The bluebird of happiness aka “fun”
There’s been a lot of chatter about the efficacy and power of social media. Sometimes, it seems that’s all we talk about.
The discussion invariably revolves around SM as a tool of some sort, as if it were a digital Swiss Army Knife. Which it is. The debate is typically whether SM is truly useful to marketers, scientists, researchers, lawyers, teachers and more. Which it is.
Probing deeper, the conversation quickly turns to more ethical questions: Does SM impede our ability to process information and sort through ideas? Will it overtake legitimate analysis? Does it hurt our children? I myself recently asked, Have we become content zombies?
Yes, no, maybe so.
But one thing has been completely overlooked, if not lost, in these myriad discussions. And it is perhaps the biggest thing of all. Namely that social media –all social media- is fun.
Fun.
Think about it. Facebook was created to make “friends.” Myspace exists to share music -things that are fun. (Ostensibly, both help folks ‘hook up’ and last I checked that was fun too.) It’s called Twitter for Christ’s sake. You don’t name something Twitter and give it a blue bird (of happiness) for a logo unless you want it to be fun.
Revelation! Social media was created to have fun. Its usefulness, immense as it is, came after the fact, making those aspects secondary.
So, next time you’re at a social media conference, digital summit or whatever the hell they’re calling it, have a good time. The guru blathering from the podium sure as hell is.
The Happy Soul Industry website
