Why Social Integration is a Bad Idea for Simpleology – and Why We Did It Anyway

If I had a nickle for every time someone said …

“Mark, you guys need to integrate Facebook into Simpleology! It will go all viral and like everyone will spread it around and it will be like – amazing! Dude! Think about it!” (punctuated with bug-eyed hyperventilating)

OK. So, let’s think about it then …

Sure, we could put Facebook and Twitter buttons everywhere and it would make it easier for everyone to buzz about us. It would also make it a heckuva lot harder to get things done throughout the day. Simpleology is, after all, a personal productivity platform.

So, we could junk up the platform with all sorts of crass marketing noise …

But we’re not gonna.

At the same time, social media can be a great way to leverage the problem-solving power of the crowd.
(“Buzzwords! Dude!”)

Case in point: a couple weeks ago I was looking to do some simple voice-overs in our new office space. No matter what I did I kept getting a terrible hiss on my recordings. So, I posted the question to Facebook and within a day I had over 30 responses.

(You can check out the post here, if you like. Lots of great audio wisdom there.)

With the advice I got on Facebook, I was able to put together a really effective recording solution, mostly with gear I already owned. I also learned a few things about audio recording I had never considered.

The point?

This inspired us to put a “Get Help from Your Friends” button in the Major Focus tabs.

This button will automatically bring up a prompt that allows you to post a question on Facebook or Twitter asking for advice – without taking you to the full Facebook or Twitter sites, so you can get right back to work after you post. (As opposed to falling into a facebook crack-binge for a few hours.)

Examples:

• Maybe your current Short Term Major Focus is to shed a bit of body fat. I bet you have a few friends who have been-there and done-that. Wouldn’t it be great to not re-invent the wheel?
• Maybe your current Long Term Major Focus is to buy a house. I am betting you know some folks who have done that before, too. Maybe they know a few things that might save you a few thousand bucks, or so.

You get the idea … This taps into the true power of social media (it’s not just for “I Can Has” pictures after, all … not that there’s anything wrong with a good “I Can Has” picture). Hey, if social media facilitated the Arab Spring, maybe it can help you figure out a better way to organize your garage.

(Urge to make the obvious Arab Spring –> spring cleaning pun …. checked.)

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