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You said that you were surprised at some of the pessimistic viewpoints--I am not. I've become increasingly irritated at what I see as a shared narcissism or insulated overselling of social media. It is but a component of communications, but many seem to have become so immersed in it that they are ignoring that fact.
Narcissistic behavior always irritates me, and the most recent demonstration of this is when Cuil debuted, what did everyone knock it for? Ninety-nine percent of the posts were "Cuil sucks, it couldn't find ME." Ugh. Ok, so the search tool might not work, but the simple fact that people's first instinct is to see how something relates specifically to their web presence is so self-centered. I feel that it's now less "social media" and more "social me."
But, this is to be expected perhaps. When everyone has a platform to express ideas, this feeds the notion that everyone's views are equally relevant. I tend to think that is not the case. The opinions of those with decades of experience should be weighted more than those just entering a field. That they all have equal footing to put forth ideas does not mean that all of those ideas are of equal merit. Social media seems to bury or ignore this fact.
Just my .02.
Since the world of social media is inordinately populated with self-publishers, I would expect a degree of self-centered motivations. I blog. i want people to read my blog. I have the distinction of only wanting those to read it who will get something out of it. Unqualified traffic means nothing to me because I don't have ads on my site. But others are trying to make a buck and I can understand that.
And I do think that by the sheer social nature of the communities and conversation online that ideas of stronger merit elevate to the top. For instance, other than a tweet or two, I don't promote my content directly. My blog posts get traffic and interaction like yours on merit. There are a lot of others out there who have posts, but no traffic or interaction, even with promotion.
Still, good points to be considered. Thanks for chiming in.
If all my Twitter friends jumped ship for Friend Feed, that's where I'd go in a heartbeat. SM is not about the tools at all, as much as they'd like us to think: the tools are the means to a relational end, and if they don't work well to get me to that goal, I'll find one that does.
2 words: humans talkin
1 word: communication
1. "Mutual respect"
2. "Establishing trust"
Both trust and respect are key in building and maintaining relationships. They seem especially important when you're trying to build and maintain them online.
Is it cool? Sure. But it doesn't have to be treated like its one big koobaiya fest either.
(That last part was totally a joke. Don't get mad at me. Heh.)
Similar to every business, only a small percentage are effective.
"reality Web", "real world", "human touch"
I think social media tools are just a manifestation of our changing expectation of what the Web should be. A few years ago we thought of the Web as a place to find information, buy things, learn ...Today we also think of it as a place to post thoughts, find people and interact with them.
We have gone from the Web for communication to the Web for conversation. For me, social media brings to the Web a touch of the real world (the good, bag and ugly of it).
(That shouldn't be construed as pessimistic, just that tomorrow's technology will bring something newer and more dynamic that we haven't even considered yet).
"Ubiquitous connections"
"Boundless communication"
and for some folks it seems it's a forum for:
"Pontificating indefinitely" ;)
Best,
Adam