Thursday, November 29, 2007

Social Media - An Opportunity for the Introvert

There's a huge opportunity lying out there for introverts, waiting to be seized and used to your fullest advantage.

I've been wanting to blog about introversion for awhile now, but I wasn't sure what I could add to the conversation. There are a few websites and discussion boards out there that either focus on introversion or else reference it periodically. I just wasn't sure if I could add much to the discuission

Now I think I see an opportunity to connect two topics that interest me: introversion and social media.

I was inspired by a recent blog post at Every Dot Connects. The author wrote a short post that asks whether social media favors the extrovert or the introvert. There were a number of great comments about the article. There were a number of opinions expressed on the topic - it was a good conversation. Wish I'd seen it sooner!

I think that social media and the Web can level the playing field for introverts. I think it's an awesome opportunity.

I think I've found my focus!

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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I wonder if success in making connections can lead to being more confident and extroverted in the real world as well. You would still have your preference as to whether you prefer to be around people or not, of course, but if you have problems with shyness or lack of confidence, I wonder what effect that would have.

Mark Dykeman said...

@ Fiar - excellent point. Maybe working with social media can help build an introvert's confidence, or comfort level, with dealing with other people. Just remember, though, that introversion isn't the same as shyness. Introversion typically means that you can handle social contact for awhile, but then you need time to recharge your batteries on your own.

mariam said...

Excellent comment, Mark.

I'm an introvert but I can turn on the charm when need be. I just need to recharge where extroverts get more energized by the attention.

However, I still struggle with asking for favors or approaching big bloggers. Having guts is huge in the SM game.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I realize that introversion is, like Mariam said, being around people is draining as opposed to energizing, plus a handful of other innate qualities. It does seem, though, that there could be a correlation between being an introvert and shyness, or to put it better, being an introvert may increase a disposition toward shyness.

Then, maybe I'm just projecting, as an introvert, and someone who used to be painfully shy.

Mark Dykeman said...

@ mariam - hello! Asking for favors must be done carefully, particularly if the big blogger doesn't know who you are. ProBlogger.Net had a great post on pitching to a blogger:

http://www.problogger.net/archives/2007/10/30/how-to-pitch-to-bloggers-21-tips/

@ Fiar - no doubt that introversion and shyness can go hand in hand; it's just that one doesn't necessary require the other


Interest conversation, guys. Would either of you be interesting in writing a post for this blog?

Barbara Doduk said...

I am a flipflop. I prefer keep to myself, but I like being out and enjoying events. I can talk away to anyone, but don't need to, or really want to, just can do. Most of the time I think I keep to myself, always been a loner, but mainly because generally other people annoy me. HAHAHA Does any of that even make sense?

Mark Dykeman said...

@ barbara - it kind of makes sense. Your personality might be at the borderline of introversion and extroversion. Have you ever taken the Myers Briggs Type Indicator test?