Why are we so immersed in Social Media??? Part 2 The New Norm

For part 1 of this subject I took a very lighthearted yet cynical view about Social Media and its users. For part 2 I'm going to take a more objective view on the subject matter. For those who don't know my company is a Below the Line Ad Agency, which focuses on non-traditional advertising. So basically Social Media is on my mind and my clients' mind 24/7.Maybe that's why I keep talking about it. But this blog piece is my elementary Freakonomics moment where I want to combine Social Media and different instances in time.

The question still arises though, "Why do we keep going on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, MySpace, and the occasional LinkedIn connection?" My answer is simple but like most simple things in life, it is hard to understand. I hear a lot of people complaining people that the net and SM platforms are taking away the social aspect of everyday life, that kids will not be able to communicate or interact anymore. I have a different look at it. In the 80s and early 90s most business men were using phones, faxes, and couriers to transfer information to their clients. Now all it takes is an email or even a text message with a link to a PDF to send that information. Don't get me wrong Client relationships need to be strong, but a lot of work can be done via  a weekly conference call instead of constant contact during the work week.

This is where I believe most modern workers lost a feeling of being social. Technology took away the social aspect of work and home, but yet technology also brought the solution. The more un-social work and home has gotten, the more demand of being social was on the rise. Hence the rise of Social Networks. All of a sudden social spaces went from being perverted to trendy and finally the New Norm. The New Norm re-connected many people and enhanced their social well being. For instance my "frat house" roommate from Delta Chi and myself, message each other about meeting up and occasionally when the magic moment where both of us are free, we finally get together for a drink. And this is only possible because of Social Media.

As I said before, this is how I define Social Media:

“The collective thoughts, emotions, memories and events of many modern human beings”

-http://youngrichnerdy.blogspot.com

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Social CRM is the Future

Over the past 2 months I have had some experiences dealing with some great companies and not so great companies as a consumer. In this blog I will only focus on the great companies. These 2 companies Blue Sky and Scosche are 2 smaller tech companies both dealing with audio. As having an alternative life after work I produce music and DJ so I'm really in tuned with the new Audio Technology coming out. So this past Saturday while recording my Blue Sky monitors totally blew. The first thing I did was email their customer support. Guess what???? They mailed me back within 30 minutes apologizing and explaining the problem. As mad as I was about my Studio Monitors blowing up, the tech support was able to calm me down and we are currently solving this problem.
The second company Scosche, I had an awesome experience with. My girlfriend and I bought 2 pairs of their headphones and within the month, both broke in the identical manner. This was just unacceptable, so I went to their tech support site to the instant chat. The support was great and he apologized. He said it was unacceptable as well and that he will replace the models. So I send it in and within a week, the support emailed me back saying that they will be upgrading the headphones to on of their top of the line models. I don't expect any company to upgrade a product, but just to replace a broken product. But the support these two companies given were enough for me to become an advocate of their brand.
CRM is the future of brand advocacy no matter what product you provide for your customers. These two companies showcased class and dignity for their brands and products that should be studied throughout every company.

This is America and "You Can't Hustle the Hustler."

Speaking to a lot of business owners and entrepreneurs the past few weeks. The common sense is that we're all scared and afraid of the unknown. There were a few signs of hope but these signs are not significant enough for us to keep our head up. I watched a doom prophecy show the other night on the History Channel and they were all saying that Americans were doomed because we're too comfortable with our way of life and we can't conform. 

I don't believe in that. That's an answer that an elitist would say. This is America people, land of opportunity. As long as we have the opportunity to make a solution, America will be great. Elitists say that we're doomed to our own failures in oil. Guess what in the 1800s there was an oil scare. The difference was that the oil was actually whale oil. Obviously we moved to our modern means of energy but in America we will "Hustle" our way to a solution to make life better. America was built by immigrants who had a dream. Did the second richest man in history Andrew Carnagie build his wealth by going to Harvard? No he did not. Did Domino's Pizza start with an economic business plan with a golden parachute? I highly doubt that since they started by paying $500 for a pizza store name DominNick's. Did Thomas Edison go to MIT or CalTech to become the greatest inventor of all time? The answer is no. They were hustlers in the finest definition of the word.

Hustler: –noun

1. an enterprising person determined to succeed; go-getter.

 

My point is this. In America we can't get too comfortable because there are people hustling to make a better life for themselves and their family.  Solutions are being developed every day to make life better and that is the reason why I believe America will succeed. I still believe that if you can go to any country in the world there would be many people coming into our country in lieu of their own just because you can have an opportunity. That is the reason why my Grandmother, Mother, and Father came here. To give my brother an opportunity to become successful, but we know it doesn't guarantee it.