Imagine being tasked with presenting the “nuts and bolts” of a social media entity but the caveat is, you can NOT pick your usual suspects such at Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, Spotify, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, TikTok or Snapchat! No way? Oh, YES— way!!! We did it! Our 12-person group individually delivered five-slide captivating presentations compacted with thought-provoking information. Each presentation captured your attention with content which left little room for theatrics.
Each presenter demonstrated how their platform measured in the definition of “social” according to Conversation Prism by Brian Solis. The Conversation Prism is an ongoing digital ethnography or visual map of the social media landscape. From each presentation, I acquired several new nuggets to store in my arsenal of a brain. Bumble presented by Katarina has three purposes that include dating, meeting friends and networking; Houseparty presented by Levar had many uses in pulling friends in for a virtual party but may have a social pitfall to watch out for; Stumbleupon.com or Mix.com was presented by Daniel and can help you uncover hidden gems (I’m all for more info); Venmo presented by Kylie is more than just a money-transferring service. It also has several helpful “social” features worth looking into; Discord presented by Audrey has many social connecting features similar to Twitter; WhatsApp presented by Chavous is great for international connections and has a desktop version also; VSCO presented by Matthew is an awesome photo editing tools and platform for photographers to display their work; Olivia presented SoundCloud where unknowns and now known artist can house their musical best; Quora presented by Jake gets you answers to your questions (I plan on using it immediately); and Rachael presented Nextdoor which is similar to The Ring but it’s in 11 countries and you connect to a wider network. Regrettably, I must have missed one of the illuminating presentations due to a personal mishap that delayed my entrance into the meeting. However, these were very engaging social platforms that not only occupied identifiable areas on the social visual media map, but I believe as these platforms and the map evolves, their positions in the Prism will move as well. As I flagged my hands about in my “Hollywood Square,” I was full of many questions for each presentation, but I was unable to unleash my curiosity or share my forecast and only the future will confirm my hypothesis.
There was one more presentation not yet mentioned. It was requested the minute my presence was known in the virtual room. It was Groupon presented by Charlotte! Groupon, who was birthed the same year as the Conversation Prism, models itself on successfully being a social media entity by creating community with every brand and consumer. Moreover, they have progressed to actually have a “one playbook” business plan where they operate on the same set of principles and strategy across all markets. Groupon creates content relevant for individual localities using the local flavor of those places but still maintains a consistent global voice as well. They manage several social media platforms globally; all shouting the same “Groupon” voice. Although, I was never in the “planning” room for Groupon, it almost appears as if they used the Conversation Prism as the focal point of their planning conversation. But that is just my assumption based on their action plans, amazing success and bounce back capabilities.
Phenomenal session! Looking forward to next week as we discuss our “Digital Consumption.”
“Don’t use social media to impress people; use it to IMPACT people”
DaveWillis.org
Charlotte’s Wisdom 