FAQ+-+How+do+I+get+started+using+social+media+if+my+time+is+limited?

//By Beth Kanter //

Using social media tools like Twitter or Facebook might feel like just another fire hose of information, but it isn't. Social media tools can help you be efficient in acting with a network mindset and let you easily connect, listen, and share online. The best way to get started is to cultivate a personal habit of using these tools that works for you, but remember keep it simple.

Here are some tips:
 * //Pay yourself first. //Give yourself permission to spend some of your workday investing in your professional development and learning from your networks via social media channels. It isn’t just another task for your to do list. You are investing in your own learning. Practice a "network mindset" every day even if just for 15 minutes — whether it is scanning Twitter or reading a few blog post. The point is to think about this activity as central to your work, not an add on. Jacob C. Harold, program officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, uses Twitter as an easy way to stay informed about grantees’ activities with anecdotal information. He says it can also facilitate informal communications with other people in the grantee organization.
 * //Be selective—choose tools carefully and learn one at a time ////. // Blogs, Twitter, RSS, Facebook, LinkedIn, Wikis — certainly there is no shortage of social media tools to embrace as part of cultivating a networked mindset, but that doesn't mean you need to learn every tool or more than one at a time. Focus on starting with the tool that works best for you, that fits your style and interests and resonates with your network. Not sure where to start? If you want to better understand grantee networks or connect with colleagues, pick the channel that they're using.
 * //Don't go it alone. // As with anything else, learning a new skill or making a habit change is much harder in isolation. Find a colleague, perhaps another person on staff at your foundation or a colleague who is interested in practicing a networked mindset using social media tools and do it together. Or set up a brown bag lunch with three or four colleagues. Invite someone who is very comfortable using these tools and get them to share tips via "shoulder to shoulder" or informal learning. If your foundation does "reading circles," set up one for a how-to book on using Twitter or Facebook and practice those skills together.
 * //Understand the work flow and make it routine. //The biggest challenge isn’t so much learning the tool itself but using it in practice. It is difficult because you have to shift gears from comfortable routine of email and meetings. It’s a shift that at first doesn’t feel comfortable so take it slow. Start with a small daily dose, say 15-30 minutes a day. Also, think about the structure of your workday. When does it make sense to integrate something new? Is it better to start first thing in the morning when you get into the office and there are fewer distractions? Or maybe you want to do it over your lunch hour or toward the end of the day. You know your schedule and self best, but actually schedule it in your calendar.

Understand that in the beginning it is going to feel uncomfortable and possibly take longer to do. But as it becomes habitual, it will feel easier. The general workflow for using social media with a network mindset includes: reading or scanning, asking questions, sharing useful resources, and connecting people in your network. Make sure you're doing some of these tasks every week during your 15-30 minutes of daily practice.