Technology isn’t about wires, it’s about bonds
- Thu, December 06 2007
- Filed under: Social Media
There is a curious paradox: the more our lifestyle creates separateness, the more we crave connection.
We’re always talking about how technology sets us apart from the world around us - iTunes in our ears, Blackberry (Crackberry) in our hand. But at the same time, we universally tend to use technology to seek connections - in our online communities, our Twittering, our emailing, our Facebooking - it’s all about looking for bonds.
Don’t forget that.
No matter what you do, what you say, or how you use technology it’s not about the tool or the wires or the bells and whistles. It’s about the bonds.
Don’t ask, should we blog? Ask, is blogging a good way to connect with our audience? Don’t ask, do we need a website redesign? Ask, can people find what they need when they come to us? Do they feel closer to us after they’ve come to our site?
My esteemed colleague Jocelyn Harmon of NPower here in DC recently did a presentation on marketing and communications in the connected age. You can check it out here. She reminds us of two things to remember online:
1. Be real. Speak the truth, in your own voice.
2. Flip the funnel. (Katya’s note: That’s Seth Godin’s great term for surrendering your lonely megaphone and antiquated sale funnel and letting a thousand messengers bloom, in their own voices, to their own circles of influence)
In other words, be an authentic messenger and don’t be the only messenger. Be an organization that connects to people on a very human level. And make it possible for people who love your organization to connect to the people they love to share your story. This is what it’s all about.
While online tools seem oh-so-new, what makes them work could not be more ancient or old-school. What’s truly innovative is using the Internet to more quickly and expansively fulfill our unending human need for connection. Paraphrasing Pasternak, what’s powerful is what’s shared.
Comments
Great Post! I have been trying to frame how to express to my executive director the fact that we need to be communicating more effectively with the members of our organization and I think I may use some of what you have said to shed some light on it. She has “tech-aversion issues” and doesn’t see the utility in the web and how it can be used to connect our members to our mission.
Thanks for the great blog! It is always thought provoking and takes me back to my communication roots… ;->
the more our lifestyle creates separateness, the more we crave connection - the phrase of the day. Thanks
I quoted you in a recent post on my blog:
http://asmallchange.wordpress.com/2008/01/01/using-blogging-to-fundraise/ Let me know if that is okay.
Thanks
Thanks Jason for the mention!
I really like this post and use it all the time when I’m talking to the tech-hesitant. For me it really encapsulates my approach to online communications, both in my work and personal life. Thanks for making the case in a succinct and compelling way.
This is really fantastic. Thanks for sharing this, I hope have a read of those that got in. Thanks!