Comments on: The World’s Not Small It’s Just Sliced Really Thin

By: Karen Swim

Karen Swim — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:21:46 +0000

Alex, thank you as always for your thoughtful insight. You are one who has a very good balance in your life with a thriving life online. So, online do you think your business networking is your mechanism of avoiding the echo chamber?

By: Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome

Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:42:41 +0000

Throughout my life I’ve never been much for groups. I’ve always had a few close friends and then hovered on the edge of a wide variety of groups.

This pattern of behaviour hasn’t changed online either. I tend to connect with a few people and then interact with their groups through that connection. And because the business side of my personality is more outgoing than my personal side, my “few people” is actually quite a large number.
Alex Fayle | Someday Syndrome´s last blog ..Turning Off The Autopilot: Six Ways to Bring Creativity to Daily Life

By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:08:56 +0000

Karen,

I would say that you are right on, here.

Social circles in social media do not seem to be much different to many facets in life – we venture out at first, but then we develop comfort zones, and the moment we become slaves to our comfort zones, we limit our potential for growth and development.

The development of social circles is necessary to some degree. We can’t mix with everyone all of the time and we have to make some priority decisions with regard to the people with whom we intend to spend most of our time. The development of social circles, to some extent, makes this process a little more manageable – we can’t talk regularly with the world, but we might be able to manage five, ten or twenty regular friends.

That said, I do agree with your comments about the need to change things up every now and then. You can learn some new things from regular friends and acquaintances for sure, but you can learn a whole lot more from entering new territory every now and then.
Andrew´s last blog ..Should models be sacked for being ‘too fat’

By: Heather Villa

Heather Villa — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:43:52 +0000

What a great analogy! We all get caught up in our ‘ruts’ – going to the same websites, following the same people on twitter and facebook. The internet is HUGE and we all should take time to explore all that it has to offer. Thanks for the reminder Karen!
Heather Villa´s last blog ..Are you in recovery?

By: Brad Shorr

Brad Shorr — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:53:44 +0000

Hi Karen, That’s the big question: how can you avoid it? In a corporate environment, I think it’s important to get out and talk to customers, whatever department you work in. It’s also helpful if employees can spend a certain amount of time at work online – that expands a corporate employee’s horizons as much as it may limit the vision of online nerds like me. What do you think? You’ve had lots of experience inside and outside the corporate box.
Brad Shorr´s last blog ..The World’s Greatest Marketer

By: Karen Swim

Karen Swim — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:41:51 +0000

Barbara, having you around is like having a personal supply of sunshine. Thank you for the comment and for just being you!

By: Barbara the Virtual Coach's Journal - Page 21

Barbara the Virtual Coach's Journal - Page 21 — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:08:52 +0000

[...] The World’s Not Small It’s Just Sliced Really Thin | Words For Hire [...]

By: Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach

Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:58:19 +0000

This part says it all:

“Tribes are good except when they’re not. ”

Brilliant!
Barbara Ling, Virtual Coach´s last blog ..Work Brilliantly, Not Blindly

By: Karen Swim

Karen Swim — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:00:28 +0000

Hi Brad! You are right, organizations can be prime incubators of tribal blindness. In Corporate I made it a point to read trades from other industries and get out of the echo chamber. Online, it can kind of sneak up on you, because there are no walls to mark your landscape. How do you avoid it?

By: Brad Shorr

Brad Shorr — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:20:04 +0000

Karen, Working for a company can lead to the echo chamber effect very easily. As I’m sure you know, organizations often get caught up in internals and pay too little attention to customers, suppliers, market trends, and competitors. Sadly, I think a prime example of this is the Detroit automakers. When I used to visit Detroit, I always thought people and the local media were living in a bit of a vacuum with respect to cars and popular tastes. At any rate, I’m heartened to see Detroit fighting out of the echo chamber. Their marketing, products, and general approach seem to be quite in tune with the global market, and I think they are going to be successful.
Brad Shorr´s last blog ..The World’s Greatest Marketer