I love online communication tools. I Flickr, Twitter, YouTube,
blog, MySpace and Facebook with the best of them. I even have a Second Life.
The tools are fun, and that is the point of them. If they weren’t fun, most people wouldn’t bother. But sometimes it helps to get away (mostly) from the tools and just think out on the open road.
I am just getting back in the swing of things (barely) after my weeklong vacation roadtripping across the great Midwest with my husband and nearly three-year-old. I learned a lot of things along the way. I developed a renewed appreciation for the “Wizard of Oz” and explored human nature as we discussed that “mean green lady.” I remembered all the wonder of “Cinderella” as she awaited her chance to attend the ball and got so much more. Something about rural America brings these two movies into sharp focus.
I also learned that a hotel could be a place of wonder and excitement, and I thought it was just a place to sleep.
Sometimes a change of scenery inspires a change of perspective. That was how I felt today when I brought my vacation mentality back with me as I visited with a student reporter from Auburn University who is doing a story about online communication tools.
One of her questions was roughly, “Would you recommend a blog, or other online communication tool to other companies?”
Well, the obvious answer would be, “Sure, I do it everyday.” But in truth the answer really is, “It depends.”
It’s really about what we are trying to accomplish and the tools are just a means to an end. I know there are unabashed evangelists like David Weinberger and others who say these online tools are radical, new communication that change everything. But the truth is that as much as things change, they always stay the same. There are still mean green ladies as well as good people that help us along the way. There are also plenty of “Wizards” that turn out to be just ordinary people.
So, my thought is that I am glad that the the tools are available, hooray for progress, but the reason the tools work is because they meet the needs of people.
Forcing a glass slipper onto an ugly stepsister only leads to pain. Companies and individuals should only use the tools where the tools fit, otherwise they are better off staying away from the ball.
What do you think?
