Social Media – WTF?

Digital Strangelove …. the Intention Economy … or WTF Social Media?  David Gillespie,  Account Director at Maclaren McCann, Toronto shares a great presentation (263 slides). There’s a lot that speaks to the fact that all media is social, it is about people not technology, paid vs free, attention vs intention, the need to listen and not just ’speak’ etc etc – things we’ve been hearing about for years.  I particularly like how he frames it as a new age requiring new stories and new storytellers, where digital is not a ‘thing’ anymore! Take that in a brand context or a journalism context and having observed how social media is being used, I can’t help feeling WTF – this presentation only reinforces the feeling that practitioners of and experts in traditional media are in fact novices in this space, if they are trying to control user-generated content, as many do!  Love this quote he uses from Ralph Waldo Emerson too:

“As to methods there may be a million and then some, but principles are few. The man who grasps principles can successfully select his own methods. The man who tries methods, ignoring principles, is sure to have trouble.”

Description form the author – “This is a collection of thoughts around where we are right now in the history of the Internet. I believe we’re getting ahead of ourselves, confusing the growth of the Internet with it growing up, but I also believe we’re doing some amazing things, and can draw a few lines in the sand, making some solid guesses on where we are going.I hope you enjoy”

Tagged as: branding, business, community, david gillespie, history, internet, media, social marketing, Social Media, socialmedia, storytelling