Are you a social butterfly, a stink bug, or a honey bee?

You can find all kinds of people on social media. The diversity is amazing. I have interacted with people from many cultures around the world. I have come across butterflies, honey bees and sadly many stink bugs. You can find all three on almost every social network, including Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn.

When I first started using social media, I was pleasantly surprised to find people in other countries who had the same goals as many here in my country. They want to meet interesting people, learn about other cultures and improve their situation by promoting their businesses. I am no longer surprised by this, but I am still fascinated with how others in places with cultures so different from mine can be so similar to me.

butterflies

Butterflies are everywhere. Social butterflies are friendly to everyone. They spread a bit of pollen and taste the sweet nectar of all that is beautiful on social media. They flutter and flutter to and fro with no apparent purpose other than to see and be seen. I like butterflies. They spread a little pollen, a lot of good humor and are easy on the eyes. You don’t have to look for them, they find you. I don’t go out of my way to get to know them, nor do I go out of my way to cultivate relationships with them. With social butterflies, I can get all the little return they offer, without a lot of investment.

Bedbugs

Bed bugs are curious creatures. They don’t bite. They don’t really suck, but they’re not very attractive things. A stink bug is a pest. They feed on all kinds of crops, and what they don’t eat they ruin. They pierce small holes in the fruit so that it rots quickly. They multiply rapidly under the right conditions and can have a devastating effect on production. You’ll find them in the comment areas of blog posts, Facebook timelines, and even the occasional sarcastic tweet. They do not add value to any discussion. They certainly have no ideas of their own and try to poke holes in the otherwise fruitful sharing of someone else’s idea, often causing it to fizzle out. I have no time or use for stink bugs.

honey bees

Honey bees are the workers of social networks. They are drawn to the brightest colors on the Internet: the best ideas. They eat a little of them and fill their furry legs with dust of ideas. They then go off to feed on other bright idea flowers, pollinating them as they go, so that they too bear fruit. When their bellies are full, their legs are heavy with idea dust, and they are almost too tired to fly, they return to their hive to share their bounty with their colony.

Arriving home, they land on a ledge in the hive and do a little dance. Scientists who study honey bees didn’t understand what they were doing for a long time. Then, in a groundbreaking study, they discovered the purpose of this curious dance. When a honey bee lands after a successful search for nectar and pollen, it begins to go round and round in a circle. They then stop and cross the center of the circle in the direction in which they found their bountiful harvest, so that the bees that are ready to take off will know which way to fly.

Which do you think is more useful? Are you a social butterfly, a honey bee, or a stink bug?