Results tagged “social media” from Irish Violet

Disagreeing with Seth Godin probably isn't a smart career move, but I've had the "accidental career" anyway. His recent blog post equating Twitter with high school is certainly humorous, but he's one social network off. Undoubtedly, Facebook most resembles high school.

Firstly, who "won" in high school? No one, not even the Duck (R.I.P. John Hughes).

Never-ending drama: High school? Check. Twitter? Not so much. Facebook? Looking up old classmates to see who has gained weight, has a receding hairline, married the class clown, is saddled with five kids in some flyover state, etc.

Worrying about what irrelevant people think: High school? Check. Twitter? Not so much. Facebook? The fan pages, the what <fill in the blank> are you most like "quizzes," the Fives, the polls, the RSVPs.

This oft-delayed post came is finally coming to life (and light) though it's still a work in progress. Input greatly appreciated. The idea stems from a notion I have long-held that then was challenged/enhanced by the exploration Jason is doing with his Social Surrogate Theory - especially the concept of intimacy - and the likemind Seattle meeting in September.

Haven't we all been amazed/astounded at how the internet has altered just about every conceivable aspect of our lives: personal, professional, leisure, communication, education, etc. Via one outlet or other, I've found my last six jobs, one apartment, clothes, long lost friends, beer recipes, laughs, lusts, set lists of gigs I attended two months ago (and twelve years ago), and on and on.

Amazing? No doubt. Life-changing? Absolutely. Scary? I submit there is that element as well. Perhaps the two faces of Janus aren't equal, but there is plenty rough to go along with the smooch online.

It's comforting to me that I can find a community around some of my personal, nominally obscure, passions. And more comforting - or at least reassuring to my inner insecure geek - to find someone even more hepped up on goofballs about it.

But what to make of the security and anonymity that a keyboard and monitor provides? As Mr. Gingold succinctly recognizes, "within [the] mistaken fantasy that we've all got the same sized digital megaphone, lies the difficulty that - with such ease of access comes an assumed closeness where there probably isn't one." Words with sinister meanings that in an offline context could be grounds for legal action, are part of internet vernacular. In some instances, they are considered netiquette: "lurk" and "follow" for example. Both contribute to a notion of acceptable voyeurism. We think nothing of sending a LinkedIn request or a friendship "add" on Facebook to modest acquaintances. Or even, say, creating a fake persona on Twitter. At the risk of sounding schoolmarmish, it seems that another step or two beyond is cyber-bullying - the most infamous example being the Megan Meier suicide - the concept of which already has an extensive wikipedia entry.

Intimacy is hard enough offline. And I certainly can't claim to know anyone with any level of depth with whom I only have an online connection (pardon any puns in the last two sentences). While I do cop to a certain affinity for those I find online who march to the same (different?) drummer as me, it's an inward smile at most. I imagine my friends recognize me in any of my online outlets: from what I post here or on Facebook or Twitter. I'm fairly agnostic in terms of accepting new friends any of the usual online forums though I know others parse their social networks for different levels of friends...probably a topic for another post entirely. So in the modern parlance of Janus as two-faced, perhaps I am being overly harsh. Though in keeping with the purview of Janus according to mythology, it is fitting to begin, and now end, invoking him.

It's surprising that I should even think to ask the question, given the service boasts more than 20 million profiles and is arguably (fire away) the first online professional network many people join. But one tweet yesterday and the first response sparked a modest volume of email, further musings here, and perhaps soon elsewhere. As @mrgingold noted, 140 characters truly only takes you so far.

The initial thought, from @abfdc, is that LinkedIn is two years passed its effectiveness date. It's a big database, but there's no genuine engagement. People seem to be connection hogs or want to link to you to get to someone in your network. All you can see is a digital résumé, but there is no depth to the profiles. With Twitter, by contrast, you can get a more well-rounded view of someone through her posts and links. A glorified online address book another called LinkedIn. Since its primary communication tool is email, there's no immediacy, thus no community or social networking characteristics. In sum, a decent recruiting tool and missed opportunity.

I don't disagree with most of the above, but I do disagree with the notion that LinkedIn has already jumped the digital shark. I have benefited professionally from my network on LinkedIn. Even prior to that though, I found myself going further out of my way than I ever did when I receive LinkedIn requests for an introduction or help filling an open position. Maybe, subconsciously, I thought it was a pay-it-forward type of situation. Or that through its interface, it is very easy to make an on-the-spot electronic introduction or jot down some notes for a recommendation. I scan my LinkedIn home page daily to see who has been active, if old friends or colleagues have emerged from the fog, and know that newly posted recommendations are usually indications that someone is looking for a change of scenery. Tip-offs my address book doesn't give me.

Can LinkedIn become a bona fide social networking application with the depth and immediacy offered by the other big category gorillas, Twitter and Facebook? Perhaps. The immediacy part of the equation still is nebulous until an instant messaging app is overlaid, but I don't think that's essential. I would submit that's not LinkedIn's niche anyway. None of my fellow social media deconstructors know what to make of LinkedIn groups. What is their purpose today? Are you a member of any? Do you participate in it in any fashion?

There is plenty of opportunity for better engagement among those with common threads be it an industry or a former employer. If I was an employer or especially in an HR capacity, I'd set up a group and encourage alumni to join it. It would be a readymade network of institutional knowledge, referral bank, and a means to keep in contact with those who might want to return to the fold. There are similar collaboration opportunities to pull subject matter experts and attendees for barcamps and similar rather than the existing Q&A widget that seems forced. And perhaps imitation, or enhancement, is the sincerest form of flattery as at least one company is deploying company-specific alumni portals.

I don't think LinkedIn is two years past its sell-by date. It's very of the moment and, given its database, ripe for new extensions of the concept.

In late May, it was international news that Twitter helped a photographer get out of jail. Yesterday, it was cops and robbers -- literally -- outside the office of my former employer, where the endgame of a bank heist/cop chase played out. Two old coworkers were tweeting the action and posting photos to Brightkite (read from the bottom up as feeds are stacked chronologically, latest entry on top).

I get plenty of odd looks when I mention social media, microblogging and the like amongst many of my friends, digiheads and non-digiheads alike, but I may have convinced a few yesterday about its immediacy and power. Many others can wax much more eloquently than I about where the digisphere is going next -- David Armano and Jeremiah Owyang are two of the more prominent.  But yesterday's news incident provided me and others our CNN for a few hours as I was monitoring Twitter and passing links along in near-real time.

People will still use Twitter to post about mowing the lawn and I've been guilty of
such innocuousness as well. But as we learn to filter the noise and home in on the signal -- like we all currently do with the hundreds of email messages we receive daily -- the useful employment of social media application will become similarly commonplace. For advocacy groups: flash mobs when a Supreme Court decision is about to be read (bang!). For retail outlets: daypart-driven promotions (Amazon already offering MP3 deal of the day; thanks @warrenss). For first dates: sending a mapped location of the super-trendy bar your future ex-spouse can't locate. And many more that probably haven't been designed yet. Maybe even I'll think of one. Feel free to follow me; and let me know where I can follow you.