Everywhere you turn you see mavens, gurus and other such experts telling us how our world – our society – is in for incredible changes. These changes are all based around the concept of something called Social Media – or is it social media?
After all there is a big difference between the two even though the mavens and gurus would have you believe that they are one and the same.
But they are not.
Social Media – that’s with a capital ‘S’ and a capital ‘M’ – is a belief that through the use of technology and real openness we could see incredible changes in our society. Social Media allows us to create powerful individual voices that can’t be dismissed the same way that they use to be in the past; and it is with those voices that change will come about.
We have the ability to find people with the same cares, concerns and ideas as ourselves and during that discovery we create niche communities. Communities that because of the power of commitment can be very powerful motivators for change. Social Media is the glue; or conversation pathways, that brings together all these communities and gives them a larger platform to speak from. This is the power of Social Media in its purest form and it does have the power to facilitate great social change.
Then we have social media – that’s with a small ‘s’ and a small ‘m’ – which is the realm of marketers, self-named gurus and self-important mavens who would have you believe that by using the right tools you can be a part of this great change they are trying to sell you.
Instead all we get is nothing more than a fancy shell game of buzzwords intended to convince companies that the guru’s version of social media can bring untold benefits to their businesses because of the very number of followers those gurus and self-proclaimed experts can generate. These mavens and gurus point fingers at things like Facebook and the 175 million suckers just waiting to believe that companies want to talk to them. This is the social media they are selling.
This isn’t the social media of social change they would like us all to believe. No instead it is just another set of buzzwords to flash at corporate checkbooks. Real Social Media isn’t made up of buzzwords or fancy tools or the desperate need to have some sort of ROI at the end of the PowerPoint presentation.
Real Social Media is the honest presentation of ideas and the willingness to honestly talk about them with everyone regardless of social or economic position.
Real Social Media isn’t a shell game being played on people truly wanting a better society.
[picture courtesy of Internet Sales Manager in training]
Me? … I’m a cranky social media un-expert
The Social Media Expert game – been there, talked about it
Who’s really the ‘social’ in social media?
But isn't capital S capital M Social Media merely a variant of communication? The way that I view things is that true communication is independent of technology – 3 inch by 5 inch index cards can communicate just like Twitter can, although I'll grant that the cards may take longer to reach distant people.
I agree, however, that too many people adopt buzzwords without really changing the way in which they do things – for these people, Twitter can be the successor to the telemarketing boiler room.
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But isn't capital S capital M Social Media merely a variant of communication? The way that I view things is that true communication is independent of technology – 3 inch by 5 inch index cards can communicate just like Twitter can, although I'll grant that the cards may take longer to reach distant people.
I agree, however, that too many people adopt buzzwords without really changing the way in which they do things – for these people, Twitter can be the successor to the telemarketing boiler room.
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It is easy to look at Social Media as merely a 'variant' but I think it is a lot more than that. It is the ideals, the ethos, the belief that we can make a change is our society. It is the overview of it all rather than the dirty in the trenches manipulation of people by touting popularity and numbers of followers.
I'm not say I am right is my thinking .. this is just my thoughts on what I see as a mess being made worse by people more interested in self-promotion than promotion of social change.
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It is easy to look at Social Media as merely a 'variant' but I think it is a lot more than that. It is the ideals, the ethos, the belief that we can make a change is our society. It is the overview of it all rather than the dirty in the trenches manipulation of people by touting popularity and numbers of followers.
I'm not say I am right is my thinking .. this is just my thoughts on what I see as a mess being made worse by people more interested in self-promotion than promotion of social change.
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Well, every new form of communication will be used to promote things other than social change. Radio, TV, Movies, CDs etc. etc. etc.
Capital Social Media, as you define it, is about having individual voices and fostering better communication between people. Shrink the world so xenophobia doesn't continue to rip apart our society. And I couldn't agree more.
The problem is you've got Cluetrain Manifesto folks who think conversations are opportunities for advertising. They think people want to converse with brands like they're friends or have brands presented during their conversations. Now, I'm a marketer and I just don't buy this.
Think of Social Media as the corner stoop where people hang out and shoot the shit. Everyone probably has some memory of what these corners or stoops or local watering holes were/are like. And let me tell you, you're not going to sell anything during these sessions. In fact, you'd be summarily tossed out.
And that's exactly what HAS been happening, yet marketers seem hell bent on trying to insert themselves into the conversation. Instead, figure out what the equivalent of the Ice Cream Truck is … the thing that people want that will get them off the stoop willingly (and together) to buy your product.
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Well, every new form of communication will be used to promote things other than social change. Radio, TV, Movies, CDs etc. etc. etc.
Capital Social Media, as you define it, is about having individual voices and fostering better communication between people. Shrink the world so xenophobia doesn't continue to rip apart our society. And I couldn't agree more.
The problem is you've got Cluetrain Manifesto folks who think conversations are opportunities for advertising. They think people want to converse with brands like they're friends or have brands presented during their conversations. Now, I'm a marketer and I just don't buy this.
Think of Social Media as the corner stoop where people hang out and shoot the shit. Everyone probably has some memory of what these corners or stoops or local watering holes were/are like. And let me tell you, you're not going to sell anything during these sessions. In fact, you'd be summarily tossed out.
And that's exactly what HAS been happening, yet marketers seem hell bent on trying to insert themselves into the conversation. Instead, figure out what the equivalent of the Ice Cream Truck is … the thing that people want that will get them off the stoop willingly (and together) to buy your product.
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The key difference will be up to the individual. Each of us must learn to discern between sincere recommendations from other users and hype and advertising. Those who can think for themselves will get far greater benefit from it.
Alas, we are not very likely to see that better world some can envision because of one very important fact: most people do NOT think for themselves. As Twitter so aptly named them, the are – and will always be – followers. The question is WHO or WHAT are they going to follow? The answer to that question is our future.
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The key difference will be up to the individual. Each of us must learn to discern between sincere recommendations from other users and hype and advertising. Those who can think for themselves will get far greater benefit from it.
Alas, we are not very likely to see that better world some can envision because of one very important fact: most people do NOT think for themselves. As Twitter so aptly named them, the are – and will always be – followers. The question is WHO or WHAT are they going to follow? The answer to that question is our future.
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So Mr. Whipple isn't my friend?
AJ, I love your ice cream truck analogy: “…figure out what the equivalent of the Ice Cream Truck is … the thing that people want that will get them off the stoop willingly (and together) to buy your product.” I'm a marketer also, and I have to constantly remind myself that it's not about me, but about my customer. Even if you follow Steven's wise advice and engage in conversations rather than blasting out messages, you need to have some reason for the customer to want to converse with you.
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So Mr. Whipple isn't my friend?
AJ, I love your ice cream truck analogy: “…figure out what the equivalent of the Ice Cream Truck is … the thing that people want that will get them off the stoop willingly (and together) to buy your product.” I'm a marketer also, and I have to constantly remind myself that it's not about me, but about my customer. Even if you follow Steven's wise advice and engage in conversations rather than blasting out messages, you need to have some reason for the customer to want to converse with you.
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I’m totally turned off to the term social media. I removed all instances of it from my site. I like “the social web” better, if only because it isn’t a buzzword in the way that social media has become. It’s just an instant turn off – capital letters or not. And I’m even a marketer!
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http://www.coffeestrategies.com/2009/03/19/star...
I read this article and I thought you might be interested in it.
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http://www.coffeestrategies.com/2009/03/19/star...
I read this article and I thought you might be interested in it.
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