(was called:  The First Lesson You Need To Know About Social Media)

Today I note the passing of Forumlists.    I’m honestly not sure if this particular Twitter tool was ever recommended by Mr. Everything  (You may note that I’m now just using a fictitious name and not linking…to anyone.  See the explanatory page.)  In a very professional blog post  the company explains that they have run out of money and have to take the site down.   They also graciously point to some other resources for Twitter lists.     I have written before that web sites come and go.   I have come to believe that real relationships with other human beings are the only thing that is truly enduring.

I got into a discussion on Facebook today with a couple of users, one of whom is moving a blog from WordPress.com  to self-hosted,  and another who is contemplating starting a blog and is not sure which way to go.  Full disclosure:  I sell web hosting.   I explained that if you’ve never blogged before and are not 100% sure that a blog needs to be a part of your #socialnetworking strategy it is perfectly reasonable to start off using a free host like blogger.com  or WordPress.com.   I do however strongly advise buying your own domain name before you publish your first post.   If you later decide to do a self-hosted WordPress (or switch to WordPress.com from self-hosted or any other blogging platform),  you would still be able to simply and easily import all of your posts and all of your comments.   And if you already own your own domain name,  and don’t change the structure in the import,  all of the links you’ve gotten for those posts and all of the shares and Likes etc.  carry right over.

I don’t ever want to become a “social media rock star” who bleats boringly about the “latest and greatest” tools.   I want to be the guy who explains that many tools have their uses and if you have a busy schedule,  deciding which tools to focus your time on is one of the most important decisions you have to make.   Unless you’re Mr. Everything the fact is you don’t have time to be everywhere.  So picking and choosing where and how to spend your time is the first #socialmedia lesson you really need to learn.