a lot of people through the Yahoo Videoblogging Group. When Twitter was released, our conversations went there, but I knew who to follow there because I knew what they had said and done over the time we were on Yahoo. If I go to a party and meet someone, I’m likely to add them on Facebook so that I’ll know if they’re going to be at another party in the future or if I just want to find out what’s going on “in their stream”. Vergel’s point is key, because even if you get booted off of a system, like Pownce, for instance, the impression you’ve already made with people will cause them to seek you out in other places… so long as they can actually FIND you.

That’s the ‘problem’ I have with people who get involved in Social Media and then don’t use their own names. Nobody knows (or cares) who you are. Everything that you’re doing is being attributed to some ghost, “RacerX_1911″ or some garbage, so that when you start a new account under your real name, nobody gives you the credit you rightfully deserve.

So I think the usefulness of being involved in Social Media only becomes evident when you need to turn around and use it for something, whether that’s making business connections right now, finding people to date right now, or amassing fans who follow you to the next “latest and greatest” app so you can continue your ’show’ from there.

I stumbled across your blog via someone’s BlogHer blog and found this entry particularly interesting. This has been a thought of mine for some time. I’ve often wondered if investing the amount of time into social media is even worthwhile? My closest friends are not fans of the virtual world and I usually only get a few comments on my site from complete strangers. I’m shocked when one of my real pals actually does leave their two cents. (I guess I’m not quite as popular despite my pretty awesome Google ranking.)

Still, I’m uneasy about losing my six years of blog entries should Wordpress say ’sayonara.’ Not because I’m afraid someone in Estonia or Wales won’t be able to find one of my bizarre lomography photo entries, but because the trust will be gone. Where then would I turn to tuck my precious blogs, video or photo? The same goes with YouTube, Flickr, etc…

Anyways, thanks for the great food for thought and sharing your own personal social nightmare. Good entry.

Cheers,
Adrienne

I believe the decentralization is key and that we all have a certain amount of time, and it may be a very long time that people remember us, favorably or otherwise, hahaha :D

I don’t post too much that doesn’t have some element of myself in it, so I feel like I’m amassing props the ‘right’ way to ensure some format of longevity. I have to think about people that I consider are doing things the ‘wrong’ way, however. To paraphrase something I heard while watching #barcampnyc4 this weekend, I feel like there are a lot of people showing their followers “the finger” by the way they act and/or interact with them.

There are a lot of people whose brand is “the person that advertises this” or “the person that works for that company”. I tend to associate people that do this with goods or services I’m not interested in and never asked them about, so I believe that even if they amass followers on one site, they’re going to have a tough time recouping their contacts on another site if the original one goes dark.

Ultimately, I think there are differing types and degrees of popularity, some of which are “sticky” and some of which are not. Hopefully, as you interact with people, they get an idea of your CHARACTER and not just whatever you supposedly ’stand for’, which might be the equivalent of an encyclopedia salesman sticking his foot in the door to try to sell you something.

So the goal. apparently is to amass as much character-based and sticky cred as possible so you can hit the ground running when the game inevitably changes.

Thanks for the comment! :D

Other people tagged on Flickr, recorded videos with you, written about you on their blog. Your ideas and personality have been de-centralized and shared across many web destinations.

Because of your activity in the social media space, because other people (like myself) consider you a friend and have also made media with you. Should a site ban your personal profile / content, there is enough other media which would make due until you arrive again and claim your identity as you.

But in all truth, the social media space is interesting and vapid. Our existence here online is mostly by our own doing, and will only be as bright and as focused as we stay attentive.