The story goes that in 1957, when discussing the relatively new invention known as television, the English novelist, playwright, and broadcaster John Boynton Priestly remarked:
“Already the spectators, when we are not watching, we begin to whisper to ourselves that the more we elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.”
Or when interpreted by modern academic types:
“That as the number of communication methods increases, the quality of communication decreases.”
This is Priestly’s paradox.
While this comment can be variously seen as cynical, technophobic, outdated, or just plain wrong (keep up with the Priest times and stop being so negative, you’re wrong!); I argue that, in many cases, in the digital social space we inhabit, Priestly hit the nail on the head.
You do not believe me? Imagine explaining the concept of social media to someone in 1957 (or even 2007):
- express yourself – in 140 characters or less
- Show appreciation towards a statement – clicking like
- Laugh out loud – don’t actually laugh, just write LOL
- Maintain friendships – with people you’ve never met
Is it fair to say that the quality of communication has declined?
Yes, but this is a ‘glass half empty’ example, it lacks context and doesn’t begin to touch on the positives. Social media is a powerful tool for businesses and can be highly beneficial from a customer engagement, B2B networking, public relations, and marketing perspective, depending on how it’s used.
It’s the way I want to focus.
Do you have one of ‘those people’ on your company Twitter or Facebook sharing each and every link related to your field on any given day?
“9 Ways to Generate New Leads”, “Must App Use Social Trend Tracking”, “33.3 Ways to Instant Success”.
In a misguided attempt to be seen as an informed credible source or thought leader in their industry, these accounts can be seen as annoying, self-absorbed, and crying out for attention. strangers like or retweet, but rarely does this method prompt meaningful communication. What’s worse is that you’re probably one of 50 people in the same loosely related field sharing the same thing on the same day. It’s impersonal, it demonstrates a lack of ideas, and in this case, it proves Priestly right.
I like to think that social tools can be used to increase the quality of communication, so when designing a social media strategy for your business, think: How can I prove Priestly wrong?
Here are some ideas:
- A ‘no link without context’ policy: When sharing a link, relate it to your company, your customers or your industry and explain why it is important/relevant/applicable/good/bad etc. Easier said than done at 140 characters, but that only emphasizes the need to think carefully before posting anything.
- Creation of our own original content and comments.: Pretty simple, as far as possible try to produce your content in-house.
- quality over quantity: You’re probably not entirely interested in what your customers had for lunch or what funny video someone found on their break, so why bore them with these details? This largely ties in with the previous two points.
- use manners: Thank people for retweets, welcome new followers and friends, and stay friendly no matter what medium you’re using. You may not communicate in person, but you can still be nice.
There will always be some degree of distancing in social media interactions, but following these simple guidelines (and remember, they’re just guidelines) can help you create more relevant, engaging, personal, and effective business communication in the social space.
