Stepping Away
I wrote this as an article for my LinkedIn audience. The tone here on the blog might seem a bit strange but I still wanted to share it here.
Resetting Priorities & Moving On
My business life and interests have pivoted. I spent over 25 years in the corporate world, working with the largest companies in the world. Along the way, I had many wonderful experiences. Today, I work with small business owners who want to grow their businesses using the Internet. It is a very rewarding experience working with those directly involved in the success of their business and not somewhere in the food chain.
This article reflects on what I have been doing online for the past 20 years. I won't bore you with a detailed description of those thousands of hours on the Internet, as many reading this will know me and have seen much of what I have done and shared.
Today, I am making a change in my social media activities. I have been thinking about it for some time now. I am stepping away from LinkedIn as a major platform for sharing and exchanging.
Some of you may wonder what this means. I joined LinkedIn in 2006, but began regularly posting in 2016 when I became a technology evangelist. It was a thing back then.
According to LinkedIn, only 1% of its members post something on a weekly basis, while 3% post something on a monthly basis.
To spread the word about the technology I was promoting, I used social media, including LinkedIn. Over the last seven years or so, I have posted hundreds of articles, interacted with others, and met many interesting people both virtually and in real life. The thousands of followers I gained occasionally provided feedback and suggestions, making my experience worthwhile. However, my focus has changed, as well as my target audience, so it's time to make a decision.
The businesses I work with today are not on LinkedIn, nor do they need to be. Many rely on word-of-mouth to gain new customers, and I work with them to optimize an efficient approach to using the Internet as an adjunct. For them, the approach can vary from just optimizing their webpage, improving their visibility in Google searches, and interacting with customers/fans on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, producing a podcast, etc. This is where the thousands of hours I invested in learning the Internet come into play.
What does this mean? I am not closing my LinkedIn account, but I am stepping away from actively using it. I will occasionally post something I think others may find useful, but not often. Practically, I will move the LinkedIn app on my devices from the first page. That adds friction, and I have used this technique for a number of other applications. I will not be checking for notifications (they've been turned off anyway) or DMs as often, so don't be surprised if I don't respond quickly.
Reflection is looking back so that the view looking forward is even clearer. - Unknown
I am going to use LinkedIn like the 97% of you, irregularly. This will allow me to use that time for better tasks. My social activities are not going away, just changing priorities. As I near the end of this article, I think about the thousands of people I have "met" on LinkedIn. People I have learned much from and appreciate all those exchanges. Thanks.
Stepping away.
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