At the risk of sounding like a heretic to Social Media "priests" believing, that somehow, social media will make us a far more connected and social species, I suggest exactly the opposite. Social Media, in my opinion, is simply a tool to be used to bring the people together, not be the replacement of personal experiences where ideas and innovation are incubated. Despite working "in the industry" and often trumpeting the benefits of Social Media, I feel we need to keep this latest craze planted firmly in its place. Updating your status on Facebook and flooding the world with 140 character witticisms may be a clever 21st century communications and marketing tactic but my recent homecoming experience has made me fully appreciate the value of human connectedness and interaction.
So you may be thinking, "DUH, no kidding, obvious stuff Peterson; What's your point? Allow me to elaborate. I recently attended my hometown's 5 year reunion affectionately known as "Homecoming". I grew up on a farm outside of a small village of 192 citizens. I've been attending these events as long as I can remember (back to the 70's) and each one has its own charm. To Social Media's credit, I don't recall any other Homecoming prior to Social Media being so well attended. People were chatting about the event on Facebook a year in advance and I believe it helped drive one of the best-attended Homecomings in history for my small home town. However, driving attendance has been accomplished by other means in the past (mail, newspapers, word of mouth). The quality of interactions I had with everyone from politicians to financial advisors to dear friends (and in some cases all of the above) could never have been experienced by Social networking alone. It was the experience of "being there" that lead to the best jokes, the greatest conversations, and the meaningful dialog that can only happen from "being local". I have since pondered why a small town of 192 people can produce incredible talents including:
- 2 renowned Canadian Painters
- An award winner author
- A commercial Airline Pilot
- Countless Business Leaders
- Entrepreneurs
- Railroad Engineers
- Nurses
- Mechanical Engineers
- Oil and Gas Industry Visionaries
- NHL Hockey Players
- Entertainers
- Lawyers
- And on and on….
My conversations covered everything from business, to education, health care, the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, all the way to Gerard Butler's controversial hand placement on Jennifer Aniston. Each conversation reminded me the value of socializing, beyond Social Media, that was such a big part of growing up in rural Saskatchewan. I believe this quality is being lost in the convenience of Social Media tools. The homecoming socializing reminds me why so many successful people have come from challenging backgrounds. It is the prairie spirit and dependency on others that drives us to succeed in our own ways. We should not assume Social Media makes us smarter nor should we pretend it will make us more connected. It will serve as a tool of enablement but it will only be as successful as the connections we make in person. The best and most productive connections are those that take a lifetime to build. I hope the business connections I make today will be with me 25 years from now. Thank you Tompkins for providing me an education no University ever could have. Thank you to all my friends for the experiences that can never be replaced; Thank you Saskatchewan for being tough enough to help me appreciate the value of hard work; And Thank you Social Media for, in this instance, not trying to replace Homecoming but rather enabling more people to attend it.
