Gardening and Social Media

When I first started gardening there was a pretty high plant mortality rate. I'd forget to water, and who knew plants could die overnight? This would be followed by a cycle of self-recrimination, guilt and regret. This was not enjoyable.

When I got my first crop of tomatoes and my petunias were going strong, I got the payoff of my efforts,  uneven as they were. Since then I've never looked back. My first garden filled me with anxiety about being able to take care of it. Now my garden is gorgeous and the anxiety is gone, I trust myself to do what is needed to keep it thriving, and it is a constant source of pleasure.

I'm trying to think of social media as a garden -- it takes consistent effort before you see the payoff.  I know it will be the same for my clients. It's hard to know where to fit it into the day already full of priorities. It's easy to forget until it becomes second nature, and it can be a source of worry and regret. The turning point with gardening came when I started to enjoy the process. I can see a glimmer of the same thing happening with my conversations on Facebook and Twitter -- the process is becoming enjoyable and is starting to be a regular feature of my day.

The Decorah eagles have had more than a little to do with this. I want to see what the eagles are doing and how their feathers are coming along. Checking in on them every day is not a chore, it's genuine interest and involvement in their well-being. And I find that I enjoy the chat almost as much as I enjoy the growth of the babies; when the chat room is down it isn't as much fun watching the babies flap their wings and huddle up together. It's the difference between traveling alone and marveling at the scenery and traveling with someone else and marveling together. I've gotten very adept at traveling by myself and enjoying it. Now I'm re-discovering the pleasures of sharing the trip.

Realtors talk about working their farm -- consistent effort towards a goal they believe in. Participating in the conversations of social media are a farm, too, or a garden if you prefer. The results are incremental at first. Some days you just don't feel like it but it is constancy that yields results, and the effect is cumulative. I'm trying to cultivate the same habit with Facebook and Twitter, and I look forward to the harvest.