Comments on Experience: The Blog: Is Consumer Interest in Social Media Fading?

I'd go beyond a social media divide, Augie.

2008-09-17T18:10:00.000-05:00
I'd go beyond a social media divide, Augie.

It's like this: I attended a party last weekend and talked to some people about my social media consulting business I am developing, and people asked me, "What's social media?"

I asked them if they've bought items on eBay, found roommates on Craigslist, or poked people on Facebook.

They said yes to all of the above. At which point I explained the differences between old and new media, etc.

So, going back to your grandmother who's heard of IBM but may not have mentioned IBM as a computer company, the party attendees knew Facebook, but would never have named it as a part of social media.

Social media is not fading, I think, but people who use social media tools don't know what else is out there because they're only confining themselves to one or two social networking sites "because their friends are there."

How many of my friends who are on Facebook would subscribe to feeds in a RSS reader, let alone search for blog posts they find interesting, such as my responding and interacting with you? Your grandma may love talking to you, Augie, but who's telling her she can speak to you easier on Skype than on the telephone?

Does this help?

Thanks Ari. That makes sense. If I understand yo...

2008-09-16T14:53:00.000-05:00

Thanks Ari. That makes sense. If I understand your point, you may be suggesting there's a new digital divide--a social media divide. If you register on a Social Media site and have no friends on that site with whom to connect, then the luster of Social Media is lost on you.

It's interesting--I tell people who have yet to jump into the Social Media pool that they need to have patience when they do get involved. At first, it may seem confusing and useless, and if they don't have friends or a network, it will take time for the benefits and wonders of social networking to become evident.

Thanks for the comments!

I refer to the digital divide as including people ...

2008-09-16T11:53:00.000-05:00

I refer to the digital divide as including people who use technology but may not understand its benefits, such as people who know about eBay and Facebook but never heard of social media or social networking.

I routinely run into people who associate ideas when presented with brand names, but few people can associate brand names with ideas. For instance, if you ask your grandmother to name some computer companies, she may not know, whereas she'd remember names like IBM and Dell.

Thanks Ari, but I'm not sure I understand your com...

2008-09-15T17:10:00.000-05:00

Thanks Ari, but I'm not sure I understand your comments. Can you elaborate?

It seems to me if Social Network people say they're tiring of Social Network, that can't be due to digital divides in other countries. A digital divide will PREVENT people from accessing the Internet and thus keep some people from getting involved with online social media in the first place, but once they are already connected to social media, I don't see how a digital divide can cause them to lose interest. And, as the report notes, the loss of interest isn't just in developing countries.

As for my use of the terms "Internet" or "World Wide Web", you are correct that I am using the terms interchangeably, although your dates are not strictly correct. The Web was invented in 1989 (19 years ago) and released in 1992. It was made widely available to consumers in 1994 to 1995, which is the period I referenced when I mentioned the Internet "as a consumer communications medium." Since most people don't think if Usenet boards and email as the Internet and instead think of the WWW, I think I'm on safe ground using them interchangeably, but your feedback is appreciated that I should be careful with my language!

Let's step back, Augie.

It's unfair to use ...

2008-09-15T16:01:00.000-05:00

Let's step back, Augie.

It's unfair to use that 36% figure to represent global society.

The Synovate report (which eMarketer refers) contains aggregate data from 17 countries, many of which are experiencing their own digital gaps due to the lack of broadband access and WiFi hotspots, few computers in rural schools, etc.

Social media tools are not causing the fade; it's the digital divide. When you include the United States and Canada in the same group as Brazil and Indonesia, what do you expect? Everyone doesn't have access to the same tools due to language and computer literacy gaps.

I also think you're confusing the Internet with the World Wide Web. The former's been around for decades; the latter is not even 15 years old.

Thanks Gee. I used to maintain a personal blog fo...

2008-09-15T10:09:00.000-05:00

Thanks Gee. I used to maintain a personal blog for everything from funny videos to political discussion, but like you, I found Twitter replaced all that.

Check out my blog post tomorrow (still in the works) where I try to define a Social Media future and what we can do today to embrace it.

Appreciate the comment and the compliments!

I don't yet have much of an opinion on or vision for the Semantic Web. I am too busy trying to figure out Web 2.0 to worry about Web 3.0 yet!

Very insightful article and right on target. I use...

2008-09-15T10:03:00.000-05:00

Very insightful article and right on target. I used to be Facebook junkie but now I tweet only. The main reason is I get so much more info from those whom I follow than sending plants to Facebook friends to save the earth. I just don't have much time in the day to go to different social networking sites. Uses and gratifications theory would explain this changing habit. I don't know much about aggregation mechanism but I'd prefer to go to influential bloggers like you and there I'd see your recent posts on twitter, facebook, friendfeed, etc, all-in-one site. You did have your tweets on this site, and that's great. BTW, I'd love to hear what you think about semantic web (web 3.0?) I am not sure I understand what it means or how it works.

Gee Ekachai