People in the Real World

October 8, 2008 · Comments

robot Sometimes, it’s worth flashing a bit of a public reminder that even though it seems like lots of us are deeply passionate about this space, most folks don’t exactly understand what we’re talking about. That’s because technically, they don’t need what we do to make money and go on with their lives. They’re happy. Take a cab ride and ask them about Twitter. Ask the folks at the grocery store if they’re on LinkedIn. Check and see whether anyone at the local pizza place has a blog.

We tend to forget we’re in the future world. Our little close gooey center is comprised of people who think FriendFeed needs to adapt and improve, while most of our workplaces are still deciding whether to allow instant messenger clients inside the firewall. We blog about iPhone apps and aggregators where most of the world is reading about how digital cable in the US is going to impact folks who still have rabbit ears on their box.

Should You Need to Convert People

Bob: Well–we’ll be safe for now–thank goodness we’re in a bowling alley–but if George here doesn’t get his dinner, any one of us could be next.- from Pleasantville

Try to remember to talk from the human side of the coin. People don’t want to talk about RSS. They want to talk about getting information that matters to them sent to them in a way that makes the most sense. When I talk to small businesses about blogs, I talk about taking their newsletters or email marketing online. Podcasts are radio shows on the Internet.

When talking with people about these technologies, never take that condescending air. As much as we feel excited to be part of this whole social media “thing,” the people who don’t “get it” have all kinds of skills on board that we may or may not have. I met a master salesman this year who sells products that cost more than double my annual salary. He’s reasonably new to social media and the web, but he could teach me more about qualifying, prospecting, nurturing, and closing a sale than I could about blogging.

Believe in how these technologies make the world different, but always seek ways to tie it all back to the current world. There are more and more mainstream media types spending time learning about Twitter. We had Jim Long years ago, and he got it years ago. Now, others are coming. Don’t scorn them for coming from the current world. Show them how they can integrate and adapt, if they show curiosity.

Internet Fame is Lame Outside our Sphere

If ever I’m in risk of getting a big head about my status on the web, I need do nothing more than stand up at whichever coffee shop has my money that day and say loudly, “Do you know who I am?” The answer will be “no” every time. As cool as I feel for being friends with lots of great authors and bloggers and people who make amazing media, I can’t ring up Jay Leno’s assistant and get on the Tonight Show (maybe Gary can, but he’s special).

And in the office? If you’re the sole “person who gets it” at a company, that’s great, but if you’re wearing that as a badge of some kind, get over yourself. I’m sure the people who knew more than everyone else at desktop publishing and the people who were the best CD-ROM authors are waiting to hang out with you. You know about tools. That’s great, but it’s not the magic.

Be the Bridge

Want big points in my book (and in lots of people’s books)? Be the person who helps a community of others get it, too. Be Beth Kanter, patron saint of non-profit tech. Be Phil Baumann, RN, blogging about social media and nursing. Be Glenda Watson Hyatt writing the Accessibility 100 to teach people like her (Glenda blogs with ONE thumb, people) how to open the world back up. Be Becky McCray, who knows everything from ranching, to running a liquor store, to safari adventures (check her Flickr), to how to teach small businesses everything they need to know about “regular” small business, and a bit about this Internet stuff.

Be Jon Swanson, out there helping with Church 2.0. Be Ann Kingman and Michael Kindness sharing their passion for reading and books. Be Chris Webb, sharing how publishers see the world. Be Liz Strauss, who is working hard to show bloggers how to be business people over the coming years (and that relates to this post, doesn’t it?).

Share the living HELL out of the humanity and the real world-ness that goes into being a blogger and a technologist and someone from the future. Because what you know WILL change the way people live, and it’ll work a whole hell of a lot better if you help people get there, instead of maintaining that strange distance.

Teach. Connect. Bridge. Humanize. Human-size. Make it about the people who carry the fire down from the mountain, not the fire itself.

Fair?

Photo credit, Steve Keys

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  • The great part that I can see that you've been doing here is to make the tech stuff relevant for us to implement for us. Bridging us to know more on how to connect with social media for businesses and marketing.
  • I wrote about this in my blog and used the Seth Godin quote
    "Nothing great gets built just because you have the right tools" We need to put ourselves into perspective. We are a crowded, loud coffee shop full of largely self-appointed experts in a world where 2 billion people have not yet made a phone call. Offer real-world products and delight real people
  • "Check and see whether anyone at the local pizza place has a blog" --> you stil get your piazza at a local pizza place? You know you can order these online ;-)
  • BTW: Great Article! I totally agree... get connected to the real world!
  • Exactly. I've lost sleep the last few weeks over why dog breeders in the UK (recently out manoevered and slammed to death by a BBC documentary) haven't been able to get their heads around blogging and how the Net can be a great way of getting your message out there.

    Writing on the Net can be an essential way of managing a crisis in an organization. I suppose it's up to the likes of us to help people understand this.

    I don't just think it's the tools that are hard for people to get their heads around. It's also the idea of writing in public. Not everyone is comfortable with that. But they will be. Eventually.
  • As always, your comments resonated with me, Chris.

    Not only are your insights helping us to bring more folks into the social media fold, but in the grander scheme of things, you're actually developing a culture around being humble, respectful and helping people -I truly hope this spreads out across the globe and makes the world a better place!

    Thanks,

    Richard :)

    Richard@BlackWidowNetwork.com
  • Thanks Chris, for bringing a little humility back into our passion. Gentle giants can do that -- they can be huge without stepping on folks. In fact they can use their hugeness to help the people that need the lift the most.
  • Great post, Chris. I think those of us who spend so much time in this space risk confusing the means for the end. Social media is a means to sharing information and making connections, not an end unto itself. While gathering new information and meeting new people is innately gratifying, it only truly reaches relevance in the context of achieving something with that newfound information and those newfound friends.
  • Thank you, Chris, for this very thoughtful post.

    90% of people that I interact with daily are not "plugged in." And I don't mean "not on Twitter." They still have their first and only email account (likely AOL or hotmail). They check email once a day, or less. They use their computer for business purposes, mainly MS Word or Excel, and check their work email if required, but that's about it. They may think a "blog" is an online diary of someone's love life. "Podcast" is a foreign term, or it means something that you do with those iPod things, whatever they are. CDs are just fine for them.

    This may sound simplified, but it's not.

    These are smart people. They may read 3 newspapers daily, read 3-5 books a week. They are professors, business owners, entrepreneurs, millionaires.

    We need to use offline ways to attract these users to our products or services, even if those products or services are online. We need to speak their language. For instance, we speak to hundreds of book-lovers every year, and I know that most of them would appreciate our podcast. But giving them signup information at our talks does not work. Our current solution is to burn a few podcast episodes on CD and distribute them at our talks, in the hopes that they will first appreciate the content and then follow our simple instructions on how to subscribe. We have to market the content (book information) not the vehicle (podcast).

    My mother and aunt both recently joined Facebook. It's not because they wanted to "be on social media". No, they heard that a family member was posting photos on Facebook. And they wanted to see those photos. While I do expect to be "poked" by my mom any minute, she may never do more on FB than look at photos. Or she may discover some other cool things that she can do online.

    If we want to attract people to our products or services, we need to meet them where they live, and speak their language.

    Thanks again for this well-crafted post on an important topic.
  • I have a rule. Until I can tell my mom this stuff easily then it's not mainstream. Until it's mainstream, I try to take the time to teach people about this space. I'm always hopeful that it could somehow make their lives a little easier, a little more full or simply a little more fun!
  • Hi Chris,
    Thanks for this one. It's so important not to lose sight of what makes the world of work outside our little socialsphere. Our culture has new vocabulary and new values. We can get so used to people who understand what we're saying that when we talk to folks who don't -- the much bigger world -- we can find ourselves unprepared to communicate in the words and ways that will connect with them. Social media is about connecting to people. It would be sad if the only people we knew how to connect with were other folks who knew social media.
  • Really great post, Chris. I especially love the reminder to be humble - it's something my family and dogs "help" me with every day. :-)
  • Chris
    You're right - we need a clip round the ear if we're starting to sound like we've just discovered DNA and are trying to explain it to three-year-olds.
    Even some highly advanced and heavily funded communications departments in FTSE 100 businesses in the UK are not yet thinking about social media in a coherent way. But they won't appreciate it (and won't buy!) if we try to blind them with science.
    My colleague, Mark Hanson, does a great introduction to social media with images of a church, a factory floor, a pub, etc in order to explain how "social" used to work: people went to people they knew and trusted in their community for advice and there was "word of mouth", the most powerful medium. In many ways we've moved away from that, but social networks on the Internet are recapturing it.
  • Timely for me as I'm doing a couple of presentations in the next few months on social media to people who haven't made it past e-mail. It's so easy for me to forget that while my circle is jumping on everything new, most people aren't. thanks for the reminder.
  • Great post Chris - I think it is really important to remember that people can be resistant to change, especially when it comes to social media and web 2.0.

    It is about providing the tools but not enforcing their use.

    It is about highlighting benefits and helping people understand any possible risks involved.

    Most of all, patience :)
  • Chris, I hail from Malaysia and the amount of people who actually get the social media are finger countable. Even though I try providing such services, questions such as "What for?" etc... arises.

    I think the solution to this would be not to talk social media to them. But what we have to do is to promote to them tools such as twitter or facebook in an older fashion way. Some way that just makes them say, that's cool! And to grow usability. As far as my goal is concern, I just want the normal folks to increase their usage on the internet and its tools. We should speak internet to them, rather than what is social media.

    Majority of folks here, when I speak social media or try to educate them such, the responds I get its boring.

    I guess the social media study, adaptation and preaching should be left to we, social media junkies and just leave and persuade the general public to adopt tools for daily life use.

    Its a fact that most, technology oriented people are the one's who actually try out these tools. For example, a guy who owns a blog possibly may be on twitter. But that's what needs a change. A regular teen on the go should tweet or be inclined with a specific tool.

    People have such mind blocks such as time constrain, depreciating values of tools as so on within them. What we should do is to introduce specifying tools to them that would help them communicate better. For example, "Person A" may only use Twitter in his life to communicate efficiently and "Person B" uses facebook to network efficiently. It has to be based on individual wants and needs.

    Hailing from a very backward society, I am in the process of trying to setup an organization in order to try and identify this individual needs and wants ; promote a specific tool ; and let word of mouth do the rest. All this organization does is to create awareness among the real world individuals.
  • Chris,

    This is a great post. As a newbie stepping into the Social Media world I have seen the benefits of interaction, I like how you stress bridging with real world. It hit me when recently speaking with my mom, she was completely lost and couldn't put 2 and 2 together. The tools of Social Media are great, but how great is a tool if people don't use it?

    Thanks for the thought provoking post, something to think about today.

    Juan David Londoño
    @juandlondono
  • Jenny Schmitt
    A terrific post that I think those of us on 'the edge' need to re-read at regular intervals. So well written, I'd almost this was written for the WSJ editorial board.

    And if you ever really want to be on Leno's show, give me a call!
  • After I introduced a friend to Twitter yesterday, she asked me, what's the point.

    The point is the people who are making a difference in the world. Social media helps us make that difference.
  • Amen!

    Lots of people I speak with are afraid to venture into the blogosphere because they're afraid to seem like a newbie in a world that is so insider-oriented and quick to ridicule.

    What we need is more generosity of spirit and true leadership, and fewer self-appointed experts out to promote themselves and make a buck.

    Thanks for your leadership, Chris!
  • A cracking post and a very important reminder (as I've just spend three hours on a combo of friendfeed and twitter).

    When I worked at the BBC in London we've need to keep asking ourselves what our parents would think of a story we were about to cover. Often we'd realise we were immersed in our metropolitan BBC bubble assuming that those outside the capital thought the same way as us.

    It's good to flag up that social media is flowing through the same process
  • I spent all summer telling my family -- including my 76-year-old dad who lives with us, all about our the Web-first initiative I was working on between our newspaper, The Providence Journal, and projo.com. Then we had layoffs, and it got put on hold. I was really disappointed, and when I told me dad, he said, "you mean it was never up?" He hadn't once looked at the Web site to see if my project had manifested itself! A lot of people aren't paying attention, and we should remember that.
  • I couldn't agree more. I've recently started going back outside of my Geek Zone. Attending business mixers and finding new groups outside of Geekdom.

    The reaction from my business mixer friends was, "Hey, great to see you again. Where have you been?". When I share what I do with the new groups, they aren't sure what I'm talking about or if it has any relevance in their organization.

    This just highlights how far away I've gotten from the average non-tech/geek person in my community.

    So yes, it is important to share what we know with folks outside the Social Media realm. Thanks for the reminder.
  • Stefanie (StefTampa)
    This was a GREAT post. It all comes back to being a good communicator and being smart. To get others involved in social media you have to sell it to them in terms that are relevant to them. Why should THEY care....good stuff.

    I always enjoy your blog posts.
  • i really appreciate your thoughts. being the youngest person in my office by a lot of years, most are 15 years my senior, i took the wrong attitude of frustration rather than of building and sharing. This perspective change is something i should have seen and done a long time ago.
  • Off topic, but I just have to ask. How do you always find such great images on Flickr with the right CC license? Is there a good way to filter for the ones with the Attribution license. Thanks!
  • Thanks . . . Never bad to be reminded we all exist in a bubble and be brought back to earth. I am always reminded of this each and every time I have a client that needs me to help them set up their email.

    Part of being passionate about something is having the ability to share your passion.
  • What can be frustrating is all this focus on the new new thing. To your point for most people the web is about two things Email and Search.

    What's great about blogging is it's primary benefit for Search Engine Optimization. When business bloggers focus on comments or RSS subscriptions as a measure of success most are sorely disappointed. Even A-list Corporate Blogs like Southwest Airlines drive the majority of their traffic, not through repeat visitors but through first timers who came through search.

    This is a good thing! And a message all of us social media types should embrace. From the dog breeder above to the biggest of Corporate giants....blogging helps you tell your story...show's your human-ness and most importantly allows you to build credibility which ultimatly leads to more business. Search is the key marketing tool of our current generation. If you were writing about all your great work in humane dog breeding for the past year my guess you would be winning these searches...the media would have found you and solicited your side of the story....and you would have probably sold a lot more dogs.
  • I talk to "outsiders" all the time about blogging, affiliate marketing, and social media applications, but when I explain it I compare it to Radio. Everyone understand how radio works.

    Basically, you put content out there and gain enough of an audience, you can start selling ads. But with any type of business, you have to market your company to get the word out about it.

    It usually helps even the non-tech savvy to easily understand the basic concepts.
  • Great post again Chris - reminds us of one of the core concepts of social media: share.

    Rick
  • Chris, its always refreshing to see people who are willing to share their knowledge and also admit they don't know everything. What's hard is to get others to think that way, sometimes. I've been trying to get some folks to present at our Social Media Club, and sometimes people seem unwilling to share, as if that will take away from their expertise. Definitely seems odd to me. Sharing my expertise and having conversations with others only makes me more smarter, because I get perspective outside of my own head, which is generally a good thing for everyone.
  • Wow, did I really say "more smarter" in my comment? I am officially embarrassed...
  • Chris,

    Great insight! When I talk to younger people, some are surprised that I am on Twitter. I find it fascinating that I have to remember there are young people who are not 'in the need' so have little or no knowledge of the whole social networking world.
  • Your post is so true, I know because I am struggling to make the transition. I just wish the learning curve wasn't so steep. As I work toward opening an independent bookstore I know I need to promote myself beyond South Padre Island, TX, yet it feels at times like understanding the role of the internet and reviewing the information available online has consumed the majority of my energy. But I do love twitter!! Having the opportunity to interact with others in the business is one of the advantages I most appreciate. Thanks for all the information you provide.
  • Chris - A much needed reality check.Social Media is today at the same juncture where email was 15years back. It took a long time for email to become a part of everyone's lives and social media will need to go through the same cycle.

    Every revolution needs its visionaries and I think this one has a lot of capable people behind it.
  • We still need to keep our head out of that fishbowl. I catch myself doing it three or four times a day... "I listened to this great PodCast the other day..." cue blank stares.

    This is a reminder I need so badly every day that I should have it tattooed on the back of my hand, if I didn't think it'd hurt.
  • 90 percent of business gets done through relationships. As a thought experiment, plot how much of your life takes place within 20 miles of your home. We're online commerce junkies, and still only 5% of our monthly expenses are actually for online purchases.
  • Great post Chris and I wish more A-list bloggers wrote on the same topic. My dad is a small business owner of a plumbing supply store and has been successful in business for over 20 years. His company doesn't even have a website (although I've tried to convince him to get one). Either way, I agree social media techniques could help and improve his business, but he has been very successful with traditional methods, and could probably teach me a whole lot about running a successful business.

    Bloggers and web freaks forget that there is a life outside of the web world and that people are very successful in their lives and communicating without social media. It's nice that you can bring these people down to reality. Thanks.

    Craig
    www.budgetpulse.com
  • Kim
    More than fair. Smart. Thanks for this!
  • Loved your article. I started a blog about public relations last June, in Spanish, and sometimes I feel like preaching in the desert. Your post gives me energy to keep on writing and looking forward to touching more people with this information.
  • I agree with Kim - way more than fair! There's not much I can say that others haven't already covered in the above commentary, but I will say thank you also. I spent the greater portion of my day yesterday working on my persuasive presentation on why my company needs to adopt a blog (the reason my boss allowed me to attend BlogWorld08). I've personally found with this exercise that it's a delicate balance to teach and not get preachy. I'm struggling with questions now like "should I throw in a slide on explaining what RSS means in case they don't know???"

    I think the best word to keep in mind when speaking with people who know little about this space is OPPORTUNITY. There's really no limit to what may come from a bit of dedication to social media, web 2.0, etc.

    You mention Gary Vaynerchuk - I bet in his wildest dreams, he never could have imagined that in the year 2008 he would have racked up 80-something flights all over the map tending to speaking engagements and consulting projects when he started out posting videos to support his wine store. Craziness!

    What you all do is inspiring, on many different levels.
  • I absolutely agree with you, Chris. In fact, another issue plaguing social media right now-- everyone and their Grandmother taking the social media plunge-- is directly related to the people who misunderstand it. Far too many people (social media marketers, though I shudder at the term) spend their time hyping up the space that those on the sideline are just drooling to tap this market. If there were more people with our attitude to EDUCATE and INFORM, there'd be a much better understanding of who should and who should not enter this space.

    I remember reading a statistic recently that said nearly 3/4 of all organizations launching social media campaigns will fail. I believe that number is directly related to misinformation and unchecked motives.
  • Yes! Thank you Chris! What is all of this social media "stuff" we do if it doesn't somehow appeal to or help Joe Sixpack (as Sarah Palin puts it).

    I agree with Michael Fitzgerald - we are a bunch of self-appointed experts, and no one else really gives a damn about what we do unless we can relate it to them and their interests and problems. Isn't that the point of social media, after all - connecting and being "social"?
  • I am a member of a group here in San Diego that gets together once a month for a dining adventure. I am the youngest person in the group and I am in my late 40s. When the discussion turns to blogs and twitter, I am called a "Thoroughly Modern Millie". I wonder how many of our office millenials would even get that? What I hear from the most engaged of the group is that they find most blogs to be too self-promoting and downright boring. I encouraged digging a little deeper and finding the blogs that speak to the things they really care about, their passions. One member joined Twitter immediately and I think enjoys the sharing. Baby steps I suppose.

    But it is so true, we live in a world where most do not. Not yet anyway. I keep thinking about what Laura Hinton said at the Twitter panel at blogworldexpo, "You have to layer online and real world, it can't just be online."
  • Such a relevant topic that I think many of us forget. Most people have no idea what we're talking about and don't really care.

    I think the important part of all this is the underlying concepts, not the tools themselves.
  • Amber Naslund
    If I know more about microbiology than someone, I don't use the terms that were in my master's textbook. I was a music major, but I don't try and explain counterpoint or fugal theory to someone who just wants a great recommendation for a CD to buy. It's not about talking down to someone, but talking with them in terms that are relevant to them.

    Why oh why can some of us not understand that speaking in plain english about the WHY of not just social media, but ANYTHING, is far more important that flexing our technological muscle.

    Social media has potential because it's rooted in the human connections behind the screens. The tools will change, evolve, devolve, and be replaced with something new. But people and business' fundamental need to connect with other humans just isn't going to change. But embracing that still seems more difficult than we imagined. I'm so thankful for conversations like these that remind us fishbowl swimmers that not everyone shares our view of the world, and that our true contributions can be in sharing with them why we do what we do.

    Please continue keeping it real, Chris.
  • JenHarris
    From my parents to friends (other gen-xers)so many look at me like a deer in headlights when I get going on what this and that company should be doing. But then again, most people that I work with give me that same stare, I we are in the tech business! Then I put myself in their shoes & I reel it in and say "a blog is JUST an article, you read them all the time."
    Just because I know it, LOVE it & think we should be doing 100x more in this space...I have to realize that teaching old dogs new tricks, really takes baby steps...and most people are still in the crawl stage.
    Thanks!
    -jen
  • right on...my takeaway is that this is a real boost for the people at Molson who are engaged and learning social media and the opportunities to reach out to the world...the conversations are happening...dialogue is ongoing and we need to be there...sometimes just a little hard to sell the "traditionalists" on the benefits...we shall overcome...cheers...MolsonFerg
  • "If ever I’m in risk of getting a big head about my status on the web, I need do nothing more than stand up at whichever coffee shop has my money that day and say loudly, “Do you know who I am?”

    I'd love to be in the coffee shop when you did this...would be pretty funny =)
  • You are preaching to the band. This was the topic of my Keynote at Online Market World. We are lucky enough to live in a "rarefied air" of knowledge and our job is to educate. I do, on my websites, books and radio show.

    A perfect example is a comment my blog received today: "I read the link, very interesting, if difficult to follow for the technophobe like me, carry on your good work though, I think what you are doing is brilliant, even if the understanding of the issues you raise are limited."
  • Chris:

    Wow, thanks for the props.


    Last week I did a workshop -- bits and pieces of a presentation that I've done frequently. I had to do it twice - the first group was great - went well. But the second group, I was way over their heads -- and needed to do a better job of switching levels on the sly. Did get some resistance, but that's part of the job - dealing with it and turning it around - acknowledging it - but making sure to pack it up in a suitcase and send it on its merry way.

    At any rate, being bridge means that you acknowledge and worship the power of the newbie.
    http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/2008/08/work...
  • Great post, Chris, and right on. I remember being so excited that a post I wrote made the front page of Digg, I called my best friend and told her. She enthusiastically congratulated me and sincerely shared in my happiness...and then said, "So what's Digg?"



    :)
  • Thankfully I'm not web famous either, but this is still a great reality check for me. I have to shake my self a little when people ask me "What's a blog?" or "what's Twitter?" because it feels like such a huge part of my life that I have trouble remembering that other people don't need it. And that's cool.

    I like the idea of helping others to learn the power of social media. I'm trying to help a local non-profit learn to reach out by using it, to hopefully expand their reach. The idea that we have the power to do great things with it is exciting.
  • Great article.

    Dugg for the subheader "Internet Fame is Lame Outside Our Sphere"!
  • Excellent article and great reminder that most of the real world doesn't quite understand all of this social media yet. It seems that the more I work behind my computer, the more easily I could fall into the trap of forgetting that most people don't understand the purpose of a blog... and it would completely lose them if I began to go into the topic of RSS. Sort of like when someone starts rambling about Star Trek... then I am confused and I don't care. People don't have an interest learning about our product if we lose them in our social media talk.
  • Alison Harrison
    A perfect reminder that in all communication, it's the benefits that people really want to hear about, not the features.

    Thanks for the refresher!
  • Chris - so timely,so true. I have been working on just this bridge for the past 5+ years [as you know] - reminding the echo chamber of the world outside and the world outside of the beauty, potential and work involved in the social web. Too many miss the motivations underlying the features/tools/communities - no, i cannot "make you a viral video", or press a button and poof you have a sense of purpose. Frankly, as current headlines demonstrate most people have bigger issues in their lives than how many people follow them on twitter. It is the motivations and what we GET out of our efforts as people that drive the current features/tools/commuinities. As - "technology changes, human's don't". Keep on keeping on man.
  • Chris: Great post.

    I love your comment about Internet fame. I can see the novelty tee shirt now: "I'm big on the Internet" ;)
  • Chris - great article. I was just thinking about this after a trip to SC, where nobody really cared about twitter, blogs, linked in, etc. Everyone was more concerned with gas prices, covering basic needs of everyday life.

    And you are right when talking to people in the "real world" it is essential to teach (not preach) how social media can empower them by offering a way to reach out to the world.

    I think I will forward this article to my friend Marisa, who, over lunch was screaming at me that people who do not get technology (especially flickr) needs to get with the program.
  • earmstrong
    I really enjoyed this post. I might be one of the few people in my office that even know what SM is. Some are still working on opening attachments on their Blackberry. I used to think my limited knowledge of social media was a badge of honor until I realized that few people will respect your knowledge of something they don't even realize exists.

    Great post!
  • Great post Chris. I can't stress how important this topic is, and I deal with it on a daily basis talking with prospects. Like you said, a truly successful person in this space are the names you listed -- those people embracing social media in verticals you wouldn't expect them to be.

    It's our job as evangelists for new technology to break it down to the simplest of terms, and alleviate fears of what's new.
  • Awesome article Chris, it is so true, I find myself sometimes thinking everyone at work is in to social media, but their not, I try to explain, but end up explain to fast and not in a way they would understand. I gotta work on that. Thanks. take care
  • This was so sooo much needed. It was what I was thinking about for so often. I started a Geek to Real World Translation Guide just because of this post: http://natashasartcandy.com/2008/10/09/natashas...

    Because of your post, I'm working starting today on what matters most, to connect in the real world.
  • This morning my 46 year old engineer-executive brother called me to chat. I love it when he calls. We always laugh about stuff.

    After 10 minutes I knew the call was winding down. I said to him, "BJ, you should introduce your company to social marketing." As usual I talked louder and faster. I always do that when I talk about something I love.

    I told my brother that I saw a 16 year old kid on Chris Pirillo's big blog seminar a couple of weeks ago. I told how the kid said that the most remarkable invention of the 21st century so far was text messaging. I felt like I was telling my brother something really unique.

    "Oh, I use text messaging," said my brother.

    That put a pin in my balloon.
  • Great post Chris. I was having the same conversation with myself while building what I'm thinking is a advanced social media project which I'm trying to tackle the over saturated NASCAR Marketing landscape. Instead of trying to explain the technolgoy I think of what we are doing is building a bridge to it...kind of like using baseball stats to teach kids math...or something like that. Gas on!
  • You took the words right out of my mouth. I often think about a lot of the things you mentioned, only in my case the problem of not fitting in is exponentially bigger: I'm from rural Kansas ;) I do try to teach people about social media and the intricacies of the internet though, my wife is kind of a bystander of it all, so she is learning just by watching and listening...
  • Regular reading de-lurking because your post struck a real chord. The idea of paying it forward, of putting petty jealousies aside and helping someone out is SO IMPORTANT. I hang only out (in the blogosphere and in real life) with people who can celebrate the success of others. It's a much better space to be in--and social networking is all about this.

    http://www.wondersandmarvels.com
  • I think we should all be educators. My boyfriend (who has now started reading your site) knew nothing of Social Media but since we are starting a joint venture I told him he had to learn. When I talk to my mom, she is someone who "wants it but just didn't know it". She always talks about how she has been pulled to the techie age and I am so proud to see that since she works with commercial properties in high finance that she has integrated various apps that assist her business. She loves when I come over and share something I did and she's always writing it down to check it out. She says that ultimately she could care less about Twittering but she wants to know that it exists and what it does. She laughs when she listens to CNN or FoxNews and the anchors say "wow those people on the Internet are blogging about this or doing this thing called Twitter". She loves that she tends to know about things months in advance because I made her aware.

    I agree that my world is virtual and so the gains I have made online, I am fortunate to parlay that into the physical world; however, it's always good to remember that we operate in a completely different system that most people don't know anything about.
  • As always, I thoroughly enjoyed your post. I referenced it on my blog in an effort to spread the word.

    Natasha
  • A timely reminder that if you re big in social media, you re probably not that big a fish in the real world...
  • We are indeed big fish in little ponds. And I agree that we need to be educators. My particular small pond is the public relations industry. The Sapient study of CMOs on what they want from an agency made it very clear that agency owners have to get up to speed on digital marketing and new media.
  • This is so difficult to do... It is so difficult to get people to understand the idea of connectivity... I think it is because of the money... If there were more 'clearcut' money ventures than people would be ALL over it... not just us... the 'weirdos'

    Good words... for sure
  • Outstanding artlicle. Thanks man!
  • Thanks Chris, for bringing a little humility back into our passion. Gentle giants can do that -- they can be huge without stepping on folks. In fact they can use their hugeness to help the people that need the lift the most.
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