Sociology

Social Media Is Bigger Than You Let Yourself Believe

I’ve been asked a couple times recently why I got into the world of social media research and engagement.  I love it because I want to be on the express train to the future and I think I picked the right one.

Social media is about allowing users and passive engagers the fluidity to transfer their data from any point A to any point B with as few restrictions as possible and with the freedom to transform their data into any sort of creation they desire while it is in transit. But when I say ‘data’ I dont mean moving the 37GB of music files I have on my external hardrive to a web server and converting all the files from .mp3 to .wav. I mean ALL my data. Every idea, sketch, doodle, file, draft, photo, invention, creation, conception and paragraph I have ever had or created can now be freely distributed to whomever I would like to have access to it. The methods may vary and the degree of fluidity may be dynamic, but it is possible. We have evolved social media to a point where all this is possible and practical, but the real magic in the industry, the only real reason any of it is worth doing is because of what I like to call Transferable Continuity.

When your data reaches Point B, the process is not finished. It is a junction where you bring their data, take a look around at everyone else’s data and decide if you are interested in any of it. If you like someone else’s data, photocopy it and take it with you on your way to point C in order to mesh it with your own data and creations. This process is repeated endlessly in a seemingly indistinguishable process that borders on chaos, but like most things that seem chaotic, it simply requires a higher level view in order to see the beautiful intricacies taking place. If you allow it some freedom, you data is never stifled and never stops. It is transfered and passed on until you will not even recognize derivations for what was originally your idea many transfers before.

What we have managed to create is an eternal repository of personal creations that is a far greater resource than any sum of learning previously compiled. Mock all you wish the Wikipedia tagline: “The sum of all human knowledge,” but few people can say it is anything short of an incredible collection of personal research invested in by more people than have ever collaborated on a single project before in history.

The only reason I care about social media or they way people are communicating and interacting is because this is the beginning of something we have yet to even see the outline of.  Just like Bill Gates took existing hardware and resources in order to completely change the way we live our lives, someone is going to realize how these new social tools can really revolutionize things.  That is why I get excited.  I don’t want this hype to add to the already-inflated heads in the Valley that get so wrapped up in the tech and online worlds that they forget that most people in the country have no idea what Digg or twitter are.  Those inflated egos ruin potential for everyone else…but thats a topic for another post.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

a Wordpress powered Site | Site info| contact cafourek [at] gmail.com