It has been a week of insane activities for Social Media Week. In addition to presenting a panel on behalf of the gallery, I also had a chance to sit in on quite a few keynote events with some amazing thought leaders.
Through the many keynotes some overall themes emerged.
DECENTRALIZATION
CURATION
SELF-ORGANIZE / ORGANIZATION
STORY
VULNERABILITY / BEING HUMAN
SHARING
:: DECENTRALIZATION ::
With the decentralization of information, the imbalance of power that we’ve long experienced (government/ multinational corporations vs. the world’s people) is starting to shift. There is now a mechanism available that will allows us to bypass the gatekeepers, tastemakers and the incestuous old boys club (or so all of the male keynote speakers claim).
We came of age in a time when information was power. As the internet has changed that, information is now everywhere, is engagement the new holy grail?
:: CURATION ::
As we quickly become overwhelmed with all the different information that is coming at us, a new breed of curators springs up and starts to organize the avalanche of information for us. Nearly everyone can claim him/herself to be a curator now; all you need is a Pinterest board. John Winsor, CEO of Victors and Spoils, suggests that the future role of Brands and Agencies will be curating user-generated content instead of being the creator of content in hope of attracting end users.
This is a radical departure from where we were 10 years ago. We are shifting away from a top down mentality and moving towards a bottom up one. We shift towards a pull strategy.
:: SELF-ORGANIZE / ORGANIZATION ::
Jeremy Heiman talked extensively about how there are now mechanism available for people to self-organize and to move from being victims to protagonists. Scott Belsky stressed the importance of organization in making ideas happen.
As I heard this ordinary verb, “organize,” repeated over and over again, I started to see it everywhere. Is not curation a fancy, methodical way of organizing information and content?
The ability to form, systematize is the key to collaboration, to change and to manifest. So simple, yet still it catches us by surprise.
:: STORY ::
“More Storytelling, Less Sloganeering” – Jeremy Heiman
I think this might sum up how we would like to be engaged and in what kind of conversations we are interested.
:: VULNERABILITY/ BEING HUMAN ::
I think this concept ties back to story and story telling. We quickly see through slick slogans these days; they no longer hold the power they once did. We are attracted to companies that are human, ones that are interested in feedback from their clients, ones that are made of people who share the same values as us. We are interested in companies, brands (big and small) that stand for something to which we can relate. Despite all of our technological innovations, it is the era of humans and not machines.
:: SHARING ::
Collaboration and community were the trending topics during Social Media Week. John Winsor suggested that collaboration will be the measure of a company’s success in this brave new world. As we search out companies that are human, we are also looking for that human connection ourselves. If collaboration and community is so important then what is their underlying foundation? What are the first steps in building a community? Sharing. The act of sharing is at the base of community building, however large or small that community may be. Be it entertainment, information, resources, ideology, a human experience, sharing that with another person is an act of bonding and the first step in forming a community.
This year’s Social Media Week discussion was full of big questions, leaving little room for strategy-based takeaways that one can implement in the office tomorrow. Two overarching messages that really stuck with me from spending the week with some really smart, amazing people are:
“Mission Centric, Medium Agnostic” – Scott Belsky
“Fear less; love more.” – Alex Bogusky
Related Posts:
SMW NYC – Beyond Broadcasting and Into Community Building
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#firstworldproblems
*This is a rare instance where the picture above is not created by me. I don’t know who I should credit the photo for but I thank you in advance for allowing me to use it! 🙂
Canadians are some of the biggest users of the internet because we are trapped indoors due to the 6 months of winter most of us get…Eating donuts is our National pastime…Which says to me that the chart at the top may have been written by a Canadian…Either that or someone who knows that donut eaters are the biggest demographic on the web…
LOL. I love the insight…good spy work. 🙂
Love the pic! Did you chart that out? Fave part is the G+ description. Will be adding this to instapaper to read more in depth 😉
No. That pic is actually not mine. Its been floating around on the internet for a few days before I wrote this post. I just thought it was a good one to illustrate a week long discussion on Social Media.
OK, you made me laugh…but remember that social media is no longer the coincidental meeting of minds, it is strategic directed media. Think it’s a coincidence you see your friend on the Facebook link on the sidebar, or see an add from that vacation spot you’ve been clicking on. The greatest trick the devil ever played…was convincing us that we are in charge. I love it…but keep your eyes open or you’ll fall into the rabbit hole! 😉
Then again…what if social media is the first step? The rest is up to us.
🙂
Dear Taylor,
Of course Social Media is entirely directed but it also creates greater opportunities for the unexpected. Such as you finding me, reading me and our correspondence. The rest is always, always, up to us. Socia Media just allows for there to be that many more portals and that many more ways to discover. We still have to choose to open the door and walk on through. 🙂