Social Media Pioneer Chris Abraham Talks About the Meaning & Mechanics of Social Media and "Being There"

While you might not know Chris Abraham’s name, he’s been on this blog often enough– though we don’t necessarily talk about social media for your ears, we do talk about it offline!

Chris Abraham: Blog: Because the Medium is the Message
So as I shot him a question, he sent me a link to a podcast done via skype to Australia no less from HotHouse.com which is a good 30 minutes long but incredibly informative and interesting.
Abraham –being typically the man who he is- was making a fast and furious pitch about the value of social media particularly during these harder economic times but also how it fits into the total scheme of things. It’s a less expensive form of advertising but does require a deft touch of humanity which is key to the way Chris works.
He sees it much like I explain Twitter and Facebook: think of it as a cocktail party where you have the opportunity to meet, connect and engage with people who are “name brands” in various sectors almost as easily as your friends and also do some useful networking that can help you gain momentum for anything and everything you are doing. After all, who couldn’t use another friendly ear (or eye) to give you some insight or an idea.

It’s about Being There— as in being present to the moment

A quote from the Hothouse.com’s interview with Chris includes this bit of welcome information (not that you didn’t know it– but it’s important to put things in perspective)

Abraham says it’s important to integrate conversation marketing with traditional marketing techniques:
“Social media may not be for every business. Or, more realistically, the emphasis placed upon social media will vary depending on the client’s needs and the industry they are in. In practically every case social media will be only part of the equation.”
Abraham encourages new media marketers to turn down the hype and turn up the practicality. “Ladies and gentleman, this is a transformation. An evolution. One that is bringing about substantial change. But the change isn’t absolute nor is it complete. People may not want every brand to try to ‘engage’ them. They may want to just buy something and be left alone

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In case you are wondering WHY the image of of the BEING THERE movie, read the HotHouse.com blog post OR hit this post on Chris Abraham’s blog Here and please make sure you listen to the podcast. While he paints in broader strokes, the smaller details become clearer in how to best approach social media– whether you are blogger, a consumer, a brand or just someone happening to read this blog.
Just a heads up — there will be a series of podcasts with Chris Abraham.. probably a 3 part one because we were on the phone a * l o n g * time with much ado about lots of things. Then there will be at least one about social media and how to approach it in blogs, sites, and about the role it plays and the way to play the game online so that you don’t walk away empty-handed.
Stevie Wilson

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