The news? The election? Your twitter feed? Your facebook wall? Your smart phone? Your x amount of friends / acquaintances / family / etc - It’s a cumulative mind fuck lol & you’re not alone - we all go through it. In 2012, there is more noise, more connectivity and more over-communication than EVER. I can’t tell you where to draw the line in YOUR life, but for me, I am constantly doing my best to prioritize the things that are (most) important to me.

When the problem IS the communication, I do my best to control the messages and my environment for how they are received. (ie: no cable, no newspaper home delivery, don’t listen to much radio, etc). In return, I pick and choose more carefully how / when / who / what - a lot less waste lol. Another example, I’m not a phone person - I prefer face-to-face connections whenever possible or email that can be done on my time (with respect to the urgency and importance of it’s contents). This doesn’t always work, but it does keep a lot of the energy vampires away. 

In order to be “well-informed” in the lives of loved ones & what is going on in the general world around us, some stuff just needs to take a back seat. Don’t take on more than you can handle. If you can’t be present, involved and invested in the lives of those that matter most to you, it’s a sign (for starters) that you need to adjust those priorities. Boundaries too. #iDontHaveAllTheAnswers

“We have happily assimilated ourselves to a way of life that provides us with regular and constant distraction.”

I work in an industry where staying on top of my email and occasional check-ins on social media are quite important. Yet, everyday, I carve out time in my day - the hours that I’m known to be most productive in a creative capacity - and I stay far away from social media - even my phone and email. I imagine for artists this window should be left open much longer, but the ultimate point is not to get sucked into the storm of distractions. 

Disconnect, I promise you when you come back, it will all be waiting there for you like you never left. You might even find you don’t need to come back to it at all!

In a recent article featured on HipHopDX, The Company Man discusses viable alternatives to the major label system & a new era in Hip-Hop!

“The Indie Era,” designated FuseTV host, Esteban Serrano: “I think that now more so than ever, Independent Hip Hop is taking the front stage. Maybe it’s because labels can’t get it right. Maybe it’s because they’re fighting with the new technology instead of embracing it…It’s a really different world now, and the indie’s are winning because they can be financially wealthy out of their trunk; out of their crib. They can be doing everything on a big level. The Indie’s are the new majors now.”

The Company Man adds, “Anyone with an Apple product essentially has their own DIY artist starter kit. Record, upload, share, and you too can be Soulja Boy. Rather than strictly terrestrial radio airplay and national television exposure, massive followings are regularly amassed through Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and however Pinterest works.” — More via TCM at HipHopDX

Above is a photo of one of the best marketing tools that Twitter has to offer: twitter.com/search. If you are not currently using this feature, allow me to impress upon you it’s importance and relevance if you are interested in marketing & promoting yourself, your business or a specific product. 

This feature allows you the opportunity to see who is communicating about your product or related products. The ability to see those persons is beneficial because it allows you the opportunity to engage & interact with them. This does NOT mean spam them; I mean a genuine interaction. By building that connection, you are increasing awareness and building trust, which on it’s own could lead to a future conversion.  

In some cases, these may already be customers who are communicating about you or your product, which offers you the opportunity to provide customer service if there is a complaint or retention if the customer enjoyed your product - nothing like a comment saying thank you or RTing their remark. 

Word of mouth/mouse is so important because it means other people are doing part of the work for you - you want followers to be communicating with one another and spreading your message. While it may be impossible to know and interact with every one of your fans/supporters, it’s certainly beneficial to be in a position to do your best to have them in your network & listen to their feedback.

Obviously there are additional benefits, which simply amplify the overall premise of twitter’s social platform, but fine-tune it through the lens of your specific searches, trends and hashtags. Give it a try and see if you don’t see the benefits… 

Are we so connected that we are in danger of being disconnected? Or…with all our Facebook friends, Twitter followers, Tumblrs, Geo-Tracking, and various other social platforms - can we actually see an increase in offline interaction as a result?

Seeing the massive turnout for #OWS, it was more clear than ever the internet’s ability to spread a shared-message and create a movement of people that converge in physical (offline) locations. 

If our biological nature is to be connected to a tribe, then an individual existence online craves more than that online connection.

It’s not too late to be a leader & find ways to connect people - even offline … in fact, now could be the best time…