Lessons Learned From Kids and Video Games Social Media 101

by Becky Holland

As a mother of 4 kids, I'm constantly amazed at the ability of kids nowadays to adapt to new technology. The process is fast and seemless. just ask a kid to customize your new cell phone if you need an example of this! To those of us who didn't grow up with technology tools in our back pocket, the learning curve is a bit more challenging. Often times we shy away from new technology out of confusion or fear.

I've learned a few things though from observing my kids and their friends that may help those who are slowly treading the social media waters for fear of drowning.

You have to do something or you die: This one comes from my observation of video gaming. Kids don't read the how-tos when they play a new game; they don't worry about getting it wrong. they just jump in and start trying things. If you play a video game and you don't move or try something, it's a sure death. When you try something, the chances of dying are greatly reduced. no matter what you try. The same is true for social media. try something!! Find some friends, post some quotes if you're nervous about posting personal stuff, put up a few pictures (they don't have to be of people), comment on a few posts. just jump in to the social media world. You will only really be able to learn it by participating and the more you participate and try new things, the further you will go. Yes, you may have to go back and readjust or even start over, but doing nothing will only lead to nothing. video game death.

Get connected: Kids don't agonize over who they connect to through various forms of media. they connect to everyone they know, even remotely. They even accept friend requests from people they can't stand in school. They don't worry, because they know they can always, ignore, remove or even block that person later if the interaction becomes hostile or abusive. When my daughter recently joined facebook, she had over 200 friends in 2 days. the kids' phone books on their cell phones are so extensive they would make most adult heads spin. They connect everywhere. and they use every bit of technology available to them to help them connect. Go make connections today. you can always remove them later if you choose to!

It's not that hard to manage multiple sites/technology: My kids are on facebook, play video games, text constantly, surf the web, and still manage school, homework, sports and very active social lives. They pop from one bit of technology to the other without much thought. Granted, if you're building your business or brand, you want to make sure you have a thought out plan, but hop in to the conversation while you're figuring it out. at least with your personal profiles.

I often see posts from the kids on facebook saying "I'm heading offline. text me" or "Soccer practice in 15 minutes. back online in a couple hours". Without thinking about it, they let everyone know where to find them next. this is a great lesson for those in business. Let people know where to find you! You can post a quick tweet that says. "heading off to write a blog post, back soon" with a link to your blog and have your twitter followers exposed to your blog. You can post a status update to facebook saying your heading over to see what people are talking about on twitter with a link to you twitter profile and have facebook friends start following you on twitter. This gives you easy-to-add content on all your sites and keeps everyone informed of where to look for you next.

Twitter is texting for adults: My kids don't tweet. neither do their friends. They don't understand the point of twitter and I've finally realized why.. they text. They don't need twitter because they are connected via cell phones and when they want to broadcast information to the masses, they send out a text which can then be forwarded and passed to everyone. As adults in business, we don't use texting. but we do use twitter. It is used in much the same way. We have short conversations via twitter and pass along quick info to our masses much the same way the kids use texting on their phones. If you look at twitter this way it demystifies it quite a bit. Just start talking. You don't have to be brilliant. you just have to be present.

Balance your life: This is so important! Social media can completely take over your life if you let it. Don't forget to take time away to hang with friends, get stuff done around the house, etc. The kids don't worry about things they miss online because they know that if it's important, they will eventually get the message somehow. They don't spend hours watching everyone else's posts or sit and wait for responses. They move from one thing to another. Keeping balance between all areas of your life is crucial to happiness. Technology is a tool, but it should not become your life. Go out and spend time on other things. if nothing else, it will give you something interesting to talk about when you venture back online.

Even when you master something, you've only moved on to the next level: Kids get excited when they master a level in a video game. But once they have, they are back at square one. a new level with new challenges. They don't get depressed because they are back at square one. The embrace the challenge and start learning how to make it through the new obstacles. Social media is constantly changing and evolving. Just when you think you have mastered it all, you will realize you have only mastered this level and are forced to start over again at square one. Embrace the challenge like a child playing a game. Use tricks you've learned from previous levels, but be prepared to have to figure out new methods of getting past new obstacles as you progress.

Moving from one site to another is also a good example of this. they aren't all the same. There may be similarities, but strategies you've used on one site may have to be altered or changed completely when moving to another. Try things, experiment, and eventually you will make it through to yet another level.

I hope these lessons from the youth of today will help some of you adults who are struggling to navigate the online world. Have no fear. approach the online world like a kid. it really is all just a game!

© Becky Holland , All rights reserved.
Original article can be found at http://becky-holland.com/Blog/
Submitted on April 28, 2010