Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Human interaction requires human intervention

Too many people see social media as just another channel - another way of deploying the high-impact weaponry of creative content with the intent of leading the largest number of horses to water.

This is a mistake.

Social media is about human interaction. About the interactions humans have with one another. About humans sharing stuff between themselves, doing things together. Doing their things together. Stuff that they find useful to each other.

If you want to involve yourself with each of their interactions, then yes, it's going to be hugely labour intensive - human labour intensive.

You can automate the collating of what you should be listening to. But you can't automate how what you hear should be perceived or CRUCIALLY how you can, should, must respond.

Instead of seeing social media as a place to deploy, think of 'it' (and I think we're talking about the network here...) as a place to learn - to learn how humans share things. To learn how, in the context of the group you are seeking to change behaviour in, behaviours are communicated - and copied.

Focus your human effort, YOUR human interaction, here.

Then you might, just might, learn the right kind of useful and interesting thing to share with that group - something they will think worthy of sharing with one another.

Remember: It's not what you do to them, it's what they do to each other.

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