Happy Positive Social Media

I have a pretty happy online life. I don't get bogged down in negativity or drama and most of the time, hanging out on Facebook and Twitter makes my day a little brighter. Then again, I know some pretty amazing people.

I want to show you how I do it and help you to do it too. Don't let Social Media bog you down and suck the life out of ya!

#1 Have awesome friends.

If you want to have an awesome social media experience, you have to surround yourself with awesome people. Don't just limit yourself to people you get to see every day or those folks from high school that you never talk to. Follow/Friend your favorite authors, bloggers, and people that inspire you or give you the giggles. (psst! You can find me here!)

#2 Don't feed the trolls.

A troll is an internet a-hole that likes to piss people off. Do. not. feed. the. trolls. Seriously. If you see an inflammatory post on your social media, or your blog, don't give it your time or attention. Delete it or ignore it. Believe me, it's not worth your time, you've got more important things to do, like living your happy shiny life and being a badass. Arguing with idiots accomplishes nothing.

#3 Utilize Facebook's Lists

Facebook has this "List" feature and it's awesome. Adding people to certain lists allows you to see certain people's posts, as well as share certain posts of yours with a select few people.

So how do you do it?

Say you want to make a list of a certain group of Awesome People. Go to https://www.facebook.com/bookmarks/lists and choose "Create A List". Once you create the list make sure to add it to your "Favorites" by clicking the little edit icon next to the name of your list. You can then see your list on the Facebook Homepage!

To add the Awesome People to the Awesome People List go to your friend's profile page, hover over the "Friends" tab and then click "Add to another list..."

Want to share something with only certain people? 

Facebook has you covered. Maybe you're going through a really tough time and don't want to share the details with everyone you know. Maybe you're afraid of judgement, or that the busybody you know if gonna spread your business everywhere. Share your status with the people you're comfortable sharing it with.

We all have that friend, you know, that friend. The one that posts the negative political stuff you're not a fan of, or pictures of abused animals that you're too sensitive to see, or the one that's always complaining about something. You don't have to unfriend them. Just hide them from showing up in your newsfeed. Voila, no negativity but without the possible drama of the 'unfriending'!

#4 Twitter has lists too!

Depending on how much your people tweet, a lot of good tweets might go unseen and it can be a lot of work to individually visit people's twitter profiles so you don't miss anything. Create a list so you can easily keep up!

Go to your buddy's twitter page, click on the sillouette of a human bust, and then click "Add or remove from lists..."

Create a list or add certain people to your already existing list. Awesome people are everywhere! It also helps keep up with your favorite bloggers, musicians, and generally other fantastic people.

You can find your lists by going to your Twitter homepage, clicking on "Lists" and then clicking on the title of the list. There you will find the twitter feeds from all of those people you want to connect with, without the clutter!

#5 What's your favorite way to keep social media positive?

I'd love to hear how you keep your online time positive and happy inducing! Share in the comments or let me know on Facebook!