I’ve always been fascinated by how people use social networks to get attention and build awareness. Although I’ve been part of the “social web” since 2006 (when I created my first MySpace profile), I never really “got” social networking; especially the concept of taking something viral. As a musician, I understood that I needed the Web nowadays to make a name for myself, but I never understood how, nor did I realize how much time and effort went into making that possible. I’ve bought books on how to build a community, get traffic and engaging people to interact, but I still didn’t really understand the whole process. Until now I’ve followed the “Field Of Dreams” philosophy of “If you build it, they will come”, which I now realize does not work when it comes to spreading the word via social networking.

That became apparent to me as I announced on Facebook this past week that my mother was having heart surgery. The response to my announcement was huge and almost immediate. Dozens of my friends and family on Facebook contacted me immediately via email and Skype, some even contacted mom via telephone before and after her surgery (she’s doing fine, by the way). The outpouring of love and support taught me a simple valuable lesson in how to get the word out, a lesson that I will try to apply to my marketing efforts more in the coming weeks: don’t sell, share.

I’ve been feverishly trying to promote my new album online via Facebook, Myspace (surprisingly, some people still use Myspace), Twitter, LinkedIn and ReverbNation with some initial success, but I’ve noticed that it’s only when I passively talk about my album do I get the heaviest responses. In all my research on social networking it’s stated that the more you try to actively bombard someone with information, the more likely they will be turned off by it, so I’m slowly learning to be more interactive in my marketing. Ironically, it’s the same tactic I use on stage to engage the audience. Does this mean I have to approach social networking like a gig? Maybe. I’ll let you know how it all plays out in the coming weeks.

How and why do you use social networking tools like Facebook, Twitter, etc. Leave a comment!

- If they’re hunched over while flicking with their left or right index finger in different directions, or sporadically rocking from side to side or forwards and backwards, they’re more than likely iPhone users.

- If they’re hunched over working their thumbs in a twiddling motion as though practicing for a thumb-wrestling match, they’re likely Blackberry users.

- If they’re hunched over constantly rotating their phones from the upright to the sideways position, they’re likely Android or Symbian users.

- If they’re hunched over constantly reaching for the power button, they’re likely Windows Mobile users.

Now, keep in mind that I didn’t specifically mention the brand of smartphone hardware (given that only iPhones use the iPhone OS and Blackberries use the Blackberry OS, it made no sense to try and differentiate between Nokia, Samsung, LG and Sony-Ericsson devices); these traits are specific to the operating systems of the different brands, according to my observations. Now, before I’m accused of being an iPhone fanboy (which I am, admittedly and quite proudly), also keep in mind that I have tried all of the above mentioned gadgets out in various cell phone shops before and after I got my smartphone of choice, and not all of my smartphone owning friends have iPhones, so my own experiences do somewhat come into play regarding my observations. My point is not about preferring one gadget over another.

The much larger point is about the sometimes total lack of acknowledgement that other human beings exist when these gadgets are in use; if “normal” mobile phone users are bad personal communicators, smartphone users are much worse. I’ve witnessed accidents on both busy and not-so-busy sidewalks involving people bumping into each other head on while typing on their Blackberries; arguments breaking out on trains between PlayStation Portable and iPhone users regarding which device has the better games; Windows Mobile users become loud, agitated and downright violent while dealing with the slow user interfaces and crashes of their gadgets. I’ve been involved in demonstrations of my phone’s capabilities and program comparisons with other iPhone users, which is fun and interesting on the one hand; not so cool however, when having such exchanges in an expensive restaurant filled with people who just want to enjoy their meals. Nothing, though, has quite matched up to the time I witnessed a group of about six or seven smartphone users sending text messages to each other, all standing in the same room.

I myself have been involved in numerous debates over the merits of one smartphone over the other, the latest of which actually made me pause and think about how dependent on gadgets our lives have become. Does technology really make our lives easier? I guess the answer to that now age-old question is definitely sort of. On the one hand, things like smartphones, laptops, Facebook, Twitter, etc. have allowed us to increase our ability to not only communicate with the world outside of our own little boxes, but to do so extremely quickly, from anywhere. Your life can really be in your pocket, which is on the other hand one of the serious drawbacks to faster, smaller, easier technology. Sometimes a good book or a walk in the park is far more entertaining than fiddling around in Facebook with my phone.

In any case, I look forward to a quiet, relaxing evening with family, just as soon as I upload this post, water my virtual iPhone plants and feed my virtual iPhone fish.