Whether you think you can or you can't, you're right

This evening I was reading Reem Abeidoh's blog on Competitiveness in Social Media and it got me to wondering about the category into which I would fall, and into which category I would WANT to fall.

This makes me wonder what exactly is my endgame? Why do I participate in various forms of Social Media? What is the motivation, and does that motivation produce competitiveness?

I think that at this point I seem to be going backwards through the Social Media ladder. This is completely by choice; as a political candidate I was thrown into the pseudo-public arena [I say pseudo because we know how much the public pays attention to any election other than the presidency - and even that turnout is atrocious] and as such, needed as much exposure as possible. What better way to take advantage of free marketing than through Social Media? If I had really been more on top of it, I would have made sure to use twitter, del.icio.us, digg, etc. and not just the basics like YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, etc.

I have gone from wanting my image, and message on as many sites and discussions as possible to wanting to be myself without the scrutiny that comes from under the candidate microscope. Even so, there are certain things I will never publish on any form of social media, and to an extent is why I keep this blog anonymous. A candidate is no different at times than any other marketed product, and you want to maintain the integrity and value of the brand. I don't doubt that soon all candidates will have a social media team to maintain their online activity. It is no longer only the neighborhood forum that matters; the heated debate on twitter needs to be addressed as well.

Even so, what if my goal was to have an online expertise that would then translate into an illustrious political career? I would most certainly be maintaining all kinds of Social Media and have a blog that was more focused on political and/or urban space issues.

The thing is, at least on this blog, that is not my point. The point is making me feel somewhat obligated to my invisible loyal readers (Do you exist?! Thank you!!) to keep writing, even when I don't want to. There is a phase in any activity where you don't want to continue; but the only way to transcend to the next level is to bust through these mental block times. Without the invisible eyes of the potential reader, I would have hardly posted half as many posts as I have already. And that's not saying a whole lot. :)

Reem's blog has actually made me reassess in some ways what it is I am trying to accomplish. It makes me think that ideally - to really network and use social media to its fullest potential - you need to have a focus and clarity on your message regardless of exactly which form of media you are using. Since I am currently in the search/creation of my next message to the world, it would make sense for me to take a few steps down on that Social Media pyramid.

Song of the Day: The Way I Am - Eminem