Social Networking: At SXSW, We’ll Teach You How to Find Balance

It starts innocently enough. A blog post here or there. You sign up for Facebook to see what everyone is talking about. Perhaps you even started Twittering, because if Ashton Kutcher could do it, anyone could do it.

Next thing you know, you’re an information junkie, obsessively checking your accounts for your next fix, broadcasting the play-by-play of your daily activities and thoughts to anyone who will follow you, and realizing that you would have forgotten what your partner/spouse/kids look like if you hadn’t posted the photos from your vacation to Flickr.

Stop.

Put down the iPhone.

And breathe.

While social media presents a valuable toolset for you and your organization to stay connected with a far-flung network of friends, family, supporters, members, and advocates, you must find a way to center yourself before you become overwhelmed. It’s no longer just a question of work/life balance — this has become work/life/social network balance.

We have just the thing to help you find your way. For South by Southwest interactive this spring, I have proposed a session called “Yoga For Social Networkers: Striking The Right Pose” suggesting that the ancient practice of yoga can help you find the social networking balance you seek. But we need your help to make it a reality.

With the help of a real Yogi, this mind-expanding hour will offer practical yoga-inspired solutions like:
• Shedding your tendency toward multitasking and be fully present when you participate in social networks.
• Finding balance between the online and offline world, and resist the temptation to be checking your networks 24/7.
• Realizing your limitations to avoid overextending yourself.
• And, most importantly, setting your intentions clearly from the beginning by understanding what you are trying to achieve and working toward that goal.

A preview of some of the “poses” you will learn:

By the end of the session, we hope you’ll discover how to get more accomplished in the same amount of time, that your friends and followers are finding more value in what you put out there, and perhaps you’ve even increased your social network flexibility a bit.

So start your “practice” today by voting for (and leaving comments on) our Yoga for Social Networkers panel entry.

Your karma will thank you.

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