jjewell.com 6.0

The embattled Iranian election has pushed social media upstart Twitter, previously best known for appearing on Oprah and Ellen, to the fore of the “real news” scene.  Twitter can be relevant, topical, and as current as we presently know how to be… in addition to having worldwide reach.

Whatever else the future holds for Twitter, one thing is certain: Twitter is destined to follow MySpace down an unpredictable road led by too many users who don’t understand how to use it.  Social media may very well be the next big thing, but right now it’s a confusing, over-populated landscape of over-lapping and redundant tools and reports.  As a wise man once said, “You’ll never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.  We must be careful.”

Indeed we must.  As entrepreneurs and businessfolk, social media offers us lip-smacking opportunities to reach markets, but this still-evolving territory requires the following precautions:

1. Don’t forget the map – remember that the point is to engage people in your idea… have them buy your product, support your party, subscribe to your service, or join your congregation.  In addition to keeping your contributions focused, remembering the audience helps you with…
2. Don’t step in the quicksand – there’s usually a lot of mindless fun available within clicks of social media sites… but that’s not the reason you’re there.
3. Don’t spook the natives – As Facebook can attest, users can get downright cranky if they feel their data or user experience is being unreasonably monetized.  And as businesses are finding out by using trending Twitter hashtags in the ads, the line between “clever stunt” and “spammy crap” can be razor fine and not easily un-crossed.
4. Don’t overexert – It’s not overstatement to say that one could easily spend a lifetime doing nothing more than eating, sleeping, excreting, and updating progress on those processes via a wide enough array of social media.  Use the tools for their strengths, use external tools to “multiplex” updates, and leave it at that.

I guess I’m just old school… I still say the best way to go is grow your own website to completely control your content, and announce or excerpt updates through the social media.