Friday, May 6, 2011

Listen Up, Because Your Business Depends On It

 
Amidst all the chatter in the last 36 hours about the role of Twitter in spreading the news about the raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden, a larger truth is evident: Even as the impact of social media grows exponentially, it is not "replacing" anything. It is another cog in the machine that inundates us with information. We are merely watching it come of age. And, if we're smart, we're listening.

Business Insider may have declared Sunday night's events "Twitter's CNN moment" and there may be some truth to the fact that "Twitter is our Times Square on this victory day," as Jeff Jarvis tweeted and Financial Times reported, but there were still a lot of people gathering physically in spots like the Ground Zero and the White House. There are still newspapers with headlines ("Rot in Hell") that tapped into our rage for retribution. Folks still turned to TV networks to hear President Obama make the announcement that made the rumors of bin Laden's demise official. Magazine packages are being assembled even as we type and book editors are on the (digital) prowl for authors with a voice, platform and angle on the subject. Read the rest

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