Regardless of your religious background, you’ve probably heard something about the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve lived there for a long time in total bliss and happiness, and all they had to do was avoid the Tree of Knowledge. If they could just avoid eating that apple, they’d be fine. But a serpent fooled them into thinking that their transgression would not be noticed, so they partook of the one thing in the world they were not allowed to have. And here we are, wearing Prada and Calvin Klein instead of tree leaves.
When I first joined the Social Media world about a year ago, I kind of felt like I had stepped into a very 21st century Garden of Eden. The possibilities were endless, not just for business but for improving the world. When a disaster strikes in Italy, Haiti, Greece, Japan, Libya, or Jopin, Missouri, the online world can situate itself to respond and help. What could possibly be more magnificent?
But there is a serpent looming. The serpent says that there is big money to be made here. The serpent says that if you can just outshine everyone in the online world, you can work from home, make the exact kind of living you want, and never have to worry about a thing. I hear this serpent’s voice more and more clearly every day. I think about listening to him. I bend down to listen to what he has to say.
I need to step on his head.
A bit of a perspective shift
Here is the reality. We have this immense opportunity to improve the world. We have this amazing technology that has enabled us to forget what long distance phone service is. Time zones and languages are no longer barriers. We can talk to people who are living history. We can talk to people who are making history. When we read a book we like, we can tell the author, “Hey, I loved your book.”
And yet, with this veritable feast at our feet, what are we writing about? What are we tweeting about?
• You’re doing it all wrong
• I’m better than you and here’s why
• Here’s why you don’t know what you’re talking about
• My biggest problem is that some people online are kind of annoying
Are you kidding me?
If the salad days of Social Media are ending, it is only because we’re talking them out of here.
I’m facing the facts. I’m spoiled rotten.
I remember when I had to try to contact my friends via hand-written letter because computers weren’t really being used for email yet.
I remember when calling from 30 minutes away was a huge expense. Talking to someone in another country seemed virtually impossible.
But all of those memories are in the long forgotten past of 10 years ago now. The online world is eating me up and is making me forget about what really matters.
With all that is going on in the world (and there is a LOT going on in the world), I am sitting here with my MacBook in my air conditioned abode, getting ready to watch some tv in my comfortable neighborhood, and I have spent time this week lamenting how poopy the online world has become.
How ungrateful I am.
I can’t do that anymore. If I’m going to use this technology, I want to use it for something really amazing and important and useful. And if other folks want to spread rumors about each other, tear each other down, start whisper campaigns, convince themselves that they’re the most important people ever, or lament that people are idiots, that’ll make me sad, but so be it.
Right now, while this technology is young, while people are still learning their way around it, right now is the time when we can use these tools to make a difference in the world for the better. I intend on not using this space any more for “Gosh the online world is a depressing place.” How dare I do such things when my town is becoming over-wrought with homeless people who are creating shacks out of shopping carts and blankets? How dare I?
What would a Sudanese refugee say about our problems with spam bots and people asking us to promote them all the time?
Really? That’s our BIGGEST aggravation?
It’s not *really* worth talking about, is it? But that person from the Sudan – they have problems we could talk about, don’t they?
Why don’t we do that for awhile?
Image by shyle zacharias. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/gunner07
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Dawn Westerberg says
June 17, 2011 at 8:14 pmMargie, great post! I’m still in awe of the fact that LinkedIn allows me to keep current with colleagues and that it is their responsibility to keep their contact information current! I do nothing!
But I get your point. And while we have to remain focused, we can’t throw the baby out with the bath water. Relationships matter. It is just as important in social media as in real life (and those are blurring entities) to make deposits into the emotional bank account.
Social Media is not a way to leap frog that “deposit” – it is a platform to make it easier for me to do that with people who prefer that platform. But I still have to give. I still have to be present.
Social Media is not a veil – it is a spot-light, high-def. Whether people acknowledge it or not, it is a lasting footprint. Posts have the half life of plutonium. The medium will serve as the litmus test. And while authenticity may seem like an over-used word – it will, nevertheless, separate the wheat from the chaff.
Margie Clayman says
June 18, 2011 at 6:09 pmSuch a great comment, Dawn. You are right – there is no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater, and that means that we don’t have to give up the business end of it, nor do we have to give up the personal end of it. We just need to appreciate it more (I feel) and use it more for good than for evil. We seem to be trending in a way that I find very disconcerting.
Thanks for your great contribution 🙂
Sandra / Always Well Within says
June 17, 2011 at 8:16 pmThanks for this much need and well articulated wake up call.
Margie Clayman says
June 18, 2011 at 6:09 pmSo glad you liked it. Thank you!
danny garcia says
June 17, 2011 at 8:29 pmHello my favorite social media friend. 🙂
You’ve painted a very accurate portrayal of reality. Unfortunately, this is a trend which I don’t believe will end. Many have bitten the forbidden fruit and have become addicted to it and that’s the reason why people are doing this.
The thing is, the only reason why this is happening in the online social sphere is because it is reflective of the things that are offline.
This capitalistic system is fueled by desire, envy and greed. (Not that I am a commie, I’m not, but its true).
I will even posit the controversial notion that the most successful marketing campaigns are fueled by this lust. Everybody wants an iPod, iPad or something. To get that they must make money. When they’ve bought it, they must get an iPad 2 simply because someone they admire has it too.
Imagine if Apple, and all of the tech giants stopped making these products and people would have to be content with an ordinary clunky PC (Like My Celeron, sniff, sniff). Economic activity would slow down, innovation would slow down and the people who make these products that fuel our tech lust and money lust will have no jobs.
It’s true that social media can do a lot of things for the good. But that has also been the case even before the invention of these.
Oopsy, this is getting very long – sorry, I got carried away. 🙂
Very endearing and enlightening post 🙂
Margie Clayman says
June 18, 2011 at 6:11 pmAww, you made my day 🙂
I’m not anti money. In fact, I really like money. I wish I had more of it! And I’m not anti-using Social Media to make money either. But I think we need to appreciate the fact that we have this technology available to us. No, it’s not perfect, and no, it doesn’t need to *just* be used to spread good and positivity, but I feel like we need to balance the scale a bit. This is a great gift that the 21st century is giving us. I’d hate for the history books of the future to read, “And upon getting the ability to talk in real time to people around the world, people ended up just hurting each other and bringing each other down.”
We can avoid that, right? I hope so.
Alan Takushi says
June 17, 2011 at 9:31 pmI’ve stopped reading comments on a lot of mainstream articles lately because the negativity that surfaces (no matter how great the story) was just too much. But, like anything in life, you have to take the good with the bad. Regardless, I still love how we have so many opportunities to connect and share ideas through social media. It’s a shame that we have to wade through all the “look at me” type of fodder which really has worn me down to the point where I didn’t want to participate anymore… well, almost.
It did help me realize how important it was to reconnect with my own family and friends… the relationships I should be cultivating. That’s where my focus should be instead of trying to get people to “follow” or “friend” me. Don’t get me wrong, I love reaching out to other like-minded people online and connecting but it’s also important to remember the people who support and love you as well. I’ve been reconnecting in-person with a lot friends lately that for a while were just being sent an email to say “how are you?” Let’s “get together” real soon… well, at least I now realize how valuable they are and cherish them every chance I get. As for the world of online? I’m making a commitment to look past the superficial stuff and focus on the issues, problems, etc. that should be getting our attention. And of course, doing my best to connect and converse with people I respect and admire. 🙂
Thank you for your insightful thoughts.
Jason Sokol says
June 18, 2011 at 5:11 pmExcellent points Allen. I could not agree more.
@jwsokol
Margie Clayman says
June 18, 2011 at 6:12 pmHi Alan,
Great comment. As Dawn said, we don’t want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. There is a lot of good that one can find in the online world but we seem to be in a stage where we are empowering the negativity by giving it all of the attention. I think if we make a concerted effort to drive better behavior, better behavior will prevail.
I could be totally wrong about that, by the way, but here’s to hoping 🙂
Brandon says
June 17, 2011 at 9:53 pmYou know… wow. I don’t even know what to say. I have never thought of this as a way to get rich, and for a while I didn’t even run ads. I am still very choosy about what I will advertise and what I will do for gain on my behalf, but you are absolutely right. There are better things to focus on.
Thanks for the mental shake. 🙂
Margie Clayman says
June 18, 2011 at 6:13 pmLike I said to Danny, this is not a diatribe against doing business using Social Media. Rather, what I meant was, do you really want to make money by tearing other people down? To me, that money would be as dirty as the money corrupt business folk get. We can do so much better with this online technology. We can make money and behave like human beings. I know, I have high expectations 🙂
carts888 says
June 18, 2011 at 8:08 amHoo-rah….. love it….
Technology pushes culture at ever increasing speed – and we are in midst of a not very savoury cultural time… With ideas/thoughts/challenges as above – hopefully culture will use technology for betterment… The crusade continues!!
Margie Clayman says
June 18, 2011 at 6:14 pmHi Nic,
I actually wrote this before reading your Snow White post. After I read your post I was delighted to see how much on the same page we are 🙂
Thanks for stopping by!
Sherree Worrell says
June 18, 2011 at 2:21 pmThank you Margie for another outstanding post and for telling it like it is, again. You rock my friend.
You know I agree with you on this and I’m happy to discuss the Sudan or any other topic with you or anyone else. The other “stuff” just isn’t worth it (and frankly, never was).
Sherree
Margie Clayman says
June 18, 2011 at 6:14 pmSounds good Sherree. Let’s do it! 🙂
Jason Sokol says
June 18, 2011 at 5:14 pmMargie,
You have a great heart and it shows in everything you write. Thanks for helping to keep things positive.
@jwsokol
Margie Clayman says
June 18, 2011 at 6:14 pmThanks, Jason. I really appreciate that 🙂
Robert Hagedorn says
June 18, 2011 at 6:55 pmApples grow on apple trees. But what fruit grows on the strangely named tree of knowledge of good and evil? For a surprise, do a search: First Scandal.