I was very slow to come onto Facebook. I couldn't see the point of it. I had tried a couple of blogs but it just seemed a little pointless. But when I was approaching directing Macbeth my friend Mel set up an event for actors to audition, and this was a huge success. Within 6 months I was at 300 friends on FB, had a lil Green Patch and was kidnapping complete strangers.
I have a number of friends who are sort of on FB but not really, some who toy with LinkedIn as it's serious, and others who refuse to take Twitter seriously. Many of my age group aren't involved as there is a generational issue, it's more GenY than X and of the Xs I see involved a lot of those are born after 1970. I've talked to a few peeps about Social media (which is a crap name but there you go) and there are a few issues which keep coming up:
- it's just silly
- I can use the phone or email
- I spend enough time on the computer already
- I'd rather meet people in person
- it's not real
Lookign at my experience 'it's not real' seems to me the key to Social Media participation.
And what I think it really means is something related to paradigm shift. SM, blogging, vloggin, FB, etc... is a different way of looking at media, connections and indeed society.
We're in the middle of a revolution so big we can't see it sometimes. We're going from mass media, print and TV, and society to a new way of getting information, connecting to people, publishing. selling and indeed being.
At one end most urban people under 25 expect to be near a screen all the time. The screen connects them and is as much part of their life as the local shops and schools and work. It's not a tool, it's a given part of their world. They don't want to read newspapers or go to meetings or ... whatever. You get music, people, entertainment, learning etc.. If we don't have adverts and publishing on-line we're not going to reach people - we won't be part of their world.
Last weekend I addressed a national group of reps for a voluntary org I'm on the board of. I mentioned for our information campaign later in 2010 I'm planning to use social media and web advertising. it didn't go down well. Some people were fine but many saw it as a waste of time and not a real thing to spend time on.
The resistance I find is from peeps who just don't know how it works, can't see any benefits and can't understand because of the old paradigm is so different. To 'get it' there is a shift into a new way of viewing the world. I've gone from fear and mistrust to excitement about what is possible. I had an AHA moment. And it started for me because Facebook helped me achieve something. And that was just over 2 years ago. My suggestion is if you want to introduce people to the virtual world - show them something that can benefit them that they can understand.
My passion has grown as I have followed the rise in web traffic and advertising and engaged in Twitter and sourced suppliers and got contacts for a range of projects. I'm still hesitant to try new things but taking the leap - initially rationalised as learning more for my PR work - has had huge benefits.
Not bad for a grumpy old bastard.
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