Being Social

Yesterday John sent me this link to Boing Boing where they mentioned this YouTube video about Web 2.0.

In an effort to sort through what I personally know about being a part of this whole weebernet of information, I started browsing a couple topics. I found one site that pretty much sums up how I feel about a couple things, and the fact that he’s quoted an 80s movie not only makes me giggle but keeps my focus.

Scott Karp on “social”:

There is way too much hype, way too much ideology, way too much orthodoxy, and way too many hopes, dreams, and expectations packed into this poor overused word. There are many good intentions, and real revolutions, all enabled by technology. But the discussion of everything “social” in media is starting to feel, well…maybe The Breakfast Club, that fountain of mid-80s wisdom, said it best:

Claire: So academic clubs aren’t the same as other kinds of clubs.
John: Ah… but to dorks like him, they are. What do you guys do in your club?
Brian: Well, in physics we… we talk about physics, properties of physics.
John: So it’s sorta social, demented and sad, but social.
[Publishing 2.0]

The whole geek inheriting the earth thing rings true but you no longer have to be Poindexter to blog or participate in social networking (see my post about the lonely bloggers). But this isn’t just about blogging, that’s the just part of this whole thing that I’m most familiar with.

How does all this “social media” fit into the big business world or how does it apply in the 9-5 scheme of things? I’m not really the one to ask, but hopping on the “social media” bandwagon on a whim, putting Digg and Del.icio.us links on your website and trying to sell SEO to clients without knowing what you’re getting into can have negative repercussions. Although hearts may be in the right places, it seems like some companies are that older guy at a party wearing obvious pop culture trends trying to be hip ‘yo but clearly out of place. So they need help, they need to ‘get with the times’ but perhaps they’re really not sure how.

Stowe Boyd on “social” PR (via Scott Karp)

School your clients to do the right thing, not just wrap themselves in a bunch of psychobabble about social interaction with their “communities” without actually adopting a new mindset.

Knowing what you’re getting into is key as well as understanding what you’ll get out of this, and how your clients will ultimately benefit. You can’t go out and put a googofluxcapometer in your car purely because that’s a term you heard people using around the water cooler. You actually need to know what these tools are, how you can effectively use them, and explain exactly what they are to your clients.

If you have no idea where to start (or have no idea what I’m talking about right now) you can do Google searches (e.g “blogging for __” or “how to __”), find a forum in which to discuss “social media” for newbies or if all else fails, browse the wikis back to front. We’re in a new phase of the “information super highway” both personally and in the business world. I’m no expert, but I am a part of it all.