Will This Conversation Propagate?

[Jay Deragon]

The phenomenon of social media is producing results. People are empowered with options related to how they accept, deny, share, and pursue information.

It is no longer sufficient to speak at people solely through traditional means; they must be engaged in conversation and attracted into a relationship. There is no institution which can avoid these new conditions and to deny the influence is to deny people’s need and right to communicate.

The rate of conversations relative to the impact and implications of social media are accelerating. Consider the trends illustrated in the Google trends graph in this post. In less than three years there has been over a 300% increase in Google searches for the term social media. Can you find another subject matter on Google that has sustained this rate of acceleration? Even if you could there is no denying that the “pull” of social media is in hyper speed with accelerated rates fueling the interest and curiosity in 2009.

What Does A Search Imply?

Searches imply an awareness, an interest and desire to learn and understand something. When we search we’re looking for something or somebody. The frequency of a term on Google implies interest, influence and when the rate of searches for a certain term increases in implies relevance to people’s interest and desire to learn about something or someone. The rate at which things change is more important than the change itself. A Bank does not care about money – A bank only cares about the rate of change in money – it’s called “interest”. Is the term “interest” the same for money as it is for human search behavior? “Is the presence of the concept of “interest” therefore the basis of a currency?”

Interest on money is supposed to compensate the lender for “risk”. When money devalues, there is a negative “interest” but can there ever be a negative risk? Of course not. The reason we need to print more money is because negative risk cannot exist. Therefore, such currency is inadequate. Social currency on the other hand can manage negative interest rates with ease and therefore may act as a superior currency

Based on the data illustrated in the above graph one may conclude that the relevance, interest and desire to learn more about social media is accelerating. The acceleration also aligns itself with the growth rate of social networks and use of social media. So again the phenomenon of social media is “pulling” attention to the medium and means. One may conclude that a new paradigm is shaping if not creating the new means for human interaction.

Statistically speaking the implications illustrated in the graph above indicated a “systemic change”. A systemic change happens when data suggest a process has or is out of “control” and no longer stable. Predictions become difficult because the “process data” shows significant changes. Changes to a process are reflected in the inputs: people, methods, machines and influences. When inputs change a process changes and subsequently the results change as well.

What Results Will Change?

Personal and professional results vary based on an aim. If the aim is to learn something then the data suggest social media is fueling learning. If the aim is money then in order to gain more money one must be where their market, their audience is conversing.

People are suppliers and consumers of currency. When conversations propagate the currency of the conversation accelerates. Propagation can refer to reproduction, and other forms of multiplication or increase. Conversations, and the propagation of conversations, are the fuel which creates value for others if the conversations adds value. Every kind of result is influenced by the currency of a conversation, whether factual or not.

If you want to improve a result then you must engage in the conversations that impact said results. Changing a result starts with a conversation that perpetuates the needed changes. Let’s see how well the currency of this conversation, if it adds value, gets propagated. The measures are reflected in the references to this post through tweets, retweets and diggs otherwise referred to as passing along ( a process) the social currency (the value) contained in this conversation.

If the value of this conversation is high enough then it will be passed one to one to millions. Let’s see what happens to this one.

What say you?