The arrival of Steemit and beBee on the Social Media scene is both exciting and refreshing.
And what's been particularly heartening, is the immediate sense of Community that you experience when you immerse yourself in the sites - something that unfortunately we don't really find on (say) LinkedIn.
All too often, we get very hung up about the technology of Social Media, when in fact organisations and businesses who get most from these platforms, understand that it's people who drive the value.
"Should I use Twitter for this?"
"Should I use Facebook for that?"
"Should I use something else to draw attention to myself online?"
...are all questions I'm asked on a regular basis.
Yet what people forget (or perhaps they've never been told), is that humans have an innate need to be near and with other humans. They crave support from one another, and to make that happen, they congregate in communities.
The true power of Social Media lies in engaging with and leveraging Community. It's nothing to do with technology.
Few people know that better, than Penny Power OBE - one of the original pioneers of Social Media, because she and her husband Thomas founded what is believed to be the world's first B2B social networking site.
Ecademy.com first went live in 1998, and was doing what LinkedIn does now long before anyone else.
Ecademy eventually faded after fourteen years of great work helping business owners and entrepreneurs to provide help and support to one another by leveraging community. It was time for the big boys of Social Media to flex their muscle and take charge.
But Penny Power's story is a compelling one...
One that all of us who use Social Media in our daily work need to understand. Need to listen to. Need to share.
It puts into context what we're all doing on Social Media, and teaches us some lessons we might have forgotten about how to use the internet to get attention and support one another.
So please listen to my interview with Penny. I think you'll enjoy it. It's not often you get such a chance to listen to one of the original pioneers of Social Media sharing their thoughts and giving their assessment of today's online landscape. Listen now and learn about an exciting new project that she's developing...
itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/social-media-warriors-podcast/id1299116644
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