I’ve just come from the December Social Media Club Atlanta meeting and am feeling both discouraged and motivated at the same time. Discouraged because social media has reached that tipping point where people are just trying to cash in on it but losing the original spirit of what it’s all about (and those same people scoffed at it 2, 3 years ago - and yes, I have specific individuals in mind), and because yet again tonight some dude tried to tell me I’m “too open” online and “guys are jerks.” Hello, how is this my problem or my responsibility?? As for blogging losing its original spirit, see also Cecily and Tiffany. And me, over and over again.
But I’m also motivated, because I like encouraging people to think about things, really examine them. That’s why I enjoyed my BlogOrlando session so much. I could really (but not literally!) see the wheels turning in some people’s heads. Every time someone would use a buzzword, I’d stop and say, “Let’s define what we mean by that.” Because without a common understanding of definitions, there’s no way to have a productive conversation. And too many people use buzzwords as verbal shortcuts, effectively saying nothing. And there were so many buzzwords tonight. I lost count at some point. But I talked with Tessa, and she’s open to the idea of me leading a meeting and focusing on this. People really need to deconstruct some of the stuff they say. It’s the same reason I asked the question tonight about, sure we all sit here and talk about monetizing and tools that integrate with Twitter and etc. etc., but really, would you WANT your Twitter stream to be full of that? You, as a person, who uses it on a day to day basis - not as the figurehead of a company or god forbid a “social media expert.”
I’m just dashing this off before bed, so I’m sure it doesn’t make much sense, particularly if you weren’t at the meeting tonight. But I hope to be able to write more tomorrow or this weekend.
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6 Responses to "Quick social media thoughts"
Your question about “would you WANT your Twitter stream to be full of that” was probably the simplest, yet most profound and valuable question of the night. Very well said.
Great to see you tonight.
I was supporting @jbrett’s idea in part because I think it could be an appropriate use of Twitter but I didn’t get the change to finish my thoughts because the discussion veered off. If Jason’s concept really took off and every purchase everyone made got tweeted I would be totally disgusted by it.
OTOH, I think the Twittersphere will moderate itself. If some people start leveraging it too much for personal monetary gain they will loose their followers. An equilibrium will be maintained, by definition.
Whatever the case, there’s no denying that the garage band’s core fans hate it when the band gains success and most of its fans by percentage come from mainstream. That said I really don’t have a horse in this race and will be interested to see how it plays out!
You pretty well encapsulated what came out in the after party straggler discussions…
The discussions veer into areas of jargon for the sake of the gazing upon the machine vs. wondering how the machine should be used or even if the machine is the right thing to use at all.
A side conversation also took this point of view: The system is for connecting people to people — not for systems to connect to people as the end.
This was also summarized as the knee jerk stereotype associated with entry level MBA-ish ROI fascination — to compel a tinderbox to crank dollars by adding raw material in the form of people to the hopper.
Or put simply, do we really want to build THAT?
I love your constant stream of thoughts on these subjects.
And yes, I get aggravated when blogging and Twittering become just avenues for shilling. I don’t want your marketing bullshit, y’know? It makes me want to unfollow people.
I’m in a tough spot now because I do some Web writing that’s paid and then my blog(s) are unpaid, and I find myself withholding things from the blog to write about them for money…I wish I didn’t have to prioritize like that. But I kind of like keeping my blog for the more authentic “me” bits, plus gathering the things I do elsewhere there. And Tumblr, which is even more a jumble of what’s floating around in my brain…
I’m rambling. But you get the gist, right?
Part of social media is understanding basic human interaction. It’s not an IT issue.
The vocal ones recited from their Social Media Cliff notes with “transparency” and client name drops without but not much substance was added to the group. After so many “conversations” that were “transparent” and other jargon drops, I zoned out. Wish I could have met some sharp people there. Amber your comments were pertinent, but the loud ones drowned your voice of reason.
I felt like some of the participants should have been wearing special social media helmets. Transparent ones, of course.
+1 SW
I want a transparent social media helmet.