A reply to a thread on Facebook from me to a Social Media “Guru” who says the Occupy Wall Street Protesters are idiots who simply sit around using their iPhones…
In the world of social the ever changing constant that has come up is constant dialog. Digital communities have fostered an environment that allows for people to discuss, possibly get an answer to their inquiry (if it’s something simple) but in many cases communities are the infrastructure to continue a conversation. This is why brands do poorly in communicating with their advocates in areas like Twitter and Facebook. They treat these platforms as simple extensions of their CRM model when it is more intimate than that. I like to think of social media as an ongoing relationship, not a one night stand. A marriage so to speak.
So not to turn this generational but many “boomers” are asking or saying the same thing, “I don’t understand their message, there are too many questions they’re asking rather than asking for an answer to their demands.” But if you look at the younger Generation Y or Millenial generation who grew up with social networking as a mainstream platform, this is how they have thought their entire young lives. There is not necessarily an answer. The mainstream media are simply soundbytes to them when they want deeper dialog. This is what social networks provide. It helps conversation and ushers in additional questions. Much of what they are doing is questioning. And neither the government, nor big business nor anyone on this thread may be able to answer several of the questions that have been asked the last few weeks. It’s not as simple as “get a job.” I was laid off in June. I just got hired two weeks ago to be a VP at a large digital agency. It took me 18 weeks to get my gig. It takes over 60 weeks for most people who have a Bachelor’s degree. But that’s because this is where I have been since 2004 when jobs at that time in this field paid peanuts. I took a step back to take a step forward. I took a chance on social when many traditionalists called this field “unproven” and still do. But many people don’t have that luxury, are burdened with debt or have no access to VC money. And a bank isn’t going to loan small businesses money like it’s candy. I think if anyone takes anything away from this debate it’s that to make fun of people on social networks or for using technology to further their cause, is just showing that not only is there a class divide in this country, but also a generational divide. Younger people communicate differently and instead of making fun of that this is a great case study on the power of social networking.
Shame Peter and several others here who call themselves “socially savvy” don’t see this. Other press like Mashable is looking into the sociology of this debate. They’re interested in how social is helping spread the message and what that messaging is. Simply calling people idiots lumps many here into the mainstream media category of destroying what cannot be explained in simple soundbyte terminology. Big media lives in the 20th century, social is the 21st. Shame that many here who think they “get it” really don’t “get it” at all. - G
