If you are my age, then you know where the last part of that title comes from (inconceivable!). If not, ask around :-)
What does the word conversation mean to you and to your company?
We say the word conversation quite a bit in the social media world. But like some words, when you say it over and over, it sometimes loses all meaning.....sort of like social media. When I started my breakout session at the PRSA International Conference last week I joked with the audience was probably sick and tired of the term 'social media'. They had to be, they had been in sessions for three days hearing it over and over again.
Back to the word conversation though. I think when I say it and hopefully when some of the organizations I work with say it, they mean they want a two way dialogue. Both sides learn something from each other. There is a give and take.
Unfortunately conversation is also becoming a strategy, a marketing plan.
Politicians also use the word conversation. They say, "We need to sit down and have a conversation about that issue." I don't know about you, but when I hear that from a politician I usually think, "I am going to speak with you to give you the appearance that I actually care what you have to say, but in reality I am just going to use this opportunity to force my ideas upon you." Not my idea of conversation.
Are politicians and corporations giving conversation a bad name?
Visitor Comments
Good post. (Nice nod to Princess Bride.)
Lots of folks mean monologue instead of dialogue when they say conversation. I think it is a convenient term to discuss the subject of "new media" since many people are just getting up to speed. When you spoke last year to a tourism group, Josh, and asked the audience about their understanding of social media, just a few hands went up out of 80. Still much room to inform and encourage. The jargon comes with the territory but soon all things "social media" will be commonplace and the next new thing will be challenging everyone.
Posted by: John Stavely | October 29, 2007 11:53 AM
When I hear someone say, "let's market your product", I can't help but picture those little stands in grocery stores with the toothpicks in the teenie weenies...
The one thing that social media has shown us is that users, people, whatever, are alot smarter than we gave them credit for -- and no matter what words we use, they can tell the difference between one way and two way communication. It's not so much as we're getting smarter -- we're just trying to cover our own asses.
Posted by: Bud Caddell | November 14, 2007 6:52 PM