What is behind the phenomenon we call social media?

Social media is clearly the rage. It’s all anyone in technology or marketing talks about. You can’t open a newspaper or turn on the radio without hearing about it.  And millions of people are embracing it as their source of information and their means of communicating.

So, why have these platforms — Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Stumbleupon — grown so dramatically? Is it because technology suddenly enabled a new form of behavior?  Or is it because there was already a basic human desire that didn’t have an outlet and now finally does? I think it’s the latter.

We are all social animals. Centuries ago we gathered around the town hearth to greet one another and share stories. Years later we lived in ghettos — in the positive sense of the word — where we were united by ethnicity or culture or background.  Even more recently we would gather in cafes or pubs, to connect with friends and neighbors. It was a basic human need, this desire to socialize, and connect, and express ourselves and share our ideas. But much of modern life has worked against this undeniable human desire to communicate.

After World War II, we moved out of the cities and into the suburbs. We commuted to jobs all by ourselves in metal boxes on wheels. We worked in cubicles or offices rather than in open spaces. And until recently, virtually all media was one-way communication. We could listen. We could receive. But we couldn’t participate. Why you had to be brilliant, persuasive and lucky just to get a letter to the editor published.

Even technology — from the first personal computers to the early web to the ubiquitous iPod — isolated us further. Not only were we more likely to be physically separated from others while engaging with messages and entertainment, the proliferation of options and personal choices diminished community even further by eliminating the shared experiences that we once got from watching Mash or Cheers or Seinfeld at the exact same time as everyone else and knowing it.

What social media has done is allow us once again, despite our geographic separation, or our cubicle, or our house in the suburbs, to connect with each other in a more natural, more human way.

Better yet, we can join forces around what we have in common. Music, literature, business, technology, family, being a Mom or a sports fan or road cyclist.

We have, and have always had, a desire to express our opinion, to matter to others, to do business with a human being not a corporation, to be treated with respect, to be part of the conversation.  Social media not only enables us, it encourages us.

That is why there are 200 million people on Facebook. That is why Twitter is adding millions of users every month. That is why YouTube videos aren’t simply watched, but commented on over and over, emailed to friends and posted on blogs.

Social media have re-lit the hearth. And brought back the neighborhood pub. And created ghettos once again. Communication will never again be the same. And that’s a good thing.

Can we solve more problems with creativity, social media, and co-creation?

In Massachusetts, where I live, I believe we could begin to solve the state’s tax revenue shortfall with the following.

1. Sell all the stop signs to Coca Cola. For a multi-million dollar commitment they get every intersection in the Commonwealth. The Coca Cola Company can place  the “O” from Coca Cola right between the “T” and the “P,” smack their logo at the bottom, and integrate the design with a swirly wave between the two. It’s perfect for everyone. The signs are already red, and the word “stop”  gives a nod to the famous old Coke campaign,  “The pause that refreshes.”

2. Transfer branding rights for the Zakim Bridge to Lego and call it the Lego Zakim Bridge. We get millions over the length of the contract. Lego gets a really cool bridge to package in a boxed Lego set.

3. Change the Mass Turnpike to the Exxon/Mobile Turnpike. Again, an ideal partnership. It’s targeted marketing for Exxon/Mobile and a relevant brand tie-in as far as motorists are concerned. An exclusive long-term deal could yield tens of millions. Don’t forget it’s reaching Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York drivers.  And the PR alone, for Exxon/Mobile, would probably justify it.

4. Modify the MBTA to the M&MBTA. Give the candy maker signage and exclusive rights to vending machines in all stations. Maybe even have the T operators dress up like those M&M characters in the TV commercials. We could charge M&M Mars the old way, for impressions; or the new way, taking a percentage of sales.

Are these crazy ideas or not? Maybe. But there’s a point. If Massachusetts, or any state, put an ad professional in the room, he or she might come up with an approach other than cutting services or raising taxes. Put a programmer in the room and the ideas will be different still. Include someone who understands the power of community and yet another solution will emerge. (See the Zeus Jones idea for Austin that won Phizzop at SXSE.) Why are we still trying to solve problems the same old way with the same old people when social networking, crowd sourcing, and the possibilities of co-creation continue to demonstrate the value of getting different people from different backgrounds with different perspectives to work together? Maybe it’s time to try some new approaches. Thoughts?

Not everyone wants to engage. For the Master’s Tournament, some just want more ways to receive.

Today, during the third round of the Masters, @The_Masters gained close to 10,000 followers on Twitter. On Thursday, followers numbered around 20,000. By Saturday evening they’d reached 37,000. So far, as would be expected, the tournament’s done nothing but issue 251 updates. And a quick look at the list of followers shows thousands of those followers have no avatar, no bio, no followers themselves and no updates. Which means the majority of them joined Twitter specifically because of the tournament.  The Masters is using Twitter as a “broadcast” medium and its followers are doing the same, there for no other reason than to stay informed. Granted golf fans can be fanatical, in a quiet sort of way, but they already have access to five hours a day of broadcasts, an incredibly active website with live video and leader board, a chat feature for fans, and three active blogs. If the Masters is really smart, they’ll do something useful with and for the followers who just joined them. If, instead, the tournament (posting as an organization rather than an individual) simply disappears and doesn’t take advantage of the community they just created, it will be an awful waste. I’ll be interested to see if the good old boys at Augusta National master the new media as well as they’ve mastered the old.

The comments are the best part. Even the one accusing me of looking like Quentin Crisp.

Quentin Crisp. Apparently he looks like me.Thought I’d share some of the comments from a recent Ad Week column. Some people agreed with my take on Twitter. Others condemned me for being an over-the-hill ad guy late to the party. More than half signed their real name. The most critical chose to hide behind a pseudonym. Still, the negative comments are the most fun to read, for me anyway. Especially the one comparing my likeness to Quentin Crisp. I may actually have to change my Twitter picture. Anyway, here they are.  In some cases they’re excerpts.  In a lot of cases I cleaned up the spelling and grammar.   Positive followed by negative.

Positive

Twitter has become an instant way for me to get a pulse on things that matter to me in business. It will be interesting to see if the  channel becomes less relevant as its numbers swell. John Winsor

Since the 1960′s modern countries have been losing their gathering places, their common ground. Social media and Twitter are bringing that back, and breaking us out of the isolation we’ve felt for decades. Claudio Luis Vera

As a young professional, it also feels like a great way to connect with creative directors and other people with experience in the advertising industry, and really be able to learn from them, without all of the traditional barriers.
Mike Morris

Twitter is the 30:1 multiplier for my curiosity; like suddenly having elves of late night research available to screen, source and point on my behalf. Oh, and it keeps me humble, reminding me comment by comment how very much I will always have to learn. @scottrcrawford

I think the key to getting value from Twitter is to imagine it as a cocktail party, where you get to invite every guest, and where every guest you want to invite lives right next door. Relax, have fun, contribute, participate. Serve good cheese. Then hand out your business card where it’s appropriate.
Michael Troiano

Facebook is about the people you used to know, but Twitter is about the people you want to know. Twitter provides great insight to how people feel about things that matter NOW. I rely on it for info that applies to all my roles: mother, marketer, writer, music junkie, local dweller, global citizen. Michelle Allard @filterologist

Love the age and title variables going away – and that’s just the beginning. Geography, industry, etc. When so many unimportant factors disappear, the sharing of ideas wins. Amy Flanagan

I think Twitter strips away some of the social artifice of other SM sites, and that really is what makes it more authentic, and thus, more meaningful.
Sonja Jacob @tcwsonja

Thank you for verbalizing what I’ve learned through Twitter on my second go around with it. I see it as my CNN feed, only I get to choose who adds content to that feed. It’s an amazing tool for mindshare, learning and thought leadership. Leanne Chase (leanneclc)

I agree there is no better way to get information than Twitter. And targeted messaging will become the killer application of the future. The future of social networking is mobile: smartphone applications like match2blue combine Twitter and Loopt. @HansLak

A clear, insightful look at why Twitter matters, why it’s so incredibly valuable, and what people are losing out on by dismissing it. There are a lot of smart people out there who really needed to read this. The chasm is widening. The time to cross is now. Michelle Tripp

You mention getting a broader response and additional insights from people you’d never have in the room. For aspiring ad people, the ability to hear the words, opinions and advice of those we admire, and to possibly have the ear of such people is unparalleled. @adamwohl

Negative

Twitter isn’t the key to the universe, it really isn’t. It has functional utility to be sure but somehow when the “ad guys” get a hold of these things, they suddenly lose their power. Steven Krause

The wonderful thing about digital technology is that as soon as the mainstream public and industry types are seeking the key to the universe in a particular widget, site, technique, technology, or utility, guess what, the digerati have already moved on to the next big thing. I twit therefore I am

My god, what cattle ad types are! The herd now is grazing on Twitter as the “next big thing”. tweet tweet tweet

Can we just transition from traditional to digital without having to have newly digitally enabled ad people midwife the birth for us? The only takeaway I come away with is that the bulk of AdWeek readers are digitally clueless. dave barnes

Like blogging, twitter is effective when the Twitterer has something to say and that’s a fairly narrow percentage. Millennial by birth

Like Facebook, Twitter is just another tool. Let’s not erect a monument to it. Lets use it for what it is and look forward to its video equivalent which someone will create. Tweet Tweet

I think Twitter is the equivalent of digital porn. And addiction, in general, is a bad thing. Fika

Twitter has value but its not going to save humanity or change marketing as we know it. I could name a number of apps most of you have never heard of. Lets take smart apps for what they are. The ways we are all connecting with each other are growing exponentially. One isn’t any more valuable than another. Sean Tilson

Twitter is the sexy new girl in town. Honestly I laughed out loud when I read this column. Agencies are always trying to own the” next thing” and rarely do.
Daphne

How many of you really think Twitter is a fount of rich information? It’s a friggin’ utility, no better or worse than Loop’d or LinkedIn or Facebook…. Once again, an Adweek columnist flogs the obvious. BTW, Edward, change your photo. That pose is really circa 1983. Twitter me this

I’d get another picture taken soon; you look like Quentin Crisp.
Barbara

Anyway, this is what we tell our clients, isn’t it?  You have to get out there.  Let the conversation happen.  Take the hits along with the praise.  Even if that means getting compared to Quentin Crisp.  Thanks to all for joining in.

(Please note that most of the negative comments did not reveal a Twitter name.)

What can Twitter do for you? Demonstrate that social media really works.

This week I wrote an article on Twitter for AdWeek. Hoping to inspire naysayers and detractors to embrace this social network, I shared the five key benefits of Twitter as I see them:

1. Instant access to thought leaders
2. An opportunity to experience crowd sourcing in action
3. A new way to connect with Millennials
4. The first hand experience needed to become an authority
5. A better understanding of how to weave together all things social

I wasn’t trying to sell myself. I didn’t ask for business, or speaking engagements. I didn’t pitch my agency or its expertise. I simply offered up some observations and experiences I thought would be helpful.

It turned out to be a perfect demonstration of social media in action. Twitter users called attention to the piece. Readers agreed or disagreed in posted comments. A conversation took place. I got to engage with supporters and detractors. And for what it’s worth, my personal brand benefitted.

Your brand, personal or otherwise, could follow the same model and reap the benefits. Do something. Offer content or utility or a service. Start a conversation. Ask a question. Bring people together whether they’re advocates or detractors. You’ll actually get credit just for doing it. And if you’re as lucky as I was, you’ll also learn something in the process.