It's not about the tools it's still about content

There are now legions of social media evangelists marching all over the globe preaching the message and sending out link after link on Twitter daily. Some of these links are valuable and through them I have found services and things I needed without having to dig. But, and it's a big but, with all this chatter on twitter, facebook, and the myriad other ways being invented every other day of communicating quickly on line, are we really communicating? If I go on twitter and say "Hey ho I'm depressed today I lost a contract" for example, that's a thought and  I've put it out there into the twittisphere. Who is likely to respond to this? The people I want to care? or someone on-line in amongst my followers who feels they must offer some kind of abbreviated response in 140 characters like: "chin up chum and get slaughtered". Now I could get this  type of vegetative comment from any number of barmen or pizza flippers on any street, in any town. So what do I want when I go on twitter, like minded souls who might tell me of a contract that I could pitch for? Maybe, but unlikely. I'm more likely to get some rabid political zealots who once again hammer home who I should vote for in the election. Or someone telling me in strings of jargon what applications I simply must use, or an incoherent group of blog links most of which have nothing to do with me, my work, or my lifetime ambitions. Social media is a great way to get your message out to a wide audience quickly. A new blogpost, an amazing find,  a thought for the day, an event, but it should never replace the deep human need to to communicate with others in a way that satisfies that deep human need to listen and be listened to. So don't sprout tech jargon, that's what computers specialise in. It is only a tool, just as your cell phone and laptop are and can never replace face to face and the contact of a handshake. It is but a prelude to this, or an information source and virtual network. My last thought? Put something edifying into the twittersphere. The Somesso conference begins 31st October, follow it to see what industry insiders are saying. Donna Jackson Social Communications Specialist www.wisequeen.com