Anti-Social Behaviour

I'm starting to dislike the term "social media" more and more every day.

First of all, it seems like everybody who uses it considers themselves a "social media expert". No you're not. Enthusiast does not equal expert.

Secondly, it really feels like the flavour of the week. For a while, "banner ads" (another term I dislike -- a banner is just one format within a broad spectrum) were the king. Then e-mail became the sexy online marketing tool. Then SEO. Then SEM. Then Blogs. Then podcasts. And now "Social".

Thirdly, too many people are focusing on the tools rather than the spirit. Facebook is just one social network. Twitter is just one social communications channel. Adding customer comments to an e-commerce site is just one way to enable conversations.


All of these factors combine to create a situation where the true value of consumer-driven decision making, open communication among stakeholders, etc. are lost. Or at least buried under a lot of nonsense, jargon, and expense.

Social media shouldn't be a fad. It shouldn't be identified by a set of tactics.

Here's the thing:

The Internet is inherently social. Actually, even pre-WWW, online communications have been inherently social. Ever since the early days of bulletin boards, Compuserve, AOL, and so on, the main attraction has been sharing and communicating with other users. Discussing brands online is nothing new.

And this goes beyond digital channels.

Good marketing is, and always has been, inherently social. Back when "brand" was, quite literally, a reference to markings on livestock, how did anyone know which brand had which qualities? Simple: by talking to other buyers, sellers, users, etc.

What has changed recently, prompting the excitement over social media for the last couple of years, is that technology has made these converstations easier and more prevalent. The tools are great, but they're only enablers.

We need to make "being social" part of every campaign, product, conversation, and communication. Think of ways to connect people. Think of ways to improve the chances of your message can be spread. THAT is social.

It might mean setting up a YouTube channel or a MySpace page, sure. But it also might mean any number of other tactics, techniques, and methods that don't fall nicely into an existing toolbox.