Social Media is the new black

In the course of a day, someone inevitably calls or e-mails to cancel a meeting, someone else misses a phone call, fails to deliver something on time, a project gets delayed and you find yourself waiting...

Aaarggghhh!

It happens. Look at the upside. You just scored some free time.

You can do what you want with it, but in this day and age of "too many things on your to do list and not enough time in a day", this time is valuable and you should think twice before squandering it away frivolously. We all know it is way too easy to sit back in your chair, play around on YouTube, poke your friends on Facebook and at the end of the day accomplish nothing and later feel bad about it.

It’s amazing what we do when the half hour seems free or extra. Instead of letting it slip through your fingers, consider having a pre-prepared list of things you could do instead that might enhance the quality of your life, improve your business relationships and maybe even change the world. You'll thank yourself.

Consider making a top ten list of your own, including one or more of the following tasks:

• Write one or two recommendations on Linked-In for people in your network that you have worked with or for and can vouch for with integrity. Maybe they'll even return the favour.

• Read and comment on five blog posts that are relevant to your area of expertise (especially if they’re up-and-coming bloggers vs the established pros—they need all of the community support they can get and they just might pass along the favour somewhere down the road).

• Go search Twitter, follow up on a few topics you’re interested in, comment on a few posts and engage others in meaningful conversation. Share links to relevant photos, video or blogs that expand on the ideas you are discussing. Get engaged with your community. Be careful not to blow your own horn too much. People will tune you out and all of your efforts will be for naught.

• Go to Technorati.com, Delicio.us, Digg or Stumbleupon and discover some new blogs in a category that matters to you. Save and share bookmarks with your friends and colleagues.

• Seek out and read a few good blog posts from places you have not been before. Share them on Twitter and Facebook, too.

• Think forward. Come up with a list of topics to come up with in coming weeks so you can have time to research and marinate on them over the next little while before you sit down to write about them.

• Reply to some of the oldest emails in your inbox. You may never get to them otherwise.

• Investigate new social media tools or technologies that just might or might not impact you in life and your work. Staying ahead of the curve will be easier if you are out there on the front lines as much as possible. Keep an eye out for the thought leaders. Pay attention to the successes and the failures. What is the value of a disastrous mistake if we do not learn something from it?

• Share one thing you know about innovative uses of social media with someone you care about. You never know when you might spark a revolution of your own or trigger a new idea in somebody else's brain.

• Think about something you would like to do if you had the time and the means to spread joy and make a difference in the world. There are many amazing organizations and communities online that can help you do one little thing that can change the world. Start here at global giving.

You probably have a few ideas of your own for what to do with a half hour. Feel free to post a comment on this blog or e-mail me and let me know if you can think of anything to add to this list.

To learn about some innovative ways that we use social media in Toronto to connect people, build online communities, raise awareness of noteworthy causes and make more effective use of people's time, come visit us at FRANK.

GRGB5YCQRDTV