Twitter is not Social Media!
This is a public service announcement to the many folks that write about social media when what they are really talking about is Twitter. I’m not the type to call people out but I read an article today that said that there is no need for social media consultants. The Authors reason behind this was that companies and individuals have all of the skills and talents they need to work effectively in the social media space by just being human. Frankly, in my opinion that is BS! The Author went on further to say, and I quote,”using social media is just a natural extension of yourself. Asking questions. Listening. Responding.” This looks a lot like twitter. Yes, listening and responding can be done on just about any social media platform like blogs, Facebook and Friendfeed, but at the end of the day this is NOT the only facet of social media.
Just this morning I got off a business call with an agency that represents many great brands. The owner wants to help these brands get more involved in the social space and my immediate reaction is to tell them to be human. Her response to me was, “It scares the living daylights out of them!” Now while many readers and commenters on this blog will ask “why” there are many of you reading this that are saying “damn straight” this space is scary and wont even leave a comment for fear of maybe saying something wrong. (Leave comments anyway!)
My point to this article is as the title states; Twitter is not Social Media! Social Media is not just about joining the conversation and human interactions.
Social Media in my opinion is a white board, a blank slate where companies and individuals have the ability to use a myriad of tools including audio, video, and text to effectively communicate, engage, educate, market, and share ideas in a way that is strategically advantageous to the objective of that business, brand or individual.
There is no doubt in my mind that in five to ten years time the majority of relevant businesses on this planet will be interacting with these tools as if they were an extension of the way they do business, but right now that is not the case. Video, Audio, Mobile and emerging technologies are still daunting to most individuals and businesses. Using them strategically is another level all together.
Examples:
> If I handed my father an iPhone and told him to communicate and add value to the twitter community he would look at me cross-eyed. Ad to this my father is a certified genius who loves gadgets and cool new things and you’ll see what I mean.
> Two nights ago I spoke in front of a group that was attending a workshop on how to use twitter. Yea! How to use twitter. What comes naturally to many of us does not come naturally to others. I could have rolled out a sleeping bag and answered questions and concerns for two days.
Social media leverages the most powerful set of publicly accessible tools that the world has ever known. Twitter is one of those tools. In fact New York Times best selling Author Chris Brogan calls twitter the new Dial Tone for the 21st century. However, when your approaching social media especially for business purposes you must take a holistic approach. there are hundreds of available tools to create media of all types that gets distributed to millions of audience segments. Don’t be limited in thinking that social media is just interacting on twitter or posting videos to YouTube. Start with your objectives and apply the tools that fit!
REVISED ADDITION
Just a few hours after writing this article I received a message from Venessa Miemis. She shared this very appropriate graphic with me that she created and I in turn would like to share it with you. Make sure you check out her blog for the full sized version and her insights! Smart Cookie.
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Comments
Awesome post, it is a shame that social media has become synonymous with twitter and facebook. The idea of social media really can break down to listening and interacting.
Great post! Hearing people say “you don’t need experts – just be human” reminds me of when people claimed tools like FrontPage (may it rot in peace) allowed anyone to create great websites for business, and that expert level web developers weren’t needed any more.
Going back even further, remember when the first Mac’s allowed anyone to do their own desktop publishing, and you started receiving documents that looked like ransom notes, with 15 fonts per page?
A lot of the social media tools that enable folks to play in the space can in some cases allow them to do just enough to get into trouble, if they don’t know how the space works. We cannot automate wisdom and experience, just yet.
John Meadows´s last blog ..Episode 80: Playing what they live and living what they play 
Great post Keith!
I wonder though if some of the people saying “you don’t need experts – just be human” are really trying to say “before you start paying people to push you into the social space – learn to be human.” Listening to and interacting with people as people is quite foreign to a lot of businesses. I’d hate to see a company get good advise initially, then when they’re on their own fall into old patterns of one way push marketing.
Adam White´s last blog ..Frank Turner – “Poetry Of The Deed”
Keith – thanks for posting this. In my own work, I’ve noticed that a good social media consultant adds value in three ways:
1) They understand the technology from a business perspective. For example, Facebook Groups are great for connecting folks around an idea. Twitter is great for “just-in-time” customer service and presence.
2) As natives they understand the culture. Being human on Twitter is different from being human on LinkedIn.
3) Big Picture Bread Maker. Natives are able to kneed together how technology fulfills business needs with their fluency of social media culture into a comprehensive but flexible strategy.
Oh!!! And I love the graphic from Venessa!
John
John Haydon´s last blog ..Why Twitter lists kill #followfriday dead
Keith,
In the mass market (the world that non-social media types live in) social media is twitter and facebook. It’s our job, our duty really, to teach others how to reach out and utilize social media tools available. If we’re lucky, we can get paid to do that – to be the ‘expert’.
I think there are not many people who will say they are experts (because really, no one is) for fear of not living up to that standard. Still, in the land of the blind the one eyed man is king.
So if we can become traffic controllers (like John Meadows put it) in a sky full of people flying with no clue, we will have begun something. We will need to be transparent, helpful, and willing to say “I don’t know”. Perhaps then, we can all grow.
Much love,
@debworks
Keith,
Great post. I think the pull quote especially sums up how social media *should* be thought about, though it will take some time and education to get people out of the “Twitter is social media” or “Facebook is social media” siloed mindset.
Joe