MackCollier.com

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Participation is no longer an option

Although he didn’t realize it at the time, this gentleman was actually live-tweeting the raid on Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad a couple of days ago.

Twitter ‘broke’ the news that Bin Laden was dead late last night, before mainstream media did.  As @ReallyVirtual’s tweets show above, the information was actually out there a couple of days earlier.  The lesson for mainstream media is the same as it is for your company: Anyone with access to the proper devices can use social media to create and distribute content faster than you can.

The days of creating and distributing a carefully-crafted message via only the channels you select, are over.  Mainstream media, to its credit, is realizing this, and is using social media to supplement its efforts and improve how it delivers news, and incorporates reactions from others.

Today, your business is no different.  You have to make the choice to begin to participate, or to begin to become irrelevant.  But thankfully, the choice is still yours to make.

About Mack Collier

My name is Mack Collier and I am a digital marketing and content strategist located in Alabama. Since 2006 I've helped companies of all sizes from startups to global brands such as Adobe, Dell and Ingersoll-Rand, create customer-centric programs, content and experiences. A long-time internet geek, I've been online since 1988 and began using social networking sites in 1991 when I joined Prodigy. Today, I help companies understand how new technologies like web3, crypto and artificial intelligence can integrate with existing marketing strategies to lead to exceptional customer experiences.

Comments

  1. SoloBizCoach says

    Mack,

    You are so right. The information is out there whether you know it or not. You might as well be participating.

  2. MackCollier says

    @SoloBizCoach right, and I think it takes mainstream examples like this to resonate with a lot of companies. What if a company had vital information leaked by someone on Twitter at 5:00pm right when everyone was going home for the weekend and no one at the company monitored their Twitter account all weekend? The damage caused by waiting 2 days to act could be irreparable.

  3. KatieFassl says

    Mack,

    Your statement, “…Anyone with access to the proper devices can use social media to create and distribute content faster than you can,” is powerful and frightening. The ability to distribute information at lightening speed is here…and it’s real. Organizations must stay ahead of the chatter and protect their brand name, before the choice is no longer theirs to make.

    Thanks for a great post :).

  4. KatieFassl says

    Mack,

    Your statement, “…Anyone with access to the proper devices can use social media to create and distribute content faster than you can,” is powerful and frightening. The ability to distribute information at lightening speed is here…and it’s real. Organizations must stay ahead of the chatter and protect their brand name, before the choice is no longer theirs to make.

    Thanks for a great post :).

  5. KatieFassl says

    Mack,

    Your statement, “…Anyone with access to the proper devices can use social media to create and distribute content faster than you can,” is powerful and frightening. The ability to distribute information at lightening speed is here…and it’s real. Organizations must stay ahead of the chatter and protect their brand name, before the choice is no longer theirs to make.

    Thanks for a great post :).

  6. KatieFassl says

    Mack,

    Your statement, “…Anyone with access to the proper devices can use social media to create and distribute content faster than you can,” is powerful and frightening. The ability to distribute information at lightening speed is here…and it’s real. Organizations must stay ahead of the chatter and protect their brand name, before the choice is no longer theirs to make.

    Thanks for a great post :).

  7. janbeery says

    Great post Mack,

    I think my favorite is “You have to make the choice to begin to participate, or to begin to become irrelevant.” So true and is happening at a rapid rate.

    Thanks for sharing!

  8. EricaAllison says

    Great perspective and applications to businesses still sitting on the social fence. “Anyone with access to the proper devices can use social media to create and distribute content faster than you can” should make some fence sitters stop cold – it does for me. Thanks!

  9. jennalanger says

    I just read about this over on mikeschaffer ‘s blog. As soon as I heard the news I did the same thing as many other savvy users – turned on the news and watched my Twitter stream. I was waiting anxiously for CNN to show me Ground Zero, but instead I saw video footage on Flickr from mbaratz who was at the scene, before the news cameras: http://flic.kr/p/9DLQk8

    It’s funny that this New York Times piece says that social media broke the news, but there is no mention of reallyvirtual : http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/how-the-osama-announcement-leaked-out/?src=tptw

    Mainstream news is trying, but they still can’t keep up with the speed of the online community. It’s great that we have people across the world helping spread the news, good or bad, to keep everyone informed (and so the major news outlets can get some accurate information 🙂

  11. samtaracollier says

    Can you imagine how shocked he was when he realize what he tweeted? My lesson here is to tweet every major event I see (just in case I land the big one!). I agree 100% about the days of creating and distributing your content are finished. Businesses have to get on board or they’ll drown along the way.

  12. MackCollier says

    @samtaracollier did you read his tweets afterward? Pretty funny, basically saying he can’t answer everyone, and wants the networks to leave him alone that he doesn’t watch TV and just wants to go to sleep 😉

  13. samtaracollier says

    @MackCollier I loved his tweets! He’s being pretty low key with it all 🙂