Social Presence: What’s Real And What’s Not?

And Why Are You Here?

It’s not unusual to arrive into the orbit and gravitational pull of social media circumspect and kicking after a long stretch of procrastination. The resistance can be palpable- especially in the case of those feeling coerced onto social for business.

Are you on social media due to the pressure? Is it because of that pesky imperative to have a strong web presence, create a content marketing strategy, engage on social media? Did you hope that perhaps you could be among the last of the holdouts to prove everyone wrong; digital marketing can be avoided. Uh huh.

True. Some of us aren’t being social online for business reasons and come armed mainly with our intelligence and curiosity …seeking something we haven’t yet defined. Or we have a simple desire to connect.

Or perhaps, it’s a bit of this and a bit of that.

You might be like me. I arrived for business reasons and then it wove its way into my heart and yes, my soul. A Google rankings crisis prompted me to get serious about our blog and to dive more deeply into the social media scene, primarily Google Plus, and the results [and the ensuing joy] were startling. And it became very personal.

Whatever our route to this somewhat (sometimes) surprising destination we’re here now and what might that mean for us?

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…might that mean for us?

It’s within the inspired wall-less laboratory, this location of the experiment where our identity can be nourished, our authenticity explored, new skills can be birthed, trust earned and given in relationships we never envisioned but are now presenting themselves to us in droves.

And the learning explodes. I’m not only talking about book learning and merely earthly practical or business things. I’m talking about the learning that comes from looking inward towards our own experience, and then in turn, to the work we do in the world and the contribution we make.

Suddenly, or perhaps, just as a slow trickle that finally registers, we find ourselves immersed. In something we’ve never come close to experiencing before. Something brand new, even innovative.

We find that the lines are becoming blurry. Everything seems to be melding together and it’s almost hard to describe.

I find myself wondering: Who are these people from all around the world? Why am I now regarding them not only as friends, but as individuals having a deep and lasting impact on my life and yet I’ve never met them? What is the common language we find ourselves speaking? What is this language we’ve never heard that our ears are pricking up for and wanting to listen to? It’s a mystery in so many ways.

How real is this? People ask. All of it is real. And counts just as much as anything else.

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 Find the flow that makes them one. This is not you losing various pieces of your personal life and privacy. It’s a gain for your aliveness, your personhood, professional life and endeavors. You can let the relationships, the conversation, the questioning and exploration transform the work you do and the way you do it. That is our social presence. Together.

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This article was written as part of the collaborative project, The Social Presence Field Book, led by John Kellden, founder of the Conversation Community on Google Plus. Thank you John for being the inspiration to so many.

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