I’m not just shy in real life. I’m also shy online.

In the interests of busting through my social media anxiety, I decided to participate in the Problogger 7 Link Challenge.

What’s so scary about that?

1. I’m admitting to reading problogger. And thus revealing my aspirations to become a serious (or even, dare I say “Pro”) Blogger.

2. The social media anxiety I get when I post comments on blogs or “talk” on Twitter. (Post and Run syndrome.)

And this challenge has a deadline. So I have to do everything before I have a chance to perfect it.

My mission:

The idea is to publish a post that is a list of 7 links to posts that you and others have written that respond to the following 7 categories. Your links should be to:

• Your first post
• A post you enjoyed writing the most
• A post which had a great discussion
• A post on someone else’s blog that you wish you’d written
• Your most helpful post
• A post with a title that you are proud of
• A post that you wish more people had read

1. My first post:

My Sad Story: aka – who the hell am I to be talking about this stuff.
There are a couple of silly “warm up” posts in the archives before this one, but this is the one where I got brave and actually revealed myself.

2. The post I enjoyed writing the most:

I’m ugly and my friends dress me funny
A funny story, a great memory…and sort of an introvert nightmare.

3. Post with a great discussion:

Pajama Experiment Results – 9/10 speakers surveyed sleep naked
Not so much a discussion, but a slew of comments. I was traveling at the time, so I had only intermittent access to the internet – and every time I checked my email, I had more comments. Evidently I’d hit a nerve. I was both pleased and completely overwhelmed. I went into hiding for a couple of weeks after this one. (See: social media anxiety.)

4. Post on someone else’s blog I wish I’d written:

Christine Kane – There’s no wrong wall
Steven Covey’s 7 Habits book was the first personal development book I ever read, and it changed my life. And I really worried about having my ladder up against the right wall. Reading this post gave me a completely different perspective and a great sense of relief. I really wish I would have thought of this!

5. Most helpful:

I don’t really hate people, I’m just an introvert

6. Title I’m most proud of:

Barbara Sher is just like a real person, only shorter.
This is also the runner up for post I enjoyed writing the most. Lots of giggles while I put this together. I get hits from Google every month for this post. Apparently, I’m an authority on the name of Barbara Sher’s dog. (This, and more, revealed in the post. Also: actual comments from Barbara Sher. Kind of like online autographs.)

7. The one I wish more people had read:

Announcing my intention, asking for what I want, doing it all wrong
This was the post I wrote *before* I attended the conference in my pajamas, where I announced what I was going to do. I talked about my fears and making my “special” business cards. Which, by the way, I forgot to report on, but I *did* actually go through with the idea. Because only my “right people” got close enough to get one, I got a really positive response on them. One guy even gushed over the design. (I suspect he may have a 4 year old at home.)

Thanks for reading. Comments (and tweets) are always appreciated. Anyone else dealing with “social media anxiety”?

Related posts:

1. Post and run syndrome
2. Taking action on the stuff that scares me
3. I know you! I read your blog!
4. Coming out of hiding
5. How I learned to stop worrying and love the phone

Tagged as: blogging, fear, introversion, shyness, social anxiety, social media