Back to the yesteryear's
Remember what you did 10 years ago today? No, I wouldn't guess so. Well for me this day 10 years ago I bought my second domain and started blogging. I can't really remember why but it seemed like a good idea at the time as I just started out about 6 months earlier in Socialmedia by opening an Facebook account. And on that note, couple of months earlier I had started to use Jaiku (Microblogging like Twitter but better) and now om Monday I got my first Twitter account also (@Cityrat59) Not all people understod what good it could be, and I had to defend my point of everything I was doing in the beginning but later on many of those who heckled me also joined as our social world grow online. My first blogg was, and still sits there at Sporring.se I also started blogging about my Nokia N95 (N95expert.vox.com) that was the opener to my online activities and also got me friends all over the World. Many of those friends I still have contact with and a lot of them I have met during the years.
The social me
I have always been a very social and outgoing person, well at least after my 20th birthday, before that I was more of nerd and a lonely guy. But that changed when I started to perform Swedish folkmusic on my violin, I see that as my first phase of development. Music lead me to engaged with people both with music and with stories from both my own background and with stories of the music I was playing. Some of the friendships built during those intense and enchanted years still remains, but sadly most of them are lost. And I don't perform or even play my violin anymore due to the fact i hurt my shoulders 15 years ago. But that was the start of my reaching out to other people than the once in my closest circle of friends. I guess I have my father to thank for being a roll-model in how to interact and socialize, he was a Priest and he could talk to anybody on practically any subject. And he was a great 'performer' that really reached out to his parishioners when he preached. So you can say he was my idol in this, and many more things of course. So starting with socialmedia was only like and extension to my Social me in the 'real' world.
The first years
The first years was really intense and i had more than 1000 Lunches and 'Fika' with my online friends, and at the same time my online brand grow with a crazy rate. I was also invited to blog at a couple of conferences in socialmedia and branding. I also guestblogged at other bloggers and brands blogs a couple of times. I was also part of the team working with socialmedias for one of our political parties before the election 2010. My work was to provide guides and do both online and go out in the Swedish countryside to teach the electies and election workers what to do and not in Socialmedia. And i also started to consult for small business and companies and helping them start up their online presences. I also started an nonprofit organisation with 2 twitter friends called Concertsforchange We had 6 events during 3 years and we mostly supported Doctors without borders. It was great to combine my music me and my social me, but in the end my fiends Renee and Johan got to much to do and it was only me left to continue so I had to let it go. But, I still now and then think about taking it up again and do events, who knows what the future holds?
Of course there was more things I did and experienced during those years, and that had significant impact on me and my future.
The later years
The past years my activities has slowed down and I'm not that active any longer, I worked for two years at our local library here and helped them with new media and technology. It was a great job, and i had good use of my social skills there too. I can see myself working at a library again some day. During those years I also developed my skills as a Photographer and Photographed more than 12 events during that time, i still love photography and I will continue develop my skills in that area. Because being the creative personality I am I always want to express myself in various media. If its not music or writing, let it be photography. And as I writer I was during thes years a member of the editorial temas on Socialmediaclub and Afrope.
Lessons I learnt
Maybe you think it's been all roses and bliss during this 10 years, well think again. All social interactions, regardless if it is online or 'In real life' involves relationships with other people, and with them their agendas. So it's bound to be conflicts now and then, and of course i have had those too. But in a sense i have been lucky and haven't had so much of those, or maybe I am a too good diplomat (My father said I was the diplomat in the family) to know when to back of and not to engage. But, yes there has been incidents and two occasions that was really ugly, bit that is now, as the say, water under the bridge.
Sharing is caring - Well this only works when people don't take advantage of your shares and profit from it. So yes, today I' slightly more skeptical to that concept. But in princip I'm all for it.
Some things are best kept private - And so i do now. But i was once and very open person and shared both high and low in Socialmedia. Now all is in moderation, and I also have a clearer view of what to share. I try not to be a political person, but being 'me' some of that shines through anyway. But on that note, I'm not sure how to vote in the upcoming election this fall.
Honesty is a virtue - And the people that are true to that, the're still my friends. I have a close circle of friends that I cherish and nurture and those people I can trust with my life. And they know that they can trust their lives with me. As it should be.
Evernote - For me Evernote has been a gamechanger on so many levels ( kind of like and Swissarmyknife). It's my Goto app for storing documents, writing blogposts (and blogging them on my Postachio blog), clip articles online. Jot down ideas, in Evernote or in an Evernote moleskin notebook., or in any other notebook. I archive all my online activities, and my sms dialogs too. everything searchable form an app on my phone, Ipad or online. I scan all documents, bills and businesscards so i don't loose any information. And I'm also an certified ECC (Evernote Certified Consultant) One of five residing in Sweden. I'm also responsible for the Swedish evernote group on Facebook.
Summarizing
It's crazy how much people i have met during this years, I've decided not to mention anyone (oh, yes my partners in crime in C4C), the list would be too long i think. But I'm grateful to each and everyone of you for sharing this ride with me, it's (mostly) been a pleasure and joy to have you with me. Now we go for the next 10 years and see what happens during that time. For me I turn 60 years next year and my plan is to celebrate that by run a Marathon, so this year I try to run as often I can and train my body for it.
I'm also in process of writing a book, not about social media but with my personal take on relationships, I know it will be published once it's finished so look out for it in the bookshelfs in a not to distant future.
Blessings and thanks to all of you that helped me, supported me, and been my partners in crime in so many different endeavors.
I hope that we can continue to be there for each other in some way or another. And lastly I thank Social media for disrupting the way that I think, and many with me.
