#progress

I use hashtags a lot in casual conversation. I also use them sparingly in my e-mail (#final or #lessonlearned are helpful on an occasion). Yet, I’m really struggling with Twitter, the platform. In fact, I had a discussion last night about my LinkedIn and Facebook connection practices… is it really that crazy to only accept requests to connect from people you have met? On LinkedIn my logic is that if someone were to ever ask me how I know you, or to introduce them to you, I should be able to justify my connection. Yes, of course, when you have 500+ connections not everyone will be a “fresh” connection, but you get the point. For Facebook, it’s much more aggressive. I’m rarely on the network, nor do I post anything… and I don’t actively “friend” people. (Sorry, new friends.) But, Twitter. I just can’t wrap my head around what’s going on. I haven’t drank the Twitter kool aid. I see the kool aid on the table, it looks like it might be appealing to drink, it appears to taste good by the people that are drinking it, the people drinking it are experiencing the benefits of it, the group is learning interesting things as they drink the kool aid… 

But the kool aid and I are locked in a stare down. The glass is on the table. (It even has my name on it!) 

We’ve been in a staredown since I joined Twitter back in October 2012. I attempted a few tweets, deleted them, engaged in a conversation (or two - literally)... I’ve even gone so far as to clean off the condensation on the edges of the glass and update my profile picture and follow some relevant-to-my-world people. And now, we’re back in the stare down. Why? It’s because I’ve learned that I am (actually) a people person. A human being with whom you can connect. LinkedIn is business (it’s not personal). It’s a way to present yourself professionally. Facebook is personal, but not in a human way for me. Twitter feels like an ineffective networking event where everyone is talking so you can’t even hear the conversation that you’re having. In short, let’s Skype over some tea or meet up at a local cafe. (This, of course, explains my desire to find an in-person community of like-minded individuals, like Impact Hub, and the reason that “coworking space dallas” has been my Google search of choice these days.) Feedback, assistance, mindset shift… all welcome. Let’s chat.

Yet, I see the value in hashtags, use them in sentences, and am proud to title this post as #progress. 

“April showers (will) bring May flowers.” (#progress) Though I can’t speak to the current weather, or praise meteorology by any stretch of the imagination (given the winter that we’ve had in Boston #enoughalready), I can speak to the work that I’ve been doing for the past four months. Everything that I have been working on is on track to make significant progress in April. Whether it’s a deadline being hit, a meeting on-schedule, a conversation being had, a proposal set to pitch, or a profile being updated. Progress is being made. 

That being said, stay tuned for updates on Phase 2 and Phase 3: #letitrain #neverenough