Why Absolutes Fail

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Black on White? White on Black?

Never. Always. Can’t. Won’t.

Words like these are dangerous, and especially when you’re talking about something as evolving and fluid as social media.

Uttering absolutes when it comes to what’s working or what’s possible with this new hybrid discipline implies that there are no reasonable alternatives, that perspective is irrelevant, and that the person uttering said absolute has the universal insight to speak from every standpoint.

Which, to utter an absolute of my own, is impossible.

“Social media is never about numbers.”

“You can’t use social media for sales”

“Twitter won’t work that way.”

On one hand, we’re trying to say that social media tears down barriers and levels playing fields, and in the same breath, we’re saying that businesses better play by our “rules” or else. We’re saying that it’s all about celebrating individual voices, but heaven help the voice that disagrees with ours. Individually, we have our preferences for how social media “feels” when it’s done right, and we’re quick to lash out when we feel like something’s been done incorrectly.

That’s stifling innovation, and we’re doing ourselves a disservice as “pioneers” of these new media if we think we’re the only ones smart enough to figure out how to make it all work.

If I’m a marketing director or a customer service manager trying to figure out how to apply social media to my business, I sure don’t need someone handing me a set of commandments. What I need is someone with enough insight to view the challenge from all angles, and figure out how social media is most likely to supply solutions to my problems and provide progress toward my business goals.

I’ll concede that there are certain established principles of social media like our favorite buzzwords: authenticity, transparency, humanity, and the like. But what those words truly *mean* for every business is different and unique.

Instead of absolutes, can we give businesses things to ask themselves, points to consider? Can we help them look at social media from all possible angles and make smart decisions about how best to use it without imparting our biases?

Or am I dead wrong, and are absolutes necessary to draw lines in the sand somehow? Tell me what you think.

Photo credit: wwarby

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  • http://www.megoagain.com Michelle Kostya

    Great post – very important to understand that there are no absolutes with Social Media. It is so new – how can there be? Can you imagine if we did that with television -so much changes over time and as that happens – so will how we use the medium.

    Michelle Kostyas last blog post..If You Are Into Marketing You Should Be Reading AND Listening: Great Podcasts

  • http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheViralGarden Mack Collier

    “Nope I’m talking about smart business. Tools don’t reinvent businesses; businesses use tools in ways that achieve goals. That’s just the way it is. It’s called best practices.”

    Indeed it is. But we must also remember that social media tools function differently than traditional marketing tools, and thusly require a different mindset. Social media tools might not reinvent every business, but they won’t be of much use to any that approaches them as being ‘business as usual’.

    Mack Colliers last blog post..Want to give your readers a way to tweet your posts?

  • http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheViralGarden Mack Collier

    “Nope I’m talking about smart business. Tools don’t reinvent businesses; businesses use tools in ways that achieve goals. That’s just the way it is. It’s called best practices.”

    Indeed it is. But we must also remember that social media tools function differently than traditional marketing tools, and thusly require a different mindset. Social media tools might not reinvent every business, but they won’t be of much use to any that approaches them as being ‘business as usual’.

    Mack Colliers last blog post..Want to give your readers a way to tweet your posts?

  • http://thesocialnet.blogspot.com mark

    Actually, Mack, I don’t think that social media tools function any differently than previous marketing tools, and that’s part of the problem in our industry.

    We’re extolling the virtues of something new and revolutionary, and thus, people are slow to adopt.

    Social media is *evolutionary*, not revolutionary. Or you might even say *reactionary*, since all social media really does is promote word of mouth advertising, and that has been the bedrock of commerce for at least 3,000 years.

    So really, what goes around, comes around.

    I think we do a great disservice to ourselves the more we trumpet social media as something new. It isn’t. People have always talked to each other to discuss, persuade, and share

    We’re simply extending the reach of a voice, but we’re not creating something new.

    marks last blog post..What’s A Community Worth Anyway?

  • http://thesocialnet.blogspot.com mark

    Actually, Mack, I don’t think that social media tools function any differently than previous marketing tools, and that’s part of the problem in our industry.

    We’re extolling the virtues of something new and revolutionary, and thus, people are slow to adopt.

    Social media is *evolutionary*, not revolutionary. Or you might even say *reactionary*, since all social media really does is promote word of mouth advertising, and that has been the bedrock of commerce for at least 3,000 years.

    So really, what goes around, comes around.

    I think we do a great disservice to ourselves the more we trumpet social media as something new. It isn’t. People have always talked to each other to discuss, persuade, and share

    We’re simply extending the reach of a voice, but we’re not creating something new.

    marks last blog post..What’s A Community Worth Anyway?

  • http://lgbusinesssolutions.typepad.com/solutions_to_grow_your_bu/ Lewis Green

    Mark,

    Thank you! I have a post appearing Monday that talks about that very theme and how frustrating I find social evangelism.

    Lewis

    Lewis Greens last blog post..What Have Social Media & Twitter Done for You?

  • http://lgbusinesssolutions.typepad.com/solutions_to_grow_your_bu/ Lewis Green

    Mark,

    Thank you! I have a post appearing Monday that talks about that very theme and how frustrating I find social evangelism.

    Lewis

    Lewis Greens last blog post..What Have Social Media & Twitter Done for You?

  • http://thesocialnet.blogspot.com mark

    Lewis–Read your blog (more than a few entries)and I think if you and I had a few beers, we would agree on more things than not.

    I really like your focus on measuring effectiveness. Some very powerful observations there–and I know that most clients want results they can point to on a spreadsheet.

    And I read Mack’s blog, and know that we agree on more things than not. He is obviously successful at growing a following and creating a healthy, vibrant communications loop.

    Gotta love this business (social media marketing)-in many cases, people can disagree and both still be ‘right’.

    As Amber notes…there are no absolutes! Unless you’re talking about vodka. :-)

    marks last blog post..What’s A Community Worth Anyway?

  • http://thesocialnet.blogspot.com mark

    Lewis–Read your blog (more than a few entries)and I think if you and I had a few beers, we would agree on more things than not.

    I really like your focus on measuring effectiveness. Some very powerful observations there–and I know that most clients want results they can point to on a spreadsheet.

    And I read Mack’s blog, and know that we agree on more things than not. He is obviously successful at growing a following and creating a healthy, vibrant communications loop.

    Gotta love this business (social media marketing)-in many cases, people can disagree and both still be ‘right’.

    As Amber notes…there are no absolutes! Unless you’re talking about vodka. :-)

    marks last blog post..What’s A Community Worth Anyway?

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