Social Media: Revolution or Fad?

To pick up the conversation about what social media offers to nonprofits and why we should care, there are a couple of videos on YouTube (beware — these are social media products so you’re joining the revolution by watching!) that I recommend to anyone who is wondering why they should consider “harnessing the power of social media” for their organization. And there’s a book I recommend as well. It passed my “don’t recommend anything I wouldn’t actually read” test last week when my bookmark passed the halfway point.

The first video is “Social Media Revolution“, loaded with mind boggling statistics like “If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s largest.” Or “If you were paid $1 every time an article was posted on Wikipedia you’d earn $156 … per hour.” They use sheer size to make the case that social media is not just a fad, but is “a fundamental shift in how we communicate.” I couldn’t help wondering, however, what happens when those millions of users get distracted by the next thing to come along, which I wanted to do after a couple of minutes of the music sound track.

The second video is “Social Media in Plain English” from the folks at Common Craft. Using the analogy of ice cream shops, they illustrate how decentralized activities can be more effective and responsive than centralized organizations — one of the main drivers of the social media revolution. (They also offer a “Twitter in Plain English” video that lays it out quite clearly for the tweet-o-phobes.)

And finally, the book recommendation. I know, a book — ancient technology. I still prefer reading from paper to reading off the screen. Clay Shirky’s “Here Comes Everybody” is a very readable analysis of the technology and human behavior dynamics that are, he says, prompting huge changes in our society.  One of the “lightbulb moments” for me came at the end of a case study when Shirky points out on p.12 that power is accruing to all of us who used to be relegated to the role of audience. “It demonstrates how a story can go from local to global in a heartbeat. And it demonstrates the ease and speed with which a group can be mobilized for the right kind of cause.” Shirky builds a case that goes beyond sheer size to the underlying reasons that social media is attractive and here to stay.

Global mobilization — that’s the hope of every nonprofit ED and Fund Development Director — that YOUR cause will light up hearts and minds (and open checkbooks) across the world. And that’s the promise of the social media revolution — easy access to lots of hearts and minds who can influence even more people and spread the word for you. Given that promise, does it matter if it’s a fad?