Socialnomics: About as Exciting as a Two Year Old Dog

Erik Qualman, the author of Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business (affiliate link), has uploaded the third version of his highly popular and viral Social Media Revolution video.

I have to admit that I was excited about this discovery… at first.

If you haven’t seen the video, check it out here, and then continue reading.

If you can’t see the video, click here or view on YouTube.

If you’re into social media marketing as much as I am, it’s easy to fall in love with a video that includes phrases like these:

Social Media is about Relationships
Social Media is about People
Social Media has overtaken pornography as the #1 activity on the web
If Facebook were a country, it’d be the world’s 3rd largest
The Ford Explorer launch on Facebook generated more traffic than a Super Bowl ad
The ROI of Social Media is Your Business Will Still Exist in 5 years

The one that bothers me, however, is this:

Socialnomics is here to stay

Socialnomics was first published in August of 2009, almost two years ago. Considering the rate of change in the social media world, that’s like having a two year old dog and comparing it to a two year old child. It might as well be a 14 year old book!

Although Qualman has cleverly incorporated many of the images in the video into an iPad screen, making the video feel relevant for 2011, it has actually become somewhat irrelevant, and the stats are becoming outdated.

I think it’s time to stop re-producing this video every year, and time for Erik to write a new book.

Do you agree, or do you think I’m crazy? I’d love to hear what you think.

http://twitter.com/TerryCRG Terry Golesworthy

Collin – I did like the video and witnessed the effect it had on at a recent insurance conference, it really pumped a crowd of people that frankly could not care too much about social media. Having said that, I thought about your post and actually finding myself nodding. The facts that Facebook would the third largest country etc. – we get it, its big. But that’s like keep saying the internet is big and people will go online. At some point we need to focus on new ideas and we need more down to earth benefits for brands to invest more in social media. By and large, most brands are experimenting but not investing. Will social media really alter business dynamics? We all say Yes but in reality it is part of a bigger set of changes which started with greater access to information. It is time for SoMe 2.0 and SoMe 1.0 messages are getting old.
- http://socialposer.com/ Collin
  
  I do agree that the video is a great one to show to a room full of people who are new to social media. It will get them excited. My problem is that anybody who’s been around SM for a while knows it’s getting old. As always, thanks for visiting and contributing your awesome comments, Terry! I appreciate your support.
  - http://twitter.com/equalman Erik Qualman
    
    Collin: Thanks for posting about my video (creative title btw – pretty funny) and for the feedback. Thanks also for your line of encouragement for me to get another book out there. This is the type of support that keeps me going – thanks!
    
    Good insight on wanting “harder” stats in the video. Definitely will try to incorporate that into the next one.
    
    This is a little bit old, but this ROI video goes through a few examples (this too needs to be refreshed but it still seems to help some people. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypmfs3z8esI)
    
    Thanks again!
    
    Best, Erik Qualman
    
    P.S. If you are ever in Boston would be great to grab a beer.
    - http://socialposer.com/ Collin
      
      You’re very welcome, Erik, and thank you for stopping by to say hello and
      interact with me and the other folks who were kind enough to leave comments.
      I really do love your videos, and have used this one often as I’ve worked
      with insurance agents and others. It just hasn’t changed much, and I’m sure
      a new book will lead to a new and better, more relevant, video. I’ll be
      looking forward to it along with all your other fans. P.S. I’ve never been
      to Boston, but if I ever do get there I’ll take you up on that beer.
      Otherwise, I’m sure we’ll see one another at a conference somewhere along
      the way.
- http://twitter.com/equalman Erik Qualman
  
  Terry: Good to see you on the offline world (conference) and now here digitally. Glad you thought the video was effective for that audience. Agreed with you that a lot of brands are still experimenting, but that only a few like Dell & Zappos are truly investing , not only dollars, but more importantly people power and strategy.
  
  Hope to see you again soon.
  
  Best, Erik Qualman
http://seanclark.com Sean Clark

Collin,

I agree, it’s time to stop preaching and start to show some of those stats in action. A new book would be a great opportunity to show what has changed, how businesses that have taken Social on have benefitted versus those that haven’t and suffered the consequences.

There must be new opportunities to highlight, especially Social & Mobile?
- http://www.doodlehaus.com Mark Anderson
  
  Agreed, Sean. Idle threats like “the ROI of social media is that you’ll be in business in 5 years” is ridiculous. However, the importance of staying techologically relevent (mobile apps for banks) has always been a driver of success.
- http://socialposer.com/ Collin
  
  Everybody knows I’m a big fan of @unmarketing:twitter , and he’s doing it right. Just as the book is starting to show a little age and he’s finding himself saying many of the same things in his presentations that he’s been saying for a year or more, he’s starting to work on his new book. Wow, that was a long sentence! Sorry!
- http://twitter.com/equalman Erik Qualman
  
  Sean:
  
  Thanks for the encouragement for a new book. I agree with you that there is a TON to discuss because things are constantly changing especially as you point out on the social and mobile front…don’t forget gaming for business either! Education….
  
  Thanks again and have a pint for me please (beer always tastes better across the pond).
  
  Cheers, @equalman:disqus
  - http://seanclark.com Sean Clark
    
    Erik anytime you’re over look me up and I’ll buy you one!
    
    Cheers
    Sean
http://www.doodlehaus.com Mark Anderson

This video gets you excited the first few times you see it. By the third viewing, it seems more like a lame SciFi movie from the 50′s that is trying too hard to be futuristic. I think we should care less about the size of Facebook and more about the real-world demographic data. The economic implications of competition from India and China is what companies should concentrate on, not whether or not their on Facebook or Twitter. I’d like to know how many Kindergateners are actually learning on iPads. I’d prefer that there were statisics in there about how much the U.S. is investing in math and science education, but the truth is that politicians are too busy playing political games with eductation to keep us on pace with India and China.

Have any of the social networks turned a profit? Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn?
- http://socialposer.com/ Collin
  
  Great insights as usual, Mark. I’m so glad to know you! Hey, wait… Did you just turn this post political? I see what you did there!
- http://twitter.com/equalman Erik Qualman
  
  Mark:
  
  Thanks for the interest! We’ll work on the items you pointed out.
  
  Per your profitability question:
  
  YouTube: Profitable
  Facebook: Cash-flow positive
  Twitter: No and currently attempting to figure it out.
  
  Some of these players will bust (ala Second Life) while others will resemble Amazon.com. Amazon didn’t turn a profit for YEARS and now a cash cow. Look out for LinkedIn; I really believe they are a sleeping giant.
  
  Best, Erik Qualman
http://stanfaryna.wordpress.com Stan Faryna

I think it’s missing the big stadium wave where people stand up in blue shirts and spell out Facebook. [grin]
- http://socialposer.com/ Collin
  
  They’d better film that before Facebook is dead!
- http://twitter.com/equalman Erik Qualman
  
  Stan:
  
  Thanks for the suggestion, but our budget will not allow for this :)
  
  I may be able to get my family out to my nephew’s little league baseball game though and film on my Flip Cam.
  
  All joking aside – thanks for the insights and input we’ll see what we can do for the next video to make it different & better.
  
  Best, Erik Qualman
http://www.markteching.com Mike Kang

Colin,

Haven’t checked out the video (will do after work) but I thought I’d chime in anyway. Whenever I see something regurgitated, it makes the intended message taste bland by diluting it with ego and selfishness. I say that because it seems as if the creator of the piece either doesn’t care or thinks their audience is too dumb to notice. I also get the feeling that the message has become more about making money than trying to make positive change.
- http://twitter.com/equalman Erik Qualman
  
  Mike: I wish there was money from these videos – that would be nice!My daughter’s day care bills just went up.
  
  Despite the millions of views around this series we haven’t posted the YouTube ads in the front of them.You raise a great point about making sure we evolve rather than simply revolve. After watching the video let me know on Twitter (@equalman:disqus) any suggestions and I’ll try and improve the next ones.Thanks for the video, book and blog support.Have a great one.Cheers, Erik
- http://socialposer.com/ Collin
  
  I’m not sure how I missed your comment, Mike. Anyway, thanks for visiting and commenting. We’re in agreement on this one.
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Socialnomics: About as Exciting as a Two Year Old Dog

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