Everyone and their

mother is jumping on the social media bandwagon.

Some

are successful; they are immersed

in it on a daily basis

and thus in themidst of the

actionwhilethesocialmedia

landscapechangesevery few

months.

Some, however, just don't

quite get it.Dabbling in social

media once every so often,

reading about the trends six

months after they've happened,

and not grasping the

nonstructural, nonlinear nature

of the medium are all

characteristics of this latter

camp.

The online landscape

changes dramatically and

quickly, and you'd better be

pretty web-fit to keep up with

the latest social networks,

tools and viral campaigns.

Suddenly,MySpace is an

outdated form and Google

Buzz is slated to be the new

craze.

Hi5 fizzled as quickly as it

started, and, despite 'experts'

prophesying that Twitter

would be just another fad, like

it or not, life in 140 characters

or less is here to stay.

Old-school ways of marketing

and structured guidelines

don't apply in the social

media sphere. This is definitely

a challenge in the corporate

world, where senior

marketing folks' knowledge

of social media typically

doesn't extend further than

reading articles about it and

seeing their kids use it.

Also, they're uncomfortable with the lack

of structure

and planning that comes with

the sociall media beast. Blog articles

often don't have a clear

beginning or ending. They are

written more like a casual conversation and are likely violating

every scholastic and technical

rule out there. It is a

medium that defies most classical rules of writing and communication.

Are grammatical

errors and run-on sentences

blasphemous or unprofessional?

Perhaps, if you're writing

for Harper's or the New

Yorker, but in social media, it's

the norm.

Has the reader changed or

the media platform? I'd say

they go hand in hand.

Today, our generation sets

up dates via text, RSVPs for

parties via Facebook invitations,

and gets news clips via

Twitter feeds. We are bombarded by brands,

logos, marketing messages,

and companies

who claim they

understand us. Everyone's a

publisher, and there is an endless mountain of information

and news to sift through in

less time. We want our information in

bites, with imagery

to make it easier and more effective

for us to process and

comprehend. If a headline is

over 140 characters, it is

deemed long-winded.

In the marketing and business world,

there are a few issues.

Many marketing execs

who have the authority to

make decisions on social

media strategy, resourcing,

and direction are in the don't quite-

get-it camp. Want to

know if you're one of them?

Unless you're a blogger yourself-

and successful at it-

and participate in social

media on a regular basis, you

likely don't get it. Thus, you

should enable the ones who do

get it to make those decisions.

At the other extreme,

there is an emergence of social

media 'experts' who

claim they have the next social

media solution that can

save the day.

Reality check. Social

media is one form of engaging,

participating in the dialogue,

and building a community

and following. It is

one part of the marketing

pie, and how big that slice is

depends on the nature

of your business and your

objectives.

In conclusion, if you're a

company that's riding on the

social media bandwagon,

make sure you have the people

in place who have the creativity,

the understanding of

new media, and a voice and

tone that is relatable and

inviting to a broad audience.

If you're an individual trying

to gain a following, make

sure you have a personality

behind your brand. That

brand must be personable

and relatable, and there

should be value that youprovide

to your audience.

Even though publishing a

message to the world is as

simple as the click of a button,

always ask yourself if what

you're about to publish will

give value to your audience or

if it's just polluting the digital

universe.