What’s Next Now

I was quite excited this morning to read an article in the Irish Times in which a British journalism professor almost completely “gets” what the notion of  ”social media” (i.e. people having conversations) actually means to the future of communication. I really have only one quibble, but it’s a big one because Professor Roy Greenslade makes the foundation of his argument upon a shaky interpretation of the history of how people have communicated:

News travelled slowly for centuries, going only as fast as human messengers could travel, whether by foot, horse or ship. It also tended to be specific – from individual to individual – and controlled. The people received only the news the authorities, church or monarch, deemed fit to release.

That changed in various European countries from the mid-17th century with the foundation of newspapers. Though they had a long struggle to secure the freedom to publish, they did impart “unauthorised” knowledge.

I think this may reveal one of the biggest disconnects that today’s “Old Media” professionals and purveyors have about people in general: when information is shared between two or more people it is seldom kept “specific;” rather, it immediately becomes nuanced byindividual biases, perceptions and interpretations. Information, as is transmitted from one person to another, is necessarily “seasoned” by the unique experience of each party in a conversation coupled with whatever historical or shared understandings the “transmitter” and the “receivers” might share.  When I think about the way people shared “news’ in the past, I’m reminded of this picture of my dad in a general store in 1909 (he’s the one on the stool).

How did these people share "news?"

Had Prof. Greenslade made his argument about the impact of “public illiteracy” on a ruling power’s ability to control the message and, thus, the masses, he’d have had a better point.

While it may be true that rulers, leaders, monarchs, priests and/or other “authorities” have always and will always seek to control how information is disseminated they cannot ever succeed completely in managing how it is received, or, more importantly, how people change it through social interaction and conversation.  This is something the “journalists” or “advertisers” or “marketers” or “PR Pros”of 2010 must come to terms with, and soon, or they will find themselves without a source of income in 2012 or surely by 2015.  In a sense, social media is freeing us to be more like the way we used to be… or perhaps it is just putting us back in touch with the way we are.

There are other parts of the article with which i disagree, but I don’t want to be too hard on Prof. Greenslade.  His Op Ed piece is important to read if you care about the future of the “business of communication,” particularly if you hold a reasonable distrust of people with power and the lengths they will go to keep it.

Popularity: 10% [?]

• Why Twitter? Three Examples It wasn't all that long ago, perhaps five months or so, that Twitter came into my life.  I had heard it mentioned a couple of times in passing conversation, but I hadn't paid much attention.  It sounded like generation-Y stuff, not like something I might be interested in.  Then, in......
• Gist: A Peek at the Future of Business Communication One of my greatest frustrations today is that I can see most of the pieces that will become part of our business communication future;  I just can't quite access them conveniently yet.  Knowing what I know makes me very impatient. But I'm also very hopeful, especially when I have the......
• An Internet Founding Father Offers Perspective on Net and Social Media Every once in a while, I read something that kills any doubt I have about the need for me to help people find the best ways, based on their existing skills and interests, to employ Social Media tools in their businesses. Here's one: A founding father of the web says......
• Twitter is Here to Stay Just a quick note today: Steve Rubel, who is normally pretty savvy about these things, comes out today and says: "So you heard it here first, folks. Twitter is peaking. Now I believe Twitter can get through "the dip" that stares them in the face, but it will need to......
• Google is a Time and Place I keep six honest serving men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who. -Rudyard Kipling The lesson Kipling wrote of is one of the first things they teach you about writing if you attend a college of......

• Facebook fan page vs. Facebook group: when to use which? Obviously everyone knows who Facebook is by now. Gaining about half a million new users a day is no small feat. So how can we leverage FB to our advantage? One of my responsibilities for a company that I consult for includes creating a social media plan. Part of building......
• Best Reads of the Week: Too Many Social Media Choices Edition I fully admit I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but I'm of the opinion that there are far too many ways to tell people to follow you, tell people to read your stuff, or cutesy little buttons to tell people they should read what you just read. Of......
• Did you discover Alltop yet - it maybe where the web is going Advantage 'zyaada' is featured at alltop in Finance, Banking and Social Media. We are ZYAADAGUY at my alltop, and it is all good for those who believe in taking a look at everything without losing sleep over it for starters. These are a few of my favourite things. If you......
• Starting your Corporate Blogging Effort Consider this to be your quick and painless guide to starting a corporate blog both effectively and practically. 1 - Begin by defining your purpose. This may sound obvious, but many bloggers do not think of their editorial purpose until well into the life of their blog. Exploring social media......
• With All This Socialism Going Around... Yep, it's time for another political statement. Often when I take the time to write these, I get very interesting comments and emails, so I am sure this time will be no different. You should have seen the hate mail I got when I wrote my post about Obama getting......