Ignoring the Social Media Echo Chamber Chamber

By on January 20, 2012 in Blog Coach, Conversations, Social Media with 5 Comments

Close Your Ears to the Social Media Echo ChamberYou may occasionally read about the “social media echo chamber” – maybe you even write about it.

Me? I don’t think it exists. Not really.

And you shouldn’t let it exist – because if you do, it’s all in your head. Yep, I think you’re imagining things.

Granted, there are a lot of folks that talk about social media, and as a small business owner using social media – social media is part of the conversations in your day. But it’s not your core business.

Let’s say you’re a furniture store owner, you should be more concerned about the custom wood vs particle board debates. The Google-Facebook thing? Pass. You should be engaging with folks talking about the process of  re-upholstery more than those on the practice of re-tweeting.

If you follow or connect with a lot of people talking about social, you’ll hear a lot of talk about social (even if they aren’t talking to you). If you follow a lot of people talking about food … guess what … they talk a lot about food (even if they aren’t talking with you).

SMI-SMO? Social Media In – Social Media Out. Listen to something else. If all you’re doing is following conversations about social media (social media in), you’re probably going to talk a lot about it too (social media out). And then two things might happen:

  1. You get a headache
  2. You alienate your intended audience

I’m not saying social media conversations are bad (well, some of them are), but too much of any one thing could become a burden. And when we burden ourselves, we usually point fingers elsewhere.

There is a whole lot of conversation happening around your core business. Engage in social media chatter now and again, fine. More important, find and immerse yourself in the talk around your business.

(Did I just tell myself to shutup in this post? If I did, I didn’t hear it)

Photo on Flickr by massdestraction

 

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About Mike Sansone: Conversation Conductor & Social Mediatician: Amplify Reach, Relationships, and Revenues for Small, Rural and Independent Business. Blogging & Social Media as Conversation Stations.

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  • http://market-dv.ru/ Market-DV

    SMO is currently one of the most essential progress in the network. I think you can not ignore the ads in this area. After all, advertising is not only limited to Adsense …

  • Anonymous

    Mike, I think we talked about this  little in our podcast, and you are right. I am tired of seeing the same old stuff and I struggle with finding other things to think and write about. Because I am in the business of marketing and social media…

    • http://www.converstations.com MikeSansone

      There are oft times we share similar frustrations. As colleagues, we often learn from each other. 

      I am a benefactor of what you write, though I may not be your intended audience. Likewise, though I enjoy it when colleagues and peers gain from my writing – my intended audience is not often those who are in a similar profession.

      It is then, in a way, an escape from pressure to acknowledge and then ignore the “echo chamber” that exists inside my own head (and my reading habits). 

      When another social media person writes about social media, I read it knowing that I’m probably not the intended audience – and therefore the “echo chamber” is non-existent.

  • http://www.callboxinc.com/ Nadine Stevens

    This is very thought-provoking Mike.  Social media can’t do it all.  Getting a celebrity endorsement or a Facebook page does not guarantee that our business would be launched, and sales would pour in.   We can say that social media is only part of the answer and that we should find balance on the way we use it for business.  

    • http://www.converstations.com MikeSansone

      Great addition, Nadine.  A well-balanced diet of consumption and production is the way to go.