{"id":2577,"date":"2013-06-12T09:23:44","date_gmt":"2013-06-12T09:23:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spontaneousdevelopment.com\/sdnuggets\/?p=2577"},"modified":"2013-06-12T18:46:26","modified_gmt":"2013-06-12T18:46:26","slug":"appreciate-your-good-social-media-friends-more-2-reasons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/appreciate-your-good-social-media-friends-more-2-reasons\/","title":{"rendered":"Appreciate Your \"Good\" Social Media \"Friends\" MORE! (2 Reasons)"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this piece, I pay tribute to my good \u201cfriends\u201d on social media. I don\u2019t care what critics say. For me, social media - when not abused \u2013 enriches lives. It certainly has mine. Through Facebook and Twitter in particular, I\u2019ve discovered great PEOPLE<\/strong>, from whom I\u2019ve accessed MORE amazing ideas, perspectives, knowledge and insights - than I could ever have outside of it.<\/p>\n

Below, I discuss two specific life-changing benefits we often get from good \u201cfriends\u201d on social media that we may sometimes (wrongly) take for granted.<\/p>\n

1. Inspiration or Ideas When Most Needed<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For me, it\u2019s often been mainly on Facebook, and Twitter \u2013 in that order.<\/p>\n

Sometimes I\u2019ve come online wondering what topic to write on for my next article. Then I see a quote shared by a friend, and suddenly the light bulb comes on in my head.<\/p>\n

I have a new topic - and I know exactly what to say in it!<\/em><\/p>\n

Less than one hour later, my article is ready. Sometimes I put it online within a day or two.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/strong> Yesterday, my facebook friend \u201cFrank Emy Ejike\u201d shared this wonderful quote<\/a> about making excuses (see screenshot below) that instantly got my creative writing juices flowing:<\/p>\n

\"Yesterday,<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m already using that theme for a new piece I\u2019m writing. And it\u2019s likely to publish this week.<\/p>\n

Like I said at the start of this piece, it's not just Facebook. Many tweets by \"friends\" have also proved quite useful to me.<\/h3>\n

For instance, late last month I came across the following quote (tweeted by @KarenKeller<\/a>, and re-tweeted by Lia Han<\/a> @bemycareercoach<\/a>): <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLife has two rules: (1).<\/strong> Never Quit. (2). <\/strong>Always Remember rule No. 1<\/strong>.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

And it fit perfectly into Issue 90 of my speaking IDEAS newsletter<\/a> - under the sub-section titled \"Scientists Perform Miracles Because They Refuse to Give Up On Us:<\/span> But We Take Them for Granted!<\/strong>\"<\/p>\n

I've also been blessed by \"friends\" who share, when I\u2019m not feeling too happy (everybody has low moments). <\/strong><\/h3>\n

A casual review of my news feeds has often led me to discover powerful words of inspiration.<\/p>\n

Sometimes it\u2019s not just me that benefits.<\/p>\n

Other people in my life sometimes need a word or two to lift them up. <\/em>But it can be difficult to come up with just the right things to say to achieve that effect with them.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why being connected with the right people on social media can be a good thing. Quite often, someone will share something \u2013 a quote, or better still a story or lesson, that perfectly meets your need.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s one example: <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ruth Ann Newton-Lightbourne shared a motivational picture on her Facebook wall yesterday (Saturday 8th June 2013)<\/a> - about the value of a true friend who stands by you, even when many others do not.<\/p>\n

The powerful message in it was what actually triggered my decision to write THIS article (see screenshot below<\/strong>):<\/p>\n

\"Ruth<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

My experiences in the past one year \u2013 and especially these past 2 months settling down in a new country, made this message resonate so powerfully with me.<\/p>\n

2. Thoughts\/Insights\/Interaction That Make Us Smarter & Wiser<\/strong><\/h3>\n

There is one facebook friend I have who seems to have a gift for doing all I describe in this article - and without making a fuss too.<\/p>\n

Michael Newman<\/a> (a full blooded Nigerian, based in Lagos \u2013 last time I checked) periodically churns out an amazing series of powerful quotes, mixed with personal musings of his own.<\/p>\n

Sometimes he also initiates discussions that generate healthy interaction amongst friends. <\/em><\/p>\n

We all have our strengths. And Michael uses his to great effect.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the process he often adds value to others when he\u2019s online.<\/p>\n

What a way to make an impact!<\/strong><\/h3>\n

One example: <\/strong>I have no idea what got into him on 11th of April 2013, but whatever it was, I\u2019m glad it did.<\/p>\n

Michael wrote a post that was truly inspired. His words were so deeply perceptive, and they resonated so strongly with me \u2013 that I felt compelled to make a lengthy contribution. See screenshot below<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/a><\/p>\n

Another person who offers thought provoking posts is Camillus Egeni (he\u2019s based in the US)<\/strong>. Just yesterday, he wrote one that stressed the need for us<\/strong> to act with consideration for other people\u2019s feelings<\/a>. In other words, the need to be emotionally intelligent in our interactions (see below):<\/p>\n

\"Facebook<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Final Words<\/strong><\/p>\n

All those messages shared by my \"friends\" took only a few seconds to share. But they will have touched many lives in unique ways. Many times what good \u201cfriends\u201d share is not even authored by them. So it\u2019s rarely a case of them wanting to look good.<\/p>\n

Quite often, they share insights from great people that others may not have ready access to. That\u2019s why sharing is so great. And it\u2019s what truly GOOD \"friends\" do!<\/p>\n

Just in case you\u2019re wondering\u2026<\/strong>these guys have no idea I've written about them.<\/h3>\n

With the exception of Newman who I met just once, about 8 years ago, I\u2019ve never met any of the other \u201cfriends\u201d I\u2019ve mentioned. I do no business with them, and seek no recognition from them in any way.<\/p>\n

In fact, except YOU (yes, YOU reading this piece right now) tell them about it, they will probably never know I\u2019ve written about them in this article (I won\u2019t be telling them).<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve written this mainly because I\u2019m truly grateful to have access to such good people via social media, and want others to appreciate their own \"friends<\/strong>\" more,<\/strong> as well. <\/em><\/p>\n

I ALREADY <\/strong>show my appreciation to mine, by clicking LIKE<\/strong> on their posts, and\/or commenting where useful \u2013 even if just to say \u201cI agree or thanks for sharing<\/strong>.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Without the convenience of social media, the effort required to achieve and maintain similar depths of connection<\/strong>, would be too great for most of us to sustain.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why I see social media, despite its shortcomings, as a great blessing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this piece, I pay tribute to my good \u201cfriends\u201d on social media. I don\u2019t care what critics say. For me, social media - when not abused \u2013 enriches lives. It certainly has mine. Through Facebook and Twitter in particular, I\u2019ve discovered great PEOPLE, from whom I\u2019ve accessed MORE amazing ideas, perspectives, knowledge and insights […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,10],"tags":[461,462],"class_list":["post-2577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-my-dn-travel-news","category-self-development","tag-appreciate-your-good-social-media-friends","tag-the-benefits-and-blessings-of-social-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"views":1216,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2577"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2580,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577\/revisions\/2580"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/tayosolagbade.com\/sdnuggets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}