Getting started with social media
By Kirsti ScottLearning new technologies is not always as easy for some people as others. The technology adoption lifecycle, developed at Iowa State, was created to show the range of responses to new technologies. This same model can be applied to the adoption of social media technologies.
On the right we have the innovators and enthusiasts who invented the social media programs we use today (LinkedIn, Facebook, blogs, Twitter, etc.). They’re already at work on the next great idea. Close behind are the early adopters who embrace new technologies easily. In the middle are the pragmatists and conservatives who wait for new technology to be proven useful. And, on the left, we have the skeptics who are the last to adopt any of these here newfangled ideas.
Recently, several of my clients have asked me about how to use social media for themselves. They are savvy computer, internet, and e-mail users, have personal and/or company websites, know how to get their digital photos onto their computers, but haven’t taken that first step in getting involved in social media. On our chart, they are the skeptics, but they are ready to become social media users.
If you are one of these “laggards” (Iowa State’s term, not mine!), this series of articles is for you. I’m going to try to show how easy it is to get involved with the biggies today: Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
P.S. Check out “Real things you can do with Twitter” for a list of ways to have fun and do work on Twitter.
Tags: blog, facebook, linkedin, social media, twitter