Life is busy. Our to-do lists are full of tasks like buying school supplies, mowing the lawn, preparing lawn furniture for its winter hibernation, so on and what have you. Well, in addition to my daily tasks I’ve added a new and unlikely item to my list, time travel. Now when I say “time travel” my mind is instantly taken to an image of a crazy scientist and a big time travel machine complete with knobs, wires, and a spaghetti strainer for the victim….uh I mean person’s head. I assure you I haven’t been scouring junk yards looking for metal and I don’t plan on beaming anyone anywhere anytime soon. My form of time travel is simple, fun, and provides great insight to be applied to our lives today, right now.
Let’s do it! Let’s travel back in time…Let’s go to the time when:
-The most stylish men sported frosted tips…
-Our newest friend was our brand new in-car GPS system…
-Transforming our image involved an attractive carpenter and a television crew from the hit television show Trading Spaces…
-Managing your digital persona meant accurately selecting self-inspired personality traits for your Sim character…
-Welcome to the year 2000.
Now, Y2K doesn’t seem that long ago, but we have traded frosted tips for a myriad of fashion styles, our friendships are constantly expanding thanks to Facebook, and managing the appearance of our online image is of utmost importance in this digital age.
We are continually undergoing change and expansion and have managed to catch onto the evolution of trends…trading our flare jeans for skinny jeans, low waisted pants for high waisted, and our short hair for ‘long hair don’t care’. But the big question is have we allowed our online image to evolve and keep up with the tech trends?
There are so many questions: “To filter our photos or not?” “Post on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or all three simultaneously?” “How do I manage my LinkedIn?” “Snapchat…Vine…Foursquare…?” “To check in, or not to check in- that is the question!”
It’s a big thing to keep up with the latest and greatest of websites, blogs, and apps. Whether you are a professional, a college student, a parent, or a teen it’s important to understand the trends in tech and to use them for your greatest benefit.
Here are a few social media tips that will enable you to portray the best of yourself online:
First, Be Yourself.
As social networking becomes increasingly more integrated into our daily lives the notion of separating your physical and online identity is near impossible. The person you portray yourself to be online is what friends & co-workers will expect when they interact with you in person. You are uniquely you and this is a good thing. It is unnecessary and potentially troublesome to change your persona for your online communities. Use social media as an outlet to expand your personal qualities and share them with your online community.
Secondly, Know Your Audience.
On most social media sites, you have a degree of control as to who views your profile or sees your posts, etc. Be deliberate when choosing your privacy settings as well as be selective when deciding what information you want to share about yourself with your online audience.
Finally, Time Travel.
Always take a moment to travel in time before you post. Travel to the future to think about the potential impact this comment, picture, video, link, or tag will make. Remember, less is often more when using social media.
So while I perfect my means of time travel, apply these tips to your social networking practices and go be successful in your personal and digital endeavors. May all of your post leads to only good and happy things!
Delightfully,
Melanie
[real life] encourager
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