Sphinn - How Social Media (Didn't) Change Business

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How Social Media (Didn't) Change Business

Went Hot: June 3, 2008 - 11:31 am
Posted By: DoshDosh 130 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://www.searchengineguide.com)
Category: Other Social Media

I'm continually amazed at how people go barreling into social media sites like a bull in a china shop and then wonder why they aren't well received. They hear social media is changing the way people do business and they make the mistake of thinking it's changing it to something "new" instead of simply changing it back to the way things used to be.

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from monawea 130 days ago #

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Great article! I good read.

from onreact 130 days ago #

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Yeah. Great story.

from 123SocialMedia 129 days ago #

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I think articles like that help connect the real idea behind "social media" that often eludes the common keyboard operator.

from Ammon 129 days ago #

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An essential read for so many. Perhaps it is a sign of how socially dysfunctional our generation has become? People have to be nudged and told how to be social, and even what society is about.

Most people these days view society as something to climb on top of rather than something to be a part of. They'd rather be in an ivory tower than a terrace house.

However, social media is not really a return to the good old days, is it? Social media is actually an alternative to being social for most people. Rather than go round to your neighbours, the local club or bar, join a local group, social media lets you pretend that you really have a great social life while you sit around on a PC.

from thejenn 129 days ago #

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Ammon,

I think you make an excellent point here. There's this fine line between using social media to recreate that personal involvement while expanding your geographical circle and using social media to "hide".

It's interesting to me to see my own change in this realm even just in the last six months. I've been in this industry for a long time and I know a LOT of folks who are scattered around the globe. I've met a huge portion of them at shows and in my travels, but still...the majority of my "social media" conversations happen with people I can't have coffee with on an average morning.

In the last month or so, I've been making a concentrated effort to see out folks in my own area on Twitter. I've probably added about 75 Columbus and Ohio Twitter users to the mix and have been talking to them regularly. Last month, I did a local show and had a chance to meet half a dozen of them. I've already got lunch dates scheduled with a few more.

I think it's a hard balance on the local/in-person networking and the online networking. Everyone sort of has to find their own way, but I think it's crystal clear that the winners in "social media" will be the companies who foster conversation instead of the ones who push sales.