Stranded | I-10, Arizona | Dec 2008

Continuing the conversation about the definition of social media…

My parents’ friends are currently on a “long-term cruise” and in Marathon, FL, enjoying a winter in the Florida Keys like many east coast cruisers. Dave Johnson is sharing stories from the trip (… a lot of stories) by blogging for his friends. One of his recent tales reminded me of our earlier discussion about social media:

The Boot Key Harbor crowd is interesting and a bit eclectic. Yesterday, I heard it likened to a trailer park. There are several opportunities to meet your neighbor, some planned some spontaneous. There are perhaps 500 boats in and around the harbor right now… All are welcome to join the ubiquitous cruisers net every morning at 0900 on channel 68. This seems to be a spontaneous offer from the community to greet new folks, say goodbye to those traveling on, find out the local scoop, sell whatever you no longer want (actually not legal to conduct business on the VHF) and so on. However, lying just below the surface of the conversations are the axes people carry around to grind. They can be political, commercial, but rarely philosophical. There are a few commercial interests in the harbor who always get their message out. Now if one needs this service it is certainly a benefit, but their axe seems to be nearly ground down to a nub. And it is obvious the rules that apply to others do not apply to these commercial interests.

Is this really that different from what we see on the social web? A community that re-establishes itself nearly every day, week, month and year? A mix of people with different interests, motives and agendas? An open communication channel, available to all to use and abuse?

I admit that there are some technical differences between VHF radio and the Internet that create a very different experience, but are the fundamentals really that different?

Or a different topic: Will Social Media kill PR?