Running the risk of stating the obvious, it's a new year. It's time for New Year's resolutions, planning for the future, and trying new things. It's time to tweak and tinker with things to try and make 2011 an even better year. Don't get me wrong, last year was a tremendous and wonderful year both personally and professionally. But, as a person that believes in evolution, it's time to evolve.
I think a lot of people see all of this technology that surrounds us as evolution. Some of it is. Some of it isn't. One area that is growing exponentially is social media. With more and more social media networks popping up all the time we can connect easier, reach out to those far away, and do things we never dreamed possible just a few years ago. It's truly amazing. In fact, social media allowed me to connect with my dad whom I haven't spoken with in 20 years.
We are not against social media at all. Social media also allows us at We've Got Time to Help to reach out to those all over the world. We can post projects on our website, email volunteers, tweet about someone that needs help. We post this information and then watch it spread like wildfire. It's like having a million neighbors and we can knock on all of their doors at once.
We have a Facebook page. We have a Twitter account. We have multiple blogs, two websites, a dozen email addresses, Skype, YouTube, Flickr, Craigslist, etc. These are all wonderful tools to have in our tool box, but they aren't the only tools we need. There's the rub.
Back to evolution. To evolve, we must grow. Whether that's mentally, physically, spiritually, etc. we must grow to evolve. It's the very nature of evolution. We must embrace these new tools we have at our disposal. We must learn to use them in a way that is beneficial to us and those around us. But while evolving we run the risk of losing other parts of us that are just as important. Just as if a caterpillar, when it completes its metamorphosis into the butterfly, were to grow knives for wings. Sure it would be evolution, but it wouldn't benefit anyone.
There are so many upsides to social media that we couldn't possibly list them all. It has changed the world and mostly for the better. But I fear that we, as a species, are growing knives for wings. Our reach is far greater than it used to be, but we are severing ties with our sharp wings at the same time we are creating them.
That's where the New Social Media comes into play. In this New Social Networking group, we walk across the street to speak with our neighbors, instead of Facebooking or tweeting. We stop strangers on the street that look like they could use a hand or a kind word. We lend a hand, not virtually, but physically to those that could use it. Go back to the days of barn raising.
Perhaps evolution isn't the right term. Maybe we actually need to devolve for a little while. As the old AT&T (social networking, anyone?) commercial use to say "Reach out and touch someone."