Bringing the Social back to Social Media

As I read Sheila’s previous postPost reviews, I started thinking (and couldn’t remember) when was the last time I walked into a room in which an ongoing conversation/discussion was going on, and I just interrupted it with a random thought. Nor do I remember when was the last time I walked into a meeting and blurted out my opinion without, at least, acknowledging what they were talking about… I hope you’re already getting the sense of where I’m coming from with these thoughts.

I find it quite disappointing that us, as professionals in the Social Media field, want to make everyone believe that this Social Media stuff is “a great way to establish a genuine communication… that will relate your brand directly with your consumers… that it is an ongoing conversation…” and on and on, without actually doing it ourselves. Yeah, it all sounds nice and interesting, but it seems that we’re spending so much time trying to humanize brands/businesses/services that we’ve forgotten we’re humans ourselves and, like Sheila, I wonder where has all the social gone!?

You know, there are hundreds of posts out there outlining the best Twitter “etiquette” rules, and to be honest with you, I don’t understand people that actually have to read them in order to know how to behave in public. That’s pretty much what all this Social Media is about, right? One big public conversation.

If you’re following someone, it is because, I hope, you’re interested on what they have to say a.k.a tweet, I assume. And when someone talks to you when you walk into a room, you don’t just ignore him/her, right?

So here’s what I propose: from now on, when you log on to Twitter for the very first time each day, you’re going to acknowledge the Tweet at the very top of your page (the latest one on your timeline, and assuming it has a link - not just the lame/typical “good morning Twitter peeps” - I can understand if you ignore those…) and one way or another engage with that follower of yours in relationship to that link he/she is sharing - at least check it out, and if you like it and/or find it interesting, then retweet it, comment or do whatever you feel like doing; after you, at least, took a look at it. To that specific tweet (your first of the day), I encourage you to write the hashtag #my1st. This way you walk into the room and not just interrupt the ongoing conversation we’re all telling our clients about.

Are we ready to make this a place where sociable people interact with decency?

Aroldo Nery
Strategist/Brand Director @ The Re Agency