Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Reality is an Illusion

I have mixed feelings about the recession. As a matter of fact, the worse things get, I'm simultaneously educating myself about the opportunities just developing through the skilled use of online communication and media exploitation. Yes, i mean social networking / social media. I not only believe that i can learn to use these tools to my advantage, I believe they're likely to be a critical factor in my career from here onward.

Yet, many people I know either remain suspicious of social networking as a useful tool in their work and personal lives, or look for method through which to shoehorn conventional networking and marketing methods into an environment that is entirely inappropriate.

Social networking and social media are, above all, methods through which to connect and engage - not a platform for conventional advertising. If you are using social networking professionally, the point isn't simply to get the word out about you, your service, or product - but to think of yourself as the star of a reality show. You are relating an ongoing saga that your targeted viewers/readers, etc. should be interested in following. Just like reality shows on television, however, your "reality" isn't the truth - it is in fact a crafted illusion.