Evolutionary Levels of Social Media

With all the buzz around Google+ vs Facebook, etc (see previous post) thanks to David Gurteen for this Bill Ives link to a paper / book chapter from Forrester Research. Nothing new under the sun, but paying 500 bucks for the privilege of reading the results does focus the mind. Shock horror – it’s not possible to leapfrog the need for evolution, but indeed the “learning curve” is part of the process of getting there, to solving a problem or exploiting an opportunity, using social media or any other tool.

You can debate the significance of the specific 5 levels – you may prefer to identify 3 or 7 (*) – BUT you can’t jump to the benefits of a final implementation without the learning benefits of preliminary attempts, unless you are very lucky. Think monkeys and typewriters, think stairway to heaven, think making your own luck.

(*) I prefer 3 layers, because even the layers come in 3 layers …. and two 3’s make 5, three 3’s make 7 etc … just a question of granularity / fractality of the issues you address …. and 80/20 view on what you value most in each given distinction …. a longer story.

PS – another good link from David Gurteen to a “Lost in Translation” piece by Nick Milton – also linked earlier.

PPS – and Branson too – no alternative to evolution. Plans most likely mess things up.

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