TWITTER AND OTHER DIGITAL BLING
Filed Wednesday, April 15. 2009
Do some of the social networking tools have real value or are they just a fad?
Do you have a Facebook account? Some 2 million people do. What about Twitter? Aren’t you on Ning yet? Are all these “must-have social networking tools” to conquer the pressures and opportunities of today’s society or are they just part of the current digital bling that will fade away as quickly as a Nehru jacket did in fashion? Business networking tools like LinkedIn and Plaxo need nurturing. Which one do you put some time into for populating a database of contacts to maintain? Are you still keeping up your Monster.com resume or have you figured out that it’s a time waster? Some that were touted as a must-have tool for keeping connected in business circles have already lost their importance and their panache. Some universities contemplate adding new curricula to try to stay up with ever-changing society and social networking tools. While they are contemplating developing courses on this, there really is no depth in these types of tools. Some PR experts look at offering courses and/or degrees in social media equaling a master’s in “Republican”. As one source put it: Digital bling is for the “joiners” of the world who need affiliation. It’s all about “notice me” or “I am cool, too”. Nothing is wrong with that. I’m just not one of ‘em. Status Symbols Throughout the Decades There have always been both real and hyped status symbols in the physical world that were the “bling of the day” throughout every decade. Some of us are leery of a must-have social networking application in the digital world. Look into your non-digital life. What did you buy in order to part of the “in crowd” at the bar, disco and/or school? Members Only jacket North Face jackets Harley T-shirt Columbia jackets Abercrombie & Fitch NASCAR jackets Green Bay Packers jackets (in Wisconsin only) Certain labels scream “I belong” or “I am part of the in crowd”. On the other hand, do they really just say “I’m another sheep who wants to be accepted”? Even watches have gone through a series of cool phases. Are they expensive status symbols, a true symbol of the affluent or just “look at me because I’ve got one on, too”? Which one are you wearing? Rolex. Why buy one when the fakes are so good? Tag Heuer, Patek Phillipe or Breitling. These all scream: “I belong.” Swatch. Do you have the one that has message channels on it? Movado. Some fakes were so good that you couldn’t tell the difference in a bar. Invicta. Yes, you belong. As they say on TV: “This is a fashion-forward statement.” (Too bad the big ones look like you have a sundial on your wrist.) No watch at all. Just a PDA. Cars: The Ultimate Social Networking Bling Everyone understands the status symbol of cars. They have been around for a long time and have gone through a dramatic shift in what’s the ultimate cool. That said, many names that defined the cool crowd are not even produced any more. Except for a small group of cars that have become rare collectibles and out of reach to mere mortals, many brands that screamed class, culture and cool are no longer made: Duesenberg Delahaye Cord Stutz Bearcat Bugatti (the originals) Avanti Bricklin Today, up-and-coming “affluence addicts” are worshipping the BMW 3-series while others look down their noses and comment: “Oh, it’s only a 3-series”. Other BMW devotees believe you have to drive a 7-series to be “really up there”. Depending on what club you talk to, the “in car” is a Lexus, a BMW or a Mercedes. Still, some are crying that a Cadillac CTS-V should be up there somewhere. What about “green” cars? Please. Here is a car that screams real status with the likes of Paris Hilton and Jennifer Lopez driving convertibles. Everything else sort of pales next to a twin-turbo, 600-horsepower Bentley especially when you can slide it into a “Fast & Furious” four-wheel drift. Digital Bling: Same Strategy, Different Implementation In the non-digital world, we have used many “tools to promote someone’s status”. Let’s return to social networking tools on the Internet. There are some questions to ponder. Is having 5,000 in your network that much better than 500 or 50? How much time do you devote to maintaining this tool? When do you have to make a full-time hire just to manage your social networking tools for you? So you just stop doing whatever you were really working on to “manage your connections”? Throughout the years, the gimmicks change but the same strategy is being sold: “Here is the silver bullet that will cure all your problems. You must belong to the group.” Digital bling is nothing more than the virtual equivalent of flashing that “I belong” card for some group or car club. Are you a twit? Do you send Twitter messages like “I have arrived” when your plane lands or other classics like: Are you there? I am at ______ (fill in the blank). What are you having for lunch? I can’t decide between the hamburger and fries or a chili dog. Where are you? I am in my car driving. Will we move beyond Twitter? Yes, because it’s a pretty shallow application. There will come a time in the near future when someone will comment: “You still Twitter? How lame.” Let me save some time and move the future forward. You still Twitter? How lame. Carlinism: All technology and revolutionary gadgets eventually timeout. Social networking tools are no different. Last modified on 2010-03-19 03:19 Trackbacks
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