Social Media is just that: social. And sometimes you stumble over unwritten rules or tribal knowledge. It happens to the best of us (though I'm not sure if I'm in the "best" part of that group). But I learned a lesson today that I thought I'd pass along. If you are sincere, participate well, and have good intentions, then you can recover from (and learn from) an error crossing those lines of tribal knowledge.
I bring this up because a lot of companies are afraid to enter the social media sphere for fear of doing something wrong, and in an attempt to better their reputation, they can end up hurting it. And that is true, if they go about it the wrong way. But the good news is this--there are multiple "right" ways and when seen as sincere, these companies can recover as well. The social media environment is actually a friendly place and will help self-correct. There is plenty of press on those that flame bad intentions, but I'm not sure there has been enough press (or blog posts) on the friendly side of the blogosphere.
I'm adding this post to the whirlwind of the blogosphere to mark that down. Not everyone is just waiting to flame a company entering the social media environment. We encourage it, we want the open dialogue with you, and if you come in really wanting to participate, you will not be immediately flamed or embarrassed publicly. So long as you really want to connect and not just market.
I read once that a good rule of thumb for social media is to enter and act in it as a dinner guest. Polite manners will get you far in this world. In an old comment in LinkedIn, I had some fun and referenced the Beatles when saying "... and in the end...the love you take, is equal to the love you make." BL Ochman updated that for me today:
"you get the most from the community by giving (a lot) more than you get. if you offer good links and insights, and help other people when they ask for help, you will become a respected member of the community."
Taking a cue from Chris Brogan: "... and in the end...the love you take... is equal to 1/12 of the love... you make."
