New Media Driver: Technology or Anthropology?

New Media ToolLet me say up front that I will not be talking directly about technologies and tools. Exactly how you use Facebook, Twitter etc will change depending on your needs and future technological developments. The latest trends are usually short-lived. A couple years ago we would have been taking about Friendster, Napster or other hot new things I don’t recall.

My point is that we must look beyond the techno-tools. They are essential, but should be transparent. Your goal is communication. What kind of airplane did you fly to get to this conference? Does it matter to your participation here?

We call it the new media or the social media. Technologies are new, but the methods return to earlier times when communication was individualized, personal and interactive. The forum might no longer be a place where you go physically, but social media is still SOCIAL media, a place to meet and interact.

The mass media of the 20th Century was a break with the past. It deemphasized individuals and mashed them into “masses”. Our new media is more a restoration - a restoration on steroids that travels literally at the speed of light, but the lessons of anthropology (people) trump technology (machines.)

When technology gets more complicated, it often get easier to use –more transparent. When it gets easier to use, more people use it. Look at connectedness. Early adapters were young, cutting edge and tech savvy. Today the fastest growing user segment of Facebook is retired or close to it. Those least familiar with the newest technologies find them no harder to use than a telephone. That’s progress. (BTW – A telephone is plenty complicated.)

Harder to know your audience

New media opens up new audiences. We have always looked for those who connect and influence others. It used to be easier. We found editors, teachers, celebrities and we tried to get hem while they were young. Now we often cannot know who is influential until AFTER they have shown influence. And even the most savvy public affairs people can be blindsided. And then we don’t know if their influence is just a one-time deal or persistent. A dynamic analysis of your audience is more crucial than ever.

I am not the first to say this, let me be among the most energetic in repeating that this age wave, supported by new technology is happening. You will see a continued diminution in the relative influence of the young. Marketers and politicians are insufficiently aware of this and it is already biting them.

The new media has already spread widely and it will continue to do so. Nobody can ever keep up with all the permutations of technology. You don’t have to. It is getting easier to use. The day of the techno- geek is done as we greet the dawn of the social connector.

So Let’s talk a little about the social – human aspects of the new media.Please excuse me if some of what I say seem obvious. If you don’t say, “I kind-a knew that already,” I probably have not told you anything useful. But do me this favor. Think now of how you view the new media. Some of what I am going to say will be obvious only after you’ve heard it.

Humans are social creatures. We make important decisions by taking our cues from people & referencing relationships. The new media has not changed this. It has expanded the scope by weakening or breaking down barriers of time and space that separated people.

Your goal in the new media is not merely to reach an audience or even just to communicate or pass information. Information in the new media is almost free. Your task is to create communities and context in which your message is taken up and understood.

This means you have to ENGAGE. When you are engaged you participate and listen to your audience, now better called your community. Engagement means wanting to influence your community but also being willing to be influenced by them. If you just want to tell them “the way it is” you are not engaged. We are moving from involvement to commitment.

BTW – If you want to know this difference between being involved and being committed, think of the breakfast you might have had today. Maybe you had eggs and Canadian bacon. The chicken is involved with your breakfast. The pig is committed. Mere Involvement is not a winning strategy in the new media.

I am almost done, so let me give you targeted bullet points to take home.

Social Media is SOCIAL. Look beyond technologies to communities.

Iterative - Keep climbing. It is a continuous learning , iterative process, not a plan and not something that can be delegated or ever finished. Success today earns you the right to reengage tomorrow

Engage – and engage means you want to influence others AND you are willing to be influenced by others.

Community - Build a community & be part of a community. Figure out what you can contribute and do it. Remember people make decisions in the contexts of their communities.

Inclusive & Exclusive – these two terms are not incompatible. A community is both inclusive of its members and exclusive to others. If you try to appeal to everybody, you will attract nobody. You have to earn membership in any community worth being a member.

Personal – or at least personalized. Editors

and marketers have tried for years to homogenize

for the mass market. Niche markets – and the new media is just a series

of niche markets – requires personality.

Fun - We underestimate the importance of fun & games. People have choices in the new media. They often engage because it is fun and if you bore them they will wander off .

Try something. New media provides opportunity. You risk a lot more by doing nothing that trying things that fail. Iterative progress requires failure. If you fall, get up. Just make the jump.

New Media’s Reach May Exceed Its Grasp http://johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2009/09/post_59.html

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http://johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2009/08/is_viral_video_marketing_like.html

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http://johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2009/07/new_media_exceeding_the_carryi.html

Common Sense and Walled Gardenshttp://johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2009/07/new_media_common_sense.html

Engagement: Seek First to Understand http://johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2009/07/being_engaged_means_understand.html

No Garden w/o a Gardener

http://johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2009/07/new_media_no_garden_wo_the_gar.html

Punctuated Equilibrium and Phase Transitionshttp://johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2009/07/punctuated_equilibrium_phased.html

Broadcast Monitoring: The Rise of the Machines

http://johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2009/07/post_54.html

Twitter as a Broadcast Medium http://johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2009/06/twitter_as_a_broadcast_medium.html

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http://johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2009/06/post_48.html

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Belling the Cat & Other Great Ideas

http://johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2009/04/belling_the_cat_other_great_id.html

Let the Games Beginhttp://johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2009/04/post_37.html

The Last Three Feet

http://johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2009/04/the_last_three_feet.html

A Continuous Process, Not a Planhttp://johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2009/03/a_continuous_process_not_a_pla.html

Dinosaurs Die: Lizards Soon Starve

http://johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2009/03/decline_of_traditional_media.htmlPublic Diplomacy and Web 2.0

http://johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2009/01/public_diplomacy_new_technolog.htmlBig Mac Index

http://johnsonmatel.com/blog1/2009/08/post_57.htmlIgnorant & Stupid About Facts