Aaron Brazell (@technosailor) said something yesterday that really struck a chord with me.
“I’m really tired of the meta and the echo chamber. There’s so much happening in this world that actually matters. We’re on the edge of global economic collapse. There are companies starting and failing. There are people trying to figure out where their next meal is coming from. And we keep fucking talking about this fucking meta social bullshit. Honestly… I’m tired.”
How right is he? There are probably enough “social media experts” to create a new country – all of them covering the same news and spouting out the same tired buzzwords. There has to come a time where we say, “There are people who get it and people who never will. It’s time to move on.” Time to use these tools to further the causes we believe in. Use them to promote the things we’re passionate about. Use them to better the world and better ourselves.
I can’t talk about social media anymore. There’s only so much you can talk about. And what’s the point? Why debate the possible ways Twitter can monetize? Are you getting paid to do that? I’m not. Twitter hired someone specifically to solve that problem, so if you like working for free, I encourage you to keep the debate going in a public forum. Is that really your passion, anyway? What were you into before all this social media madness came to be? Go back to it. Go back to what you know.
Imagine yourself twenty years from now. Zoom out and view the entire timeline of your life. This period of “Web 2.0″ and “the social web” will be but a small blip that people barely remember. The meta talk will long be forgotten because it has little-to-no impact. Now imagine what could have been done if you had used social media as a tool instead of subject matter. You’re into knitting? Create a knitting blog. Create a community around knitting. In twenty years, who knows, perhaps you’ll be credited with turning the knitting world on its ear. You’re into flowers? Blog about it. Take pictures. Have “garden meetups”. Use your imagination.
I’m going back to what I know. Most of my blogging here from this point forward will take a more personal tone and will discuss the things that I love. A big one is community service. On the right sidebar, I’ve added an “Upcoming Service Projects” widget. When I am made aware of service projects in the area, I’ll add them to the calendar and they’ll show up there. If you’re a Google Calendar user, you can also add it by searching “Central Pennsylvania Community Service” in the public calendars. For future Central PA Tweetups (not tonight’s, don’t have much of a list yet), I’ll also try to make everyone aware of any service projects that are coming up in the near future.
There’s a whole, wide world out there – so many hobbies and passions just begging to be covered. Let’s stop talking and start doing.
Thanks for the wake up call, Brazell.
