“Why are you here?”
This was the question that social media potty mouth smart guy and best-selling author Julien Smith asked in a thought-provoking session at PodCamp Montreal this weekend.
Julien gave us three options:
- You
- Them
- The Game
You
If you’re into social media for you, you’re in it to better yourself. Perhaps that’s through gaining attention, building your network or developing your skills. Either way, you’re in it primarily for yourself.
Them
If you’re into social media for “them,” you’re in it for the community. You do it to help others; for a feeling of belonging. Perhaps that leads to personal benefit down the road, but right now that’s not the objective.
The Game
If you’re in it for “the game” (not meant in a negative sense), you recognize that there’s a system at play. You’re likely coming at this from a business perspective and trying to figure out how that system works so you can work within it as best you can.
Julien’s thought was that if you focus on one of these three motives and become an expert at one, you will be more successful than if you spread between the three.
My take
I struggled when it came to my turn to answer the question:
- I constantly look to better myself, whether it’s floating thoughts for your input here, exploring new avenues at work or attending conferences like PodCamp, where I meet new people and learn from the conversations. I find it incredibly frustrating if I finish a day feeling that I haven’t achieved that.
- I find helping others extremely satisfying. I enjoy speaking at conferences because I enjoy seeing lightbulbs go off in peoples’ heads. I wrote my ebook on communications planning because I wanted to help people do this difficult task the right way (in my opinion, anyway). One of the most satisfying parts of my job is helping other people to understand social media a little better.
- I make my living from social media. I came into this career out of a strong interest and enthusiasm for social media’s potential, but the bottom line is it now pays my bills. I can’t help but be motivated by that to an extent.
Julien acknowledged that in reality you’re unlikely to just relate to one of the three motivations. Meanwhile, I overheard numerous discussions where people posited that ultimately everyone is motivated by themselves – whether it’s personal success, the network and self-fulfillment benefits of helping others, or the business motivation of doing succeeding in “the game.” Tamsen McMahon also suggested that if you want to help others, you need to improve yourself first.
Why are you here?
I agree with all of those ideas to an extent but for myself, I think personal improvement has always been, and continues to be, my primary motivator in everything I do.
I put 110% into everything. Sometimes that leads to me burning out on hobbies, but if I don’t go at things with that level of intensity I lose interest. The one thing that I haven’t burned out on so far is self-improvement. That doesn’t mean it’s only about me – I love the sense of community and, as I said, I enjoy helping people – but I think if I improve myself I’m able to help others better and to better in my job (“the game”).
Does that make sense? What about you? What drives your interest in social media?
(Thank you to all the PodCamp Montreal organizers – Sylvain Grand’Maison, Julien Smith, Mitch Joel, Bob Goyetche, Jean-François Blais, Laurent LaSalle, Laurent Maisonnave, Caroline Fontaine, Mélanie Millette, Harold Boeck and Michelle Sullivan- for another successful event this weekend. I know from PodCamp Toronto that it’s a lot of work; you did a great job.)
Twitter Comment
RT @davefleet What’s Your Motivation In Social Media? | davefleet.com [link to post]
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RT @adamcohen: RT @davefleet What’s Your Motivation In Social Media? | davefleet.com [link to post]
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RT @davefleet What’s Your Motivation In Social Media? [link to post]
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RT @tweetmeme What’s Your Motivation In Social Media? [link to post] (Note the “game” slide in the back. I immediately thought 4chan.)
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INSIGHTFUL: What’s Your Motivation In Social Media? ([link to post]) http://friendfeed.com/e/d7e78833-a062-45cf-b35d-5b427d31557e
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RT @davefleet What’s Your Motivation In Social Media? via davefleet.com [link to post]
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What’s Your Motivation In Social Media? davefleet.com [link to post] – I’m thinking about mine…
#fb
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What’s Your Motivation In Social Media?: [link to post]
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What’s Your Motivation In #SocialMedia? [link to post]
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RT @Don_Crowther: What’s Your Motivation In #SocialMedia? [link to post]
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Why are you hear? Interesting questions raised by @julien at PodCamp Montreal last weekend that got @davefleet thinking [link to post]
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RT @davefleet: What’s your motivation in social media? [link to post]
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Reading: via @davefleet: What’s your motivation in social media? [link to post]
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What’s Your Motivation In Social Media? [link to post] (via @davefleet)
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What’s Your Motivation In Social Media? | davefleet.com [link to post]
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RT @KeesRomkes RT @davefleet What’s Your Motivation In Social Media? | davefleet.com [link to post]
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Self Help Blog What’s Your Motivation In Social Media? | davefleet.com [link to post] Work for you?
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Great question by @DaveFleet and @Julien – What is your motivation in Social Media [link to post]
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RT @KeithBurtis: Great question by @DaveFleet and @Julien – What is your motivation in Social Media [link to post]
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RT @KeithBurtis – What is your motivation in Social Media [link to post]
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What drives your interest in #socialmedia ? [link to post]
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@davefleet recounts session with @julien at PodCamp Montreal. Why are you here? [link to post] #pcmtl #socialmedia
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What’s Your Motivation In Social Media? [link to post] < -I agree personal improvement is MY prime motivator. Yours?
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Why are YOU into social? [link to post] (via @davefleet). I’m in it primarily for community – but yeah, hard to choose 1. #social #fb
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Great post from Dave Fleet RT @davefleet What’s Your Motivation In Social Media? | davefleet.com [link to post]
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RT @MR21C: What’s Your Motivation In Social Media? [link to post] < -I agree personal improvement is MY prime motivator. Yours?
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What’s Your Motivation In Social Media? [link to post] (why are you here?)
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What’s Your Motivation In Social Media | davefleetcom [link to post]
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What’s Your Motivation In Social Media? [link to post] From | Dave Fleets’s Blog |
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[...] The second was Julien Smith’s session on Whatever. Julien is a consultant, speaker and author (he co-authored the book Trust Agents with Chris Brogan). He began his session by asking “Why are you here?” and gave the audience three options: you (meaning you’re there for your own motivations – to learn and grow as an individual); them (you’re there 100% for the community – to support them and learn from them); and the game (you understand the power of a network and are there to expand yours and make connections). At first everyone had to choose one of the three options, both with eyes open and eyes closed – when everyone had their eyes closed Julien noted that most people raised their hand for the game, but with their eyes open the majority chose them. This was an interesting exercise because it highlighted the different motivations people have for being involved in social media. We think it’s usually a mix of all three – you’re involved to grow as a person, to support the community, and to further your business and grow your network. As an entrepreneur you have to bo concerned with all three – you need both personal growth, a supportive community and a strong network to succeed. Blogger Dave Fleet wrote a great post about this session – read it here. [...]