It was only 5 years ago that web development was only just starting to hear about social media as a mainstream activity.
Now it seems that social media has grown so fast and so much, that people consider it a channel of its own. "Build a social media strategy" they say - and the web is full of social media failures as a result - those hidden graveyards where people are encouraged to comment, rate or vote, but nobody ever does.
So what's my point? Well, good question! I'm getting there...
Remember TV when it became colour TV? Or when the second TV channel was invented? I used to own a television set that didn't have a channel switch - just a knob I would "pull" to switch to the "other channel". Those were big changes - colour television, stereo FM radio, computer disc drives, automatic gear shift, mobile telephony (my God, I'm old!) But in all those cases the innovation was taken on board as a development or extension of the existing channel. Nobody tried to create colour TV as an alternative channel to black and white television.
So what's my point? Well here it comes!
When people treat social media as something separate from mainstream web development they forget all the disciplines and learnings that already exist about effective web development. They forget that people need to have a reason and motive to visit a web or rate or comment or vote. They forget that a web experience is a journey with a starting point and an ending point. They forget that someone, somewhere is paying for that journey and expect a return on investment.
The end result is just what you often see today - social media with no point, no community, no content, no thought leadership and no value.
To me, social media is the internet as before, but with ears. It's not about technology - it's about people: people, society, Maslov, teams, communities, behaviour, motivation and attitudes, business and growth.
footnote: Just saw this article from Marketing week http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/stop-putting-social-media-cart-before-content-horse/3009790.article
