When Phil Hollows and I met for the first time over a cup of coffee in June of last year, little did we know that it would be just one of many conversations about social media that we’d be having on a regular basis.

The difference between that initial meeting between us and every other since is that many others who share an interest in Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, blogs and the like have joined us for what we call the Sudbury Social Tweetup.

At our most recent Tweetup last Thursday night at Bistro 20 in Sudbury, I had the opportunity to speak to the group about “Twitter for Business in Five Easy Steps,” including…

1. Find and Be Found
2. Use a Good Dashboard like TweetDeck
3. Engage Your Constituents on Twitter
4. Maintain an Active, Interesting Twitter Stream
5. Measure Your Performance

What follows are the slides I used for my presentation. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments. And if you’re ever in the neighborhood on the last Thursday evening of the month, please don’t hesitate to join us for the Sudbury Social Tweetup.

To follow Bob’s #SudburySocial list on Twitter, click here.

Related Reading

Talking about Social Media in Sudbury, Massachusetts by Bob Cargill

Ten Tips for Hosting a Successful Tweetup by Bob Cargill

Since I included a list of 50 reasons why people don’t use social media in my most recent post, I thought it only made sense to follow up with a similar list, only this time focusing on the opposing point of view, the reasons why people do use social media.

Sure, as I wrote in that last post about those who are reluctant to jump on the social media bandwagon, “there are still plenty of skeptics, detractors and naysayers among us, especially in the corporate world, where cautiousness and conservatism abound.”

But as I also pointed out, there are more than 800 million users of Facebook, over 120 million people on LinkedIn and more than 200 million accounts on Twitter. There’s certainly a critical mass of people using social media today, enough practitioners and proponents of these online communication platforms for those of us who are immersed in this space to be able to confidently draw the conclusion that this is no passing fad.

Why so many aficionados and devotees? Why all the fanfare? What’s the big deal? Ask anyone who uses social media on a regular basis what they like about it and they could probably go on forever. These are just some of the reasons you’d likely hear…

50 Reasons Why People Use Social Media

1. It’s my job.
2. I enjoy making new friends.
3. It’s a great way to keep up with the news.
4. I don’t want to be left behind.
5. I like sharing pictures and videos.
6. It’s how I stay in touch with friends, relatives, colleagues and clients.
7. It’s how everyone communicates nowadays.
8. It’s easy.
9. It helps my search engine rankings.
10. I like talking to celebrities.
11. It’s where I go for customer service.
12. It saves me time.
13. I like to express my opinions.
14. My favorite stores and brands are using it.
15. I use it to screen job candidates.
16. It’s free.
17. It’s where I turn for help and support.
18. I like the immediacy of it.
19. People expect me to be using it.
20. I’m a writer.
21. People answer questions about practically anything there.
22. I like to influence others.
23. I enjoy a good argument.
24. I use it to promote my work.
25. I like “listening” to others.
26. I’m lonely.
27. I’m not shy.
28. I need to keep up with the younger generation.
29. My employer encourages it.
30. I like being a “publisher” of my own content.
31. I use it for networking.
32. I like technology.
33. I like anything to do with the Internet.
34. I’m a people person.
35. I have to keep up with the competition.
36. It’s how customers and prospects find me.
37. I want to be known as a thought leader.
38. I care about my brand.
39. I like checking in from restaurants, concerts and other special events.
40. My online reputation is important to me.
41. It leads to sales.
42. It leads to donations.
43. I hate talking on the phone.
44. I’m tired of email.
45. I’m looking for a new job.
46. I’m in front of a computer all day anyway.
47. It’s fun.
48. I like the camaraderie.
49. I enjoy getting feedback.
50. I’d be bored without it.

There you have it – 50 reasons why people use social media. What other reasons have you heard people give for publishing a blog, establishing a presence on Facebook, using LinkedIn for networking and tweeting up a storm? Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts on what I’ve written about in this post by leaving a comment below.

With more than 800 million users of Facebook, over 120 million people on LinkedIn and more than 200 million accounts on Twitter, you might say the tipping point’s been reached as far as social media usage goes.

Yet despite such a large critical mass using these social media properties, there are still plenty of skeptics, detractors and naysayers among us, especially in the corporate world, where cautiousness and conservatism abound.

As someone who’s been talking to anyone and everyone within earshot about the benefits of using social media since I launched my own blog in 2004, I know this for a fact: Unless you’re preaching to the choir, the life of a social media practitioner and proponent is often a lonely, uphill battle.

At this stage of the game, those of us with significant social media experience — and enthusiasm — are less likely to be surrounded by like-minded converts than to be facing opposition and resistance to this revolutionary, new way of online communications.

Why would someone be so reluctant to jump on the social media bandwagon? Let me count the ways. Seriously, I’ve heard so many explanations why some people won’t even try social media, I thought I’d pull them all together in one long list. Ask one of these holdouts why he or she doesn’t use social media and you could get any one, or more, of the following 50 reasons for an answer…  

50 Reasons Why People Don’t Use Social Media

1. I’m too busy.
2. It’s just a fad.
3. It’s only for young people.
4. It’s not my job.
5. What would I say?
6. I’m successful without it.
7. I’m not interesting enough.
8. It terrifies me.
9. I’ll get a lot of spam.
10. It’s a waste of time.
11. I’m afraid of getting negative comments and criticism.
12. I prefer to use the phone.
13. There’s no ROI.
14. I can’t write.
15. I know nothing about computers.
16. I don’t like to brag.
17. I have enough friends already.
18. It takes too much time.
19. I don’t want anyone to see my picture.
20. It’s impersonal.
21. I don’t want complete strangers following me.
22. I don’t care what someone else had for lunch.
23. I’d rather meet in person.
24. I’m too shy.
25. I don’t want the responsibility.
26. I’m in front of the computer enough already.
27. It’ll get you into trouble.
28. I don’t want to get hacked.
29. I don’t know how to use it.
30. I like my privacy.
31. I don’t want anyone at the office to know anything about my personal life.
32. It’s too complicated.
33. I guess I’m just old-fashioned.
34. I’ve got better things to do with myself.
35. I just don’t get it.
36. I don’t like change.
37. My computer will get a virus.
38. I’m too tired.
39. I’m too old.
40. It’s too personal.
41. I’m afraid I’ll be stalked.
42. My company doesn’t allow it.
43. I don’t have a smartphone.
44. I don’t want to embarrass myself.
45. I have too much to lose.
46. I prefer email.
47. I don’t want my friends from high school to find me.
48. There’s too much to learn.
49. It’s too much work.
50. I wouldn’t know where to begin.

There you have it – 50 reasons why people don’t use social media. What other reasons have you heard people give for not publishing a blog, establishing a presence on Facebook, keeping a LinkedIn profile up to date and showing up at least once in a while on Twitter? Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts on what I’ve written about in this post by leaving a comment below.

Related Resources and Information

Facebook Now Has 800 Million Users (Mashable)
LinkedIn Now Adding Two New Members Every Second (TechCrunch) 
Twitter Celebrates 5 Years and 200 Million Users (AOL News)

I’ve created a lot of lists on Twitter, including one for copywriters, another one for New England social media professionals and even one that I call All Star Bloggers. But out of all of these lists, the one that’s been on my mind lately is the list which includes the people and companies (38 and counting) I’ve found on Twitter from my hometown of Sudbury, Massachusetts.

You see, while I really only know personally a handful of these Sudbury-affiliated account-holders, my goal when I created this list was to get to know as many of them as possible. So little by little, I’ve retweeted them and reached out to them, thinking that you never know what might come of this small community within, well, a small community. But it wasn’t until I recently sat down for a cup of coffee with fellow Sudbury resident, Phil Hollows, that an idea I had been bandying about for a while with my neighbors and friends in town actually took root.

I knew Phil from Twitter, but this was actually the first time we had met in person. After chatting for a few minutes about our respective professional backgrounds and families, we quickly agreed to put on a Tweetup in Sudbury, which we hope will bring together business people in town who are interested in discussing — and learning more about – social media.  

What follows is the official “announcement” of this Tweetup (which I can’t tell you how excited I am to be co-hosting)…

You’re Invited to the Sudbury Social Tweetup on Thursday, July 21

Two Sudbury residents, Bob Cargill and Phil Hollows, will be hosting a free Tweetup called “Sudbury Social” on Thursday, July 21, at Bistro 20 at 120 Boston Post Road in Sudbury from 6-8 P.M.

The purpose of this networking event is to bring together business people, marketers and professionals who live or work in the Sudbury area who want to meet others from the community and learn more about such social media communications tools as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and blogs. 

“Both Phil and I thought a Tweetup – which gives people who may have already met one another online, the chance to meet face-to-face, in person – would be a fun way to introduce those in the community who are interested in social media to one another,” says Cargill, a copywriter, creative director and social media consultant.

“We’re looking forward to getting to know others in town who have the same passion for social media as we do,” says Hollows, the CEO of Feedblitz and author of “List Building for Bloggers.”

To register to attend the Sudbury Social Tweetup, go to http://sudburysocial.eventbrite.com. For more information on the event, please contact either Bob Cargill at Cargill123@gmail.com or Phil Hollows at phil@feedblitz.com. If you decide to write about the event online, the hosts ask you to use the hashtag, #SudburySocial.

Don’t tell me social media isn’t personal.

Sure, it’s not the same thing as actually sitting down and talking to someone in person, face-to-face. But it’s often the next best thing. And in some cases, it’s the only thing.

Using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and the like is a great way to connect with people who otherwise might not give you the time of the day because they’re either too busy or have reason to believe they have little in common with you.

Social media is also perfect for keeping in touch with people who it’s impossible to meet up with in person because they simply live or work too far away.

For example, my friend, Amelia, is situated some 3,000 miles away from me in Seal Beach, California. We’re both copywriters. We’re both runners. We’re both former Toastmasters. And she used to live in Sudbury, Massachusetts, where I live now.

Clearly, we have a lot in common. But we hardly ever have the opportunity to see each other anymore. Except — you guessed it — via social media.

In this case, on one of my recent runs, I happened to take and upload a photo of the scene, a meandering trail through the woods that apparently is one that the Lincoln-Sudbury High School cross country teams have been running on for years.

After seeing this photo on Facebook, Amelia left a comment about a steep hill off of that trail that she used to run up and down as a member of the school’s cross country team back in the day.

So the next time I was working out in those woods, I went one step further and recorded a short video clip on my climb up that legendary hill and posted that on Facebook, too…

Well, she was so taken by the memories of seeing that hill again, she wrote a blog post about it, saying…

“Bob posted this [video] on my wall. It was one of the kindest, unexpected random acts a friend has ever done for me.”

What a pleasant surprise that was to me, to see just how much my spontaneous, seemingly small act of sharing on Facebook meant to Amelia.

And when she thanked me for that video on Twitter, I was more than happy to RT her, of course.

Now I’m talking about a real friendship between Amelia and I, as we’ve known each other for years. But whether you’re friends with someone or not, whether you’re a business or an individual, social media can be used to close the gap between distance and anything else that may get in the way of more traditional communications methods. Social media can – and should –  be personal.

By the way, here’s the video I recorded while running up that legendary hill in the woods near Lincoln-Sudbury High School…

If you can’t see the video in this blog post, you can view it on YouTube by clicking here.
To read Amelia Ostroff’s blog, 623 Tries, click here.
To follow Amelia Ostroff on Twitter, click here.

Given my outgoing personality, my obsession with the latest news and the fact that I’ve always been an early adopter of new communications tools, it’s no surprise that I’ve been enamored with social media from the get-go.

I can’t tell you how excited I was to launch my own blog in early 2004, where I’ve written nearly 100,000 words on almost anything and everything that has to do with marketing. I became a member of Facebook in late 2007. I joined Twitter on May 8, 2008. I’ve bookmarked over 4,800 blog posts and articles on Delicious. I use Google Reader on a regular basis. And I have my own YouTube channel, which I use to share my thoughts on what’s important to me – and, hopefully, others – in the industry in which I earn my livelihood.

But out of all the social media outposts where I’ve established a presence, the one that probably gets the most attention among traditional business folks is LinkedIn, which I joined on July 26, 2004, almost seven years ago. In fact, I’m proud to say I was among the first one million members – number 882,759, to be exact – of this professional networking site that recently eclipsed the 100 million-member mark.

On LinkedIn, I’m fortunate to have connected with over 800 others, people who, like me, are more than happy to help one another make the most of their professional lives. And that includes writing recommendations for those among your network who deserve to be singled out for their expertise and experience.

So far, I’ve written recommendations for 59 people in my LinkedIn network, each of whom I’ve worked with in some capacity during the course of my career. I’m grateful for the 44 recommendations that others have written for me.

LinkedIn recommendations should be short and to the point, speaking to the strengths and skills you’ve seen up close and personal in the recipients of your high praise. When you write one, try to be as specific as possible, providing your own unique perspective on why someone else should be interested in hiring or doing business in some capacity with this individual. If he or she is a star, say so, enthusiastically and effusively. Cite his or her attributes and actual accomplishments. Use colorful adjectives and descriptive prose. You want to sound like you mean every single one of your kind words, not like you wrote them just because you were asked.

In fact, not every one of your LinkedIn recommendations needs to be solicited. Write one or two every once in a while for those who especially stand out. They’ll not only thank you for it, the likelihood is they’ll reciprocate and write a recommendation for you in return. That’s certainly good form.

And, yes, while it may be a little awkward, don’t worry about declining someone’s request to write a recommendation if for any reason you think it’s unwarranted. That’s business.

The bottom line is that whether you’re providing them for others or receiving them yourself, LinkedIn recommendations are extremely important. They’re a big part of your social currency that should reflect well on you as a corporate citizen and go a long way toward enhancing your online reputation.

The older you are, the more accustomed you are to satisfying your need for news, entertainment and conversation via newspapers, magazines, books, television, radio and good, old-fashioned face-to-face interaction with others.

Imagine. Many of us even grew up looking forward to reading the mail at the end of the day.  

But that was then. This is now. This is the age of the Internet and instant messaging, smart phones and even smarter notebook computers, laptops and tablets. This is the era of newfangled social media communications tools and technologies that are already well on their way to changing the way we create, share and receive information forever.

Take Facebook and Twitter, for instance, two of the most popular social media sites today.

If Facebook were a country, its user base of more than 600 million (about a fifth of whom reside in the United States), would make it the third most populated one in the world, behind China and India. And it looks like that may be just the tip of the iceberg. Facebook is currently growing at the rate of over 500,000 users a day, poised to reach one billion users by the end of 2013.

We’re talking about a force to be reckoned with, if ever there was one.

When I joined Facebook in late 2007, it was considered quite the novelty among grownups, having gone live in early 2004 exclusively for college students and unavailable to the general public until September 26, 2006.

But the rest, as they say, has been history.

Like many others on Facebook, I use it for both personal and professional reasons, staying in touch with not just my friends and relatives, but also my colleagues and contacts in the business world.

Facebook is great for sharing family photos and videos, spreading the word about activities and accomplishments, soliciting opinions on the top stories of the day, discussing important issues and getting the inside scoop on all your favorite brands.

Thanks to Facebook, I’ve been reunited with many of my old high school classmates and have been able to keep up with everyone from distant cousins to former co-workers, famous celebrities to others right here in Sudbury.

I’ve also “liked” a number of local businesses and institutions on Facebook, including the Buddy Dog Humane Society and the Goodnow Library, opening up my customized news feed to their status updates and anything else they care to share with their “fans.”

As for my wife, Barbara, I don’t know what she’d do without Facebook. To her, it’s like a water cooler around which she engages in an endless stream of dialogue with a tight-knit circle of friends, some of whom are our Pine Lakes neighbors and some who live as far away as California.

But let’s not forget about Twitter. Launched in July 2006, there are now over 200 million accounts on this so-called “microblogging” site, more than half of them in the United States. On Twitter, users adopt handles (mine is @cargillcreative) and exchange short, real-time text messages with their network of followers.

Every day, more than 100 million messages – called tweets – are sent across the Twitterverse, many by people and places in Sudbury, including Jill Baker (@JBakerMarketing), Bob Familiar (@bobfamiliar), Adam Gross (@AdamGross), Rob Mossi (@RMossi24), Larry Robiner (@LRobiner), Bearly Read Books (@BearlyReadBooks), The Frugal Flower (@TheFrugalFlower) and yes, of course, the Sudbury Town Crier (@SudburyCrier), to name just a handful.   

Since I joined Twitter on May 8, 2008, I’ve tweeted over 4,000 times about everything from marketing, social media and copywriting (all of which I do for a living) to running, pop culture and my family.

And while I don’t have anywhere near as many followers as, say, Lady Gaga (over 8,700,000), Oprah Winfrey (over 5,300,000) or Shaquille O’Neal (over 3,600,000), I’m proud of the fact that over 2,700 others are interested in what I have to say in 140 characters or less.

Yes, you can meet plenty of like-minded people on Twitter as well as those who might otherwise never give you the time of day. Personally, it’s where I go when I want to listen and learn, congregate and converse, publish and promote. It’s where I’m fortunate to have formed a bunch of good relationships with folks I look up to and admire, trust and respect for their knowledge and expertise, generosity and support. It’s where I’d be happy to connect with you.

Bob Cargill resides in Sudbury with his wife, Barbara, and their two sons, Scott and Ben. You can find him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bobcargill and follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cargillcreative. Or you can reach him by email at Cargill123@gmail.com. 

The article, “Facebook, Twitter and Sudbury,” was original published in The Sudbury Town Crier (Sudbury, MA) on Thursday, March 17, 2011. It is republished here with permission.