What's Wrong With Social Networking

Yesterday I went to the supermarket, I was standing next to the fresh veg deciding whether to have broccoli or cabbage with my dinner. Next to me was a guy I had just seen a few minutes earlier at the newspaper stand. This guy came up to me, he didn't introduce himself but he had a name badge on that said TOM-£100K-in-2Days.

"Hi, thanks for following me" he said(I didn't realise I had - I thought it was just coincidence) "let me help replace your income in 10 days just like I did". He thrust his email address into my hand and walked off to speak to someone else.

How strange I thought. I decided cabbage was better than broccoli and off I went.

Whilst choosing some wine a young lady with a very pretty face dressed in a bikini approached me. "get 19,634 followers in 3 days" and then said something about a tiny url??? - cheeky!! But the strange thing was this very pretty lady was actually a man. Whatever he was doing seemed to work because lots of guys were following him around the shop.

Then I woke up and realised I was caught in a twitterland nightmare where people started acting in real life like they do online.

No one would consider doing anything like that for real. No one has ever come up to me and offered to replace my income in 10 days - never.

Sometimes friends have shared with me investment tips or programmes that worked for them and suggested I had a look and decide whether it is for me. Sometimes I have taken the investment they suggest, I have got involved in a programme they have suggested. I will have done my research and due diligence.

The biggest factor in deciding whether to commit to it has been not the suggested quality of the programme but the quality of the person suggesting it. If this is a friend who I like, admire and respect then I am more likely to get involved than if it is someone I know but don't respect. If it is someone I don't know it is unlikely I will even take the first step but if I do I will use extra caution.

So why is it any different in social media? Why do people think that sending someone a message offering them easy money will entice people into their programme?

I believe that you will put more people off by making something sound too easy than by making it sound like hard work. Which appeals most? - "Make £10,000 a week doing nothing but replying to this with £100" or "I am looking to work with 3 people who are prepared to work hard, invest £100 and within 12 months be earning £3000 per month?"

The first sounds too good to be true and as my dad always says - "if it sounds too good to be true it probably is"

If you make it sound too easy who are you going to attract? People who want something for nothing, who aren't prepared to work - do you really want that sort of person in your team?

Why do some people on Twitter think that in 140 characters or less they will convince me to get involved with their get rich idea?

Social media is about building relationships, I have helped people start their own business via social media. Some I have met face to face, some I have spoken to on the phone and some I have just corresponded by email but all of them took some time to get to know, for me to be sure they were right for me and for them to be sure I was right for them. Hmmmmm bit like life really huh?

I truly believe social media - Facebook, Twitter etc are good ways to meet people. I believe in them 100% if used properly. Sadly like the guy who's message I got first thing this morning a lot of people use them wrongly and give it a bad name.