April 2010

Today I’m sitting in the Seattle’s Best Coffee nook of a Borders bookstore in Concord, NH. I’m kid free and blissfully caffeinated. Alas, the free wi-fi that seduced me to “come on in!” is down. For reasons I don’t understand at all, I’m writing this in Notepad, the digital equivalent of papyrus, or cave drawings.

My heart is thumping out of my chest with all the unfettered energy of a primal scream because I’m thinking about three things:

1. The impossibly fast pace and evolution of creative and communication technologies in the social media realm

2. The incomprehensibly vast adoption and (maniacal application!) of social media channels and platforms worldwide

3. An encounter I had an hour ago with a gentleman at a nearby Panera restaurant, before I hit my 30-minute lunchtime wi-fi limit (who knew?) and was thus nudged to change locations

This gentleman, a businessman, was having an animated phone conference in the comfy fireside chair next to mine. As I was reading a fantastic blog-post summary by Julia Ackerman Glenister of a webinar sponsored by SocialMediaExaminer.com and featuring four walk-the-walk social media gurus (Mari Smith, Michael Stelzner, Denise Wakeman, and Chris Garrett), I couldn’t help veer in and out of this guy’s conversation. It sounded like he was having one of those in-the-zone meetings of the mind with his smart phone cohort. His passion for his work was palpable. Past clients, current projects, hard-won connections, results-driven successes, and radiant opportunities rolled off his tongue, without the unpleasant stench of forced self-promotion.

Like so many entrepreneurs with a couple of decades of zig-zagged industry experience behind their belts, this man was clearly a wealth of niched knowledge and acumen, gifting his listener with time-saving advice and profitable leads at every slurp of my black bean soup.

Just as I finished reading the info-packed, recommendation-rich aforementioned blog post in front of me, my chatty neighbor ended his call. I couldn’t help but tell him I was positively inspired by his enthusiasm, and hoped the call was as good as it sounded. We started talking, and his eyes sparkled with pride and possibilities. Yes, he was venturing into a new industry. Yes, he’s led several other successful businesses in a broad range of industries. Yes, he loves what he does.

Then he asked me what I do.

Now remember, I was completely charged by Julia’s blog post. I had just been reminded of some staggering details about social media’s power, reach, and future. As social media champions, users, and consultants ourselves, my husband and I know our fair share about Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, blogging, and the ever-growing (and self-pruning) family tree of social media marketing. Still, so much of this subject never ceases to blow my mind.

Like the fact that there are 450 million people on Facebook and more coming every day.

Like, according to comScore (via Denise Wakeman), 178 million people watched 3.2 billion videos in December 2009, with the average viewer watching 187 videos per month in the US alone. (!!!)

Like how 250 million people are logging on to Facebook daily for an average session time of 55 minutes, according to Mari Smith.

So with a level of enthusiasm that matched his own, I told him my husband and I are in social media marketing.

I swear, if he were a choo-choo train, his metal wheels would’ve screeched to a spark-frenzied halt. I watched as his face dropped, and his arms crossed his chest. I saw him close down right in front of me. I saw his cheeks sag, his eyes droop, and his sugar levels plummet.

For the next five minutes he told me about another company he knows that dabbles in this “new” industry. He told me about his son, who’s coming home sometime this summer, and maybe he’ll be able to “do something” with “that stuff.” He told me about all the time he doesn’t have to incorporate another new facet into his already maxed-out schedule. He mentioned something about his confusion, and how some of his colleagues are insisting he has to “get with the program,” while others in his camp are insisting it’s all a bunch of rubbish, a colossal waste of time.

As he shuffled his papers together preparing to leave, still telling me all the reasons he “can’t deal with another thing to do” in his business, I listened compassionately, nodding and smiling, fighting the urge to clamp my hand over his mouth, leap up and down and say:

“DUDE! You’re a leader in your field! You’ve got so much to offer your clients, colleagues, and industries! You’ve spent the last 30 years building and learning and growing and knowing so much, PLEASE don’t let it go to waste because you hear the phrase ‘social media’ and you shut down, running the other way! PLEASE don’t let yourself get overwhelmed by some vague, inaccessible notion of all the things you can’t do because of time, resources, or know-how! PLEASE don’t throw the proverbial baby out with the bath water! Ask for help! Get help! Make a plan! Outsource! Delegate! Do SOMETHING besides chuck aside the very thing that’ll take your strengths, expertise, and vision to a level you never dared imagine!”

Alas, I said none of that. He offered his card and asked for mine, we exchanged polite good-byes, and moved onto our respective lives.

And now, in this wi-fi challenged bookstore cafe, as I finish my iced coffee, I am convinced I know the #1 worst thing about social media:

It’s the phrase “social media.”

Those who dig it REALLY dig it. We get energized, inspired, and amazed at what’s unfolding before our eyes. We see the world changing. Evolving. Improving.

We notice small businesses boosting revenues on a fraction of their marketing budgets from days of yore. We see like-minded movers and shakers rallying causes, creating alliances, improving systems, reaching new demographics, and turbo-charging their productivity and effectiveness.

We see individuals with their own unstoppable messages, missions, and visions discovering their voices, and using these platforms to make a difference in their communities. We marvel at bold-thinking groups taking on some of humanity’s biggest challenges and making jaw-dropping strides in the right direction, all across the globe.

Unfortunately, those who dread it – who fear it, hate it, reject it, ignore it, or are utterly turned off by the sound of those five silly syllables – Shut. Down. Completely.

So many of these talented folks, like the gentleman in Panera, could catapult their success by adopting even one or two decent habits, platforms, or strategies every couple of months. They could get the results they want faster, more effectively, and more affordably. They could stop spinning wheels, and start spending time doing more of what they love to do, whether it’s business-related or purely for fun.

Those who loathe the phrase are losing ground to their competition, and making their tomorrows harder than they have to be.

Man, that bums me out. And I’m sorry.

Because if I had invented a different, non-threatening phrase, like “my husband and I play zingy-hop” or “we frolic in revolutionary cyberocity,” maybe I could’ve kept this gentleman’s attention for just long enough for him see the passion in MY eyes, and the fire in MY heart.

And maybe, just maybe, I could’ve helped him take that next crucial, wonderful leap into his own unstoppable awesomeness.

Hmph. Maybe next time.

Do you dig or dread social media in any or all of its forms and functions? Please share your thoughts on Epiphanies, Inc.’s Facebook Fan Page wall and speak your truth!