Life is funny sometimes. Okay, all the time. 

When I first started to use Social Media for real it was for Marketing. I was interning at a record label and we were building a street team. I got my butt on MySpace. It was real. Real weird. I definitely understood the concept of using the platform to connect with people, but the whole idea of blasting information into the ether was foreign to me. Like, why?  Forums made sense. IM made sense. Conversations took place there that felt more akin to what took place in real life. A talks, then B talks, then A talks. But Social Networking platforms like MySpace. Um, not so much. I post an update and login the next day to see if anyone posted something to my wall? #weirdness

Sadly, not much has changed in Social Networking, has it? Sure, these platforms are more about the conversation, but ask most people and they will tell you that Social Networking sites are for sharing and Marketing. I’m going to have to disagree here. And disagree hard. 

If sharing or pushing out content is all you’re doing on Social sites, you might as well be the dude on the street corner with a megaphone that everyone is walking by, cracking jokes under their breath about. You know the dude I’m talking about. Honestly, that’s how dumb it is to limit Social Media to this. And I think that’s why for a lot of older generations, they don’t really “get” it - especailly the value of Social in the workplace. 

Here’s my kicker. Y’all ready for this, Space Jam style? (Dance.)  Social Media is not just about Marketing, it’s about Learning. You guys. LEARNING!! 

When I share something on Facebook, it’s not because I want to brag about my life or my accolades. It’s because I want to enlighten, inspire, and/or add value to the world of those around me. Can you say the same? And when I login to Twitter, I’m logging in because I want to glean value from my world. Guess what? If I’m not getting value from you, I’m not following you. Well I might be, but you’re not on my “A List”. Yes. I do have an A List. The truth hurts.

Social Media has to be about learning, y’all. Like any relationship, the minute you stop learning from the other person, the relationship is over. The same will be true with our relationship with Social Media. The minute it becomes a sea of shouts - just dudes on the corner with megaphones, where no one is listening and having true dialogue - is the day we’re all gonna peace outta there. See ya Facebook. Bye, Twitter. #out

Let’s rebrand this! Let’s do it because there is a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips. We all have stories, experiences, education to pass to one another. Let’s do that for each other. Let’s be real and open, let others in and learn the crap up! My mind literally explodes with possibilites if we can all approach Social Media from this angle, rather than from the mind of a salesman. <—yuck!

Humble yourself. Realize you have something to learn from everyone. Then hit me up on Twitter and let’s chat. Peace.