Social media is still at the forefront of a huge wave within my profession and the general population. I’ve always looked at this metaphorical wave with a sense of awe and skepticism.
What spurred this on? A piece awhile back by Malcom Gladwell titled Small Change – Why the revolution will not be tweeted. It’s an interesting read that is typical Gladwell in that it’s a very rational argument backed up with examples and specifics.
I tend to agree with his stance. Not because it’s Gladwell, but because I’ve never seen a truly valuable relationship that were solely comprised of interaction within online social networks. The bloom of any relationship invariably rely on something other than Twitter or Facebook (and the like).
Sure, making connections (or reconnecting) with the aid of social networks is pretty common. The extent of those relationships always hit a wall of depth without the more standard relationships of more standard communication or traditional physical presence.
I’ve met many online way back to the mid-90′s from the walled garden of the old AOL. Very, very few ever progressed to even the point of a vocal conversation, let alone an actual meeting. I know of a few real world relationships that have spawned from meeting online. The main point is that the depth of relationships achieved offline can’t be reached online thusfar. The whole social media movement has huge implications, but too many in positions of influence in and around the arena seem to have bigger eyes than stomach’s. Using another metaphor, they’re trying to run before they can walk.
To an extent, I admire the initiative to push as far and fast as possible… But too many go too far. There’s this great need to find the next thing, to go further in engaging, even creating an audience at all costs. It feels like a bubble with mountains of dollars being blown into it from VC, angels, and all the older software / media companies trying to ride this wave where profit is the exception and not the rule.
The main problem I see is that too many create great websites, features, and social networks only to think it’s necessary to improve upon something that is already providing a great service. Unnecessarily improving something runs the great risk of alienation and creating something too cumbersome to be actually worth it.
So now I’ve transitioned into something somewhat different. There is a massive growth in the realm of social media that is outstripping actual interest by users. There is a disconnect between online relationships or offline relationships. There are economic forces behind the whole movement. There is a large misconception of the true efficacy of social media for certain goals.
Sometimes I don’t really know what to make of it. I’m sure social media is here to stay, but it seems like so many pieces are running a race on something akin to a shoots and ladders game board…