Comments are Like Crack – What’s Your #SocialMedia Drug of Choice?

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Sniff it, snort it, smoke it, type it, or read it… we gotta get our fix.  Some like to fly high with the cute blue bird, others are shooting-up with pins instead of needles, and most are already junkies of the soon-to-be public drug called Facebook. We all have our favorite platforms and it’s more than likely that you’re active on multiple social networks every single day.  Fortunately, an overdose of Social Media hasn’t killed anyone yet (at least not directly).  And boy, it doesn’t take long for most to get addicted… once you receive that first RT, comment, or like, you’re hooked! There are a number of different reasons why we’re all here at the party together and the way I see it, the party isn’t going to stop because we’ve grown so attached to our networks that we can’t pull ourselves away. There’s no denying it anymore, Social Media is like a drug.

I’ve only been blogging for a month but I’m already addicted.  Your comments and responses are the crack that I crave to keep going. There – I said it.  I can’t lie, there’s not a much better feeling than when someone takes the time to read and appreciate your thoughts. Heck, it’s even stimulating when some takes the time to read your post and doesn’t like what you had to say. (Bonus Tip: don’t internally poo-poo those comments, it’s healthy to hear the other side of the argument and it can only make you stronger as a writer).

I relate the blogger/audience relationship to that of a Roman Gladiator at the Coliseum.  All eyes are on you, it’s do or die, the crowd is the mob, and they often decide whether you survive or take your last breath.   As Proximo said in Gladiator, the movie, “Win the Crowd and you’ll win your freedom.” That’s how it is here in this arena , too – win the crowd and your blog thrives. Or, if you’re boring and pump out poppycock, the crowd will turn on you and your blog will join countless others in the graveyard.  When a blogger nails a post and just kills it, you love them for it.  And, when the chants of their name reach a thunder pitch in the Coliseum as you comment and share their work, they may begin to love you for that.  I know I have.

Perhaps the best part of this whole Social Media high is, that unlike cocaine & heroine, it can be a very rewarding experience.  I have met more incredible people in the last 6 months on the social web that I had met in the previous decade.  My friend, Steve Hughes, used to admonish me when I used the term “In real life” to differentiate my IRL friends from my online friends.  He would counter that our Twitter and Facebook friends are our real friends. That was back when I was a Twitter Toddler (twoddler?! J) and though I stopped using the term at first, I didn’t quite believe him (or understand him).  Flash Forward 6 months later… after I’ve shared my personal stories with you, or learned about your two-year battle overcoming cancer, or found out that your son Andrew serves in the Military and is coming home for Christmas… I get it.  WE ARE FRIENDS IN REAL LIFE and quite frankly, I wouldn’t have it any other way now.

The bad news though, as with any stimulant, we’re bound to come down from our high.  And also, like other addictions, there can be casualties around you.  For me, sometimes I forget that my wife is sitting right next to me as I’m engrossed by my latest fix. It’s not until I hear a loud “DO YOU HEAR ME” that I snap back into reality and realize that I just missed what she said.  My kids have even asked a couple times about why I’m on my phone so much.  So,  I’ll likely be sacrificing some SoMe time for some SoThem time because really, which kid wants a dad that is buried in his phone.  I’ll have a two hour “phone-free” siesta so I can make sure I’m giving them the attention they deserve.  In the last two months, I’ve seen quite a few people go to social media rehab but taking a break. Some have literally went dark never to be heard from again.  I hope it never reaches that point for me, I value your relationship too much too disappear altogether.  But maybe we need to scale back the madness a bit.  We’re all here to enjoy each other’s company, so let’s make sure we’re being responsible with Social Media and only using it in moderation.

With all that being said, do you agree or disagree?  What’s your Social Media drug of choice?

Photo credit: http://www.geekologie.com