In preparing for my upcoming "Death of the Grand Gesture" talk at Web2Expo, I've been deep in my usual observational analysis of the dynamics impacting the social web meets "big bidness". I've also realized [thanks to Mario] that my blogging has become a sad chain of "weekly links".
I have always found it difficult to juggle "big thoughts", getting stuff done and ensuring I make the time for posting my observational nuggets as they occur to me. I admit it, I enjoy real world back and forth conversations more than the more solitary skill of writing [probably why I will never write the great American novel].
Which leads me to my recent personal observation. Gasp - I have lost touch with why I fell in love with blogging in the first place - a blog post does not have to be a fully formed argument or a perfect pearl of wisdom - it just has to be.
So in the spirit of it spontaneity I am rededicated to providing both in the future. I won't promise a schedule or a minimum number of posts or even where they will be posted [she hints at future news], but I do promise to not sit on the nuggets and personal observations till they are all well crafted and wrapped in a bow.
Today's nugget:
No matter how you slice it - everything is personal. Not personal as in taking things personally [tho there is plenty of that taking place], but personal as in this is 'personal to me'. Social web tools are just that social and personal. They are a reflection of their creator - without a personal voice and tone there is no "there there". And they are changing the dynamics of how we interact, relate and do business.
The challenge for a business or political campaign is how do you infuse the personal without over-sharing and how do you find the balance of what is appropriate?
Navigating this landscape of "personal" is tricky 'bidness' - some words to keep in mind - respect, context, and empathy.
If you want to attend Web2Expo you can use my "personal" discount code: webny08mc23 for $100 off registration fee. Hope to see you there!
For those of us in America who self-identify with our work, where is the line between personal and professional as it relates to many of these online tools? For example, I joined Facebook for a project for my job. Naturally I was found and friended by people from all areas of my life. So what is my "identity" on Facebook really suppossed to be?
Posted by: Dorit | August 26, 2008 at 01:53 PM
Hi Dorit!!!
Exactly - the lines are indeed blurring as is privacy or a "private life". Big issues.
For the purposes of this post - I like to think that the blurring is forcing business and organizations to behave as we would want them to behave in their personal lives.
Posted by: deb schultz | August 26, 2008 at 02:09 PM
That's awesome!
This is exactly how I felt when I realized that blogging doesn't have to be essay style but rather twitterrific!
Plus, I'm glad I now have one more friend to talk more frequently to in the blogosphere :) Yay!
Posted by: Mario Sundar | August 26, 2008 at 10:35 PM