The Social Media Plague
I have invested a considerable amount of time in social media. I’m not an expert by any means, but I have written dozens of articles made countless posts attended and hosted events. I’ve even hosted workshops on how to use social media to your advantage, specifically to drive traffic to your website.
At the same time, I refer to social media as the narcotic of the masses. Not the masses of people from pre-teens to octogenarians “talking” to their friends on Facebook. No, I’m referring to the masses of solopreneurs that think whatever it is they’re doing on business oriented social media sites is somehow going to make or break their business.
This gets to a larger issue of the capacity for face-to-face social interaction that Apple has successfully eliminated from our society. Where ever you go these days, most of the people around you are plugged into an iphone or an iPod, detached from the real world around them. They no longer respond to verbal input. They can only be communicated with through touch and visual cues. In the case of texting, these people are the electronic equivalent of meth addicts. They no longer respond to visual cues. Even iPod dependent drones are reluctant to drive with them.
What does this have to do with social media? Our society is quickly losing its capacity for verbal communications. Social media allows would be entrepreneurs to maintain their personal barrier from the human race. They believe that they will create a reputation, establish a brand identity, communicate their unique selling proposition and close a sale, all without having to deal with a customer face-to-face and communicate in the language of their choice.
Sure, many successful businesses function almost exclusively over the internet. Internet porn is a booming business. Sex sells unlike almost any other product or service, but unfortunately, there is not the same instinctive desire to consume such things as management consulting or pet burial urns. At the end of the day, the vast majority of businesses require face-to-face contact to close the sale.
Therefore, entrepreneurs, unplug the iPod, remove the Bluetooth, shut down the laptop and get out into the real world and show us what you’ve got. It just isn’t going to happen any other way.
By the way, if you’ve read this, please remember to Like it, become a Fan and re-Tweet it.
Richard Gabel
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