Thursday, July 01, 2010

Social Media is All About Being Social

Thom Singer delivered this post yesterday; "Is Social Media Really Social?" He offers great thoughts about how social sites are becoming entertainment outlets and we are starting to sit back, not participating, as we wait to be entertained.

It is true we are entertained and instead of turning on TV many of us are turning on our computers (and smart phones) to veg-out -- but we still NEED to talk and that is evolving too.

I am someone who wants to be a part of a conversation. In my personal social media journey I have migrated from viewing the entertainment to scrolling to the comments segment of a page. On Amazon I pay more attention to reader reviews, on Digg I read the commenter blather, on Twitter I follow thought-posters and un-follow product pushers and on FourSquare I read the visitor log to discover more about where I am currently standing. As soon as any favored social site jumps the shark and becomes a corporate shill I am out the there.

Some of the social sites that started this revolution have become more entertainment than social -- it is bound to happen... but Thom is right about this; Keep being social! It is the conversation that matters.

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