Everything Old Is New Again: All Media Is Social

At this MassTLC member-only roundtable, Brian Haven, Former Forrester Analyst, reminded Council members that all media is social and "social media" is not as new as we might think. Institutions perceive social media activities over the past 4-6 years as emergent behaviors, he told us. But, in reality, none of those behaviors are new--they've been with us since the dawn of man. He explained the characteristics that are actually different, and discussed the concept of engagement and measurement of social media.

Following the roundtable discussion, Council members with expertise in Social Media joined the Cluster's advisory board for a planning meeting for our upcoming Social Media Summit: What's the ROI of SOcial Media?

At that event, ROI questions will only be answered with experience, and results from first movers are beginning to lay the groundwork for best practices. It's time for the community of social media technology providers and their customers to get down to the practical issues of deciding what to measure and how to quantify results.

More info on the Social Media Summit.