Social Media Hangovers …

Finally, after all your countless hours toiling over your keyboard and coffee induced all-nighters friending and supporting others at their beckon call, surviving on 2 hours sleep per night, and spending no significant time with your wife for months ... a breakthrough. You've hit the proverbial front page of Digg ... go ahead and pat yourself on the back.

You're so wrapped up in excitement that you can't sleep now, but you deserve it. So you watch the stats for a while, bask in the glow of the cudos you know will be coming your way, then quietly sneak off for a nap in a dark closet.

When you awake, you're disoriented. "Where am I?" you think to yourself. Coming to the realization that you're in a closet after catching up on the equivalent of 3 night's REM sleeps, you quickly look around to see if anyone noticed you there. Your next thought is "what time is it ... how long have I been asleep"? "Whew ... its only been 4 hours" you think to yourself, and rush off to your computer to check your site stats.

With sleep lines still on your cheek, and hair standing at attention like a soldier standing at attention, you carefully study every inch of the monitor. You think to yourself quietly "What happened to all the traffic ... its been and gone! Yup ... there was a big blip in traffic, but what did I really gain?". Its all very disappointing really.

In the days that follow, you carefully track the site stats, and gradually come to the realization that the effort really led to:

a) no new sales
b) a bump in RSS subscribers, though half of which fell off the very next day
c) no increase in comments
d) no real additional traffic to other sections of the site

Image courtesy of Eatertainment

You think to yourself "Its remarkably like the office holiday party. So much anticipation. You're anxious and can barely wait for the event. Think of the drinks, the chocolate balls, the gift exchanges. Then bam ... its over before it began, and you find yourself nursing a hangover." Same with social media traffic ... so much anticipation and anxiety ... then the period of anticlimax that follows. The Hangover. Yes, its true ... there is talk of a "social media hangover". It was actually a client who brought the term to my attention (thanks Jon!).

At that moment, it occurred to me. Just as with an alcohol induced hangover, there is no real cure. The only solution ... HAIR OF THE DOG.

To that I say ... "just keep pouring"!

Happy holidays everyone!