This is the sixth in my series of blogs dealing with Social Media Misconceptions.

Today’s is titled: Revolution not evolution.

Is social media revolution not evolution then?

No.

Why should it be?

If we break down the term "social media", it is the act of sharing in a social manner. As stated in a previous blog, we can trace this back 14,000 years to when early man shared advice on how to bring down wild game by painting on a cave wall.

A group or tribe of people discussing this was called a social network.

Question: what happened?

What happened to this action that has been known about for so many thousands of years and been an innate part of our evolution, that it is now so misunderstood in the contemporary world we live in?

Where did it go wrong?

I mean, for thousands of years we have happily shared ideas, helping, teaching, nurturing, and supporting each other – yet it would appear that, in the not too distant past, we have lost the ability to share freely.

As many of you probably know, part of my daily routine is strategically placing companies on the social web. However, it is increasingly becoming obvious, that, prior to getting them to the level to where I can get them deployed on-line, and getting them to "pipe" the torrent of search patterns on the web, I have to go through an explanation of what being "social" on the web means!

Increasingly, my answer is simply this: just use your common sense.

We do it every single day. I am doing it right now. You are going to do it dozens of times today. You will share information without even realising it. You will share the football results from the weekend, you will share your thoughts on the new book that you just finished, you will share a new restaurant that you went to, you will share a joke you heard in the pub. You will share your opinion on the car that you drive with someone who is considering buying the same model. You will put your arms around someone and take time to listen to them when they need a shoulder to cry on. You will show somebody your photographs, you will lend someone a DVD, you will cut a clipping out of a magazine because you know your friend will be interested in it. You will give someone a lift to the train station, you will recommend a good plumber, you will introduce one friend to another, you will see a lonely person at a party and invite them into your conversation/group. You will introduce a work colleague to your golf club. You will tell everyone about the film you went to see.

All of this makes you feel good, because you are thinking of others, you are making things happen for others, and making someone else feel noticed and special. It is natural to want to share something, or someone, that we ourselves got value from.

In that action, you are making your friend feel noticed, you are making your work colleague feel noticed, you are making your prospect feel noticed, you are making your client feel noticed. You are making your future client who you have never yet met feel noticed. You are sharing yourself and people will share you and your information with others! It shows you care. We know this to be true.

But, it seems that when it comes to the web, you ask the question "why?". Or you say, "I don’t have time" … or "Yet another thing to cram into my already hectic day" … or "it’s not real or tangible business".

And the $64 billion dollar question … "What is the ROI on social media?".

Yet, for thousands of years, no one has ever asked what the ROI on sharing is! They have just got on with it.

Those proclaiming social media as a fad have no problem in sharing that opinion around off-line, and, ironically, often on-line!

Having said all this, I think I am wrong. I think I have made a grave error. I am sure that I don’t know what I am talking about at all. Or do I?!

Is social media really a revolution? Is it that hard to work out how to incorporate it into business/life in general? Or is it simply evolution and you are doing it already unconsciously, but not in an efficient manner using contemporary methods, which, at the moment, is via the web?

You have a choice: say it once with your vocal chords to one person or a million times to a million people with your fingertips (via your keyboard). Either way it is the same effort.

This should be seen as a revelation, not a revolution!

In my infinite ignorance I would say that 150 years ago the Industrial Revolution was born. And in this industrial revolution, corporations were born. Birth, school, work, death. From between the ages of 5 and 20-is we went to school and we were taught how we were going to be when we left school and entered the corporations. From the age of 20-ish to 65-ish we exchanged time for money. So for the best part of 60 years, we have had it ingrained into our psyche that we have to exchange something for money and this has gone on for several hundreds of years. I would argue that society had a hiccough. It lost its ability to care. I believe that the individual wants to care, but society as a whole, has lost this. I think this is why, in the work that I do, I increasingly have to explain what to do what is, in fact, the obvious. And what is in fact natural to us.

So why, when it comes to the web, is it so difficult for us to transfer ourselves from off-line to on-line sharing?

It would appear that society as a whole tends to kick against revolution. In certain eyes, the web is seen as a revolution, and naturally change is something that is feared by most.

Whereas in reality, the web is actually evolution. A natural progression. A continuation of what has gone on before.

Note: I believe what I said above is true, however, I do equally understand that the web world that we live in is in its infancy. In reality, it has only been in the mainstream for the last decade. (I know it is older, but I am talking about the "mainstream"). The web moves in dog years, so what is on paper 10 years old today, is, in reality, 70 years old. So it is hardly surprising that it can appear to be daunting. But with a modecrum of guidance and a little bit of strategy and a good sharp dose of common sense, the web can be your friend.

Thank you for reading my blog. If the web is of interest to you, you want to get started in the most efficient manner possible, but you unsure of how to move forwards, then you might like to consider how to implement a social media strategy for your business. I have a few places left on my training day which is happening this Friday in Guildford. Click >>> here for details.

You can read my previous Social Media Misconceptions blogs >>> here.

Regards
N
 
  

 

In this, the fifth blog in my series on Social Media Misconceptions, I deal with the misconception that social media is all about you.

I would like to dedicate this blog to Thomas and Penny Power. Last night, several hundred of us celebrated ecademy’s 12th birthday in London. Thomas and Penny would have been well within their rights to talk about all their achievements. However, they chose to celebrate *us*, the ecademy community. They played a wonderful slide show of pictures of all the people who make this such a great place to be part of. Thomas and Penny lead by example. Congratulations to the whole ecademy team for 12 fantastic years!

On with the blog:

It seems that many people struggle to understand the difference between self-promotion and self-publication. To my mind, the former is Web 1.0 mentality, while the latter is Web 2.0 mentality.

In a recent ecademy blog, Steve Holmes wrote: "I think we all appreciate that the explosion of what used to be called "vanity publishing" that has been unleashed by the internet has now reached the proportions of a flood with some people relentlessly releasing essentially meaningless and unnecessary Google fodder at their cute little "blog" sites day in day out like clockwork."

I think Steve is referring to those people who self-promote, and he has a valid point.

However, self-publication is a different beast and it is important to understand the distinction.

Self-publication shouldn’t always be "me, me, me"!

In a recent article, "There’s no "you" in Twitter", in the Times On-line, reporter Murad Ahmed, suggested that to get ahead with social media, you need to stop talking about yourself:

"This logic, to which many already adhere in the real world, is also becoming a rule when it comes to social networking on the web. Twitter seems like a medium dominated by narcissists and self-promoters, informing the public about their every waking thought. But research shows that the most popular "tweeters" are those who rarely speak about themselves.

A study undertaken by Dan Zarrella, a social media analyst and consultant based in Boston in the US, examined the language used by more than 60,000 Twitter users. He has developed a computer system called Tweetpsych, which can analyse the types of words used by people on social networking sites.

In his most recent study, Mr Zarrella looked at all the instances that Twitter users wrote self-referential words, such as "I", as well as more "inclusive" words such as "you" or "we". He found that the most self-referential Twitter users tended to have the fewest followers. Conversely, people who used more inclusive language tended to have more followers.

"No one wants to go to a cocktail party and hang out with the guy who’s talking about themselves all night," Mr Zarrella said."

In his recent ecademy blog, "In social media, size matters", Nic Oliver wrote: "I took the blogs of 8 of the top Social Media Bloggers and looked at their percentage use of "I", "We", "You" and "They". In each case, I collected at least 5,000 words, which for most equates to between 6 and 8 articles. I know it’s not a very large sample of writers or words, but I wanted to see if any patterns emerged. And they did!".

Nic concluded that that the top bloggers use the word "you" more often than "me" or "We/Our".

In my blog: "Twitter Wars: Katie Price vs. Peter Andre", I had a look at how the battling couple used their twitter accounts and how they were a reflection of their personalities. Ms. Price’s account was all "me, me, me", while Mr. Andre’s was all about the fans, including him replying to individual questions. I think I know which method will gain the most traction and create more loyalty.

This takes me back to the pub analogy I used in my previous blog. In a social situation, people prefer to interact with the person who is engaged with the group, who listens, and who shows an interest in others. The person who talks about themselves all the time (like Katie Price) is about as popular as a rattlesnake in a lucky dip!

On my training day, "How to implement a social media strategy for your business", I have a whole module devoted to how to listen first on-line, before jumping in. This module explains how to use different tools to monitor on-line conversations and therefore understand what matters to people, the sentiment of the group, and where you can offer support to others.

I explain why big numbers alone will not achieve success, but why having large numbers of people who choose to listen is the way to leverage this new technology.

The key word here is influence.. Become an influencer "through the killer app of friendship" to quote Thomas Power.

My tips for taking your first steps on-line are all geared around supporting others, and not trumpeting about yourself. These include:

- commenting on other people’s blogs

- offering to connect people who may be able to help each other

- performing random acts of kindness on-line to help others

- answering people’s questions

- being social and supportive and interested in what others are doing/saying.

Thank you for reading this blog. I hope you have got value from it. If so, you may be interested in attending some of my upcoming events:

On Friday 12th March, I’m running another of my ground-breaking "How to implement a social media strategy for your business" training days. This training will help you kick-start your social media engagement in 2010, and save you a huge amount of time from doing non-productive activities. Full details >>> here.

On 20th March, due to the previous event now being fully booked, I am running an additional "How to create great web video content" training day. This does what it says on the tin, but each delegate will walk away with a professionally shot video for their own use. Details >>>> here.

However you decide to leverage the social web, make sure that you follow the three golden rules of leadership, authenticity, and consistency, as advocated by Seth Godin.

If you have any misconceptions about using social media, then please have a look at my series of blogs:

I don’t have time

I have profiles on all the main sites/platforms, so I’m using social media

Social media is a fad.

All businesses can benefit from social media marketing.

Regards N