At a loss for words

Striking up a conversation has never been that difficult for me. I can usually find something relevant to talk about, even with perfect strangers. So this week I was given a task to join a few groups on Linkedin and join in on the conversation. By doing this I will hopefully get myself noticed in a sea of professionals and if I'm lucky make a few new contacts. Easy right? I thought so too. Unfortunately though, not so much.

My problem...well, let's just say I feel like the new kid at school.

I have been going from group to group trying to find a place where I can belong and feel comfortable to start a conversations let alone chyme into a discussion. But every time I get the slightest never to jump into topic of conversation a sense of skepticism begins to overwhelm my brain and that pesky subconscious of mine begins telling me "WAIT! YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT!"

I know I sound paranoid, but to be honest I haven't found it that amusing to make a fool out of myself. Plus, when the group is called Intelligent Social Media I would rather not sound unintelligent.

Lets face it I'm a newbie. What do I know compared to the people who have been using social media for marketing, advertising, campaigning, and so on? Up until about a month ago all I used social media for was to be, well, social. I didn't realize I was so out of the loop. MTSU certainly didn't provide a Social Media 101 lecture my junior or senior year of college.

I realize my fountain of social media knowledge will come within time, but my join group+start a convo assignment can't wait for forever. So to help me not sound so...oh what's the word...feebleminded; I'm going to utilize the advice from a column I read on Socialmediatoday. The article is called The 8 Commandments for Participating in Online Conversations. Not bad advice if you ask me.