The hardest thing to convince us 50+/-’ers about is that there is no privacy. It’s a myth. Nothing wrong with a myth or two to get you through, but essentially, there’s fraud and there’s theft and financial data that people grab to steal from you is the same as breaking into your house with keys you left in your coat pocket at the diner . . . but privacy, as in “i don’t like it that people know my business” is a train that left the station waaaay back aways.

Which is not the same as publicity hounding. Where social media fits in between those two, i’m still figuring out. But if you are working freelance and contract, it’s the same as getting a box of business cards and letterhead in 1975 — you need a blog, a Twitter feed, and a Facebook page. And then, you need to figure out how to use them, just as in 1975 you wouldn’t take your box of business cards and just throw them off of a downtown balcony or leave them in an Arby’s booth at random.

IMHO!

Since the invention of FB, my ministry has quadrupled. I am reaching people at critical points of their lives in pastoral ways that I could not have reached before. There is a real time connection that is electric and enriching. I’ll be 60 this year, and I’ve noticed that the resistance to this medium has come most shockingly for my generation that has here-to-fore, argued that the previous generation was stuck and un-engaged. I guess they don’t get how they could connect to each other at a critical time in our lives. I guess they just don’t get how to be mentors to a younger generation that is searching for meaningful relationships. I guess they just don’t get the idea that they might have something to learn from this newer generation which is not only tech-savvy but creative and open in ways we seem only to talk about.

Making myself available (in all ways) through my FB page (I have not set up a twitter account, simply because I am already overloaded by the FB page relationships), I have grown in so many tangible and intangible ways.

Neil aka Dear FBabby.

I am a 74 year old man with a passion for helping people!
I spent my professionalk career as a pastor, church executive and community organizer,coaching people and providing servant leadership that empowers communities and improves the quality of life for all people, especially those who are marginalized and pushed aside by corporate takeovers.

Using the new tools & technologies available, I combine “high gtouch” with “high teck” and connect with a global community. One Saturday, recently after doing an online class, I realized I had people for 3 continents and 4 countries in classroom…..WOW!

If only I could tell my grandmother about that global classroom…..she was so facinated when this Oklahoma farm boy 1st visited NYC and brought her picture and stories when I stood on top of the Empire State Building.

Twittering, blogging and connecting on Facebook opens a WHOLE NEW WORLD FOR ME…and I am loving it!!!!!!

We are in the age of personal branding. There is no way to avoid it. Some people try, and they look bad.

Nice reviews of these books Sean. And I have to agree. I have Guy’s book, “Reality Check”. It is thick as heck and filled with lists of things I don’t do, and probably never will. I’m a small biz owner.

But Chris’s stuff seems to resonate with my practical side, much like Pamela Slim’s, “Escape from Cubicle Nation”.

Let me know what you think of your selection—I need some new reading fodder for the new year!

I love having the opportunity (and challenge) of teaching people about Social Media. It is NOT a fad.

Also, I just downloaded, “Crush It” on my Kindle and I look forward to reading it!

Thanks Sean!

You should link up with @ShallieBey on Twitter – she focuses on entrepreneurism for baby boomers and she’s a great resource poster on Twitter.

I commend you for carving our your own niche – it’s an important one!

Good reviews! And I don’t blame you for wanting to cash out that Borders card as fast as possible.

Thanks for a great discussion everyone. I love the book, Lilgirl. Russ, will Chalice Press take my Barnes and Noble card? You guys should do that!

Nice post! I think social media can also be a great training/refining ground for business. You have so many interactions so much quicker – if you take the time to listen you can refine your product/services/branding to cater much more specifically to your audience.

Cheers!

Nice joke at the end. Think I’ll use that one in my Real Estate Practice!

RE: TRAINING/REFINING

When a business or person involves themselves in an online social media forum they gain access to a much greater level of feedback. Not only does it provide MORE feedback, but it provides it quicker and is often of a higher quality (meaning more honest) due to the level of disconnect the internet provides. It’s because of this that I often suggest to business owners that they engage in SoMe not just for prospective customers, but to keep a pulse on what their existing base is saying.

In order to use SoMe as a training/refining tool, the owner/individual must pay attention to what people say, engage them, and ask questions. By doing this the business/individual can tap into a much faster system of self-monitoring and thereby adapt and evolve quickly. After all, in business it IS survival of the fittest. You must constantly evolve, refine, and adapt.

Another facet is you can follow strings of messages in other venues (e.g. your competitors facebook, industry specific forums, etc.) and develop a better understanding as well. For freelancers and professionals, this can help them keep ahead of trends instead of always behind them!

I hope that helps clarify….thanks for asking Sean!