Michael Jackson, Social Media Gluttony, and Wall-E
Today I was reading a newsletter from Social Media Today that warned about the risks of overusing social media, with quite a brilliant comparison made to Michael Jackon. Social Media Gurus who rise to the top must be careful that their transparency, position, and influence does not disengage them from their audience
And isolate them......
At least that is what I got out of the analogy.
The article was prompted by a post that Jason Baer wrote, "Let's Stop Swooning Over Social Media". I applaud this post for its spot on appraisal of what social media marketing has come to many and for its resounding message-we must not turn our backs on consumers who are still not engrossed in social media as much as marketers are.
Great timing for me, not only because I feel I have written about this a time or two, but also because for the past month I cannot tell you how many "consumers" ask me "What is Twitter?". They laugh and tease about it, guess at it,some vaguely have knowledge of it. So I spend time giving mini Twitter classes to consumers on the fly.
I don't mind and I know it's a smart place to be- early adoption is half the winner's race.
I digress....back to Jason Baer's post and Social Media Today's news article. When I read both today I thought they were spot on and I went back to re-reading the ClueTrain Manifesto and then in the middle....as often happens...I had to jump right up and open up my blog to write.
Because again what struck me about these posts was the emphasis on relationships....making and engaging in relationships and not disregarding those relationships that you can also find offline. Relationships come in many forms, many places, and not always the places we are swooning over.
I smiled, thinking of communication and relationships... and I thought of this,
15 Comments on Michael Jackson, Social Media Gluttony, and Wall-E
JUN
25
2009
Rebecca, I think it is all about balance. It is also about using what works for you. Personally I tried Twitter and just did not care for it. Now I love facebook but that doesn't mean I spend tons of time on it. It is a nice way to stay connected with friends, women's groups and clients though. There's just so many other ways to stay connected also though.
Hi Rebecca~ I use a lot of this social media, but nothing compares to ActiveRain because I actually learn so much as well as make new friends. I love FB for keeping in touch. I use twitter, but it is my least favorite. Everything in moderation is key!
Rebecca
How absolutely true about the folks that are not into reading all the social media material. I learned this the hard way not too long ago when I asked them for there email, and was telling them to visit my blog. They responded with "I don't have time for that; our kids use the computer." There is a world of people that are like this and in my eyes the phone is still the best way of networking and keeping in touch in people.
Rebecca...profound statement here "those who rise to the top must be careful that their transparency, position, and influence does not disengage them from their audience" Thanks for sharing your thoughts with your friends on Fraiche Aire.
Rebecca--I'm so glad to read about not getting overwhelmed by social media. Face to face is still so much better. I agree with some of the other comments on balance. And it's so true, despite what we're told, not everyone is on FB, Twitter and the like. They'd still like to hear our voice or see us in person.
So with the wallE clip, the first thing that struck me was "garbage in garbage out"..... I didn't watch much more of the clip....
Rebecca: Great post and thanks... early adoption is half the race. I think of it as conversations are markets and where are the conversations I'd like to participate. I also think not all conversations need to be 'the market'... Social Media to me is simply an expansion of our human context, not a replacement for (say, more) traditional ways of communicating... It's in addition to...
I agree, Jason Baer's article is spot on... Example, Twitter... I've had a kind of love/hate thing going on. I have so many similar conversations with realtors about it. Then, I saw a couple of videos with Clay Shirky, "on institutions vs collaboration", and "How social media can make history."on TED... Now I'm rewriting my mindmap! ;-) Love the Wall.e clip... a great movie with a lot of insider nudges and pokes.
Marchel-
"There are just so many ways to stay connected though"- You got it, that's spot on. No one should be tethered to the tools, they are meant to use to create, not to burden.
Vickie- So true, everything in moderation is key. Working what works for your business is best.
Tom- I know...there are people I know who check their email, socially network, blog, etc. regularly, but these are marketing professionals, and I include real estate professionals under that umbrella.
Lola- Thank you and I love the group. I am very happy I joined it.
Rene- Agreed, conversations are markets and so I believe markets exist in all venues- online, offline, long distance, phone calls, and in some cases I am sure snail mail....depending on where you might live-thinking globally.
Thanks for posting this. I am trying to balance the old tried and true way of doing things with my "older" prospectes. Ain't no way they are going to be twittering, tweeting, booking faces, whatever. Many of them don't even own a computer. I think social media has become a bit of a crutch for some, trying do do things the easy way and have people come to you. But even using social media to get the leads is not easy. You have to work at it. So, I am working at both.
I think, like everything else in life, there must be a balance. Too much and something or someone suffers, be it your family yourself or even your business.
Jane and Barb- Absolutely balance is a necessity. It's not always an easy thing to do, but it is the best for us so as long as we are mindful that we need to strive for balance, we will be closer to achieving it.
Katerina- Thank ou I really appreciate it. A friend who is so talented in graphic design took my thoughts and put it into art. Checking the graphic with the heat map technology he had balanced the header perfectly.
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