What about those that don't take part? The people that don't like sharing their information. Or those that don't like being on the computer all time. Or just like anonymous.
I might be talking about a tiny % of the population, but I definitely know people that fit that description. And they're not elderly non-technology users. They're young, smart, etc. etc. They just don't take part. For now I'll call them conscientious loners. [I don't mean loner with a negative context, but choosing to be alone]
With conversational marketing, many people are sharing more information and connecting with more people. They're influencing companies from the ground up, taking part in the brand image and making themselves heard. But the conscientious loners (CL) aren't in the conversation. They stay out of internet-propogated-networks. They don't even come up on the innovation adoption curve unless you use Paint:
My question is whether these people are more isolated now. Prior to online social networking they might've been more social in traditional ways. There's winners and losers from every movement or major societal change (when Asian countries entered light manufacturing industries, South Carolina's furniture industry fell apart). Anyways, maybe this is just a shout out to those we're leaving behind.
I think you bring up a great point about CLs. I have a couple friends that refuse to join facebook or anything other social networking site, even linkedin.
ReplyDeleteThey don't care about their information being shared, it's more of the time commitment that frightens them.
I do think though, that eventually they will learn they are being left behind and when they finally join, the learning curve will be pretty tough.
I wish they would get off their butts and join the conversation.
I also think that you bring up a good point and I think sometimes we definitely forget about those people. We are in the moment and anyone who is not present does not catch our attention.
ReplyDeleteI agree with blogger on the Run, that they are going to be left behind and realize it too late. Making it really difficult for them to join.
However, I do feel that we are missing out and in a way going towards group think by having everyone conform to one way.
Communication needs to be open and go both ways, we should not be closing any channels.
It would be interesting to see how much online and offline loners match up in terms of personality and demographics.
ReplyDeleteAs Blogger on the Run points out, time commitment may be more of an issue for CLs that information sharing. I wonder if technological comfort level might be as well; there could be plenty of people who are socially active offline who are are intimidated by new technologies.
Great post!
ReplyDeleteI guess from my perspective social media does not generally bring people closer together (on average, exceptions can be found anywhere. However, it does seem to expand the circle of people you maintain contact with (or facebook, myspace stalk!).
It really feels more like a breadth vs. depth issue. In most cases I do not feel like it brings me closer to any one person, just provides another way of communicating. And let's be honest, who communicates with ALL of their facebook 'friends'?
As a follow up, this post titled - Will you be my Facebook "friend?" http://carissaroxie.blogspot.com/2010/01/will-you-be-my-facebook-friend.html puts things in a perspective I can easily relate to.
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting point. I wonder if some of those people are waiting for the technology to mature- not in the sense that the technology itself changes (although it undoubtedly will), but rather the people who are using it will mature. The CL's are not going to participate in media where people send global updates on the status of their laundry, but might be more inclined to participate in situations more like what KK talks about in his latest post: http://kk-itec656.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteHere, we have the luxury of free speech, bu that is just not the case all over the world. If social media was more of a necessity than a luxury- if it was being used for very mature and needed content, I think there would be less CLs out there...