Dr. Mark Drapeau
By Ian Graham
As social media has become more prevalent, it seems to have become more confounding. More people means more potential advances in technology, but also means more questions about how to best use social tools in personal and professional business.
Mark Drapeau, an adjunct professor in the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University, said there’s not as much to social media as many people think. Studying and analyzing the theory of social media is missing the point.
Prior to teaching at George Washington University, he was an Associate Research Fellow at the Center for Technology and National Security Policy at the National Defense University, a professional military educational school under the direction of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“Street smarts are more important than book smarts,” he said. “Just do it.”
There’s no better way to say it. While people scramble to find the next big thing or discover the secret key to social media, they ignore the entire point: to be social. Like going to an office mixer or a happy hour, the point is to mingle, to chat with people, to make connections.
As one blog I read recently joked, social media is like starting at a new school – you find the popular kids, start hanging out around them, and try to mimic what they do while adding your two cents – after a while, you’re either a part of the cool crowd, with lots of friends, or you’ve learned you want something different.
The idea, of course, is to create a discussion, to share ideas and to be a part of the network. Many people and organizations have joined social media only to try to deter commenters and stay “above the fray” of web discussion.
“Don’t be stupid. Join the conversation. Provide value. Sharing is caring,” Drapeau said.
Returning to the office mixer comparison, Drapeau said using social media doesn’t provide anything in and of itself, without a clear goal going in. If your plan at the outset is to have a few drinks and talk with your friends, you probably won’t make any business connections – and vice versa.
“Social media is only important to me inasmuch as it helps me achieve goals, like sharing my writing with others, or making connections that can help me in some way,” Drapeau explained. “There are many benefits that have been commented on by everyone ad nauseum. They are the same benefits that accrue from interacting and networking in real life – social media is simply a tool that helps you massively scale that up.”
