From Internet forums, message boards, weblogs, wikis, podcasts, vlogs, to Twitter, Facebook and Second Life; the sky is limit when it comes to Social Media tools. Today's PR practitioner not only has the task of being knowledgeable about what tools are available, but must know which programs to use at what time. With the wide variety of Web 2.0-driven software, it can be a hot mess trying to discover the best social mediums for a brand.
Technology, of course, is only going become more advanced with time and will do so at an ever-increasing pace. An avid news junkie may even have trouble keeping tabs on the latest Social Media trend or daily Web 2.0 fad. A RSS feed of new SM tools and reading industry advice is not the end all solution. To be most effective, an industry practitioner needs to make Social Media a part of their daily lifestyle.
Your grandmother's Facebook
It's no secret that some of the Baby Boomers still have trouble understanding "the Google." Much less would you expect to be talking to your grandmother on Facebook chat, sharing your favorite sites with her on Del.icio.us or finding her blog on Technorati. There's nothing wrong with that, of course- it's just not a part of her lifestyle.
The Internet is a common ground for all information seekers with technology at their disposal. Unless one is immersed in Social Media tools on a regular basis, no one can expect to know the lingo, trends, or rules associated with every SM tool out there. Twitter may be easy to use, but there is an etiquette to be followed and methods to reach broader audiences that are not obvious to a first-time user.
No such thing as an expert
The bottom line is this: it takes time to learn how to EFFECTIVELY use Social Media. You wouldn't pick up a hammer out of your tool box and start whacking away unless you knew how to use it. Social Media can be profoundly effective or equally destructive if utilized poorly. Having a user name and password to every latest SM site does not make you an expert on to use it!
Take time to read about the programs, but not just from the homepage. Read blogs about the SM tool, scroll through public forums, and pay close attention to mainstream headlines when they happen to pop up in the news. Most importantly, use the tool regularly and pay close attention to how popular users operate their account.
Don't forget that the one characteristic that makes Social Media unique is the fact that it is user created and driven. Companies make the algorithm and concept, but people make the content.
And that, fellow blog reader, includes you.
Love or hate what you've read, please leave a comment or drop me an email at pauljmatson@gmail.com.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
The Social Media Lifestyle
5 reactions:
Very well-put Paul...
Just thought you'd be proud to know that government agency employees here at the Dept. of Education are trying to move in the social media direction and are inquiring ideas from me, the "fresh blood" in this office...
All I can say is...we are sooooooooo very far away from making progress.
My goal by the end of the summer: an RSS feed. lol.
Haha... well they are very lucky to have you there!
The easiest RSS feed to register quickly is Google Reader. It's mostly self-guided to set up, but let me know if you need any help.
If you want to register your site, use Feedburner.
I hope your internship is going well!! I miss all of you terribly.
very nice that you have paulmatson.com
hopefully you will blog MORE than once a month lol
Very nice blog Paul! I liked the topic a lot!
...But I have to say if I was comparing my grandmother to my mother on being technologically savvy- Granny wins by a mile. She does all my e-Bay auctions! (:
Start blogging more often!
I'm actually going to start blogging once a day, by noon. Plenty of topics stored and ready to be posted. Subscribe if you want them in your inbox each day!
And tell your granny I think she's pretty hip.