End It

Is social media the place to get your acquaintances to adopt sweeping social change? Is it the forum to  advocate human rights and environmental awareness? Should we really tell Facebook everything that's on our mind?

Social media lobbyists within the EndIt movement and the same sex equality camp argue yes to all of the above. They envision a bright tomorrow in which the collective shout of social statuses whirl the gears of Congress to action. But do social campaigns hurt or help their parent cause? How should human rights activists inform an unfamiliar public or how should gay-rights supporters encourage their peers to relax their views on traditional marriage?

As social media allows everyday interpersonal and group dynamics to enter a huge stage, the choice for x-rights movements to take that huge new audience by storm and at little cost seems obvious. The councern is that the social space cheapens their meaning.When seventy five red equal signs pop up on a news feed within an hour, sure they get our attention but do they get our respect? And when our friends silence their online activity fro a day with a blacked out profile picture but still "like" a Spring Break album, do we really take their cause seriously? We don't because we assume that hey don't either.

As easy as it is or social movements to take well formulated and heartfelt stances upon new media, it is just as easy for the uniformed and minimally involved masses to adopt their slogan. These late-comers may not care about the issue enough to do more than change a profile puictue and post a status—while that does plenty for the campaign's reach, those individuals' personal brands and haphazard social advocacy could create negative sentiment for the previously respectable campaign.

So Dr. Seuss's old message is again made clear—"be who you are and say what you feel. Because the people that mind don't matter and the people that matter don't mind." As social movements ebb and flow through social media, we should resist the urge to "like" them or adopt their slogan unless we are real advocates. Those causes deserve informed support and if we instead give indifference, we cripple their brand. 

The Brand in the Mirror

Social Media is at its core a mirror, it gives us a great chance to see ourselves as we are. It's a proving ground for character; the individual shows his integrity, humility, self-concept, and compassion on his posts, tweets, updates, and checkins. But so do companies. Whether they realize it or not, consumers expect companies to be good people. The consumer/producer relationship must move from a series of transactions to a web of relationships and experiences—within that space brands become meaningful statements of self and build profitable brand advocates.

Companies too often focus on dollars as the drivers of business, but customers open their wallets only to companies to whom their also open their hearts. As companies discover new ways to push products to their markets, they may become tempted to, as Jeff Berrezny describes, become used car salesmen. Brands that post BOGO deals, "Like This Page Now," and similar pleas for business to their social media sites repel customers because they betray our trust—ignoring a brand's potential for long lasting impact for the sake of a quick sale is a short-minded strategy. Powerful brands are built upon the backs of solid ethics. We like to do business with good people, and any brand can position itself as a good person but simply being ethical and intentional. Don't be a product peddler, be a relationship visionary.