Here are some useful things I’ve learned about social media, including blogging

From Wes Thorp on Sep. 27, 2011

Preface

I turned 65 years-old about a month ago and it’s time for me to start aggregating and sharing what I’ve learned during my past almost seven years with social media.  If you’re struggling with how to react or how to use social media for your business or cause, then I have some useful lessons to share with you.

I will be re-doing this blog piece by piece and my goal is to see if I can provide useful content and to see if I can build my readership to an average of 100 per day.

This will be a work in daily progress.  I am trying to teach myself with help from a great son, a true techie who has a passion for teaching and who loves his dad.

My social media story

I first started blogging in 2004 after I read about blogs in a Detroit Free Press story and I found myself being curious.  My first blog try was with a freebie with blogger.com and then I tried and stayed with typepad.com where I launched my dailygrit.com blog.  Since I first climbed onboard this social media marry-go-round, I have played with many of its toys of the moment.

I’ve played with the social media toys

My play time with social media toys roughly coincides my retirement.  I had the time and I had the interest.  My interest in effective communication goes back to my first communications class at Michigan State University.  I remember a diagram in the textbook with stick figures representing the sender and the receiver of messages and the wall of filters that had to be overcome.

I was hooked from that time throughout my career as a newspaper reporter and as a legislative aide.  Since that time the process has changed dramatically, but the principles have not.

What you might find useful

I’ve not only played with the social media toys I have tried to help many different people in different positions understand blogs and their later incarnation into social media.  I’ve seen their struggles and I’ve seen the many who tried to use these tools abandon them in frustration.

My lessons which I will share on this  blog through written and video posts will cover the waterfront of categories on the topic.