Can Social Networking really give you more time?

Kem Meyer is on a blog tour for here book “Less Clutter Less Noise”

My question for Kem:

What would be your social networking advice for a church planter? Assuming he wants that added clutter and noise to his already busy life?

KEM

Glad you asked! And, you are right. At first glance, it seems completely contradictory to my own mantra: Less Clutter. Less Noise. But, in reality, these technologies effectively help me to COMPRESS time, INCREASE my knowledge base, ORGANIZE my thoughts and calendar, ENHANCE my relationships and hold me ACCOUNTABLE. I link them all together, and set preferences to auto-deliver the stuff I need NOW and organize the stuff I’ll reference LATER in categories.

Here are some of my most excellent social-media stories. Depending on the circumstance and objective…I have both close and extended people groups, regular and intermittent interactions, public and private content.

• Personal/family: I originally started texting and watching MySpace to stay in relationship with my teenager. Now, my 70 year old mother-in-law is texting and on Facebook in an effort to stay connected to her grandkids (and me). We share photos, stories and fun updates. It compresses time; automatically find out most recent news about everyone you care about without having to come back and check for it. Keeps your inbox clean. Instead of hours on the phone with one or two people. Minutes to keep up with everyone. For example, I have 13 neices and nephews. There is no way I can keep up with them all without some robot technology. Thanks to my digital Facebook assistant, I found out today that Luke’s cell phone was run over by a truck. I have something to talk about when I see him at graduation this weekend.
• Team/staff: Adds value to others. Develop sense of community in spite of pace, location and different schedules. Bonding. Way to get news out when network or email outage. Helps give a voice to introverts.
• Church/professional: Info posted once, used over and over. Records what’s happening. Puts a face & personality on the ministry. Forced to organize my thoughts and follow-through. People are watching. I’m accountable. Facilitates connectedness and expressiveness. Provides direct access leaders & ministry experts.
• Other: I get access to training, tutorials, experts, best practices. Micro-leads to macro information. Instant focus groups. I contribute to community development with peers. It’s a way for me to give back & share insights.

There’s no one size fits all approach for the “how to” of this concept. So don’t ask for it. You can’t make a well-informed decision from an explanation; it has to be experienced. The best advice I can give is to try one at a time and see how it fits. But, there are some ways you can get started.

• Get help: I won’t tell you the how, that’s part of the fun of it. Connect with one of your friends who’s doing it & have them walk you through first steps.
• One thing at a time: Start slow & don’t overload yourself all at once. It’s something you have to experience to understand. Try to make a judgment from someone else’s experience and you’ll miss it. It’s unique and personal to each person.
• Watch others for awhile: pick up on their cues of the do’s & don’ts. Find what’s comfortable for you before you start interacting. But, your first step should be to at least GO to the party. If you aren’t ready to participate in the festivities, it’s totally fine to be a wallflower.
• When you are ready, go ahead & participate, mingle and connect: But, don’t fake it. Remember, it’s a party not a show. Avoid too much information: it may be personal…but it’s not private.

Thanks Kem

Interested in her book? more info

Oh yeah… She sent me a copy for YOU. The first person to comment will get a free copy of her book!  I’ll need your address too.