Can We Have a Year of Being Human? Please?
Automation is a wonderful thing in communication if it is used well. There is probably no right or wrong way to use it, but I do find myself constantly irritated by people who seem to think life is all about numbers: how much you’ve got; how many followers or friends; how many times etc. It’s about quality not quantity. Anyway, if you were to walk down a street in any city asking people if you could be their friend, or if you obsessively follow people around, you are probably in for a good smacking. So why is online different?
Social media trainers. Where did they all come from? How did they acquire their skills? Where were they trained? I have been on a couple of social media courses and picked up a couple of useful tips from each, but really it’s only one person’s common sense rubbing off on another. It really isn’t rocket science. I really hate to explode the myth, but none of this stuff is! Ultimately it is always useful to take a range of views other than your own, but only you know what things drive your business, your art, your sport, or your person. It’s your show, and how you sell it is entirely up to you.
Just as one trend peters out, a new trend takes its place. So to be on top of everything all of the time would require skills we don’t possess and more than a humungous slice of luck. We should all set our sights high, but let’s keep things real. I am forever dumping Twitter followers who have clearly just learned about the existence of social media management platforms like Hootesuite. You can spot them a mile off, either because of multiple messages all timed at exactly the same time or miliseconds apart, or because their comments are out of synch, or because they repeat things in a way that seems robotic.
We are not robots. “Are we not men?” We are human! In spite of the occasional irritation, I have found Twitter especially to be a good platform to support my music. Without Twitter, I would not have met up with Ralph from Cherry White and Akara Etteh in a vegan café in Pimlico, Matt Steady would not have played on the Dry The Life EP, I would not have connected with Adam Broadhurst from Under A Banner, I would not be looking forward to welcoming Kristen and Matthew from Nova Scotia (The Lewinskies) to perform at a festival over here in May, and I would not have persuaded my accountant that he should not charge me ANY fees for 2013 – it’s a long story.
Matt and his family joined us on the Moorscape walk last April, and he very kindly played live with me and Jad at The Fuse on 30th November. Matt has also recorded with my son Duncan. He is also about to treat my daughter Jenny and her partner Phiz to a day of stick-fighting down in Leicestershire because he is a world champion stick fighter. I am hoping either to record or occasionally play live or both with some of the others. So social media has largely provided a very positive experience, apart from the fact that it also facilitates saturation usage, and worse Auto-Replies!!
I have never liked ‘Out of Office’ message replies to my emails, not least because many who use them also forget to disable them. Some seem therefore to be permanently on a beach in Antigua. Perhaps they really are? Then there are the auto replies you get especially on Twitter that might as well just say “Hi. We don’t know you at all, but here is everything we do and everywhere it’s available, and we want you to listen and buy it right now but that doesn’t necessarily mean we are going to follow you back, because actually we just want your money”. I generally reply to say I am not a fan of auto replies and that has led to some nice messages from real human beings. At the end of it all, people interact best with other people, and it will be an absolute joy to have a group of us in the same space playing the same stage in May.
DRY THE LIFE is now available at https://johnreed.bandcamp.com/album/dry-the-life-ep and will shortly be uploaded to iTunes, AmazonMusic, GooglePlay, Shazam, Deezer, and Rdio
Let’s make 2017 the year of the human, whatever Trump, May and co chuck at us! Meanwhile, check these artists out when you have a few spare minutes:
Akara Etteh: @akaraett https://www.facebook.com/AkaraTheMusic/?fref=ts
Cherry White: @cherrywhitegigs https://www.facebook.com/cherrywhitemusic/?fref=ts
Matt Steady: @MattStoicSteady https://www.facebook.com/groups/BloodIsThickerThanGold/
Under A Banner: @underabanner https://www.facebook.com/groups/1867273550168765/
The Lewinskies: @thelewinskies2 http://www.thelewinskies.com