Edumacate me on on-line social media...

[Dottore]

I was at a dinner party last night where I felt a million years old.

All the talk was about My-space and Face-book and Linked-in and Twitter.

Now I sort of vaguely know what this is all about, but thought this was a phenomenon confined to the hoodie-wearing/butt-crack showing generation—but to my amazement there were a couple of middle aged people there talking very articulately about how "people and businesses who don't embrace the new social media are doomed to failure"; and how the CEO of IKEA thinks "social media"is the future of business etc.

A couple of women even got visibly aroused when the impact of social media on the success of the Obama campaign was mentioned—so I'm sitting there thinking, now that I'm beginning to understand how EBay works, it may be time to move on to social media.

So I'd love to hear what this is all about. What do you actually do with these networks?

Where do they actually add value to your life and business?

I mean, I honestly find this board (and one other that I participate in) to already be an enormous distraction to my daily work as it is. I am very loathe to get involved in what sounds like an even greater "time-suck".

Are there any efficiencies created by participation in such media?

I mean when do people actually get things done?

Am I a dinosaur doomed to failure?

[afterburn 549]

Well, I thought "Disco" would die in 6 weeks...took 10 yrs. Did die !
In the current theme of thinking Nobody wants to miss a trick, thinks everyone has a new and better twist and I should try it too attitude (greedatude )
As for me I shall let it pass by , be a dinosaur, .
My thinking is SO different then the upcoming generation there is not enough time or Internet space to displace it all.
These newbies are fad driven, mostly shallow folks that do not have any substanse, ethics, or anything I deem desirable so..it will not bother me what they choose to do to enhance their money / power driven lives.
Choose if you will to be happy, not obligated to a short sited / lived culture

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

These newbies are fad driven, mostly shallow folks that do not have any substanse, ethics, or anything I deem desirable so..it will not bother me what they choose to do to enhance their money / power driven lives.
Choose if you will to be happy, not obligated to a short sited / lived culture

I also loathe fads and such, but I got the distinct impression last night that this on-line social media is a new—almost transformational—technology phenomenon that some pretty smart people think is vitally important.

I just don't quite get it, and would like to know what I'm missing.

[Rick Lee]

I have to preface this by saying I'm totally not into this stuff and it probably holds me back a little at my job. But social media is the macdaddy of PR and media outreach for professionals these days. Every single client or prospect I talk to asks me what we have to get them onto blogs or how we can monitor blogs for mentions of their company or press release. Now all the press releases on our site contain tags so that a reader can see if that release is also mentioned on certain blogs, the most prominent of which (for my business) is Technorati.

The reason this stuff is so important to PR folks is that it allows them to bypass reporters who might not cover their releases or issues. Before BBS's and blogs existed, you had to pray that a reporter would see your press release and get interested and call you to do a story on it. On top of the demise of a lot of print news pubs now, the blogs are taking over as the main focus of PR folks, trying to get their stories talked about in the online world. Problem is that there are a lot of vocal bloggers out there and if you piss one of them off, you'll never hear the end of it and can get a ton of bad PR. But some folks are willing to take that risk instead of just betting that reporters will write about them.

[Dottore]

So you're saying the so-called social media is a way of getting yourself or your product talked about on the web.

A way to avoid (or enhance) above-ground (real-world) marketing efforts?

But there must be a hell of a lot of chaff (and very little wheat) in all of these efforts, right?

[afterburn 549]

Doorett - I live in a social stone age, do not get it either, But what is there to get ? More hype ? An Other Artificial- I am MR . Big Time Stuff ?
I do not think you are missing anything just a lot more Internet clutter from people trying to be whom they are not.

[Dottore]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

I do not think you are missing anything just a lot more Internet clutter from people trying to be whom they are not.

Excellent. I am relieved to hear this.

Well then it's back to my cigar and Jack-water-back for me.

[Zeke]

I find this kind of funny. I was making arangements in person with a 20 something and I needed to reach him on his cell later that days, so I asked for his number....













He says (as he pulls out his iPhone clone), "Should I text it to you?"







I'm dumbfounded. I'm supposed to recite my number so he can enter it in his phone and then send me his number via a text message.














I said, "Just write your number down on this piece of paper."





.

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

...I do not think you are missing anything just a lot more Internet clutter from people trying to be whom they are not.

I beg to differ with you. While, yes, I am very new to this, I'm slowly getting with it and so far have been quite successful being whom I am not, thank you!

[imcarthur]

As an out of it guy, too . . .

I joined LinkedIn - as a why not? It appears to be used/potentially useful/useless (pick one) for professional contacts. A 'six degrees of' deal which allows you to maintain links with colleagues/former colleagues & their colleagues etc. From an employment & business standpoint, it could help networking. I personally haven't seen any benefit.

I am new to Facebook & it seems to be similar to the above with a more personal side. Certainly the entertainment world has embraced this as a promotional tool. I did revive a business contact through an invitation on Facebook.

But on the surface, they appear to be more about time killing than anything else.

Ian

[afterburn 549]

Darisk, No contention ! Just my opinion. Are you under 35 Yrs old ?( Just wondering if I am right )
It seems to me every one under 25 is running around with ADD and some more additives in their blood to try to keep up with all this tech stuffffff. If it works for you good. As for me I guess I am a old goat .
My hand shake is good and everyone knows it that knows me.
It Seems to me Dubetube and the like is all about self serving menu rather then the way things were "What can I do to help you"
I see it as don't miss a trick or a buck...(you only measure what you have a short supply of. (In the mind)

[Heel n Toe]

Dottore, you could ask your dinner party host to give you the phone number of one of the Facebook-savvy, eligible women who was at the party, then call her and offer to cook a nice dinner for her if she'll help you set up a Facebook account and explain how it works.

Just a thought.

We're not on Facebook, but my sons are and they've said they'll help set up an account for us, because it's a good way for family and friends to stay in touch, which is what they're using it for... I get the impression there's some sort of message board or instant messaging thing built into it.

Not that we feel like we're missing out on a lot at this point... we usually just call if we need to contact one of them. We're definitely not an enmeshed family where we're involved in each other's lives on a daily basis... wanting to know every detail of what's going on.

I think they see it as a way to stay more "casually" in touch on the family level. I get the impression they check it several times a day to stay in touch with their friends.

[afterburn 549]

I will call you ,to see if you received the fax, from my black berry that you had on your E.M. After your tube proposition, and the conversation on face book.....
LOL
I know there are more

[911Rob]

Good post, thanks.

I could reply with the "I have this & that experience, bla, bla", but to your point I don't think you have anything to worry about either.

My businesses are very 'networking' sensitive and I love technology & how it involves people. I love getting emails or texts rather than babbling phone calls. My voice messages even get emailed to me now; I love it for the 'efficiencies’. I think it still comes down to the fact that winners get the job done and at some point somebody, somewhere has to make the sale. Heh, heh.

I’m staying out of the facebook, myspace, bla, bla. My kids all have it and my wife too. Stick to shutting the crap off and having a real face to face engagement with people, just like you did last night…… I did the same thing, it was a great evening.

[billwagnon]

Facebook and Linked In are an electronic means of communication and connection, just like this board.

[Schumi]

Originally Posted by billwagnon

Facebook and Linked In are an electronic means of communication and connection, just like this board.

+1.

I have met some very wonderful people from this board.

I have never met any one through Facebook. Just people I already know.

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by afterburn 549

Darisk, No contention !

You missed my attempt at humor:

"so far have been quite successful being whom I am not"

[Rick Lee]

Re: Facebook, tell your kids to be careful with that. I was at a PR industry event last week where I heard numerous stories of folks applying for jobs, the hiring company looking them up on Facebook and MySpace, etc. and then not hiring them. A lot of young folks tend to not understand that putting something on the Internet lasts forever and can never really be erased. Seems pretty juvenile to us old folks, but imagine what some of us would have done in high school, if that stuff existed back then. Well, some of those kids are now entering the workforce and potential employers, especially in political and PR jobs, aren't real keen on hiring folks who have photos and videos of themselves in their underwear, vomitting at parties. I heard a few such anecdotes at this event last week.

And yes, Dottore, the social netowrking stuff is a way around the traditional media. Since young folks don't read newspapers, but are heavily into blogs, that's where a lot of communicators want to get their messages.

[afterburn 549]

My Pt exactly. !
There are companies that might solve the blunders for you.
Some one should,
as anyone could
somebody should,
nobody did..........
It is all some one else's fault !
certainly not mine

[nostatic]

Essentially it is an extension of email and bbss taken to the next (il)logical level. It revolves around social networks which have been around forever. It is just that whereas previously your social network was usually limited geographically (or maybe a little broader if you traveled and liked to write letters or run up long distance phone bills), digital social networks are geographically unrestrained.

The tools are what made them take off. BBS software like what Pelican runs was an earlier generation, then you had the media becoming the message with youtube, flickr, etc. Add wikipedia ("the wisdom of crowds" and "a thousand eyes"), open source software, and then fold in true "networking" tools like linked-in, facebook, myspace, etc. Facebook started with a focus on college students but spread from there. Myspace evolved into the de facto music distribution network. And on and on.

The current generation don't use email that much. Instead they message via their social networking tools of choice, text, twitter, and there ya go. Basically it is about being available all the time but on your own terms. Asynchronicity. In addition amateur cultural production (youtube, flickr) has become huge, and soft power has evolved from the digital networks.

Plenty of books on the subject. A couple of my colleagues write a lot on the topic. Google Mimi Ito, Howard Rhinegold, danah boyd, etc. All people I've worked with who are on the bleeding edge of this stuff. I used to be but have drifted a bit off over the past few years as I've been busy frying other govt fish.