Social Media is, maybe, the best thing to happen to the web. Few would argue that the connectivity and innovation are a great blessing. It is. But as time passes I hear more and more people say under their breath that social media is, perhaps, also one of the worst things that could’ve happened to us as people. A curse, if you will, or at least a slushy mix of good and bad.
Call it a blessicurse, like a Jackalope or those European man purses or skinny jeans.
True, I think the advent of social networking has created a generation of narcissists who believe celebrity is a God given right. I also think applications like Facebook give us the quick fix of acquaintance without any of the hard work that genuine relationships require. It scratches our bottomless neediness to feel noticed, wanted, and told that we really are living a meaningful life.
But, all that said, I believe the negativity floating around is misguided. To say social media is bad or good is like saying money is evil, which it isn’t of course. Money is amoral because paper doesn’t have a soul, at least the last time I checked. But social media, like money, does have a clarifying effect. If you are a wise or foolish handler of either medium (money or Facebook, for example) most people can tell. The authentic you will eventually emerge. You can fake it for awhile, but not forever.
So, what’s the moral? The moral is what I tell authors and artists who are thinking of blogging or setting up a Twitter account or Facebook Fan Page: you are the content. Be the authentic you. Marshall McLuhan, the guy who coined “the medium is the message”, talked about this in the 1960′s and how every medium of communication is nothing more than an extension of your ideas, worldview, and art. It’s the canvas on which you paint, sometimes literally, to get your message across.
Don’t be something you aren’t. People can pick posers out of the crowd pretty easily. Don’t let a marketer or publicist convince you that your DNA needs overhauling. Notice that the most successful brands and artists online are those that come the closest to what makes true relationships worth it: authenticity, openness, and vulnerability. I’m not saying you should bare your soul online, but you shouldn’t be a product either. Finding the balance is something that everyone has to figure out on their own. Especially those who want to make a living getting others to buy their imaginings.