25 May 2006

Social media


Social media, originally uploaded by dgray_xplane.

Why doesn't the typical meeting work for you anymore?

Why, when you see the laptop come out and the lights start to dim, do you feel a vague sense of dread?

Maybe it isn't so vague?

Maybe you've become used to a different way of interacting; a different kind of media. Social media.

What is social media? I think of it as a group of media producers that is primarily it's own audience.

I was first introduced to this idea by Alex Vieux of Red Herring, who defined the Red Herring media ecosystem as a global social network of entrepreneurs, technologists, and financiers who were primarily interested in each others' activities and ideas.

A short while later I sat next to Ross Mayfield of Socialtext, who for three days running attempted to convince me of the power of wikis -- I am sad to say, without success. Those of you who know me are aware that I can be quite slow on the uptake sometimes.

Later I met Jerry Michalski, who is so passionate about social media that he named his company Sociate.

You wouldn't be reading this if you weren't already connecting to the world of social media. Which is why, I submit, that meetings of the traditional type don't work for you any more. You're no longer a couch potato, watching TV in the evening, being spoon-fed your media. And you don't want that role in your business meetings either.

You've become a part of the social media ecosystem. In addition to being a consumer of media, you're now also a producer. You've become accustomed to having a voice in the conversation. Social media is a clear phenomenon and it isn't going away.

So you can imagine my surprise when I searched the web for a simple, clear definition of social media and came up empty.

My definition is in the picture above.

What's your definition? Please leave a comment and share your thoughts.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maybe it could be defined as an ever-increasing volume of media, perpetuated by itself.

I like the idea of user level inter-operability, but it doesn't make sense seeing as only a fraction will be contributing. Only when they feel personally responsible for correcting or elaborating on what is already there.

M Taher said...

Hi Dave
I have nothing to add on.
You are the expert and I salute you for your excellent visualization.
What I did is, I posted your idea on my Blog, along with the other similar content (I found today).
Please leave your visual signature on my blog, so that the cycle is complete (in other words: what comes round, goes round).
Best, Mohamed

JJeffryes said...

I'd call it "natural communication."

Sit a bunch of people down in a group, and start storytelling. While there may be one main speaker, if they are truly great, they pull material from their audience. They weave things relevant to the listeners into the story, and probably get those present to participate.

Humans aren't built to live in Broadcast Culture, where information is sent to them and must simply be absorbed. We're designed to collaborate with the people around us, and the closer media gets to that, the more people will embrace it.