We follow, we friend, we linkin, we have buzzed and we have myspaced. We keep connecting. I believe I’m not too far off if I say we network now more than ever before in our entire history. Yet what we mostly do is connect at, dare I say, a technological level.
Additionally, we are so found of this word, network, that we have “networked” the majority of, if not all of our professions. Take for example Networked Journalism, a concept that arguably lies at the very heart of journalism today, even though, to play devil’s advocate, it’s something that journalists were required to do since the beginnings of storytelling.
However, especially as journalists, we’ve shifted from the Who to the What, from focusing on the people to focusing on the platforms, albeit platforms full of people (except for the bogus accounts), which in return makes it quite a paradoxical and problematical issue.
For the following paragraphs, I’d like to invite you to take a step back while reading this and reflect on your own social media experience. What I’m about to share is no doubt an issue you have encountered as well. It’s also an idea that has been at the very heart of several social media events in the past couple of years. And it was at such an event, that I was first confronted with this issue at a conscious level.
After 10 years of using the internet for online communications (and I exclude emails here) I had to get to the un-conferenced Tweetcamp to have my “a-ha” moment. Now I have no intention of reiterating what happened at Tweetcamp this year. It was reported and/or accounted in the numerous blog posts written afterwards, such as this one, or this one.
But let’s take a few steps back here. Social platforms were individually created with a goal. This is how the founders and CEOs of Twitter, facebook and LinkedIn speak about their platforms:
Evan Williams, said: “Twitter is based around a very simple, seemingly trivial concept. You say what you’re doing in 140 characters or less and people who are interested in you get those updates.”
Mark Zuckerberg, said: “The thing that we’re trying to do at facebook is just help people connect and communicate more efficiently.”
Reid Hoffman, said: “[LinkedIn] is [a space] where you establish a professional profile online and then collaborate with the people you’ve connected with, whether it’s to find information or even find a job.”
As shown, it’s quite obvious what they all have in common. No matter how complex the Hows and Whats and even Wheres and Whys, they still come second after the Whos; THE PEOPLE.
YOU and me. Us. For, is social media not a mere result of our heading towards a global village? Was it not caused by our desire and need to communicate and share with someone on the other side of the planet?
I would even dare to go much further and say that it is not technology who brought us social media, it is us who generated it over so many years of desire that it makes it excruciatingly sad we forgot what it’s all about.
As a final argument for my point, here’s an example. This is what’s possible when people focus on people online. The sky is the limit as they say.
Video-sources:
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/evan_williams_on_listening_to_twitter_users.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyMgR47IRPo&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/user/LinkedInMarketing#p/c/0C452924221CD70F/4/WsoEgbD3CxM
I absolutely agree, Teo, that “people” are key in all this. You mention that
….”especially as journalists, we’ve shifted from the Who to the What”
I’m curious… Is there a particular example you had in mind that sparked this piece?
I’d also add that we shouldn’t lose sight of the multiple ways people use interactive, social, networked (whatever you like to call it) technology – even on the same platform. Not only between individuals, but personal use can vary too (day-to-day; hour-to-hour), so it’s crucial not to generalise about the conversations and connections taking place.
I’m afraid there is no particular example that sparkled this piece. It is the result of participating at numerous conferences about the future of journalism and social media. It just seems to me, from an observer’s perspective that there is too much focus on the technology itself rather than on adapting the core reporting skills to the technology. I feel that even at an educational level we learn how to use these platforms instead of how to put the core skills to work on these platforms. Of course this is just my experience and I apologise for the subtle generalisation.
Yes – focus should be developing the skills to work on these platforms & actual engagement with people (the content users/producers/audience). It’s
not just about which platform. The interactive lab sessions should have this at their heart: any suggestions for things we might do next term? (also, that Networked Journalism report should be in the reading list –
I’ll add it to the Delicious stack)