The naked cocktail party: documenting social online conversations
Quote of the Day, Nov 25, 2008
The title of this blog post by Kathy Hendershot-Hurd got me thinking about a fictional social setting of a similar name, Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs. This book’s theme is, in some ways, a microcosm of social media. According to its Wikipedia entry, “something mentioned… reappears much later producing thus a series of intratextual relationships and echoes” and that this idea “serves to unmask mechanisms and processes of control.” Sounds just like social media. This decentralization of control is at the heart of understanding how to engage in the social media conversation, while enjoying your cocktail, of course.
“The difference between those “informal” social conversations and the social conversations happening on the web is that the conversations happening then left no evidence of the communication. Today’s social networking conversations are literally etched in stone, leaving a trail that anyone can follow. So while Caveman Joe didn’t have any way of backing up his story, Social Networking Joe certainly can document his online conversations.”
Social Marketing is Like Showing Up Naked to a Cocktail Party
— Kathy Hendershot-Hurd
Roger
in quote of the day, social media, social networks, trends
|
2 Comments
View Printer Friendly Version
Email Article to Friend
Reader Comments (2)
Roger its all about leaving your digital footprint in this digital world. Thats the beautiful thing about cyberspace you can leave presence online for free and still leave a lasting impression :) Great post.
@JustinSMV Thanks for the comment. I am fascinated by the metaphor of social media as conversation, and the juxtaposing desire of organizations to control that conversation. When we chat at a cocktail party, we're free to say anything, right? But we stay within bounds so we don't get excluded, and so that people will continue to listen. As soon as we try to control a conversation, people get turned off and move away.