i don't get it.

you hear people say that a lot when you try introducing them to twitter, or yammer, or other social networks. “it’s like facebook except it does less.”

the fact that people look at the technology simply as that—technology—is what makes the adoption of social tools so difficult, especially adoption into the enterprise. it’s easy to push off new technology by giving the vapid excuse of “i don’t understand how to use it”, or “i’m too old for that”, or even worse than those two “i don’t have time for it”.

at its very core, all of these technologies are nothing more than a box and button. you type what you want to type and then you click ‘post’. but they’re not just a box and button. they’re networks of human beings, and how do you use that?

don’t cold call people and expect to get a response; build trust and a foundation for a relationship before you expect people to help.

give, relentlessly, to build a surplus of social capital before you need to spend it.

share yourself—your whole, true self—not merely the parts of you that you allow people to see.

be engaged on a personal level.

be authentic.

that’s how these social tools truly work: people connecting to other people. everything else is merely what we do with the relationships that we form.