May 8 #followfriday
May 8, 2009 by Heather
As we explained yesterday, Costa DeVault is taking a slightly different approach to #followfridays. At the beginning of each week, we’ll ask a question and the best answers will be posted here as our #followfriday recommendations. Consider this an experiment to find new people to learn from and network with.
This week’s question: What surprises you most about social media?
The best answers — and our #followfriday suggestions — are:
For valuing people’s willingness to share information:
- Deanna Ferrari (@dferrari): I would say the amount of diverse information I wouldn’t normally get from reading the news.
- Justin Goldsborough (@jgoldsborough): Continue to be pleasantly surprised by how willing people in socnets r 2 help each other. Call it the “help gene.”
For understanding how social media changes communication:
- Amanda Beals (@amandagbeals): Social media reconstituted communication — akin to Blade Runner. Thoughts r always prefaced w how can I connect ideas & ppl
- Narciso Tovar (@narciso17): RE: Surprise in Soc Med: Once U “get it” you start 2 see the MANY ways it can improve your overall comm efforts
Realizing that people embrace social media differently:
- Todd (@tjpip): What surprises me most is the way ppl fall in love w/ one SM app while excluding or minimizing others. (I’m guilty – Twitter over FB)
- Mary Deming Barber (@mdbarber): I still get surprised when comm folks don’t understand the social part of SM. I can forgive others but not prof comm.
- Eleanor Biddulph (@elbiddulph): Social media surprise? How “newbies” have embraced it and “seasoned pros” have resisted it! (Disclosure: This is my mom — a VP of customer service who tweets and blogs and totally gets how social media can help large organizations … and not just in a traditional PR sense.)
So, what do you think? We want to hear what surprises you most about social media and what you think about our #followfriday experiment. As always, thanks for reading.
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May 8th, 2009 at 11:42 am
I agree with @elbiddulph that seasoned pros show some resistance. I can say this as one of those pros who has been resisting for the past year. On the other hand, I’m married to a self proclaimed social media evanglist (@vedo). The thing is, the more he tried to get me to see the light, the more I resisted. I finally just had to start spending time in the space to see how it could work for me. I think that is the thing about SM; those of us who resist get overwhelmed when people who are passionate start pouring out all of the possibilities they have fallen in love with. We need to find them for ourselves, a bit slower perhaps. We will get there.
May 8th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
I love your idea! I think it’s great to read interesting information rather than a list of tweets and twitterers. I’ll follow you for Fridays especially!
May 12th, 2009 at 11:41 am
This is a seriously good use of #followfriday. Much better than throwing the @pasta to the wall and seeing what sticks with followers.
As for me, the most surprising thing I see about social media is this mental brick wall that gets built in the minds of people who react negatively to it. Maybe some people are just naturally not curious, but the almost violent aversion to explore a new SM tool is so shocking to me, especially among PR folks who should be taking to new things like a duck to a ready amount of the clear and cold. The jargon of SM becomes a target to mock and use as an excuse. So frustrating when you’re trying to explain it in a rational way.
May 12th, 2009 at 11:46 am
TJ, I’m glad you like our experiment. Thanks for stopping by and adding your two cents!
I absolutely agree with you — don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it!
June 8th, 2009 at 12:43 am
An oldie but goodie post!
I agree with Narciso Tovar (@narciso17). Social media allows us to foster communication and build relationships that we could not through traditional media. Businesses are able to improve reputations and foster a brand through direct/one-on-one relationships.
When can I ever post a message with just a click of button while potentially having thousands of others read and disseminate the same message through a single click of their buttons?
@annngo