It's this simple : It's all social media

Per Kneale Mann this morning:

It has very little to do with a web portal, zero to do with anything electronic, nada to do with any gadget or interface without one important ingredient – us!

Anyone with an Internet connect can publish thoughts online and build an audience.

I am not a social media expert and neither are you. I am a social media expert and so are you.

Social media is just interacting with people. Just because one can do on it on Blog, via Twitter, or on Facebook, who cares? It’s still all about being yourself, getting to know others, and spending time with people with like interests. It’s the stuff life is made of.

I’m telling folks all the time the great thing about social media is that not one of us really knows what the heck we are doing. We’re all just figuring this stuff out. And at the rate social media changes I’m not sure we’ll ever stop trying to figure it all out.

Per Mann:

Once we realize there is no particular right way, we quickly discover that a blog, podcast, email, phone call or lunch meeting all have one imperative common element – people.

Take a closer look at all of your communication avenues. Don’t just focus on the multitude social networking websites, look at all media. Look at the people you deem to be navigating those channels well and ask questions. With some clarity, you will quickly realize it’s all media shared socially.

Learning to use social means only requires overcoming the fear of trying something new in front of others. What’s holding you back other than fear of embarrassing yourself?

Sounds a lot like high school. What if I make a fool of myself in gym class playing a sport I’m not good at? What if I can’t dance and all the girls laugh at me? Seems trivial 36 years later.

I’ll be the first to concede fear of embarrassing myself or looking silly still creeps into my life. Like when I tee off on the first hole tomorrow with others looking on. But though I’m not any good at golf, I enjoy being out with my boys. It’s the social side, not what we’re doing or using for the social interaction.

Social media is not about technology. It’s about people. It’s about being social.

Sure it’ll take some time to figure social media out. You’ll feel clumsy at first. You’ll wonder if you look stupid. You’ll fear your peers will think you’re being silly.

It’s okay.