Glorious on the like-minded people place,

Practical on the putting all the pieces together because a fragmented information society does not live by one medium alone,

There is joy in engagement, but are there metrics. Hmmm?

Is there a metric when my mechanic said he could put new tires on my car, but if I was able to pick the tires up at a distributor I’d save some money? And 3 months later I brought my other car in with a $1500 front end job? Yeah them there’s some metrics.

Is there a metric in the head of a CEO networking group who listened to my situation and said “No, my group won’t help you with that, but I recommend you get the book Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham.” When I read the book, bought copies for my colleagues, and hired him to provide some more guidance on structuring the organization, were there metrics in that? Yup.

David, you posted about losing control being liberating. That’s exactly right, why? Because in their heart they know they don’t have the control others think they do. They are living on the edge everyday. If you were truly in control there would be no worries, and all the forecasts would come true. When they are able to let go, they are now free to do the right thing, and in the case of social media, the right thing is to participate with all your energy, wisdom, and curiosity.

That is why I believe social media should be viewed as a movement in society.

In fact it is.

They were excited about providing a place for like-minded people to discuss and share and help each other, with the Company’s help as-needed.

They were excited to see how FB and Twitter and YouTube and Flickr and blogging and content-creation, etc., could all “fit together” in a sensible, non-exploitive way.

They were excited about CANNONS (blowing OUT the content), not PORTALS (drawing people into a place where they didn’t necessarily want to go).

We didn’t talk about metrics (yet). We talked about engagement for engagement’s sake.

It’s the specialist with a defined responsibility and budget that blocks most new initiatives. That could be an IT manager, an advertising manager, or a marketer that really likes POP.

Really, there are some “old school” marcom types acting as the gatekeepers.

Good post. While you are right to be refreshed by their “non-exploitative” approach, I’ll bet they will receive tangible benefits from their program anyway. That’s the best part. Hard to prove until after they do it, but I’d put my $$ on it.

~Jim