Guest Post by: Jay Dolan, @JayDolan. Jay is the founder, editor, and blogger for The Anti-Social Media blog.
I want you to know a secret: I love social media. When I started The Anti-Social Media, @TheAntiMedia, I choose the name to be different and controversial, not because I have a deep-seated hatred of the social web. I figured the strong title would grab people’s attention and draw them in. It worked. Then Wayne Sutton asked me this question:
Does the world really need an Anti-Social Media?
My little angry blogging bubble popped. Do we need someone to stop and say “This is wrong. Do it this way.” or “This website sucks. Use this one instead.” and even “Do your connections matter?”
I got back from my first vacation since I started my The Anti-Social Media blog, and I can firmly say yes, the world needs an anti-social media.
For all the good that comes from social media, there is an insane amount of crap produced. It’s like owning a car. As awesome as it is to drive around wherever you need to, you still are producing a ton of pollutants by driving it around.
Social media boils down to two things: Information and Entertainment. Amuse or enlighten. If you’re not doing that and being relevant to those who connect with you, what’s the point?
There is so much stuff out there to read and absorb, someone needs to be there to say, “Get your act together.” and “Stop saying, ‘Good Morning!’ every time you get on Twitter before 8 am.” We can use this technology for so much more than the next big marketing campaign or complaining about the terrible barista at Starbucks. We should be better than that.
The world needs an Anti-Social Media if only to make us step away for a moment, so when we look back we can see with much more clarity. There needs to be someone who makes us value each connection rather than jut build a larger and larger number.
On a web that constantly becomes more connected, I’m glad to be the voice of dissent that makes each connection worthwhile. If having my few friends who matter to me makes me anti-social, then I don’t want to know how your 1,000 friends make you social.
Connect with only people who matter to you. Make your content matter. Make sure you inform or entertain. Your numbers may not be as high, and you may seem like a weirdo on your social networks, but being anti-social to the masses will make the handful of connections you keep much more worthwhile.
