12 Nov There’s a Time and a Place for The Social Web
This is a guest post by Gemma Went
Many evangelise about social media, but at times there’s a blinkered approach to this thing we call social. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan. It’s opened many a door for me both personally and professionally and has simply become the way I do things. But I appreciate this is not the case for everyone. Those that haven’t yet adopted social are still trying to wade through the hype to work out what’s real, what’s not and whether it’s right for them.
A recent presentation given by Trendstream at the IAB looked at European social media trends and its use. It cut through the hype and showed us some social truths. For example, and contrary to popular belief, sites like Twitter are not yet mainstream.
That said, the presentation suggested that “…the social web is becoming part of the mass market and the implication for business is that consumers communicate more with each other, even with strangers and most of all, they trust them”. If we think about that, the implications for all businesses, big and small, are extensive.
I thoroughly recommend a thorough read of the research, but in the meantime here are some key, and very interesting, take-outs:
- Social networking takes a key role in purchase decisions, with a lot of people trusting the recommendation of those on their social network or the author of a blog they read
- Digital networks are bigger than face-to-face networks
- The people who influence us as consumers are changing. In the past year, social network, blog and micro blog contacts were the only sources to show an increase in the share of consumer’s trust, while newspapers stood still and TV fell
- People increasingly want real dialogue with people inside businesses
- People are accessing the web and connecting through a variety of devices, including TV, games consoles and mobiles
This provides some key learning for businesses that are still unsure of the social web. The old adage ‘people do business with people’ has been around for years, however it has a new lease of life since the web got social and those businesses with a human face and the ability to connect with people will do well. Those that don’t, won’t. It’s as simple as that.
But what does all this mean to us as ‘people’? As individuals, social media allows usto find and connect with others we didn’t have the chance to in the past. We keep up with friends, reconnect with people we’ve lost contact with and get involved in conversations that interest us. We can listen, learn and watch. We can research potential purchases, making decisions based on real recommendations. As the social web is ‘always on’, we can connect wherever and whenever we like, through desktop computers, mobiles and tablets. Personally, everything I buy is through recommendation on social networks and this is a growing trend.
But, something about all of this has been bugging me of late. Yes social is great for business, the research shows that. Yes I’ve connected with some amazing people through social media, people who have genuinely enriched my life. But does the social web, in fact, make us antisocial? Have we forgotten how to be ‘in the moment’ when we’re sitting with a group of friends? Have we forgotten how to be ‘present’?
I recently had dinner with some friends, two of them barely use their mobiles to make a call let alone chatter on Twitter or check in on Foursquare. The rest are avid users. I watched as each person turned up, checked in and proceeded to type away on their phones throughout the night, while at the same time trying to be part of the conversation at the table. The two non-users were getting more and more agitated, and rightly so. At no point was anyone 100% focused on the conversation, and this felt wrong.
Now I’m far from perfect and have done this on plenty of occasions myself, but I do question if this is having a detrimental affect on our ability to focus and fully give ourselves to situations. Having someone focus on you is a wonderful thing and I fear we may be losing that with so many conversation channels open at any one time.
So I’ve made a promise to myself. Although still a big advocate of social, I’m making an effort to be far more ‘present’ when I’m with people. There’s a time and a place for social; while I’m physically with others is not it.
Gemma Went is a strategic marketing consultant and psychologist with over ten years’ experience. She writes the blog The Cube, is a guest blogger for Brand Republic and regularly speaks at social media events.
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