One of my main issues lately with blogging and Twittering has been the, what seems like, constant bowing down in front of one another of 'social media types'. Jason Falls had a great post on Friday summarizing many of my feelings. During the weekend we were lucky enough to mooch off of our good friends, since we are currently 'in between homes'. Several times during the weekend we talked about things like Twitter, Facebook, blogging and more. The conversations, at least for me, were invigorating, challenging and refreshing. Mainly because neither of our friends are into any of these activities.
Talking with people who have little interest in social media makes you much better at expaining it's importance. Fielding questions that are completely untainted makes you understand how all of this is perceived by the majority of people. Finally, it puts it all into prespective and you realize once again that just because you have thousands of followers on Twitter that does not measure your impact nor your importance.
After these types of sessions I actually feel much stronger about my own personal use of social media, but also how we are using it professionally. I can now go into a meeting and better explain what Facebook is, why it is important and the pitfalls you must watch for when entering social networking. Also I can see more clearly what tools are most effective, again for me, and what social media gadgets will never have value-add. My mind feels a bit more clear today, at least in terms of this topic, because I was questioned in a challenging manner by people who were not 'social media celebs'.
Have you talked to someone not in the social media world today?
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