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Adding a Dash of Critical Thinking to the Social Media Stew

Guest post by: Rebel Brown

Article Overview: I guess if there was one thing I could change about the status quo of my business world it would be the lemming-like attitude on the social web.

Adding a Dash of Critical Thinking to the Social Media Stew

Thanks to my guest blogger Mark Schaefer, Founder of Schaefer Marketing Solutions. Mark is a real whizkid at social media, a strong voice of reason amidst so much social media guru hype! I asked Mark to chat with us a bit about the status quo thinking he sees within the social media world - and areas where we might challenge our own thinking. His post does just that! ---------

I guess if there was one thing I could change about the status quo of my business world it would be the lemming-like attitude on the social web.

In most areas of a everyday life, I find that people read, process, and come to their own conclusions ... and usually passionately. Whether a political debate, the assessment of a movie, or a discussion about current events, I don't know anybody who simply gets a script off the Internet and reads it as their own opinion.

Yet when it comes to the social web, it seems that is exactly what happens. People tend to repeat the musings of a few thought leaders as gospel. They re-tweet their assessments without thinking. They gush about the research of the day without even thinking through the real implications -- or even if the data is meaningful and statistically valid.

Why is there such a disconnect? I think there might be a few reasons.

A need for speed. The volume of information is coming so rapidly, who really has time to assess it? It is far easier to repeat an opinion of a "thought leader" than to spend the time to come up with an original idea.

A need for belonging. Let's say you love a traditional media personality like Bill O'Reilly. If you disagree with him, he'll never know and he'll never care. That is completely opposite on the social web. Expressing a unique and contrary opinion will almost certainly be known and you are always at risk of being kicked out of the inner circle, or as I recently wrote, the country club. The social web is an economy of favors. Expressing meaningful dissent is toxic.

A lack of ability. This is purely an observation on my part but it seems to me that folks under 30 who I meet are far more willing to believe, and follow, the mainstream without thinking critically. It's expedient. The perfect world for them would be one big Wikipedia where they can get answers without digging or thinking.

The disheartening aspect of this is that I only see the problem getting worse. News comes faster. The web becomes more powerful. Dissent is less tolerated. I would love to be proved wrong by the way, and I hope I am.



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Article Tags: Defy Gravity, Mark Schaefer, marketing, social media



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