The Social Media Guru Next Door

Boundary crossers are people who inhabit more than world but fit wholly in no one world. I'm one of them, easily having a conversation with a group of engineers or life coaches or bloggers.

Recently, I had a chance to immerse myself in the world of social media, by attending the Thin Air Summit. I've been blogging and podcasting for a few years. This year, for my work with A Bigger Voice, I've learned about other parts of social media--social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, micro-blogging tools like Twitter, and social bookmarking sites like Digg and Diigo. I've only dipped my toe in the water with these other tools.

I was curious who would show up to a conference about social media. In the back of my mind, I was thinking "geek," harkening back to my days as a software engineer in R+D. I was used to being in the minority, working with guys who got a thrill out of the newest Unix commands in the '80s (remember troff and nroff?) and the first Mosaic browser when it came out in the early '90s (Shawn Davison, if you are reading this, I still remember your enthusiasm.)

I have really good news. Technology is no longer for geeky males.

Some observations from the two-day conference, with over one hundred social media enthusiasts:

• Social media enthusiasts could be the guy or gal next door. The crowd looked to be 50% male, 50% female, with an age range from twenty something to sixty something.  At 47 years old, I'm guessing that I was pretty close to the average age. I was surprised by both the gender split and the older ages.
• Social media enthusiasts are entrepreneurial. One of the presenters asked how many people were self-employed. Over two thirds of the room raised their hands, maybe even 75%. Later in the weekend, Jeremiah Owyang (who is not self-employed but works for Forrester as an analyst on social computing), asked a panel of successful social media users whether there's a place for people who want to be employees, not entrepreneurs. (The answer: Yes, not everyone is cut out to be an entrepreneur.) 
• Social media enthusiasts are in every discipline. It was not all SEO guys (yes, I'm showing my bias because all the SEO professionals I've ever met have been men), PR people, professional bloggers, Internet TV writers, and marketing types. The benefits of social media can be realized in almost any activity that involves people. I met a woman who helps artists use social media for their businesses, a man who is figuring out how to apply social media in a company that does bible translations, a sixty something marketing professional who does a video podcast for fun, called Grandma and the Geeks, and a former trader who runs a social networking site for investors.  Other attendees included a professional in the foreclosure business, a PBS documentary producer, a cookbook author whose diagnosis of multiple sclerosis triggered her to invent and patent a quick and healthy approach to Dutch oven cooking, a high-end wedding photographer, a certified animal behaviorist, a health writer and former freelancer for Cosmopolitan, and a former songwriter passionate about inspiring others with interviews of positive thinkers. Mixed in were a fair number of newspaper people and authors. 
• Social media enthusiasists don't use standard email. They communicate through Twitter, Facebook, and Skype. On the second morning, I tried to email one of the conference organizers before driving to the conference hotel. I went on the organizer's blog for an email address and couldn't find one. I ended up sending her a "direct message" through Facebook. Twitter has a similar capability.
• Social media enthusiasts are parallel processors. About 40% of the participants had laptops open during any given presentation and I'm guessing that another 10-15% were using mobile devices for Twittering/texting. Probably not unlike what college professors see during their lectures but given this digital immigrant population, I found it interesting. Word travels fast in this community of multi-taskers.
• Social media enthusiasists are passionate. Passion was a recurring theme during the conference. Passion is the key to good content on blogs. Just ask John Fischer, the guy behind the Sticker Giant blog who said during a panel, "I love it when I can talk about stickers." Passion trumps SEO techniques, because it drives participation in social media, which in turn ensures an online presence. In a panel at the end of day two, titled "The Secrets of Our Success," all three panelists talked about how work is not work when they get paid to do something they love. That's passion. Social media is a vehicle for both displaying one's passion as well as connecting with others who have a similar passion. 

As a boundary crosser, I don't fit wholly into the world of social media. I don't use a Blackberry and only use a cell phone when I'm traveling. I'm new to Twitter and don't text or instant message. I don't like to multi-task.

And yet, I had a wonderful feeling of belonging at the conference. I enjoy being with a group of people where  blogging is the norm, not the exception. I'm at home with pioneers who forge a path for others to follow. Hanging around entrepreneurs and people passionate about their work energizes me. 

My thanks to the co-organizers, Kit Seeborg and Goldie Katsu, for creating a weekend that allowed me to learn, connect, and challenge my perceptions about social media users.  I'm looking forward to next year's conference.

Comments

[Alyson B. Stanfield]

Carol, it was so nice to meet you at the conference! You're right: everyone was so nice--really making you feel like you belonged--even if you don't introduce yourself by your Twitter handle.