A Look at Losing Control and Fear of Social Media
Are you losing control online? Aren’t we all? Way back when, back when dinosaurs roamed the Internet, I became involved a bit with Usenet.
It wasn’t much, and it wasn’t much to look at. I was a lot less of a geek then than I am now (yes, really), and so the bare bones look didn’t do much for me. This was, after all, around 1997 or so.
Things have changed. A lot.
In me and, of course, online.
UseNet’s Virtues
The thing that was compelling about Usenet was the sheer volume and breadth of conversation. People talked about all sorts of junk. There was a huge skewing towards politics, but it contained discussions about other things as well. And – ha! – some people even attempted to forge a bit of a community.
Fast forward to now.
Today
There are online communities in all sorts of places. Facebook is one. Twitter/X is another. LinkedIn is another. MySpace limped along and for a while there was a bit of another. The blogosphere is yet another. Forums (my big love) is another one. And many more exist, including, even, the comments sections in news outlets. Communities seem to spring up, no matter what a company does or intends.
And that’s a pretty great thing. Human beings actually want to connect to one another. Now, there are a lot of trolls out there, and people who enjoy poking each other with pointed sticks. It happens – I won’t deny it. But there’s a boatload of good out there as well.
Company-Based Communities
Enter companies. I think the biggest fear for them is a perceived loss of control. Well, it ain’t just perceived folks. Because it’s very real. You just can’t make the entire message that’s going out about Acme Widgets. And (psst)—you don’t want to.
Because lack of control becomes, I feel, a grand means to creativity. And it is a way to push new ideas up to the surface. And it is – dare I say it? – a pathway to innovation.
Because sticking a bunch of people into a windowless room and telling them to be creative is going to be about as effective as sticking a gun to their heads and commanding that they write a guaranteed hit song.
Communal Creativity
Communities – in whatever form they take in the social media space – can let in fresh blood and new ideas. Yet people actually – amazingly enough – generally want to do this for free. They just like creating. Or they want to put their two cents in. Or they just want to sound off or complain.
However, sometimes there’s something in there, and it’s useful. After all, if you’re working for Corvair in the ’60s, you might think your car is dandy. Heh, it wasn’t.
Furthermore, you might think New Coke was a fabulous idea. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t.
Losing Control: Takeaways
So you get the idea. Let in the community of ideas and innovation. And they will sometimes try to tear the company (or each other) a new one. In addition, keep it as civil as possible without squelching the real creativity. And without driving off shyer or quieter members who might be getting shouted down by the more vocal mob.
Furthermore, keep it as on topic as possible without driving off people don’t just like the product or service or company, but also each other –and who still have plenty to offer. Hell, people get married to folks they meet in online communities. That’s mainstream these days.
So, take a break and give the nonstop promotion machine a rest. Because losing control is not so scary. Really.