I was leading a social media seminar for a large corporation recently when it became clear that one of the participants wasn’t convinced of the value of social media for his business. Apparently he had been required to attend the training. During a conversation at one of the breaks he made a statement I’ve heard a few times before; "social media is making people anti-social". Have you heard something along those lines?
Usually those kind of statements come from people who have never used sites like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. They honestly think that some people using sites like Facebook or Twitter are hiding from real life, or living vicariously through their computer monitor.
Friends with Benefits
My experience has been very different and I let him know. While there are people that prefer tweeting to meeting, the majority of us are increasing our social activities through the use of social networking tools. According to a recent study by ExactTarget nearly half of Twitter users surveyed said they were meeting more people in person due to their use of Twitter. That has been my experience as well.
Twitter and Facebook have lead to an increase get togethers with existing friends, and also facilitated meeting a lot of people that I know I would otherwise not have met. In the last year alone I have met hundreds of people, in real life (IRL), earned the business of a few new clients and made a bunch of good friends.
Tweet-Up
Many of these people I met at Tweetups and / or the Victoria Social Media Club, two more things that produce one-sided grins on the face of non-believers. I have to admit that I attended my first tweetup with a certain anxiety, thinking it might be wall-to-wall “propellor heads”. Turns out it was no different than most other networking events. If fact there are regular monthly tweetups at various parts in Victoria. Just another way that social media is actually bringing more people together more often.
How About You?
What has your experience been? Are you getting out more often, meeting more people, socializing? Share your Twitter, Facebook or Tweet-up experience below.
5 thoughts on “Anti-Social Media”
Great post I agree 100% that social media has made me more social than I was before. I too have many people and earned the friendship and business of several people.
John Overall
http://www.JohnOverall.com
Chris, I couldn’t agree with you more. Great to back up your personal experience with quantified data for those doubters.
P
Its funny because I was antisocial to begin with and used Twitter and Tweetups to step out of my comfort zone and remove the monitor barrier to meet new people. Oddly enough I usually see Twitter people more often than my ‘friends’ now. I think due to Facebook I have been less social with my friends.
Due to this I can see both sides of this one. I think it really depends on your personality and general outlook on wether it makes you more or less social. I think more than anything it’s changing the landscape and redefining what we consider social.
Does being social really mean leaving the house and meeting people IRL?
I’m aware of the the footprint that digital social media has, so I will respond next time I see you in person. 🙂
Great points, Chris. There are always going to be people who don’t buy in. The truth is, social media can and has opened so many doors in terms of networking, business opportunity and even making new friends.
As leaders in this field we need to keep plugging away and leading by example. They’ll catch on. I’m looking forward to more of your great posts!