I was asked to write the end of the year post for Addicted to Social Media.   While trying to craft the post, the question I kept coming back to was “how social is your social media?”.  From those musings came this post, hope you enjoy and more importantly, I hope it makes you think.  —-

Happy New Year

As this year comes to a close and a new one dawns bright on the horizon, many are reflecting on the impact social media has had on our lives this past year, but what about the impact we have had on social media?

One of beautiful things about social media is that even though we can all have different definitions and experiences, they have one thing in common, the concept of community.  Whether it is a community of knitters connecting via a Ning group or the communities that big name companies are building on Twitter and Facebook to reach their customers, we are all drawn to the various forms of social media because of the promise of a community.  The promise that we will find others with whom we can share information, education, entertainment and a sense of kinship.  Whatever our views, education, interests or personalities may be, we know that somewhere in the vastness of the social media galaxy, deep in the internet universe we will find someone with whom to connect.

So the real question is, how social has your social media been this past year?  How have you built your community?  Have you let it come to you? Have you actively reached out to others?  Have you made the time investment, whether your purpose is business or pleasure, to not only build or join a community, but to be an active contributing member?  Are you happy just being an observer?  We talk often about “putting the social in social media”.  What have you done to be “social”?  Not everyone has to be a power tweeter, have thousands of Facebook friends or be a member of the most Meetup or Ning groups, but we do have to remember that the power in social media is in the Social.

Whether your community is made up of 2 or 10,000, we have an opportunity to reach beyond ourselves and our limited physical world and touch the lives of millions of others. Whether your aim is connecting with friends and family or building a billion dollar enterprise, we have the ability to spread a message faster and farther than ever.  So, what do we do with these opportunities?  Are we using the power of the social for good or evil? Are you solely self-centered and self-promotional or are you reaching out to others, sharing and helping?  How do you plan to use your social media super power in 2010?