I am going through my marketing action list as I sit in a cafe bar in Smithfield Square in Dublin. One of my actions is to write some social content (so I am working as you read!!) and the only time I could fit in to do it was this weekend. Between spending time with my daughter, going to a family function and perhaps speaking to my husband I am wondering when I will fit it in?
So it got me thinking about how social is social? As a consumer of social media it normally distracts me from conversations, observations or interactions with the real world. As a business owner, it takes time to sit down and really think about what I want to write when often I feel I could or should be doing something else! It made me ask the questions…..does it really help build social relationships?
I came to a conclusion that the answer is Yes (with a caveat). I have made brilliant connections with people through tools such as LinkedIn or Twitter. Relationships that I have benefited from and also added value to. However, I still think the name is misleading (the caveat🙂). If I was making up a name for it today, as if it just had been invented, I might call it the following
- “Information Media”: If I think about my engagement with social content it is all about the content. I am liking, hating, loving or sharing information that I find compelling or repelling! It is more about content sharing a lot of the time than relationship building.
- “Pre & Post Social Media”: I have observed that while I often have conversations online, they are really brought to life in the real world. It is either that I meet someone in real life and then meet them online or I have met them online and the relationship is cemented in someway offline. The “social” bit is happening but it flourishes when offline and online are combined!
Anyway I will enjoy find some space this weekend in the middle of my real world social activities to come online and be social here too!
