Portland Social Media

To Inform, To Form

By Tim

Doc Searls writes challenging a charge made by Brian Solis in What is Wrong with Social Media? that Doc is an influential driver and definer of  Social Media.  Solis answers his headline’s question 3/4 the way down the article with:

It’s an emergent term that as Stowe put it, defines the socialization of information (Social Media) as well as the tools to faciliate conversation (social media). With those descriptions, and the collective support from some of the most visionary edglings, I’m not sure why there has to be anything wrong with the name. Seriously.

Something different is happening here, the tools for expression and communiation have never been cheaper and more available to the population.  I think anxiety advances on people that ruminate on the negatives of having to adopt the role of Producer.  I precieve there’s a group of people that don’t want to play the role of the Producer; they just want to write, or send pictures to their parents, or express their humanity without having to interact in a many-to-many manner. 

Perhaps there’s also another way to express this: equally unattractive to some might be the hundreds or thousands of people that are to consume their creative energies; perhaps this word is unattractive by it’s definition:

con·sume -verb
1. to destroy or expend by use; use up.

Still further, others might be put off by the fervor of activities by marketing and PR folks in the area of Social Media.  Chris Heuer, of Social Media Club, has a quote in the WebProNews article addressing this situation:

“Let’s stand up for what is right about “social media” rather than tearing it down just because a few misguided folks are misappropriating the meme. We need not throw out the term Social Media for the mere fact that some people will sour its intention and purpose during the course of socializing the deeper understanding of what is happening and what it means.”

Keeping up with this conversation and the excellent opinions contained within is dizzying and a bit tiring.  So I end saying Doc Searls comforts my confusion and iggnorance with his abilty to clarify, define and propose something for us to think about.

I think of it as writing that will hopefully inform readers…Informing is not the same as delivering information. Inform is derived from the verb to form. When you inform me, you form me. You enlarge that which makes me most human: what I know. I am, to some degree, authored by you.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, February 22nd, 2007 at 9:42 am and is filed under Social Media, Analysis. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.