Recently, at the MTLC Social Media cluster meeting, Brian Haven, recovering Forrester analyst and now aspiring entrepreneur, made a terrific, thought-provoking presentation. The first part of the presentation showed how the online behaviors that we call social media today are actually things people have been doing for a very long time, in some cases since the beginning of time!
Think cave art = early Flickr
- Sharing
- Connecting
- Opining
- Broadcasting
- Creating
I thought this construct was so interesting because underlying it is the idea that successful social media efforts are just ways to help people express themselves in innately human ways – albeit with a technology spin. So when companies are looking to understand and connect with their customers, I think it’s important to remember that we are all just humans – and if we aren’t designing and interacting with customers in ways that recognize that, celebrate it in fact, these efforts will likely fail. After all, this approach might lead to uncovering the important emotional connections and storytelling that builds great brands.
How does your company get human?
I had this exact same thought. Last month, I happened to catch a late night rerun of “Sex in the City” and realized that in every episode, Carrie starts writing her column on her PC with a provocative question and ends the session with a conclusion and often a second provocative question. Unconsciously, that is how I write my blogs today…..who knew that Carrie’s column was an early blog