tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-761992574559054222.post2828066867687345170..comments2009-02-06T18:32:33.157-08:00John Johansenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06265907629064329594noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-761992574559054222.post-12241387151497418192008-03-19T07:27:00.000-07:002008-03-19T07:27:00.000-07:00Hi John. Great post. <BR/><BR/>The thing I struggle with in social media is TIME. <BR/><BR/>I would love to be a more active participant in the various communities that I am involved in. But, my "real" (as opposed to virtual) social community keeps me so busy that I have a hard time keeping up even in that area. I too often neglect my relationships with long-standing friends because of the combination of home life and work.<BR/><BR/>You and I know each other, so you know that I use social media in my work life (as a nefarious SEO using communities to, oh my god, build brand and website awareness for my clients. The horror.). Of course that is tongue-in-cheek because I do think there is a social media marketing role that is perfectly acceptable in search engine marketing - as long as you respect the communities and add real value.<BR/><BR/>And, in my use of social media for work, I truly enjoy the connections I make with others out there. I just wish that I could spend time to do what you say and build solid relationships that bring value to those people as well as myself.Andy Komackhttp://www.komarketingassociates.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-761992574559054222.post-73251423992674404122008-03-18T06:48:00.000-07:002008-03-18T06:48:00.000-07:00Thanks for the comment Sam. I'm particularly struck by your point about "the need to put light on what's important is critical."<BR/><BR/>I've been reading <A HREF="http://chucksblog.typepad.com/a_journey_in_social_media/2008/03/the-big-convers.html" REL="nofollow">A Journey in Social Media</A> and was struck by this paragraph in a recent post. (Which I saw first from your tweet before getting to it in GReader, speaking of interaction.)<BR/><BR/>"One aspect of the Big Conversation is that our corporate social computer can discuss and debate very complex, very squishy topics, and helps everyone understand the broader context, pre-digesting them to a certain degree. It's not always the case that neat solutions emerge, but it's always useful."<BR/><BR/>If enterprises can keep the interaction level high, the collected voices can process topics that would be too much for individuals. <BR/><BR/>There's more to think about here than I can fit into a comment. You've got me going down another path, I'll have to explore it more fully later.John Johansenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06265907629064329594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-761992574559054222.post-15790877713695133592008-03-17T08:13:00.000-07:002008-03-17T08:13:00.000-07:00The notion of how Social Media can scale while retaining what makes it powerful to begin one, is a fantastic topic and concern. <BR/><BR/>I think this comes down to attention. As things move wider in the enterprise (or even in the consumer web), the need to put light on what's important is critical. It's even easier to get overloaded with social software. <BR/><BR/>Stripping out becomes a kiss of death when it kills the interaction. Oftentimes, it's not the look and feel, rather the content and flow of it between between that's the secret sauce. <BR/><BR/>Trying to control any of that through structure or rules is what will put the whole thing in the toilet. <BR/><BR/>I think interesting tools will emerge that retain the interaction while allowing for the scale. Now if companies can only dodge trying to enforce their will on it, we'll have some magic happening.Sam Lawrencewww.gobigalways.comnoreply@blogger.com