We often remark how much smaller the world has become. Technology has facilitated our ability to seamlessly connect with people around the globe. Social media has added a new depth to this ability by allowing us to connect around common points of interests.
Yet, while the world seems small, it is vast and largely unexplored.
Only a small percentage of the world’s population travels with regularity around the globe. It is both impractical and cost prohibitive for most people, but is the not the primary reason for the limitation. We are creatures of habit. We may venture out of our comfort zones on occasion but even the adventurer follows a predictable pattern.
Online, the limitations and boundaries are removed and still we confine ourselves to one little part of the globe. The cyberworld is not small it is huge but highly segmented into tiny little pieces.
We find micro communities or tribes based on interests, activities and hobbies and we settle into a comfortable networking community. Our tiny little segment seems big because it’s populated with people from around the globe. We marvel at our ability to connect across cultures, time zones and languages as we join virtual hands to sing “We are the world.”
We venture out from our big, tiny world on occasion but we return back to the familiar with predictable regularity.
I happen to be fond of tribes as a human and marketer, but I am not blind to the downside of tribal affinity. Tribes make it easy to get caught in an echo chamber where perception is mistaken as fact. You can fall into the belief that others understand the language, and share the same beliefs as the tribe.
The tribe can dull your senses and stunt your innovation. Without realizing it your world shrinks to the size of your tribe. You see the same topics discussed, products pushed and methods used by members of the tribe and your mind concludes that this is the way of everyone. Welcome to the echo chamber.
Luckily, there is an easy fix. Go visit other cultures. You will find that a simple change of internet scenery will expose you to a whole new group of people with their own language, and tribal traditions.
You may find that the change of conversation will spark new ideas and enable you to see your business challenges and triumphs in a new way. You may even find a previously untapped market eager for what you have to offer.
Tribes are good except when they’re not. Get out and see the world, after all online it’s virtually free.
Have you ever found yourself caught in the echo chamber? How did it affect your views and decisions?
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?
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 =-.
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’ =-.
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? =-.
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 =-.
Barbara, having you around is like having a personal supply of sunshine. 🙂 Thank you for the comment and for just being you!
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 =-.
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?
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 =-.