Its been 4 years (almost) that ive been blogging. About 4 years since Im social networking and about 3 years since Im tweeting and about the same number of years since Im helping companies figure out the social media maze via (watconsult).
As the clock ticks away Im starting to believe more and more into the belief that first got me into this field. Digital is the future for all communication that we see around us. When I started blogging about social media via WATBlog it was still nascent. I think we were the only one’s covering international launches like Pownce (which later was sold to sixapart).
Now social media is the big buzz word. Everyone from Sachin Tendulkar to SRK to Shashi Tharoor swears by it. As all this frenzy surrounds us I believe its time for us to stand still and observe. Observe the magic in the madness and start building insights from this media.
What pains me today is that amidst the hype and hoopla very little effort is being made by marketers, CEO and Entrepreneurs to leverage social media in the most intelligent and effective way it can be. The buzz around the medium has got all and sundry tweeting before the even define why they are tweeting. All and sundry call themselves a social media expert. Dont get me wrong Im no expert as well. Im just a student (that too a bad one). But what I know for sure given my high exposure to a lot of people in this space is that social media will be what we make of it. Its the input = output syndrome. If we spend more time talking we shall not be able to listen. If we spend more time answering then we wont be able to ask. The challenge lies in striking a balance thats just right for your brand.
Just like in the offline world even online some brands, topics and people lend themselves to be the most talked about stuff in the world. But its the brands and companies that don’t have that x factor is what needs to fly on social media. Im still to see that happen on social media. A brand being built over the internet. The day that is done that day there won’t be any dearth of marketing dollars for the digital space.
This is just one of the finer points that I plan to discuss at Digital Media Conclave 2010 where Im a speaker on the social media panel. So if you are in Delhi then do come over and join the discussion. I expect this panel to be a fruitful one for all participants. One can log onto their website at www.digitalmediaconclave.com and register to attend.
See ya there and we shall continue this thought!
Excellent article… In this hype and hoopla, million new terms are being coined and every buzz word is popularized to become a jargon. As a student who is interested in exploring the social media, I am quite marooned by the amount of jargon thats floating in this space..