On the other side of the Social Media curve

Newsflash: Social Media is BIG.

Your response to that was probably less then ecstatic and more like “Um, ya. No Shit.” Because if you read this blog which is not SEO optimized, you probably have a blog of your own, Twitter, FaceBook, LinkedIn, and YouTube account. You know what social media is, and you are engulfed in it everyday.

While working with several clients who cannot get their head around social media, I have noticed several trends. First, there is the social media in crowd and then there’s the “new-bees”.

Social media has become a virtual trade association. It’s a massive free networking event for social media users. If you weren’t blogging 5 years ago, didn’t get on Twitter in the first round, then you are not apart of the “inner” circle. Those who did, are deemed gurus or experts.

Sometimes I feel I am on the other side of the curve, trying to play catch up. If you read most of the web expert’s resumes or bio, they started blogging years ago, headed straight into web development, PR, or communications straight out of the gate from college. Now at the ripe age of 25-35, they are gods of social media. Like many others, I took a different route. My gate release was straight into the military. So while many of the social media “oldies” where blogging or working on web development during Sept 11th, I was apart of a 24 hour operations in support of OEF. Regardless of if I was there at the “beginning”, I am a user and player now. There are many like me, to which the social media cliches are failing to network with.

A virtual world built on minimal ROEs, now is inundated with social media acceptable web behavior. From how to effectively use Facebook, to what is the right way to use Twitter (who the fuck is in charge of the manual? You? FU! ), to what is a good “blog” and what is not, the rules of engagement of social media are growing exponentially. Sure they all started as suggestions, but now they are getting flung out there as rules. Chris Brogan hand slapped Twitter users from using auto reply messages.

Bloggers and Twitter users must now be careful not to seem to “self-seeking” but authentic. How is networking your skills using social media not authentic? Some people don’t want to share pictures of their kid’s dirty diapers on Flickr to portray “humanness”. Would you whip out the wallet pics at a trade show? Social media is nothing more than a big trade show for networking.

To the disbelief of most web savvy, there is a “real” world out that that doesn’t’ engage in social media. Even though more and more corporations are making a presence on the web, the majority of industry’s (with REAL skills) don’t need social media to survive. It’s about bricks and mortar. Making the sale, closing the deal, delivering product, following up, etc. Um, no where does social media help the average business in doing those fundamental business tasks. Those who started out from the beginning with Web 2.0, may want to be a bit more friendly to the new-bees. When it comes push to shove, the more people using social media, the more successful you are. Right? Might want to rethink the hand slapping instead embrace. Otherwise, people will quickly get turned off, and the CEO of Merck might just say FU.

If I asked who’s Pete Chasmore on Twitter, I would get an overwhelming response back. If I walk into the mall and asked, most people would provide a blank stare back. The web is still somewhat disconnected from mainstream society. It is still an industry, niche, and market. It does not reach everyone or all of us equally. Simultaneously, the young Gen Y or teens are growing up immersed in the web. They are the growing users of Facebook and YouTube. They will also change the web and how it is used. The social media experts of today won’t be old school news in 10 years. It’s a short term fame as developers create something new and in five years all the twenty somethings are using it, but the old school web 2.0 people aren’t. There will either be a shift in skill to move with the trends, develop your own platform (not just be a user), or embrace that one day you won’t be the guru but the learner instead.

To understand social media and how it is all interconnected doesn’t take a mechanical engineering degree. It’s as simple as making a presence, keeping a presence, and engaging in others. There’s no real brick being made by any one on the web except by the developers. Being a user doesn’t require much skill or intelligence. Amanda Chapel Tweets it best every time there is another news release of more layoffs “Company X just created 500 more full time bloggers.”