It can be hard to objectively appraise how different the nature of daily human interaction has become due to the rise of social media and social networks. We now have measurably more contact with other human beings than we’ve ever had before. Not only that, but our social networks have infiltrated every aspect of our lives. They define the kind of political messages we are exposed to, the entertainment we consume, the jobs we apply for and everything else. An understanding, on a scientific level, of the emerging dynamic of social network interaction will be a vital survival tool for any business that hopes to survive in the coming century.
This means much more than just “social media marketing.” It means understanding your company’s place and function within an increasingly lush and densely layered digital network. More thinking time is spent engaging with social networks than any other form of social interaction. We need to study them the way marketers studied the dynamics of suburban life and the nuclear family in the 50s. They are just as definitive of our modern lifestyle as the rotary club was back then. Taking a superficial or half-hearted approach to this may not show its effects immediately, but will absolutely harm your ability to function in the long term.
