I encourage you to comment on social, or send a DM– with one caveat.
When I began my first company in 2011/2012, Instagram hadn’t even celebrated its first birthday. Now, it shapes so much of what we do in business, and for the sake of community-building, I suggest you ACTUALLY connect there.
Instagram used to be a place to share photos (RIP), just be ourselves (not a performance of self) and explore what (and who) was out there.
Now, many are just producing for the algorithm and forgetting about humans all together.
We can (thankfully) automate posts. I find that to be a useful and important innovation. I want to spend more time offline than on, and using third party apps to post is an amazing way to take back your time, and disengage from the analytics (even if it’s just in the moment). In business, analytics matter. But the immediate dopamine hits actually create more havoc than good in business.
In a space that touts sisterhood (the women’s small business world) I find that to be more rhetoric than reality. I won’t touch on it deeply here because it warrants a full post and input from people other than just me, but there are communities of women I find to be truly connected.
But this is a bigger, more structural issue. I recently listened to a really informative podcast on the lack of community and connection in the world of remote work. I found very similar echoes to the self employment world. It makes sense. We interact mostly online. We’re often exhausted from being online. We’re performing to keep our jobs and clients.
My suggestion? If it’s at all possible practice presence, instead of performing it. ACTUALLY READ something someone has written instead of skimming and adding something generic. Narrow your circle down so it’s less overwhelming. Contribute true, thoughtful, kind communication to another human. Send a DM even.
In a space where most of us feel as though we’re screaming into the void, your voice will have a reverberating effect.
Tips for thoughtful communication online–
Keep your circle smaller
Set aside time just for reading, interaction and commenting.
Comments often mean more than likes (to business and to actual humans)
Give to give, connect to connect. Don’t do it so that you’ll get a follow. Do it because you’re a human who is being generous and thoughtful.
Switch to your computer. It’s often easier to write responses to people from a desktop and then you can put your phone down, too.