To a couple that gave their hearts to God before each other.

Since starting my new “big girl” job, I have had the privilege of meeting a multitude of different people. People with cultures and religions that do not mirror my own. Yes, college kind of opened my eyes to the world (a world that is 2% more diverse than my home town), but I’ve never spent a great deal of time with a Muslim or had personal conversations with an Indian. I have had the pleasure of meeting two people who are or have gone through with an arranged marriage. Of course, I asked them a million questions ending with, “So, can I come?”

In the first case, I worked with a Christian guy from India. I asked him all about how he ended up in the U.S., how he chose a college and how big his family is… I can be a but of a Questioning Keisha, but most of my questions were around his marriage. He told me that his marriage was arranged and that they have been together for a few years now. The concept of going into a marriage blind seems so crazy to me. It made me stop and think about how crazy it would be to allow someone else to choose the person that you will spend the rest of your life with. I came to the conclusion, it wasn’t for me.

I am now working with a Muslim man from Pakistan- who is to be married in 2 weeks. His situation was slightly different. He is marrying a woman that his mother chose. It wasn’t as much an arrangement made by his and her parents as much as it was a set-up. He met her and they clicked and now they are tying the knot. I can still tell that his parents had their hands all over the decision to get married. Once again… these people sound crazy.

But how crazy is it to let someone else make your life-changing decisions for you. We should be doing that everyday, right? I don’t mean an earthly person, I mean a Heavenly God. I mean, everyday I pray for the Holy Spirit to fill me, to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the people I meet, and for God to guide my path. All of these prayers apply to my thoughts and decisions about my future husband. Remember the saying, “A woman’s heart should be so hidden in Christ, that a man must first seek God to find it.” That’s where I am. I have decided to give my heart to God. He clearly knows what is best for it… and let me tell you, since I have FULLY given it to him, my heart has never been happier. It is in the best hands it could possibly be in. So as for an arranged marriage: I’ve already signed myself up. God knows the plan for my future, and its my job to wait patiently and take advantage of this season of singleness. A time to grow closer to Him and a time that will be short-lived. So what will you do? Continue to hunt for the ‘perfect’ man, or trust God and His perfect plan?

The article posted on Forbes.com and written by Dorie Clark discusses the level of importance that businesses and professionals should place on their Klout score. Klout is an application that measures online influence through various social media outlets including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and many more.

So how seriously should businesses take getting involved in social media and how much effort they should put into increasing their Klout score? Of course having a high Klout score is something to brag about to other companies and a hard number to take to management to show that your work has improved the company’s online presence, but spending too much time creating content can be a waste of resources. I recently had a discussion with an executive at a consulting firm about this subject. As the article mentions, it is much easier to post content from somewhere else and write a quick comment about it than it is to create your own. The results are the same. Your followers and viewers are still getting your opinion and it starts a conversation. The key is to have a continual presence. It is important not to leave your Twitter without Tweets for long. Put in the time to keep up with the sites you or your company is involved with to have a continual presence and a plump Klout score.

The article mentions that pictures are a great way to make an influence. They are easy to create and when assisted with a witty or thought-provoking caption can create a quick buzz. The article also says not to be formulaic; “It’s not about posting X many times a day, or only on certain topics” (Clark, 2012). Spontaneity allows for more creative content. If you put yourself on a schedule, originality and surprise is lost.

After reading this article, I decided to find out my own Klout score. It was a measly 29 out of 100, with an influence on 30 people. I have Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, but do not use them frequently to post information. I am going to keep an eye on my Klout score over the next few weeks to see how it reacts in real-time to my posts and tweets. I only have one other “friend” from Facebook that it shows is using Klout, and his score blows mine out of the water at 49. He must be a much more avid social media user.

Social media is crucial in order to be involved in the competitive game, but spending too much time upping your Klout is taking away resources that should be put toward major business functions to keep or create competitive advantages.

Clark, D. (2012, April 2). Why You Should Care About Your Klout Score. Retrieved April 2, 2012, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorieclark/2012/ 04/ 02/why-you-should-care-about-your-klout-score/