We go about with our heads buried in our smart phones and asking ourselves new questions. Along the way, have we built a social media straw man? A straw man without a soul.
Our straw man would be content with short-term strategies. Reacting to ever changing conditions around…seeking out his angle for self-promotion. Does the Twitter: Podium vs. Network topic fall within these boundaries or is there more to it?
Then again, this straw man could well be part of an evolutionary process. It is probably as it should be.
Technology that first enabled us to broadcast information, also laid foundations for new generations of communication media…technology that allows us to engage and truly connect with others. This new technology is more accessible to the world at large, than ever before.
Just like we discovered that we have a seemingly intrinsic need to use technology to connect with others, will the next discovery focus our need to learn and grow…collectively?
All us have something to teach and learn from. We now have at our disposal, tools to easily share that knowledge. How can our new tools be most effective beyond the boundaries dictated by standard frames of reference?
Currently, our need to assimilate our new tools into existing systems probably supersedes all else. Gurus, experts, metrics, marketing strategy and angry birds will run their course, with our permission and endorsement.
But technology will continue to advance…to negate the need (or significance) for these superfluities. Move us beyond the need for assimilating our future into systems whose boundaries belong to another irrelevant era.
Social media could then evolve to explore its future potential, take center stage instead being an optional but entertaining sideshow.
Are we there yet?
Perhaps that’s the question which finally gets our straw man undone.
You agree?