Shayan Gaziani

April 16, 2015

Steve Lee Review

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Steve Lee: The Social Media Guru

If Facebook were a country, it would be the third

largest in the world, just behind India and surpassing the

United States.

The staggering number of users on social media sites

and networks ushers in the new era in which we reside, one

that is homely for Millennials yet exotic for many adults.

What exactly caused all this, and why does social media

have such a significant role in our lives?

Steve Lee

Steve Lee, APR, lecturer at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas and founder

of QSI Group, spoke to professor Jim Haynes’ students last week about these very topics. Lee is

a tenured digital analyst with more than 40 years' experience in marketing and public relations,

and 20 in digital communications. He boasts a dynamic personality, scintillated with an

illustrative enthusiasm for his work, and a desire to spread knowledge and to spread his passion.

Takeaways

Lee began his presentation highlighting the importance of the work he does, the place

that public relations and communication hold in the world of a variety of professional

disciplines.

“I have not seen one job that says communication is not something we want you to do.”

Steve Lee

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Steve Lee Review

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Lee proceeded to offer quick facts on the development of social media and trace its origin

and progression into mainstream society. For example, while once using any form of virtual

communication was considered an oddity, now over 35 percent of the world’s population uses

social media, amounting to over 3 billion individuals worldwide. According to Lee, social media

is without boundaries, meaning it encompasses a vast majority of religious, ethnic groups and

socioeconomic backgrounds. In essence, it is the most diverse community to have ever existed.

Because of this variety, digital communication is quintessential to if not the new form of

marketing and public relations.

Progressing in his presentation, Lee explained what social media is versus what it is

stereotyped to be. Aside from websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Digg, social media

encompasses a plethora of online services and disciplines. Lee advised that any company

wishing to go mainstream or even have a solid consumer base must use a variety of these

services, and the “digital diamond.” An invention of Lee’s, the diamond offers that a website, a

social media presence, email communication and a blog are the minimum requirements for any

company.

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As a technology enthusiast, much of what Lee offered earlier in his presentation was

common knowledge for me, albeit, needed information for the layman. Regardless, Lee

explained even before written communication was possible, human interacted in tribes, in trusted

groups. Though confusing at first, his explanation was nothing short thought-provoking. Today,

we still function as tribes. We trust only those closest to us and are willing to disregard others,

even experts, if our family and friends say otherwise. Online communication has revolutionized

this practice and has virtualized its existence. Lee explains how our Facebook friends and

Twitter followers, for example, serve as our extended “tribes.” Truthfully, his argument makes

sense. Facebook comments and Twitter replies serve as the most provocative of forums for

debate and discussion. However, conflicting arguments seldom come from within a Facebook

“tribe.” Rather, they are often an outside source arguing with members of the same tribe who

blindly support each other.

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My Thoughts

Professor Lee is a lively individual. From his distinctive career choices to his experiences

and knowledge regarding social media, he offered a valuable perspective into a world that can be

so vastly confusing, yet so important to our everyday lives. Initially, the professor struck me as

someone who simply conveyed information. However, his delivery was interactive,

informational and fun. He was able to captivate his audience as well as appeal to a broad

spectrum of students, those who knew little regarding his topic, and those who were well versed.

He also used the past to explain the present, and the present to offer predictions regarding the

future. That said, professor Lee’s method of delivering his content was sometimes lackluster.

While the information he provided was exceptional, his PowerPoint seemed to take away from

his words as students focused on taking notes from the slides only. A common practice in

delivering a PowerPoint presentation is limiting words on the screen to have the presentation

slides serve as notes for the speakers as they address their topics. Professor Lee is an interactive

lecturer. If he limits his wordage on screen, what he has to say (which is far more valuable

regardless), will resonate more with his audience.

Lee offered his audience an interesting and somewhat rare perspective into the world of

social media. His enthusiasm, sagacity and constant deductive and inductive arguments not only

proved him an excellent orator, but an experienced social media guru as well.

Shayan Gaziani is a freshman at SMU. He is a technology enthusiast and is an aspiring

attorney with a proposed major in Communication Studies.