Social Media Evangelists, We Are Our Own Worst Enemies
I’ve been thinking about people like me — super users of social media applications, evangelists for new ways of thinking and engaging with people online, and habitual content creators either through micro-blogging, video blogging, or mobile blogging. We talk a big game, speak a special language, revel in our social media awareness, debate about the best web apps, comment on each other’s lifestreams, and post photos to our placestreams. A combination of events, including Geoff Livingston’s post, Nomenclature, and my interview with Robin, inspired me to stop thinking and start writing.
Are we our own worst enemy? Are we segregating ourselves from the very communities we claim to want to share our knowledge with?
We’re the Problem and We’re Intimidating
We live our lives online. We’re early adopters and super users. A lot of us either claim to be community evangelists, in the business of helping companies connect with their customers using social media, or desirous of helping real people grasp the power of the social web.
But who are we talking to?
We’re talking to each other. And not only are we talking to each other, but we’re talking in ways that exclude the average person from contributing to our discussion. We’re saying things that are incomprehensible, unrelatable, and completely foreign. We’re segregating ourselves in this elite bubble of people in the know and we’re making it impossible and uncomfortable for those curious to ask us questions. We’re like religious fanatics — turning people off to what we want to ultimately inspire them to pursue.
Inclusion is Everything
We need to include everyone. I make efforts everyday to converse with people who are different from me. I constantly try to find new ways to discuss the relevancy of what it is I do and my expertise. There are those who do make a conscious effort to be understood on a human level (Common Craft makes excellent videos that describe web technologies in plain English), but I still think we could all improve.
We need to strive to be less exclusionary. We may not intend to drive people away, but we appear to be a very intimidating and judgmental bunch. We take our knowledge for granted and forget that mainstream acceptance is the only way to keep ourselves employed.
What Do We Do?
We need to make ourselves available and approachable. I’m going to continue to talk about social media and concepts that might be beyond the average person’s grasp, but I’m now going to do everything in my power to help people feel comfortable asking questions. As important as it for me to continue to demonstrate my knowledge to stay relevant, it is even more important for me to communicate in ways that don’t intimidate or frighten people. I need to be relateable. I need to admit when I don’t understand something. I need to talk to people on the streets.
But I’m just one person.
What am I Talking About?
In case anything I’ve said reads like Japanese, you can send me an email (jvangrove at gmail dot com), leave a comment, or add me as a contact to your preferred social network. I’m happy to chat anytime.
8 comments May 6, 2008
