Social Medium at Large

Again we are having a week that has been designated as Social Media Week. The first one was held in New York City in February 2009 and in September 2010 it was expanded to a twice-yearly event and expanded to more cities. The sponsor, SocialMediaWeek.org, has announced that the February 2013 event will include over 100,000 members in 26 cities around the globe. With almost everybody on the planet connected to everybody else through this thing we call social media, it is not surprising that it has such universal popularity. On the other hand, if you are not actively involved in one of the companies providing such services you may have missed that it is even happening. How ironic that the medium of communication that is taking over our world is still so misunderstood and maligned. Many early adopters have bridged the gap from fledgling growth to including it as a staple in everyday life. Now that it appears to be a more mature concept many are still reluctant to be a part. Even ardent supporters of social media use for both personal and business often donâ€™t get it. Missionaries for the cause assume that because they see value that it is intuitively obvious to everybody elseâ€¦ wrong! Nothing could be further from the truth.

What is social media? First it is social, meaning that it involves interaction of people, and it is media, a line of communication. This article serves as an introduction to a four part series discussing various aspect of this phenomenon.

Individual Use of Social Media â€“ Most people are like the group of blind men trying to describe an elephant. Those who only feel the trunk, leg or tail will have entirely different ideas of what the animal looks like. If there is anyone who can lay claim to the title of social media expert, it is someone who is polished and proficient in all aspects of the media. They are also always on the brink of being made obsolete. To remain proficient in their craft, they must also be a constant student of technology while also contributing to the common knowledge of the subject. Contrary to most generational myths to the contrary, age of the participant has absolutely no bearing on that expertise.
Company Based Social Media Programs â€“ Many legally conservative or highly regulated companies are not only reluctant to enter into the realm of social media, they are extremely suspicious of employee use as well. Without seeing the advantages of participating in a global knowledge network it becomes a time waster that is to be blocked or severely restricted. The evolution into being social media savvy for most starts in sales and marketing. Eventually this grows to impact other aspects of business and can be a fantastic tool for HR and R&D.
Social Media in Recruiting and Job Search â€“ There are many other uses of social media that also bridge the gap between individual use and company use, but the employment interaction is the one that is significant to both the lifeblood of a company and the livelihood of prospective employees. There is probably no other interaction that offers more rewards to the winners and dire consequences to the losers. This topic deserves its own discussion in the overall scheme of how things should work.
What Is Next in Social Media? â€“ The only thing that limits the expansion of social media is the human brain and expanding technology to meet the needs of communication and curiosity. Todayâ€™s social media usage has gone far beyond science fiction of a few years ago, so perhaps there is a clue into how future needs will be met in the fiction writerâ€™s brainâ€¦ or the technology geek. There are also dark clouds on the horizon if we allow technology to become an addiction that lulls us into a malaise of letting machines do the work for us.

There is an interesting dialog required to bring an understanding to where we are today and where we are going. No doubt we will use some of that collective global intelligence to take us there.

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