12 Most Important Reasons To Love Social Media

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I actually have so many reasons to love social media, that I couldn’t possibly list them all. Everyday there is a new reason on the list…someone new, something new…I really do love social media because it lines up with my vision of endless possibilities and because of these 12 most important reasons:

1. ANYthing is possible

You can have lunch with people you don’t “know”, in a town you’ve never been to, at a restaurant you heard about online. Don’t believe me? Just ask Phil Gerbyshak, Rob Strzelczyk, Jim Raffel, and Joe Sorge. I sent a tweet saying I’m coming to Milwaukee who wants to have lunch and the next thing you know I was at AJ Bombers having lunch with new friends and laughing about being a BadAss…which isn’t what you think.

2. Social Good

Support your causes however you want. Join up with like minded people to make a difference in your community and in your world. Decide how to be involved – do something as simple as clicking a “like” or “share” button, start a new group, identify a new cause…you are only limited by yourself.

3. Social media is a great source of inspiration

I have been inspired because of people that I have “met” via social media to become a living organ donor (Pamela is trying to help her brother find a kidney…I could only imagine if that was my brother), to donate to causes, to fight homelessness (because Mark Horvath made the invisible, visible) and to support others (no one does this better than Margie Clayman).

4. Tweetchats

Tweetchats are discussions about a topic or specific set of questions. They are great because people engage, exchange, share and evolve. It is a great way to explore new topics and meet new people. Many are held weekly (some of my favorites: LeadershipChat 8pm ET Tues., CustServ 9pm ET Tues., BrandChat 11am ET Wed., SMChat 1pm ET Wed., Kaizenblog 12pm ET Fri. and BlogChat 9pm ET Sun.) and some are held monthly…like the SOBCon chat that I co-moderate with Heidi Thorne. (3rd Thurs. of the month at 1pm ET)

5. There is always someone who can answer your question

No matter what the topic and no matter what time it is…Kind of like the reverse of the saying, “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere.” Maybe the social media phrase should be, “It’s before 5 o’clock somewhere.”

6. You absolutely get out of it, what you put into it

Social media is not magic, but it can feel magical at times. I remember participating in a chat and thinking, “I hope someday I can host a chat” and then Liz Strauss and Terry St. Marie offered me that exact opportunity. I never said a word about wanting to, it just happened.

7. News

I will never forget seeing the tweets coming through about Japan’s earthquake and tsunami. Even though it was really late at night, seeing the tweets come through caused me to turn on my TV and seek information about what was happening. With the subsequent tsunami warnings for Hawaii and California, I alerted my contacts via social media to make sure they were prepared and safe.

8. You can make new friends

Yes, FRIENDS, I can be your friend even if I have never seen you in person. I certainly know that I have friends that support me, encourage me and interact with me even though we have never met face-to-face. I’ve also made connections via social media and then met people face-to-face at conferences or events. It is a great way to broaden your circles (not just the Google+ kind). Note: If you think it’s not possible to make real friends via social media, can I have your share?

9. You can learn new things

Possibilities are endless for what you can learn about via social media. You can find someone who is willing to share, help, teach, encourage on topics from cooking to coding 24/7. All you have to do is reach out and look/ask.

10. Opportunities and Winning

You can receive opportunities that you might not have had otherwise. For example, I was able to drive a brand new Chevy Traverse for a week thanks to Connie Burke and Driving the Midwest – it was so cool! Also, I’ve won free coffee from @wearefullcircle and a great book from Hank Wasniak.

11. Ability to choose

Social media is a choice. Choose how you see it, choose what to do with it, choose how involved you want to be. Create the connections you want to whatever you want to connect to – people, ideas, causes…you choose.

12. It erases barriers

Geographical, language, skin color, sex, nationality, sexual orientation, physical disabilities…some people think that it allows people to lie about who they are. I think the greater power is that it allows you to be who you are and to connect with other people…no need for illusions. My favorite thing about social media.

What about you? Do you love it? If I missed any of your reasons, please feel free to add them!

Featured image courtesy of susivinh licensed via creative commons.

Amber Cleveland

Amber Cleveland’s tenacious entrepreneurial spirit and desire to help is channeled into creating success for others. Amber has expertise in public relations, marketing strategy, personal development and operations. She is a visionary who designs tailored business solutions.