Twitter, A National Conversation? Not!

Tune into CNN any weekday afternoon and you will see Rick Sanchez promote his stint at the anchor desk as a “National Conversation” because readers can Twitter, Facebook or MySpace instant reactions to CNN stories. During the course of the broadcast Rick will stumble his way through trying to read often-unintelligible usernames, and the off the cuff comments. A “National Conversation”, not.

Last time I checked my Merriam-Webster dictionary, not Wikipedia, the definition of conversation went something like this:

(1): Oral exchange of sentiments, observations, opinions, or ideas (2): an instance of such exchange

Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other social media are not conversations. Conversations require two key elements, the use of speech and interaction between live individuals.

Social media is not a conversation; it is the random placement of self-promoting thoughts and ideas that require no interaction. Instead, it can be compared to the equivalent of a billion online used car salesmen all-trying to grab your attention as you drive by their dealerships. Say whatever, and say it over, and over and over again, anything to get a customer’s attention.

I am not implying that the social media is an evil or threatening. It is a new communication tool in its infancy, and like all babies it will grow up. What we see today, is not what it will be next year or five years down the road. How we develop the new media is important.

Companies, media and individuals are flocking to twitter and other social media. Self proclaimed “social media” experts are more abundant than jobs for the unemployed. Watch any twitter role for 10 minutes and you will see at least two or three posts by the same self-proclaimed experts touting one way or another they can help you or your company make money using social media.

Those used car salesman don’t bother me and can be entertaining, what does bother me are the posts by a growing number of individuals selling their soul to their addiction to social media, and how they are not bothered by people tweeting at every given moment in life.

One tweet, by Barbara Gibson, the current chair of IABC, especially caught my attention.

Barb_G: To speakers who think it’s rude for audience to Twitter, try embracing & encouraging it instead. I love the live-tweeting.

I guess live tweeting during a presentation is better than falling asleep on a speaker. However, if my doctor is attending a conference on a new medical procedure and tweets during a critical portion of the speech, thus missing an important fact, I sure don’t want him or her performing that procedure on me.

As hard as it is to find an honest used car salesman, one that provides a reliable car that will last for years at an affordable price, finding the right social media expert is just as tough.   An excellent social media guru is a not only a guide through today’s problems, but one that has the knowledge and foresight to see the problems and possibilities of the medium in the future.

Tweeting and the social media definitely have their place, just as proper conversation has it’s.  The current problem with twitter and other social media is society has not defined the proper use of the tool, as is has with a real conversation.