Many people are still wondering about the role of social media. Some are even still wondering what it is (see my various links at right for examples). Well, it isn’t just a youth channel anymore - I saw a recent statistic that half of Australians are involved in some form of social media network. It is evolving organically and fairly quickly probably driven by a variety of forces:
- A need to return to old fashioned values of trust and genuineness – Word-of-Mouth satisfies that need
- A closed door creates interest – the curiosity of online users
- Steadily growing online popularity for search, purchase, gaming, relationships
- Massive amounts of US Venture Capital directed to various Web 2.0 ‘bets’.
Yet many companies struggle to understand the context and implications of it. Perhaps this is because their more traditional management structures typically act to limit curiosity. It seems from some reading on this point that Australian companies are well behind their
Unlike advertising, it's not really necessary for a publicity campaign to reach everyone. Forget reach and frequency. Think credibility and trust. When you can convince a handful of influential people, you can count on word-of-mouth to fill in the cracks and carry your message to the rest of the market.
As Einstein said,
The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.
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3 comments:
I very much agree, and have found the best way to learn what social media is... is to be a part of it. Which involves a coupple of elements which might conflict with the traditional work environment - trust and time. I hope the more people that become a part of it (even if they're just passive members on LinkedIn or Plaxo) that it will eventually open eyes to the exciting opportunities this new world presents.
Some very good points made- I agree with the essence of Verb' comment that the one major thing holding the revolution back is the time resource. I feel that many more would be using the online services if their life were not so filled with other things. The more that this is integrated into the lives of busy people, one would hope, the quality of online contribution will lift also (a second major hindrence of growth).
It is amazing how much these tools (facebook, myspace, linkedin et. al.) are spoken about outside of the social media space. Being a social media laggard myself, I find it amazing how much membership acts as a proxy brand name to flaunt with friends and create social affinity.
Two things are holding me back:
1. Time
2. The feeling that I have missed the boat on social media
I wonder how much the latter applies to those not boarding the bandwagon- I suspect many.
Pedro.
Some great feedback here, thankyou.
Finding time to do more seems to be a universal challenge. Arguably, the more we do the less strategic we are so the effect compounds! An extra hurdle is certainly created by the feeling 'on the outside' of technology advances.
I can see a campaign by a smart web 2.x player, like: "We know you've been busy but you haven't missed out! Come and try us out". This acknowledges and validates trial usage. And trial is critical to software adoption.
The effect of brands on social affinity is something I had not really considered - so thankyou Pedro. Depending on your outlook, this could be a good or bad by-product of consumerism. Watch this space for more on that topic.
Michael
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