My first "proper" bicycle was a Dawes Red Feather. It came complete with lights and a dynamo! The lamp was very effective at illuminating the road ahead  — all the time I was moving. A dynamo powered light goes out the moment you come to a halt. Fast forward 40 years and things are a little different. On any dark evening you'll notice cyclists, lit-up like proverbial mobile christmas trees with their flashing LED lights and high-power lamps. These ensure that not only can they see where they're going but that they're also seen and therefore safety is maximised. In other words, lights on a bicycle have two purposes: to see the way ahead and to be seen.

The Social Media parallel

When discussing Social Media activities with clients and prospects, they're understandable first concern is to gather some social media analytics. This information tells them what people say about their brands and associated services. Using the bicycle analogy this information is the "lights to see".

Be seen too!

It's one thing to see but that's only half of the social media story. Active participation is the other half — it the same as *being seen*. And it's really quite important. If you blog and wonder why you don't get comments it could well be because you don't comment on other blogs. Perhaps you don't yet blog at all? If you tweet and all your tweets are about you, your brand and your activities then your social media plan ain't that social! If you can never bring yourself to engage with your competitors or even, heaven forbid, congratulate them on their achievements, you haven't got it yet.

Single-dimensional social media doesn't work — you have to see and be seen. You have to participate as well as measure. Social media is a conversation and it involves expressing opinions, ideas and celebrating success even when it's not yours. Social media participation requires a healthy dose of altruism. If you think it's there simply to exploit — you haven't understood how to play nicely. It's as if you stopped peddling, your dynamo has stopped and ALL your lights have gone out. It's a social thing….