The relevance of this article goes beyond simple career tips (at least for me), and extends to a discernible rift between those who accept the inevitable spread of social media and those who unyieldingly pursue the traditional hand-shake method of social networking. While I cannot understate the importance of face-to-face methods of communication, likewise the traditional ways of interaction in general, advances in technology are changing the basic social structure we have grown accustomed to. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others give us the ability to share our lives with not just acquaintances but total strangers. Furthermore, the magnitude to which we are able to exchange information under these conditions not only changes how we share our lives but the image of ourselves we portray to the world. As Dan Schawbel put it, "Your digital assets — blog, podcast, and social networking profiles — are your online identity and how people discover and connect with you. " Unfortunately, "digital assets," are slow in being claimed and often close an important avenue for those who don't claim it.
Case in point, being a recent college graduate I had the unique experience of seeing the blossoming of social media before my eyes. When I started college in 2005, Facebook was just beginning to spread around campuses. Before photos, chat, and many other features, Facebook was just a way for college kids to connect with one another outside of the traditional academia settings. Fast forward to 2009, Facebook has grown to a massive network of students of all ages and backgrounds, companies of all sorts and sizes, celebrities, as well as average Joe's (and Jane's) looking to get in on the hype. What is truly remarkable though, is everyone is able to connect with everyone else. College kids are able to communicate with celebrities and give their input to companies, companies on the other hand are able to get a direct perspective and opinion of their products, even celebrities are able to stay in touch with their fan base more efficiently then ever. As networks like Twitter and LinkedIn popped up, many individuals (and brands) were able to integrate these networks to increase their web presence and market their brand. Sadly, it is a trend which (from my experience) individuals, from my generation especially, that has been slow in coming. There are many reasons for this and I won't speculate on them in this post, but the evidence of this is plentiful.
My Facebook homepage is often filled with mundane and thoughtless status updates such as "can't wait to get hammered this weekend," or "Me + Bed = Sleep." While that in itself is perfectly normal for college age kids, I question whether that is the image they want to project about themselves to the world. Even though I am aware that close friends probably find these nuances cute and appealing (more power to them) there are better ways to say the same thing. More importantly however, is the inability of individuals of my generations to embrace the social networking revolution. Many people wrongly assume that Twitter, for instance, is used solely for telling people what you are doing every five minutes of your life. Most of these people are unaware of the importance of building a brand for themselves and increasing their web presence, especially as they prepare to enter a competitive job market where more often then not, innovation is king. It is very likely that an increasing number of companies will look towards social media to fill their employment needs. It is the individuals that stay connected and stay ahead who will have the upper hand as we continue to push the boundaries of technology.
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