Do we have to be SO social?

You know it’s kind of a funny question, since chances are, you heard about this post on Twitter, hopped over to read it on the blogor in a community. Why would I ask that here? Why in this post?

Because it’s been on my mind, that’s why. As I’ve made the slow transition from marketing to recruiting back to social media marketing, I’ve watched some interesting things take place. One of those things is the extremely rapid adoption curve that seems to accelerate with every new service and “sharing app” that comes our way. And sometimes, whether it’s because I’m cranky, or overwhelmed or have just wasted thirty minutes reading shared FaceBook links, I ask this question.

Do we have to be so social?

My answer may surprise you. No. In fact, you don’t have to be social at all. There are hundreds of jobs in tens of industries where being even social media proficient is not even a blip on the radar screen. I dont have to know what music you like and you don’t need to see my third grade pictures (kind of creepy anyway right?) for us to do business. There is NO need for me to have an account on LinkedIn, YouTube, Tumblr or FriendFeed to be able to be a smart, successful businesswoman. Today.

Today, it is NOT necessary to master social networking or new media to promote a book, pump a movie, sell a product or hawk a service. But tomorrow it absolutely will be. And here’s the thing about tomorrow. Tomorrow, everyone who is on social media today is wandering around, bumping into one another making mistakes. We’re screwing up, we’re giving TMI, pictures are being posted of us that are not flattering and we’re dealing with negative customer reviews. We’re also learning to be more accountable to advertisers, build relationships with clients, strengthen ties with strategic partners and do business on a global level (often from our homes). So by the time tomorrow rolls around, we’re going to be pretty good at this (I hope). But you won’t be. You’ll be learning, walking around, bumping into stuff, with embarrassing pics and negative customer reviews plastered all over your garishly tacky and misspelled MySpace profile. And we will not make fun of you. We will bill you.

We won’t bill you because you’re new, but because you pooh-poohed social media and networking when it came around and there was grace to learn. Ridiculous tools for narcissists and time wasters for the ADHD generation, you said. Well maybe you were part right….No you’ll finally give in and say “Ok, I’m ready to learn.” And we’ll tell you that junior high is over, that was YESTERDAY. You’re quite a few grades behind and while we’ll teach you, it’ll be for a price.

So there is no need to be SO social. And many of us are probably doing it wrong, taking quizzes on FaceBook and playing SpyMaster on Twitter. But eventually, it will be tomorrow and all those silly ADHD kids will be the only ones ready to step up and market your products and services. For a fee.