Personally and professionally, I'm rarely at a loss for words. In fact, since becoming a regular user of Twitter, the 140-character limit on the size of a Tweet leaves me with lots of spare words at the ready.
But when my friend Mitch Nauffts asked the other day, So what have you learned about social networks and networking?, I found myself speechless. I realized then that I've become so immersed in social networking -- as a user, creator, booster and true believer -- that I've yet to take the time to analyze and sum up what I'm learning about this still evolving way of being connected to all sorts of people and institutions via the internet.
Not all is a loss, though. What I might lack in lessons, I have more than made up in observations. Social networking is engaging, and it can be incredibly informative. Some of the user produced content -- from blogs to Tweets to comments on website content -- is quite good and thoughtful, other so-so. The process of keeping up with the information that flows freely and furiously can be very time-consuming, and sometimes the amount of time spent reading and responding borders on addictive.
And again, while those aren't lessons, just observations, they do
serve as the basis for asking the larger questions about where social
networking is leading, how it's making us better (if it is) and how
it's helping us do a better job of communicating (if it is). That
said, for someone like me who talks, thinks, and writes about how technology
affects our work as communicators -- more so, how we ought to use it to
connect with people we need to reach, inform, and influence -- I'm
probably learning more than I realize. It's just that I'm too busy
keeping up with the information that's coming in as well as what I'm sending out, that I don't have time to stop and figure it all out.
That's not such a bad thing either, not if you are someone who learns by doing. For example, less than 2 years ago, I didn't even know how to create a Facebook account. This weekend I was among the 550 people per second signing up for a customized Facebook domain name. A year ago when I saw someone Tweeting, I asked myself what could anyone possibly say in 140 characters, who would care, and who would pay attention? On Saturday afternoon, I saw a Tweet from a colleague that linked to the first videos and pictures being uploaded to blogs, YouTube, and Flickr of Iranians taking to the streets to protest the presidential election.
Maybe I have learned more than I realize, and maybe just one lesson is enough. Social networking is about making connections, building relationships, finding new allies, and being part of a community of people who care. And it's not just online connections, but building relationships that carry into the real world. It's about taking what I read, at the suggestion of others, and applying the relevant material to my work and life. It's about looking for opportunities to offer the same help and guidance to someone else.
The real takeaways for me, though, about why social networking is important were spelled out in this set of Tweets from Mitch who started me thinking about it's adding up to. He said:
"I know personally all my 'friends' on Facebook...and many of the folks I interact with on Twitter and FriendFeed."
“I’m pretty sure I could get many of those folks to do something 'actionable' –- provide an intro, a reference, etc. -- if I asked."
"Social media is powerful precisely because it enables extended networks based on one-to-one relationships."
Truer words were never Tweeted.
what's interesting is the illustration of tools not people.
Posted by: Beth Kanter | June 15, 2009 at 12:58 PM
Similarly, an interesting observation. Thanks.
Posted by: Bruce Trachtenberg | June 15, 2009 at 01:52 PM