Control and Conquer! The Choleric and Social Media

Part of the Temperament/Social media series in collaboration
with Elemental Truths. You can find all of the relevant articles
linked at the bottom of the Introduction.

C holerics: goal oriented, independent, problem-solving leaders of .. well… everything. They want (and need( to be in charge - in charge of themselves, in charge of their environment, in charge of others.

They like affection, appreciation and attention well enough, but only when it’s offered on their terms, and generally, they’d prefer start a group, rather than join someone else’s. But don’t be fooled - they aren’t afraid to gate crash either, and are happy exert their influence and divert existing communities to their own purposes.

What’s the Web2.0 appeal for a Choleric?

Social Media is filled with endless communities, networks and discussions ready to be taken over, subverted, and bent to the Choleric’s will. Alternately, Cholerics can just create their own community, reigning over it as Grand-Emperor-Virtual-Poohbah.

The biggest networks provide access to an unprecedented number of people for Cholerics to influence, dominate, and boss around. And Those same people can be picked over and organized in buddy/contact/network lists according to their usefulness.

Add in spam filters, ignore, block, privacy, decline and ban buttons, Social Media users can have an amazing amount of control over their interactions. And there’s always the ultimate in virtual control… the off button. One click of the mouse, and the entire cyber world ceases to exist from a Choleric’s view. (Now *that’s* power! )

But it’s not all about tyrants and dictators (benevolent or otherwise)

Choleric’s are goal focused, so in order for social media to work for them, it has to somehow further their goals. They aren’t interested in idle chatter or socialization; they want information, reviews, recommendations, customers, business contacts, romantic partners… whatever the quest of the day may be, if Social Networking helps them to find it, they’re game.

The Challenge for Cholerics

When it comes to social media, one of the biggest difficulties for Cholerics is remembering that online networking isn’t *really* all about them. (Yes, I know, it *should* be all about you, Dear Choleric. But the world is foolish and doesn’t yet realize your importance. Indulge us, until we figure it out, please?)

The Sanguine chit-chat and Melancholy introspection common to most Social Media services can be like fingernails on a blackboard to Cholerics. Not only do they find it annoying, but they want to control it, force it to stop, and show those nattering, cat-blogging ninnies the error of their ways.

But here’s the trick: cat-bloggers don’t much like being called ninnies. And most communities don’t like take over attempts by new comers. So Cholerics who don’t control their own self-centered (and sometimes mean) control streaks can find themselves ignored, blackballed, and banned - not a particularly good way of building a network of contacts. ; )

In order to really succeed at Social Media, Cholerics need to carefully consider the way their interactions affect their longer term goals... and when their desire to push others out of the way and lead may be doing more harm than good.

How to Meet the Challenge as a Choleric?

View socializing as part of the goal: Having a strong social network can help with almost any goal; and alienating your network can work against those same goals. Stay aware of the impact, and keep your urge to strangle the cat-and-recipe bloggers in check.

Make your intent known: Use your profile or about page to let others know that you’re goal-oriented. Once others understand that you are blogging/Tweeting/Myspacing for a reason, they may be more understanding of your curmudgeonly ways, and some may even go out of their way to help.

Create a public and private circle: In your close circle of friends, feel free to be the magnificent cat-blog-hating curmudgeon that you are. They’ll understand, and it gives you a place to vent without offending the masses. Or at the least? Keep the strongest of your rants confined to a side blog, where your clients (or whoever) won’t be as likely to see them.

Yes, offending the masses matters! I know, I know… you don’t particularly care if other people approve of you. It’s not their approval you’re seeking… just casual contact with their network. And you wont have those contacts if you’re always ticking people off

Show that you have a sense of humor: A sense of humor (especially about yourself) can go a long way towards blunting a Choleric’s sharp edges - but beware of sarcasm, which doesn’t carry well online. (How do you know if you have a good sense of humor about yourself? Well, are you laughing as you read this post?)

What Cholerics need from a Social Networking Service…

Extensive User Controls let users take an aggressive approach to controlling their own experience. Look for more than just basic spam filters- be sure the service also offers block, ignore and ban features. A big plus is a means of not just adding people to your network, but the ability to to sort them according to their role .. and their usefulness to you.

Don’t go for the biggest; look for maturity and niche sites. The more mature the site (and its users) the fewer bugs and annoyances you’ll find. The larger services like Facebook, Bebo and MySpace are filled with exuberant teens (OMG!) and virtual candy, but business oriented sites like LinkedIn, or special interest groups like Gaia tend to attract older members who are more likely in line with your interests/goals, whatever they may be.

Look for the Ability Run Your Own Community: Ning is all about creating your very own social networking site, built on any topic that appeals to you. If you’re technically inclined, consider using Wordpress or Drupal for even more control - with the right plugins, your blog can become the center of a fully functional community.

Consider extensions, plugins and widgets: The success of social media has spawned third party providers of add on applications. Many of them are downright silly, but some add functionality and control what might otherwise be purely fluffy services. They exist for nearly every service out there, but some of the most popular are for Twitter - including Twhirl, Tweetdeck, Twitterfeed, Twitterfox, and Summize.

And think about offering reviews… product sites of all types allow users to review books, movies, music, and almost anything else imaginable. They don’t just let you state your opinion, they *want* your opinion - and the more assertively stated, the better. Many of these sites have almost accidentally developed into full fledged communities - Amazon being a good example. Their users simply took over the daily deal and product forums, and diverted them to their own purposes. There’s no reason you can’t do the same!

So all you unsung Choleric’s out there…

What are you waiting for? Get out there and conquer the world! (but try not to trample over the rest of us in the process, ‘k?)