Personas of Social Media

It's Monday. Everyone must have done something exciting, sad, embarrassing, or fun this weekend. So, it's time to share that with your "network", right?

Let's take a step back. What is the first website you launch when you get to work in the morning? If you don't sit at a desk all day or it's Saturday, what do you open first when you wake up? I am not one to judge, but I think the majority of my network will answer Facebook. For me, it's not #1, but it's undoubtedly within the first minute. 

1. Work email
2. Work IM
3. Gmail
4. Fantasy everything
5. ESPN
6. Facebook
7. Twitter
8. Google+
9. Barstool 

In that order. Every single day. Then I'm ready to go. I don't know everything, but I'm pretty sure Facebook sneaks towards the top on that list for 90% of my network (maybe ahead of work email) and I'm curious as to what else is on your list.

Social media surrounds us and has revolutionalized the world in the past 5-7 years. The impact it has on our lives, our relationships, and our families is insane. Don't get me wrong, I love it more than the next guy, but my question today is: do you have a method to your social media madness, aka posting, commenting, uploading? Do you only comment here, post pictures here, and share certain information here? If so, where is that? 

What I have done in this post is lay the framework for a few different social media personas and I want to hear your thoughts on where you fall. 

Here is my quick list (to be updated/tweaked as necessary):

1) Tweeter. A Tweeter could vary in their social media age, status, and existence. They could also be a professional athlete, movie star, or senior level marketing type promoting a product. Nevertheless, the Twitter platform of 140 characters or less is their #1 source of social media for both news and posting. This person may not care to share absolutely everything personal to them with their network and may have minimal interest in what their high school sweetheart or 8th cousin did Friday night. They have the information they want and know what's going on in the world first. Another classic Tweeter sees the main objective of social media being to drive revenue for their company or self promote themselves to gain mind share. Tweeter wants to put out and receive information that is influential to their life quickly and simply without the BS of comments, likes, and Zynga games. 

2) Bookie. The Bookie is someone who loves and may even be addicted to all things Facebook. This guy posts any and everything on FB. They check in on FB. They refresh FB on their smartphone every time they turn it on. They send/receive FB messages. They are FB chatting (do people do that?). The plethora of Facebook is them. You know this person, you love this person. Bookie is not going anywhere and is social and fun with lots of friends and pictures and knows basically everything about you and me because when you post a picture, they see it within minutes, and are looking through the rest of our pics and showing their Bookie friend seated next to them. The Bookie wants you to know what he is doing and he really cares about what you are doing (either sincerely or superficially). Love it or hate it, we've all been a Bookie at one point and have some Bookie in us.

3) Trendy (think this needs a new name?). Trendy only uses the newest, hippest (I said hip) social media trend. She was the first one on Facebook, loves Pete Cashmere and Mashable.com, Tweeted before Ochocinqo, experimented with Buzz and Google+, but didn't stick with it because it's not gaining the hype, and is usually posting things about or in relation to social media trends. Trendy has a blog and thinks maybe she can be the next Zuckerberg after watching The Social Network 20+ times. Her posts are usually not about breaking up with her boyfriend or getting drunk at the tailgate, but she is visible and likes to be seen.

4) Moody. Moody spreads themselves evenly among the various social media choices depending on what kind of mood and situation they are in. They post on Facebook because it's the fun outlet and everyone else does. They tweet because it may or may not take over the world some day. They check in on Foursquare because it's more selective than Facebook with a chance at a free bowling game or appetizer. They upload to Google+ because it's more clean and not ruined by all things Facebook. Moody enjoys social media, but also some sort of privacy. Moody is all about the sharing and receiving information, but does not have loyalty to one site or another.

5) Finn. Finn does not do, care, or even think about social media. Occasionally, Finn checks it on his girlfriend's computer or phone, but in the end, lives life and is happy without anyone knowing about it or knowing what you did last summer. Finn is the guy who didn't save high school yearbooks, has about 20 actual photographs of themselves, and does not know the name or occupation of more than 10 people they went to college with. This title may even be in reference to someone I know, but there is 0% chance he will get mad at me because the thought of a Finn reading a blog is impossible. 

Pretty safe to say that I am a Moody and I'm happy being just that. As a matter of fact, the top of my Chrome screen right now is Gmail, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, MFL (Marsh Fantasy League), and Blogger ... in that order. So far today, I have tweeted, spent time stalking on Facebook but not posting, checked in on Foursquare, uploaded a picture to Google+ of Nat and my seats at the Bruins last Thursday (see right), and here I am blogging. To be honest, I have no rhyme or reason to why I didn't check in on FB, or why I posted this pic to Google+ and not Facebook, it just felt right. I found it hard to argue that I'm anything else but a Moody and actually believe most people may be right with me. 

As a second matter of fact, I'm going to go post this blog link on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ right now.

Where do you stand?? What about LinkedIn? Is that a social network? Do you connect with friends on LinkedIn or just use it for networking?

I embrace the argument that you could fall into multiple categories above, but like with all things in life, you need to make a decision ... and tell me why. Actually, feel free to comment with just your list of order of websites opened every day, because I think that will be very interesting.

As always, arguments/additions to my personas is more than welcome. Actually, I am not calling these final because I want to make them better ... this is my quick first draft. Also, not sold on the persona names.

Have a great week, kids.

Marshy