THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY WAS PUBLISHED IN 2014.  BUT I THINK IT IS STILL VERY RELEVANT TODAY.

I am in the “internet industry (www.gawebservices.com)”, and therefore, I often embrace new trends and technologies rather quickly.    Sometimes this helps me better service my customers, sometimes, I get burned!

The Iphone was an example of getting burned.   Yes, I stood in line when the Iphone first came out and purchased one of the first.   But AT&T does NOT work well in Hawkinsville so the experience was not good.   Plus, all my friends and family were on Verizon, so my cell phone bill went through the roof!   (Now that the Iphone is on Verizon – I have come back.)

With Facebook, I fought it.   I have enough to do each day without being sucked into the mesmerizing facebook.    I finally decided I wanted to look up Kenny Reach, my college roommate, so I got on facebook.    I connected with Kenny in about 30 minutes – awesome!    But yes, I have become addicted to Facebook.    I love keeping up with family and friends and learning so much more about mere acquaintances  than ever before.   There are people now that I really really like, that honestly, I have probably never had a full 10 minute conversation with before.  Facebook is now an integral part of my business and we daily help our clients master this beast!

But Twitter was my hold out.  I kept saying, that I did not want to share with the world what I was doing every 5 minutes of the day.    But I really had it backwards.    I thought Twitter was supposed to be about ME.   But Twitter truly became alive and relevant for me when I realized Twitter was about others!   (Alot like life……).

You see, once I started “following” people with similar interests but broader world experiences, I began learning.   As I follow Entrepreneurs that have been very successful, I have garnered ideas and suggestions that hopefully have made my company more successful.    As I follow the tweets of Godly men and women, hopefully, their witness has helped to shape my life into a better representation of Christ.    As I follow my friends and family, I am more aware of the everyday pains and feelings that they experience which hopefully, makes me a better friend.

I once read that the only difference between you NOW and you five years from now is…  The books that you read and the people that you associate with…    I believe that.    And I am now using Twitter to “associate” with people that I want to become.  People that have succeeded in areas of their life that are also important to me.    While I originally thought of Twitter as a “bullhorn” for me, It has become a “stereo” of multiple personalities and traits that I aspire too become.

Yes, I tweet.  @shellyb    I want to contribute to this new found community that I find myself apart of.   But it is not about being heard….  It’s about hearing….

Shelly