Social Media is a Giant Field Trip

I had a dream last night that I think was actually was my brain trying to figure out this whole social media experience – the part that I really enjoy.

In the dream, I was on a field trip, kind of like school but everyone was all grown up. I, along with a mass of other people, were going to this gigantic museum, and everybody spread out to all floors and all galleries. I was with a small group and we were all looking at the same things, but I’d get little messages from people in other parts of the museum. “This is what I’m looking at” or “What you’re looking at sounds pretty neat!”

I realized that this is really what the sharing aspect of social media is like. We are all doing our own things in our own galleries, but then we find something to share and we send that thought over to people in another gallery. Meanwhile, those folks are popping back messages about what they’re seeing and experiencing.

Before you know it, you start to look forward to those updates from other galleries, those updates from those other people, and even though you’re traveling in all different directions in no specific order, you’re all still in the same museum, exploring different galleries and sharing what you learn.

If you were to ask me why I like social media, that sharing aspect would be my first answer. Learning what other people have learned, getting new perspectives on what I have learned. This part has nothing to do with business (although sometimes it could). It’s just about being in this gigantic space and saying, “Hey, what’s on your mind?”

What do you think?

Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/orangebrompton/6940597124 via Creative Commons