--- title: "Lunchtime Links: Stop Feeling So Awkward Online" id: "16419" type: "post" slug: "lunchtime-links-stop-feeling-so-awkward-online" published_at: "2013-03-15T16:04:12+00:00" modified_at: "2026-03-15T19:51:47+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2013/03/15/lunchtime-links-stop-feeling-so-awkward-online/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2013/03/15/lunchtime-links-stop-feeling-so-awkward-online.md" excerpt: "Instead of worrying what people will think of you online, embrace the medium. Also: how one association leader helped his event grow by thinking like a ninja." taxonomy_category: - "Marketing / Communications" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AI" - "AssociationsNow" - "Communications" - "Leadership" - "Social Media" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_role: - "Director" - "Executive Team" - "Manager" - "VP" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » Lunchtime Links: Stop Feeling So Awkward Online You know the feeling. You’re in a room full of people you’ve never seen before, and you don’t know what to say. Some people may feel exactly the same trepidation online. So, how do you get past that? Thoughts on the topic, and more, in today’s Lunchtime Links: **Get past the awkwardness:** Feeling like a fool on social media? Consultant Frank Kenny has a few thoughts that [may help you feel better about putting yourself out there (opens in a new tab)](http://frankjkenny.com/dont-look-like-a-social-media-fool/) . “Realize that you are your own worst critic,” he writes. “We all are. People forget things we have said and done within minutes, yet we stew on stupid mistakes for years. We need to realize that others are focused on themselves and their lives, not so much on you. Get over yourself and give yourself a break. Unless you have done something egregiously foolish, it is best to laugh at yourself and forget it.” You’re a leader who exudes confidence in real life. Why not feel the same way on social? **Think like a ninja:** The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) may be one of the most well-regarded tradeshows in the world, but it wasn’t always that way, according to Consumer Electronics Association President and CEO Gary Shapiro. [In an article for Upstart Business Journal (opens in a new tab)](http://upstart.bizjournals.com/resources/author/2013/03/14/shapiro-had-to-innovate-or-die-at-ces.html?page=all) regarding his best-selling book *Ninja Innovation*, he explains that the association’s turning point came in 1991, when CES was struggling, but he chose to ramp up the event’s growth. “I realized that as an industry, we had two choices,” he writes. “We could accept that the situation was hopeless and be dragged down with the rest of the economy or we could do what no industry does better: innovate. Now, more than 20 years later, CES is the world’s largest and arguably most important annual innovation event. The story has a happy ending, but the lessons are in the in-between.” **Write better emails:** Are your emails effective, or do they struggle to get to the point? *Inc.* contributor Geoffrey James has a few ideas to improve your messages. His best tip? Write the conclusion first, so people know exactly what your goals are. “Nobody in the business world has time to wander through the development of an idea,” he writes. “If you don’t tell them the reason for the email immediately, chances are they’ll just move on.” James has a number of other smart points [over this way (opens in a new tab)](http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/how-to-write-a-convincing-email.html) . What’s on your mind and in your feed today? Tell us about it in the comments. [Ernie Smith](https://associationsnow.com/author/ernie-smith/) Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. 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