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Archive | November, 2011

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Popular Online Games

Popular Online Games - THe Anti-Social Media

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Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving - Suckers.

You’re still here? Don’t you have family and friends you should be spending time with on Thanksgiving?

You’re sick of them? I can’t say I blame you. I get sick of my family too.

Happy Thanksgiving from The Anti-Social Media to you.

Now go hug Aunt Florence.

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What I’m Thankful For

What I'm Thankful for 2011 - The Anti-Social Media

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The Social Media Uniform

 

The Social Media Uniform - The Anti-Social Media

Inspired by The Social Media Uniform by Allison Najman.

 

 

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Tweeting Won’t Get You a Job

Twitter Jobs - The Anti-Social Media

There’s a myth that all it takes to get a social media job is an overinflated Klout score and the ability to use “the Twitter.”

Sigh.

The ancient order of rockstar social media ninja gurus will probably never let us live that down. Jerks.

Maybe that worked in 2008 when people we’re easily distracted by all the shiny widgets, but these days a robust social media presence doesn’t demonstrate much if you’re not able to tie that social media presence into a business goal. The CEOs and business leaders I know look at social media as a strategic tool to effectively communicate and advance their business goals.

In other words, they look at social media and they suck the fun out of it.

They don’t care that it’s fun. They don’t  care about #tigerblood. They care about making more money and growing their business. It’s that simple.

Sure, you can use Twitter to build your thought leadership, but rarely do you get by on thought leadership alone. At the end of the day, you need to have the connections, talent, and skills to make a noticeable positive difference in the business.

So stop tweeting for the fun of it. Make connections with the people who can get your lazy tweeting butt a job.  Work with a local volunteer organization or non-profit to enhance their goals through social media.

And for the love of all that’s holy: nobody cares about your lame Klout score. Get over your dumb, meaningless number.

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Four Reasons to Avoid Social Networking

Leave Me Alone - The Anti-Social MediaSometimes, you just need to stay the hell away from social networks. You’ve got better things to do than spend your whole life looking at cat photos.

Well maybe I don’t, but you do.

Here are four excuses to stay as far away from social networks as possible.

  1. You have a life. So maybe everyone else is burning their life away having all the fun in the world on LinkedIn. That’s ok. You can actually apply for jobs, rather than pretend to apply for them.
  2. You have a job. We all need a paycheck to survive. It’s not that hard to give up Facebook for 8 hours a day, unless your job is to be on Facebook. Then you’re ruined.
  3. You have things to do. The only people who ever accomplish anything on social networks are the ones who are paid to accomplish things on social networks. And I don’t see you bringing home that big social media paycheck yet.
  4. You’ve got the rest of the internet. There really is an entire internet that has nothing to do with social networks. Most of it is porn, but apparently there’s some other good stuff in there too. Just watch out for the porn.

Don’t you feel better already, giving yourself excuses to stay the hell away from your friends, “friends,” family, and everyone who desperately wants the weakest of connections with you? I know I do! What are your reasons for avoiding social networks?

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Google+ For Business: Who Gives a S*&%?

Google Plus Pages - Who Cares - The Anti-Social Media

This is just the innovation social networking needed. Another inbox so businesses can put more of their half-assed press releases and marketing bullshit into our inboxes.

Thanks Google!

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Why Politics Don’t Work on Social Networks

Political Criticism - The Anti-Social MediaThe American political dialogue sucks, and social networks aren’t helping.

Social networks are terrible for politics. They allow for no nuance. You can’t solve huge issues like entitlement reform, social security, and tax reform in 140 characters. The best solutions will never be that simple.

To give an example, I visited my parents yesterday. By chance caught a glance of my Dad’s Facebook newsfeed. I saw a update from one of the candidates running for president, and I couldn’t believe how vague and stupid it was.

It read:

President Obama is urging Congress to pass part of his American Jobs Act in another campaign speech today. The American people have waited long enough. It is time for real leadership. It’s time for solutions.

What the hell does that mean?

Regardless of which candidate posted this update and who is attacking who, the language is so insanely vague it means nothing. It criticizes the President for offering no solutions, when it offers no solutions itself. If that’s supposed to be “real leadership,” I’m about to run and hide.

That status is also intentionally vague, almost to the point you can read it as praise. Look what happens when you remove the let two sentences.

President Obama is urging Congress to pass part of his American Jobs Act in another campaign speech today. The American people have waited long enough.

See how much of a change that is? It’s a whole new status with a completely different context.

I realize we will never get rid of people talking about politics online. People will always need to vent their crazy opinions, no matter which way they lean. But we can’t keep this kind of dialogue on our social networks. These “discussions” aren’t discussions. They solve nothing. They offer no solutions the challenges faced by Americans every day.

Let’s stop wasting our time and energy on the political machine on our social networks, and use those networks to make the world a little bit better. Research the problems. Develop solutions that work. And stop attacking every single idea before it’s given a chance to fail on its own.

Don’t we have better things to do than sit around and complain all day?