In my last post, I give ten songwriting tips. Point number two is “YouTube browsing can be productive.” Below you can watch the story of how Canadian producer Daniel Lanois inspired me to write a song — and how YouTube was part of that songwriting journey.

What’s interesting is how social media is woven throughout the songwriting inspiration process and publication process. Not only are we relying on the web for inspiration, but communication as well.

The 12 Step Social Media Journey:

1. A long while ago, musician friend Gabriel Finochio made a reference to Daniel Lanois on his Facebook.
   
2. I did a search for “Daniel Lanois” on Wikipedia and YouTube.
   
3. I proceeded to watch a few hours worth of performances and clips, including those from “Here Is What Is,” from Lanois’ film and CD set, also referenced on his website.
   
4. I wrote a tune inspired by Lanois called “Daniel’s Song.”
   
5. I showed it my singer songwriter friend Lindsey Minaker who helped me record it at her place. We both did a vocal take, but hers is better!
   
6. A few years later, I decided it would be good content for a video for my new YouTube channel. I used iPhone and iMovie to put the clip together.
   
7. I tweeted about my video on my twitter account @pianoliz.
   
8. Just for fun, I searched on twitter for other references to Daniel Lanois and then watched a the url from the top tweet: Daniel Lanois with Neil Young at the Junos 2011.
   
9. I posted my video to my Facebook wall.
   
10. I wrote this blog.
    
11. I tweeted this new blog.
    
12. I posted this blog to my Facebook wall. 

Full circle: Facebook – YouTube – Twitter – Blog - Facebook
Social media should be a tool, and in this particular story, this journey of social media spanned several years, but in other cases the “inspiration: creation: publication” process can happen almost instantaneously. Social media is simply a communication tool that we can use or abuse. In my case, I want to use it to learn about others’ art, be inspired to write music and words of inspiration, and to spread the word myself so others can hear what I have to say if they wish to.

Michael Hyatt, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Thomas Nelson Publishers, writes a blog that contains great articles related to social media. If you want to be ‘in the know,’ then I highly recommend exploring what he has to share.

Question: What are the pros and cons of active social media use? If you have a YouTube or twitter account, let me know!