Do you have people in your organization who scoff at the idea of using LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter? Recently, I encouraged a babyboomer friend of mine to sign up for LinkedIn. His response, "Why bother?" My response, "Relevancy."
Shortly after singing up for Facebook, I received a friend request from a colleague. Admittedly, I wasn't comfortable in this new world, and I asked my friend, "Why do you do Facebook?" The answer was simple, yet profound, "It makes me feel relevant."
That is perhaps one of the best reasons for people, especially Babyboomers and Matures, to engage in social networking. If you refuse to engage, a significant part of the world will pass you by. You will become irrelevant. The number of Facebook users is over 300,000,000. Soon Facebook users will surpass the total population of the United States. LinkedIn has over 46 million users. If effective communication is a key to success, shouldn't you be familiar with and experience the medium in which millions of people choose to communicate?
Can you imagine having a similar conversation with your grandmother decades ago. "Grandma why don't you watch TV with us?" Grandma replies, "Its just a fad. Television won't replace the radio." Many argue that LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are just fads. These folks are probably correct. In time, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter will fade away in popularity when the next new thing comes along. While this may be true, it is not an excuse for sitting on the sidelines. If you wait for something "permanent" to come along, you will wait forever. Social networking will always continue to change and you can't wait forever to start.
I recently read an article in which octogenarian, Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, discussed Twitter. He described getting on it the first time and looking around. He said, "I just didn't get it." Prompted by his wife, he decided to try it and within a few hours he proclaimed, "I get it!" Jack now has over 824,000 followers. As with many things in life, you can't be a spectator to fully appreciate what is happening. You have to play the game to truly understand it. Social media is a megatrend that can not be ignored. Our younger colleagues at work have adopted social media as a part of their everyday life. If we don't at least explore it and try it, we quickly will become irrelevant. If you need something to motivate you or a friend, watch the video link below. Although I don't agree with all of the stats offered, it does make one think.
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Pat, I really like your comparison of the radio/TV shift. Much like that shift, it's hard to really say that TV is "better than" radio. It's just different. And despite Grandma's protests, it just would not be a good idea not to know what TV is, how people use it, how it is shifting the public dialogue, and how to use it in a way that works for you. In fact, in some instances if you don't use it at all you will become isolated from the rest of the world. Now of course we could start a conversation about the value in that choice.....Great blog! Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteThanks Elizabeth. You make a great point about the societal benefit of television. As a parent, I am starting to wonder!
ReplyDeleteOn a related note Kevin O'Keefe at Real Lawyers Have Blogs(@kevinokeefe) discusses the question of the relevancy of Twitter in client development and Larry Bodine's post on Where To Focus With Social Networking. I like Kevin's analogy using Alexander Graham Bell (similar to your Radio/TV comment). As an avid golfer I also appreciate his comment on useful/useless banter at the golf club between lawyers and business people. Both posts are well worth a read in the context of your post.
ReplyDeleteI often say it is not the tools - is is how you use them. Social media tools (like TV) can be used in valuable ways or can be a valuable waste of time.