Social Animal Syndrome: New Media Ideas from History

I just finished re-reading the book From Beirut to Jerusalem by Thomas L. Friedman and was struck by several parts of the book. One part in particular discredited the political philosopher Thomas Hobbes. In Leviathan Friedman quotes Hobbes regarding the "state of nature:"

...."where every man is enemy to every man...there is no place for industry; because the fruit thereof is uncertain....and the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short."

Notice the solitary aspect of Hobbes' assertion.

But what Friedman noticed in Beirut was that no matter how awful things got, people didn't become solitary beings. They reached out to each other, and as Friedman said, "Rather the behavior of Beirutis suggested that man's natural state is as a social animal who will do everything he can to seek out and create community and structures when the larger government or society disappears." The idea of making order out of chaos.

Friedman continued with his assertion that when government in Beirut failed, people turned to microsocieties based on religion, culture, geography, family ties, and other ties that bind people together. In short, people searched for ways they were alike.

This idea plays into the community that can be created using new media and/or social media. We, as communicators, focus on the ties that bind our constituents together, and send our message to those communities. In a sense, we create our own little societies based on our interests, our family, our religion, our culture, our whatever--insert your favorite thing here. That's why you can find whole websites devoted to Star Wars, Star Trek and other "cult-like" phenomena. In essence, we're all just trying to find people we can talk to and understand us, at least on some level.

I guess if you think about this from a physical and psychological standpoint, you can look at the need for babies to maintain physical interaction and nurturing to sustain their growth and development. As adults, we seem to be no different. Physical interaction and nurturing are essential elements to a healthy life. So what does this have to do with communication?

Segmentation and differentiation. As communicators, we need to segment or differentiate our audiences based on their differences and commonalities. It's easy to appeal to differences to drive wedges between people, but the commonalities upon which we develop communities, whether they are based on geography or shared interests, make people more likely to listen to and act on messages that impact them. And that's how new media can learn from history.

Twello Ladies and Gentlemen

Pardon my pun, but I needed something to catch your attention.

It seems that new media has struck College Media Advisers throughout the CMA Summer Workshop, but especially after a particularly fun-filled and information-filled session at the Poynter Institute yesterday. When I returned to the room, I was much too fried to give any of the new information a try, but I have since gone to Twitter's version of the Yellow Pages, Twello, and registered. It seems that every day launches at least one new application that can be added onto Twitter.

Those naysayers of social media will be clucking their disdain right about now, saying that Twitter is just a flash in the pan. But with almost an 800% increase in members in the last year, it's a mighty flash indeed. By the way, got my figures from Ellyn Angelotti of the Poynter Institute. What an impressive young woman, who introduced the lot of us (45 new and experienced media advisers) to the new news cycle. Some people are kicking and screaming, while railing against the changing news environment. Others are embracing with some reckless abandon. I say, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Thus my addition of Twello.

If you haven't been dabling in the new media and social networking, what's taking you so long? Follow me on Twitter @kaycolley, and use Twello as a great resource to find folks who might share similar interests. Creating community by finding folks who share your interests or your values is the best way to introduce yourself to social media. After all, it's hard to talk when you don't have something in common, which is why we commune with similar folks. See you on Twello soon!