At a young age I came under the influence of Christopher Robin, Pooh, Pigglet, Tigger, Owl, Eeyore, Roo, Kanga and the 100 Acre Wood. The birthday celebrations, windy days and other adventures were a source of awe and wonder as an infant and toddler.
Reading lots of other blogs and tweetstreams observing how others create, I thought: “What has Winnie the Pooh taught me that applies to Social Media?”
Here’s my list:
1.) Share willingly – Even the sometimes obstinate Pooh would yield his “huny” pot to another interested friend eventually. Share what you have it’s part of who you are.
2.) It’s not how many but, the quality of friends, fans, followers – Pooh has eight friends, total. Am I suggesting you limit yourself? No. Just try to keep your connections as real as possible. Following spam /non-human accounts just dilute the quality of what you are talking about.
3.) Take time to care – There is something amazing about Social Media. You seem to get more the more you give. Taking time to “stop by and check” on someone can be powerful and connecting. Might even result in an adventure or party.
4.) Don’t get too bothered – You will have a difference of opinion, maybe with someone more famous than you. It’s okay. Don’t let it ruffle your feathers.
Now that I have a child all this sharing and caring seems to have some extra meaning. What has Pooh taught you about Social Media? Leave me a comment.
P.S. If you didn’t know (and I didn’t until I wrote this post): A new Winne the Pooh movie is due out this Summer and it’s NOT in 3-D!
8 Responses
Rob –
What a great post! I, too, am a big fan of Winnie the Pooh. One of the lessons I learned from him is to treat everything as if it’s an adventure. To me, social media is a grand adventure and I’m not sure where it will lead me, but I’m observing everything along the path and I’m excited to be here. Besides, I get to share it with my friends as we all journey together!
Arminda-
Thank you! I’ve had this post simmering for a while. Glad you like it.
I agree with you… social media IS a grand adventure. It’s another aspect that makes social media so interesting. I glad I get to share it with so many interesting people.
You are so right! Pooh and his friends are their own little social media group. They share good times which make the day brighter for all and they share the scary times which makes the day less scary. That, to me, is what I try to do on FB. I have ‘friends’ who think its just for, borrowing a word, kvetching, but I prefer to use it like Pooh and Tigger and, well, et al, use conversation… simply to share our understanding of each other despite or because of our differences. After all, if a bear and a tig(g)er and a rabbit and an owl can be friends and sociable, well, why can’t people too?
Pepper-
Thanks for your comments! Social Media (Twitter, Facebook) are certainly a great channel to share our mutual understanding and define our differences.
Nicely done! (Also, isn’t it amazing how having children in our lives changes the way we view things?)
Donna-
Thank you! I appreciate it coming from another writer. Yes, children do have a profound affect on the way we view things and cause all kinds of recollections. Sadly, ours has all but moved on from Pooh for iCarly, Big Time Rush, Wizards of Waverly Place, and Suite Life on Deck.
Excellent post, Rob. #2 is a tough one because we all have narcissistic tendencies. Heck, if FB never showed the number of “Friends” people had, I suspect that there would be fewer than 100 users! As for non-human accounts, you aren’t counting a certain frozen pizza company are you? :-)
Thanks for your comments! Non-human accounts are those that (on Twitter) have very little in the way of real tweets, follow everyone, and have few followers. (A certain frozen pizza company might fall into this Twitter category for it’s lack of updates) On Facebook, they are the company profiles with little in the way of updates. Narcissistic tendencies? Who me? :-)