You could call me an over-consumer of communication.

Today I talk, text, email, tweet, Facebook, blog, read forums, write reviews, watch videos. But, ironically, I’m a lot more private online: I’ve become cautiously and selectively social.

I’ve been searching incognito long before Google had a feature for it; no one’s tracing my searches for new shoes. My Facebook settings have always been on the stricter side. My Twitter has almost always been private. My blog doesn’t have my name on it. I want the people who know me—in real life—to find me online because I told them how. Not because LinkedIn thought we’d be a good match.

When I spend my time on social media sites or apps, I do it with the intention of connecting with people I know or would like to know. I don’t update my status so the marketing director of the pharmacy chain I shop at can see how my day is going.

Someone I follow on Twitter once asked, “For those of you with protected accounts, what’s the purpose [of your account] further than a mass texting service?” My answer: No other purpose is necessary. I use Twitter to mass-text my feelings or test out my jokes to the short list of people I think might be interested. Limited purpose. Limited audience.

I don’t like to feel advertised at. I look for a product or service if I am in need of one. I do, however, enjoy a good commercial or ad. I enjoy the artful execution of an advertisement. I enjoy being entertained or enlightened by an advertisement. It may not lead me to buy the product, but I will likely respect a product with a solid ad. Respect is important.

What I don’t respect is being fed ads for things I care nothing about. I don’t respect my emails being scanned so that ads related to my subject titles pop up next to my inbox. I don’t care if I’m the target audience for whatever you are trying to sell; I’d prefer to be left alone to talk to my 80-something Twitter followers about the Haribo candies that I smuggled back from London because they’re too hard to find in the United States.

I don’t have a problem with promotion. I have a problem with products and services encroaching on my personal space.

Social media marketing is the new strain of the Pop-Up Ad Epidemic. This is not to say businesses shouldn’t be on social media. I think FourSquare, for example, can truly change the game and be extremely beneficial for a business’s digital presence. I learn a lot about where the hot spots are because my friends let me know when they check in to cool places. And while I don’t FourSquare personally, its integration into Facebook and Twitter keeps me in the loop without forcing me to participate.

When my friends make the choice to tell me where they are and what they are doing, I’m interested. But when my friends sign up for an app that automatically invites his or her entire list of friends to join, I’m annoyed. That’s when I start using that “Hide Stories Like This” feature, or my new personal favorite, “Report Spam.” I may let a brand slide if my friends like it, but I won’t respect a brand if it’s tricked my friends into “liking” it.

My advice to brands: go ahead, run your social media campaign. Build a presence that puts you out there, makes you available to connect, and builds awareness. But do it in a way that’s fun or enlightening to me. Give me a chance to experience your brand. Then, maybe, I’ll consider one of your products.

Shoot for ads that bring new life to or reveal an interesting side of your brand. Two examples of this being done effectively: the “Will it Blend?” series and the Pine-Sol April Fool’s Day pranks.

Blendtec put together a series of videos that show their blenders can blend anything. Anything. I’ve spent hours watching iPhones, dolls, glow sticks, and all sorts of other things I should be too busy to be watching get turned into dust. I may not have been in the market for a new blender at that moment, but I am always in the market for a good laugh.

Same thing with the April Fool’s Day pranks by Pine-Sol. If you haven’t seen them, you need to take a look (and bring a change of pants). I wasn’t looking for household cleaners, but now those laughs are attached to that product. And after watching, I plastered my friends’ timelines with this Pine-Sol video. No one was upset with me for doing it and, I even thanked the person who made me aware of it.

No, I didn’t buy either of those products. Yet. I did, however, recommend the blender on several occasions and, should I ever need a blender, Blendtec will be my first stop. If it can blend an iPhone, surely it can make a nice peach smoothie.

Just the other day, Old Spice released a video game/advertisement where you can help Dikembe Mutombo as he tries to save the world by December 21, 2012 (the day the Mayan calendar ends). This game takes me right back to my Nintendo days, but now adds Old Spice product placement. It’s genius! It’s the perfect ad for me to interact with and to get in touch with my nostalgic side—without making me feel advertised at. It’s also a lot of fun. Check it out here!

There is a very real, profitable opportunity to make ads that the consumer enjoys, shares, and even actively seeks out. There’s no need to sneak your way into their social space. Give them something they want to see, and they’ll invite you in. They may even introduce you to a few folks.

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Trendrr created an infographic of the effect the VMAs had on Twitter and social media:

Original story found on Mashable.

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