Social Media is like Hitting a Pinata: A lot Harder than it Looks

My niece turned 7 yesterday, so naturally, we partied.

The best part? Make your own sundaes. Those never get old, no matter how old you get.

The worst part? There was a pinata, but nobody got to hit it. They took it on vacation instead, like it would somehow be more fun to play with other kids instead of a crowd of 22-62 year olds. I know, weird.

I probably wouldn't have been allowed to play with the pinata anyways. Though as the baby of the family I've been freeze-framed as a perpetual seven-year-old, so maybe they would have given me a swing, which I would have missed and it would have been embarrassing. Whew, dodged that bullet.

But when you think about it, the whole concept of a pinata is embarrassing. You stand there, blindfolded, and bat randomly at some hanging thing that just smiles and laughs at your failed attempts while your friends laugh at you in the background when you miss and hit the birdfeeder instead. And then you stand there and awkwardly laugh with them, internally crying and feeling pathetic because you can't hit the giant animal swinging in front of your face. Really, the things we put children through. No wonder they grow up and need things like the Beautiful People dating site to reinstate their self-esteem (or obliterate it completely).

The point, you ask? I've wondered a few times myself, so I'll try to make this sound semi-enlightening (though obviously I really just wanted to talk about pinatas). Finding success in an industry like social media is just like being a kid with a dream of bursting the pinata. Except its not just a kid, it's all the kids at the party. And this is a big party, we're talking thousands of kids. They're all trying their hardest to be the one to start the candy shower, but only one can do it.

So there you are, whacking blindly at the pinata (aka social media success) and no matter how hard you swing you still can't make contact. People smirk at your efforts, and sweet success dangles inches in front of your eyes, taunting you. You try to swing a different way, try a different formula, but still success evades you. Maybe that's you; maybe you're the one who gives it your all but just can't manage to break through.

Or maybe you're the one who steps up to the plate, gives it a few swings and voila! Candy and success rain down upon you. Everyone is both extremely miffed that you burst the bubble first and in awe of your triumphant attack.

The good news? The pinata has been opened. It can be done

The bad news? You might not be the one to do it, and you might need to find a new pinata. Thats okay; take all the pinatas you need.

If there's one thing I've learned in my few short weeks working, both about social media and all work in general, it's that success is hard to come by. You don't always hit the jackpot, and there's always a competing group of people fighting to find it first. But don't give up. Remember how good it felt to actually be the one to burst the pinata? (assuming that you did in fact manage to do so, if not, insert another happy childhood memory). Got it? Good. That felt great, and grown-up success is gonna feel a whole better. I hope.

So how do you become the one to best the pinata? Erm..check back in a few months; we'll see if this pinata's still hanging. I'm still swinging.