Trends & Observations on Social Media

Posted: April 29th, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Sustainability | No Comments »

As I have mentioned before I work for a social media company but these thoughts are my own because who else would want to own them.

I have two observations and maybe one predictions about social media.

Here’s my first observation.

Social Media & Existing Ties

This is probably not new to anyone but me.  I have noticed by peeking in at some of the feeds of followers I have on Twitter or Facebook or some of the other smaller social media platforms that 1) there’s a lot chat between people who know each other and I would suspect have met in-person 2) it seems individuals set up the same network on each platform. So, while there may be some variance in the types of followers an individual has on Twitter vs. Scribd vs. Facebook, I think there is probably a core group, a family if you will,  that exists in some form or another on each platform.

So, this makes me think. If we are following, connecting and sharing with a very similar group of people from platform to platform are we really as open, and engaging and as inspired to share as this whole social media trend implies? Or are we simply reinforcing and nurturing our existing relationships, or when we do invite others in are they very similar in style and taste to our existing network of friends?

I have noticed in my own little social network the overlap of interests between individuals I follow. I’ve also noticed  from within my social network that the  relationships I have with people I have met in-person are strengthened when I reach out using social media. Now, the question for me becomes how quickly or often will a weak tie convert to a stronger tie and does the platform on which the relationship began make a difference?

Social Media & News

I’m a news junkie. Love reading the New York Times (when it was free), the Economist, bbc and I used to read cnn (but it was driving me crazy). When the revolutions began spreading in the Middle East, I found I was getting more and more of my news from Twitter, specifically from Andy Carvin (@acarvin), who is a a senior strategist for NPR. I felt like I could trust his observations because he was vetted in a way because of his work with NPR. From him, I began following other sources (including Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish) and soon I had quite the news feed on Libya, Syria, and most recently Japan. Sometimes additional links were provided and once I had checked out the original tweet, I could guess at the reliability of the content,

And it felt like I was getting real news. Not fake news that cnn churns out. I could almost guess what the CNN headlines were during the nuclear reactor issues Japan was experiencing after their horrific earthquake & tsunami.

  • How safe are our U.S nuclear reactors? Experts expect at least one catastrophic failure in the next 100 years.
  • What are the chances you were poisoned by radiation walking through the nudie scanners at the airport?
  • You may be poisoned by radiation simply be driving through Commerce City, CO

And I am just not interested in their alarm-bells ringing, amped-up, scare the hell out of everyone-type of news. Unless there is really something worthy of an alarm bell. So, my prediction is this I think more and more people will begin to curate their own content to create their own news. This may do a few things like ensure we only read news that conforms and reinforces our world view or the quality of the information we are curating is of such a higher value it gives us a richer appreciation and understanding of world events.

Social Media & Relationships

This topic brings out more crazies than any thing else in social media, unless you bring up Social CRM, which is the technical term for relationship. So, I guess I’ll add my crazy rant but in honor of the royal wedding I’ll conduct my rant in a splendid hat.

I think one of the problems with organizations establishing a relationship with consumers using social media is one of timing.  Like a hormonally-driven teenager, companies are jumping the gun on the level of engagement, wanting to be exclusive when I have only just unwrapped, unpacked or rolled out the service, product or experience I just purchased. Sometimes I’m not sure I want to be on speaking terms until I am certain that the product I’ve purchased lasts, did what the fine print said it could do and didn’t make me look fat in the bathroom mirror (oops! that one slipped in).

For example, a few years ago I bought a Rivendell Quickbeam. I took a huge chance on the bike as I had never ridden a Rivendell before, I purchased it online, which means I had to assemble it myself,  and it was single speed. After about 4 years, I have to say I love that bike, I love the type of company they are trying to create and the types of products they promote, in addition to their bikes. If I ever buy another bike, it will be from them but it took me about a year to really appreciate the company, sign up for their newsletter, earn a discount on their wool tops. But their pacing was right, so the relationship developed at an appropriate speed. There have been times when I have made a purchase and before I have even had the opportunity to spill coffee down the front of said purchase, I’ve already got three notifications for sales, an offer if I go to Facebook, etc. It’s too much, too fast.

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