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I had a great conversation the other night with my close friend about Social Media, social networks, and the  the growth of this industry, sector, or whatever you want to call it. I have been lucky enough to have the interest and time to  immerse myself in the  nuances of this interesting and fun phenomena. There is a lot of things going in the world of social media and I am convinced that social networks and social media are changing the way we communicate. No longer are we telling people about how and what we do, today we are forced to listen as well. And if we aren’t, or if you aren’t you should be. That is the impact of social networking, media, or whatever you want to call it.

I just read Groundswell by  Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff. This is a book that I think is a must-read. You are going to see a lot of people writing a lot of books about social media, but these authors are to be believed. They are researchers at Forrester Research and they  have really hit it on the head. This book will give  businesses a step-by-step process in developing  a strategy for social media. One thing I really like is their categorizing of the type of people who are using the internet and social media. Using this categorizing, one can determine which tool to use. Here are the categories:

• Creators — online consumers who at least once a month publish a blog or article online, maintain a Web page or upload video or audio onto sites like YouTube. These people represent 18 percent of the online adult population.
• Critics — react to online content by posting reviews and comments and participating in and editing wikis. Twenty-five percent of adult Americans online are critics.
• Collectors — save URLs, tags and social bookmarking services like del.icio.us. They vote for their favorite sites and use RSS feeds. Collectors make up 12 percent of the adult population online.
• Joiners — participate or maintain profiles on a social networking site like Facebook. Twenty-five percent of adults who are online in the United States are now on Facebook. In South Korea, the participation rate is 40 percent.
• Spectators — the largest percentage of adults online in the United States. This category consumes what everyone else creates. It requires less effort and makes up 48 percent of users.
• Inactives — forty-one percent of all Americans online remain untouched by the groundswell. And, of course, those offline are merely watching TV or reading a good book.

Understand these categories and you will understand how to use the tools that are available. Read my review on our regular website for a quick review of the book, or better yet buy the book.

I hear from a lot of business people who ask me if spending time on social media is worth the time. The people who say, “I don’t care if someone I know just took a shower or what they ate for breakfast,” are the folks who haven’t spent much time trying to figure out what the buzz about social media is all about, and deep down it is much deeper than understanding what your office mate had for breakfast. Others indicate that they have too little time to be screwing around with social media. Their day is as busy as it can be without adding something else to it. Too busy with email perhaps? that ubiquitous looming monster that resides in your desktop or laptop computer that you had not time for until you had time for it and now it makes up the greater part of your day?

Social Media is an expansive term that has many parts. What you do with social media largely has to do with your view of how the world works. There are still people who communicate using the postal system. For some types of communication this method works very well. My mother still sends letters and cards. I have to admit that a card or letter does have some function for certain types of communication, even for me…like sending a letter to my mother.

But social media, to me is merely a progression in the evolutionary life of communication. I think at some point we will be communicating through these trusted networks of people. my networks will talk to your network and we will spread news far and wide. If I am interested in College Football, I will follow, network or socialize with people who like the same thing I do. We either do it in person or via a network. Critics will say how terrible it is that you loose face-to-face time by networking only on the computer. But it is the only way to communicate and develop a relationship (albeit a cyber one) with someone that perhaps you didn’t previously know.

So if you are the person who says you don’t have time, it’s not for you, or it’s just a trend, I invite you to open your mind. Here is your assignment:

1. Ask someone you know that is in the business world how they are using social media. Have them show you your Facebook page or Twitter profile or other social media tool.

2. Sign up for Facebook, develop a profile and “friend” a few people. Scare the crap out of your teenage kids and “friend” them on Facebook. You will be entertained by how they act when they know you can eavesdrop on their world. If you don’t do anything else with social media, this will create new dynamics in the household.

3. Find someone you know who twitters effectively. Sign up for twitter, and then check out what they are doing. You will be amazed. Signing up only takes a few minutes. Also check out twitters new guide for business. This 101 site will help you an it just launched yesterday.

Good Luck. You can follow me on Twitter at @bnedguy

Social Media marketing is a new phenomena for me. My daughter has been doing it for her store for quite some time and when she first told me what she was doing, frankly, I was skeptical. Now of course, I am a recent convert, having recently started working with Twitter, Facebook and this blog. I believe that younger generations, the people that will be our future are guiding our media consumption. I feel it is the way to go. In addition, the book I recently read, Grown up Digital, by Don Tapscott makes me think in different ways.

Another interesting piece I found (via a tweet, thanks @mashable) is the report “Social Media Marketing Industry Report” by Michael Stelzner. Give it a read, and listen.

Don’t forget the blog Mashable. They provide all types of information on people interested in learning more about Twitter, Facebook and other social media sites.

Are you using Social Networking Media for your business? Should you? Respond to me here.