Threads, Fabrics, and Quilts. What will you be?
Previously, our conversations and networks were limited to our physical surroundings.
These were the days of the threads.
Being Gen X, I grew up this way, my network was limited to my neigborhood, my school, my immediate surroundings. Of course for some, the phone expanded this although cell phones weren’t native to my childhood.
Fast forward 20 years and we now live in a hyper-connected world. Those few threads have formed a fabric, demonstrating our many-to-many networks. As a result, ideas and opinions spread efficiently like wildfire as well as the frequency in which we share. Our voices can easily be put online, shared with our networks, and the networks of our friends at any given time.
At any time, I can get my message out to hundreds of people, if not thousands, as my fabric is efficient and large. It’s easy, within minutes I could just blog/twitter/shared link in Facebook, then leave comments on the popular blogs driving traffic. I can do this in 10 minutes and it costs me nothing.
This isn’t just native to me, the next generation of workers is entering the office with their highly networked lives. By default, our college grads come connected to peers, prospects, customers, and even competitors –which will only increase as their fabrics increase in size.
Those that are truly efficient make their fabric overlap with the network of others. As these networks intertwine they become more powerful, as individuals with similar interests start to connect also the network power increases, the power is in the quilt.
So whenever we talk to someone (or have a brand experience), we have to stop and think, if I treat this person wrong, exactly how many people will know? If I treat them well, and genuinely try to help them, how many people will they tell?
[So the question remains, will your fabric (you or your brand) be part of the quilt? or will you be one of the scraps that is loosely connected by a dangling thread?]
Word spreads fast and far, I hope to welcome you to the quilt.
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Yes networking is key these days, be it online or offline..
People who know ‘the right people’ have always had the better of it in the past, from those who know a mechanic who’ll work on their car for nix, to those who know a good bank manager and can have a lot of red tape cut.. It’s not what you know, but who you know..
Atleast these days online it’s a lot easier to be in contact with people you dont know, or haven’t been formally introduced to, with all these social networking tools.
You still have to find ‘the right people’ but it’s a lot easier, just get some link back action from The Web Strategist..hehe..
Thread. Fabric. Quilt. Nice! What’s next? Lace?Brocade?
I heard a story about a marketer who asked funeral directors how many people usually attend a funeral. “75 to 100,” was the answer. The marketer concluded that any dissatisfied customer has personal credibility with 75 to 100 friends and family members. With each unhappy customer we weave a tangled web.
Matt
When I first started out blogging (technorati authority if 10) I asked Scoble what it takes to get an A-Lister to link to me.
He said: “Just be interesting”.
A good metaphor - but you do also have to account for the power of the Baby Boomers.
Falling, as I do, directly between the Boomers & the Gen Xers (I’ve heard my age defined as the Lost Generation and the Missed Generation) I’m with you on the threads thing… and I’m trying hard to get up to speed on the Fabric.
But there is still a very LARGE buying population that is still ‘old school’ on their networking. And sadly, in a lot of the board rooms of this country (and others) the age of the power players is older than mine.
How do you blend the two concepts? Marketing to the Quilt-builders while still not alienating the ones who have not moved into the next gen of communications?
Very appropriate metaphor, JKO. This is the key for brands… but also for pretty much anyone today:
“So whenever we talk to someone (or have a brand experience), we have to stop and think, if I treat this person wrong, exactly how many people will know? If I treat them well, and genuinely try to help them, how many people will they tell?”
Jeremiah:
As a knitter, I appreciate your threads/fabric/quilt analogy.
The broadcasting capabilities of individuals is, no doubt, powerful with microblogging, and the other powerful connections you mention. I’m reminded of the term “amplification.” (Love that word.)
Two things come to mind: The power of the brand of the individual (let’s face it, some individuals’ broadcast not only more far and wide but also with a stronger voice) AND the ability/desire of companies to not only pay attention to the threads, but also to start knitting themselves. Tracking what is said is the first step; contributing to the fabric is another.
You’ve given me several things to think about this morning - as always! Thanks!
hi. that was such an accurate analogy. for someone in the t-shirt business, it rings true. getting all the threads nicely woven results in a smooth comfy fabric/garment. succeed in doing that, you get a great brand experience. but too many companies thinks it’s a matter of a slick ad campaign, missing completely the point that at the end of the day, it boils down to individual customer experience.
I like the analogy of a quilt. Mainly because quilts can be incredibly different from each other. Also, you can tell the difference between a poorly made quilt and an extremely well made one. Some people I know have “quilt sized” networks - but the loyalty or “followy-ness” of their network is questionable. While other people have “fabric” but it’s fabric that will follow them to hell and back.
Big isn’t necessarily good.
[…] up.” A tweet is the start to a conversation, something web strategist Jeremiah Owyang calls a thread. These little interactions, regardless of form, can simply be left to dangle, or they can be […]
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