Madalyn Sklar

Being Grateful

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A few weeks ago, our #TwitterSmarter team member, Sabrina reminded the rest of us that November is National Gratitude Month. She suggested that we all take some time to reflect and show gratitude of everything in our lives. That’s when we realized that we needed to chat with our community about gratitude. And that’s exactly what we did. Here’s a summary of our community #TwitterSmarter chat.

Topic: Being grateful
Guest: You!
Format: Eight questions. Everyone’s welcome to share.

Q1: Are you grateful to have social media in your life?

Really, we knew the answer to that even before we started the chat. Sure enough, almost everyone on our #TwitterSmarter chat was grateful to have social media in their lives. As Pavel pointed out, it’s made communicating with others so much easier.

Alyx also mentioned that without social media, most of us wouldn’t have met. Of course, one of the best things about being active on social media is the people you get to engage with and the stuff you learn. It’s such a great way to expand your knowledge and hear from a broad range of perspectives.

Q2: How does gratitude help with community building?

Chris put it beautifully: When you come from a place of gratitude, everything around you becomes an opportunity and a gift. That way, you naturally look beyond what you can get from it and consider what everyone around you can get from it. When you’re thankful for what you have, you’ll be far more open to sharing it with others and encouraging them to do the same. That’s how communities are built.

Ron made a similar point—gratitude lifts your mood. You become pleasant to be around with, people will see your community as a safe space. You’ll attract more people who want to engage with you and be part of your community.

Q3: How do you show gratitude on Twitter?

Nick told us he shows gratitude by paying it forward. If he notices a great post, he’d consciously engage with it to keep the interaction going. This is a good way to signal to others that you’re thankful for the time and effort they put into engaging with you.

Our friends from VirtuDesk told us about their #FollowFriday list. At the end of every working week, they tweet out a list of people they’re grateful to engage with. That’s another good way to tell people you appreciate their presence and time.

Q4: What are the physical and psychological benefits of showing gratitude?

It makes you feel good, as Madalyn said. Isn’t that why we humans do anything? After all, all we ever want is to feel happy and positive and appreciated. Showing gratitude does that to you.

As our friends from GiveWP added, showing gratitude reduces stress and makes you a nicer person overall. Making friends and sustaining relationships also become a lot easier when you show how grateful you are to the people around you.

Q5: What about Twitter makes you grateful?

Kaz mentioned most of the really good things about Twitter: It serves as an instantaneous news medium, an effective platform to meet new people and build relationships, and a great big pool of memes and fun conversations—all the things worth being grateful for.

Sabrina told us she’s grateful that Twitter serves as a “window to the world.” Not only do we get to hear from real people behind some of the nations we’ve only heard of in news, but we also get to see their lives, learn their cultures, and share our own.

Q6: Share some ways to spread gratitude in your social media community.

Jim suggested giving a shout out to brands and people that have made a positive impact in your life.

George recommended being honest and open about what you’re grateful for and why. If you’re replying to a post, instead of vague, “this is great, thanks!” consider building on the topic and adding value to the conversation. Tell people what about that post was most helpful. It goes both ways, too—if you disagree with someone, do so graciously. Everyone’s got the right to be in this online space and it’s important to respect that.

Amna‘s advice was simple and straightforward: If you see a post you like, share it with others and tell them why it’s such a good post. Consciously avoid negativity, and spread positivity, instead.

Q7: How do you deal with ungrateful people on Twitter?

Most people in our chat said the same thing as Howard: They ignore ungrateful people on Twitter. They’re not worth your time or effort.

Brenda also said that she’d go a step further to block or mute people who are persistently annoying.

Q8: Is there such a thing as being too grateful?

It’s hard to tell for sure, but there’s certainly such a think as being so nice that people think you’re being fake, as Benjamin reminded us. It’s an unfortunate situation to be in, sure. If you suspect that people are distancing themselves from you when you’ve only been nice to them, it’s possible that the way you express yourself has made them uncomfortable. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t show your gratitude. Instead, try and form some guidelines for yourself.

On the flip side, though, a lot of our community members also said that there’s no such thing as being overly grateful. Just goes to show that there are all kinds of people on Twitter, with various preferences. It’s just a matter of finding your tribe.

Well folks, that’s all from me this week. Thanks for reading through and for more great insights from our community chat, have a look at this Twitter Moment that Joana put together for us. If you like this summary, you’ll love the real-time chat. Join us next Thursday at 1 pm ET for #TwitterSmarter. We also have an after-chat on Twitter Spaces at 5 pm ET. See you there!

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About me, Narmadhaa:

I write all the things—marketing stuff to pay the bills; haiku and short stories so I feel wholesome. A social media enthusiast, I hang out with the #TwitterSmarter chat crew, and am always happy to take on writing gigs.

Say hello: The Opinionated Copywriter | LinkedIn | Twitter

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