Everything I know about Social Media I Learned Fly fishing

Flyfishing: it takes time to prepare for a trip, tying flies, preparing your gear, and making sure you have all the necessary equipment to make the trip fun.

Social Media: Social Media is not a silver bullet. You don’t just step in the water and start casting aimlessly. Not only will you not catch any fish, but you’ll spook a bunch!

Flyfishing: Once I get to my favorite stream I like to survey the water, look for nice deep spot and riffles that might hold an elusive trout.

Social Media: OK, you have that twitter account started or that facebook fanpage up and running. Now what? Try listening first! You’ll be glad you took the care in your approach and did some research on etiquette before committing content to a web where everything lives on.

Flyfishing: I select a fly that matches the hatch or of local insects in the area. This increases my chances of success.

Social Media: No sense wasting valuable time chatting with yourself. Go to forums, sites or networks where you have common interests with others or a place where you will be of great value and resource.

Flyfishing: Casting is like an art form. The fly-line whirls through the air and seems to sing beautifully as it lands slowly on the water presenting your fly to the ever so weary trout.

Social Media: The last thing anyone likes is someone to come barging into their netwrk saying “Me, Me, Me!!!!” Approach a network of people with grace and humility and you’ll be accepted rather than knocked over the head and fried in a skillet by it’s members.

Flyfishing: Catch and Release ~ After you have caught a fish, you should release it back into the wild so that it can reproduce and continue to support the ecosystem.

Social Media: Generate relationships, not one off transactions. Becoming part of the ecosystem in a social network is much beter than coming through with slash and burn techniques. Respect yourself and others.

My brother Hugh is featured in these pictures catching a gorgeous lake run Rainbow Trout. We put it back to spawn. How are you engaging in your social media community?