Not Sure Where You are Going? Then Any Road Will Do!

That phrase comes from the Alice and Wonderland Story, which I was reminded of when reading a book by Steven Covey.

There is so much that can be done with social media.  There is, Social Media Analytics, Social Media Apps, Social Media Marketing,  finding strategies for communicating with value and more....  Being the detailed person that I am, I almost got lost in the mix. I realized it all means nothing unless, you are making real connections with real people. It’s easy to develop a site and to start following people and to retweet information and have people follow you, but where are you going? If you don’t know, I guess "any road will do."

I’ve been struggling on what to write about next.  Yes I have a class project, and a very exciting one.  However, what I have been struggling with is where do I want to go with social media, and what vehicles will get me there.  I am studying Marketing and Communication. 

Social Media is about making real connections with real people.  Business, Organizations and Services are about meeting the needs and desires of people.  Business, Organizations and Services are not people but they are based on ideas of people.  My goal through social media is:

• Connecting the value of a brand with the people who appreciate it.

This is a Vivian quote, “There are no great institutions, only great people who have been given a great idea”.  Behind every great institution, you will find a person and behind that person you will find an idea, that idea sparked something in that person.  A good example of this is the pickle.  Did you know the pickle has a timeline dating back to 2400 B.C (http://www.nyfoodmuseum.org/_ptime.htm).  The origin is unknown.  But somewhere along the line I am sure, a great inventor experimenting with cucumbers, said uuuhm, this is good, I like it,  I will share this with others.

Today there are pickle lovers, pickle organizations, pickle terminology, and many pickle manufacturers.  One that stands out in my mind is Vlasic Pickles, founded by Franjo Vlasic  Somewhere along the line Franco Vlasic acted on an idea that he would manufacture his own brand of pickles.  Adding to that idea was the idea that pregnant women crave pickles.  They began to tell that story with an image of a stork, and pickle cravings.  Vlasic has their own very unique brand of pickles.  But it was first an idea.  Thanks you Bryan Ruiz (https://www.facebook.com/bryanrui) for sharing this image on his blog http://www.bryanandrewruiz.com/blog/?p=576

Unless you are sharing something, some people connect with, following and being followed is just another way of going in circles.