What if Twitter Disappears Tomorrow?
Or what if FaceBook disappears tomorrow? Or LinkedIn? Or YouTube? Or "insert-social-media-channel-site" here?
Anxious business owners ask me versions of this question. Frequently. This is a summary what I hear: Twitter. No business model = scary. The concept of tweeting seems stupid. I don't get it. Why bother with it, when it's a silly fad that's going to go down the tubes any second now? FaceBook. Twenty-somethings are leaving it, looking for the next cool place - especially now that older people are joining. Why bother with it, because FaceBook is probably going to suffer the same fate as MySpace in a few minutes? I often want to respond to these questions with a question:
The point of participating in these social media spaces NOW is because that's where your customers are -- NOW. Use your NOW moment to connect. To share ideas. To build and strengthen relationships NOW. So that if and when FaceBook / Twitter / YouTube / LinkedIn / et.al. actually do go away tomorrow -- you've used these tools to build and strengthen relationships TODAY.Whatever technology comes tomorrow, you take the relationships and ideas you've built with you, wherever you go. So really. How would it affect you if your favorite social media channel disappears tomorrow?
What's the point of waiting for these sites to fail?
The point of participating in these social media spaces NOW is because that's where your customers are -- NOW. Use your NOW moment to connect. To share ideas. To build and strengthen relationships NOW. So that if and when FaceBook / Twitter / YouTube / LinkedIn / et.al. actually do go away tomorrow -- you've used these tools to build and strengthen relationships TODAY.Whatever technology comes tomorrow, you take the relationships and ideas you've built with you, wherever you go. So really. How would it affect you if your favorite social media channel disappears tomorrow?
3 comments
Dec 01, 2009
Tim Penning, APR said...
On the other hand, maybe it won't go away. Reminds me of the CEO who said in the '70s "This personal computer thing is just a fad." Most likely, SM will morph and evolve, as the PC and Internet has. Not being involved NOW, as you say, means quite likely missing your "connecting flight" to the next technology communication destination.
Dec 04, 2009
Laura Bergells said...
Tim - thanks for posting. Love that "connecting flight" analogy. Spot on.
Dec 13, 2009
Stephen Birgells said...
All things must pass. So will I. But, what a loss for all of those who never did or never will know me. Use technology for your purposes. Use it or lose it.
