Social Influence? Yeah, it matters.

PeerIndex, Klout, XeeMe, etc., all claim to measure a person's influence online. Recently someone asked me, "Who cares about that crap?" To put this in perspective, the person owns a plain-Jane cell phone, doesn't text, only uses the net for sports scores on his wife's computer, hates email, etc. You get the picture. Smart guy who uses his computer at work for (gasp!) actual work. An engineer, actually, a person you'd think would be like so many other engineers and go bananas for tech. Nope, not this guy. You're thinking, "Well, he must be over fifty." Nope, forty-one.

He's got plenty of company, too. I'm surprised at the number of people who really don't like technology, but to hear it in the press, we're all walking around constantly in contact with the whole world. So, once again, who cares about all that crap? Well, if you're making a living in this new age, you should, but don't let it drive you nuts either because you don't post to social media.

My point is, there is a huge conversation going on and some really smart people are saying some amazing things. Just like any conversation, contribute when it's relevant and listen a lot. I'm very active online, and part of my income is derived from writing: People pay me to make them look articulate and erudite online. Still, I read far more than I write because someone is going to give me the next idea I need to make a buck.

So, who cares about this crap? Well Facebook says about 800 million people, and Google+ is claiming around 65 million (not bad for six months) and Twitter says it has 100 million users. Granted not everyone is active, but cut it in half on each and that's still a huge audience. (You can discount some more since lots of us post on all three.)

The point is, if you're going to get on social media, do it based on what you're interested in, not just to pretend to have influence. Social media is like a river - you throw something in and watch it leave. Today's influential person is next week's forgotten person if they don't stay active. Social media: Part compulsion, part education and part conversation. Ahh, this brave new world.