IPAsocial - Technology Changes, People Don't

I've posted before about the IPA Social initiative. Each of us involved has written up thoughts on what we think are 10 of the defining principles of this participative space. Thanks to the brilliant Hugh McLeod I choose this one:

When the Wikipedia entry for Social Media contains in its opening paragraph the phrase,"social media are relatively inexpensive and accessible tools that enable anyone (even private individuals) to publish or access information", I think that we've got a problem on our hands.

So much time, energy and attention seems to have been spent thinking and talking about Social Media tools and technologies that in my opinion many have missed the point. Without people none of that means anything. Maybe a little more time thinking about the fundamentals of human needs and behaviour and a little less time trying to second guess what the new Facebook/Twitter/YouTube is the more interesting the end results will be for all of us?

By nature human beings are relational creature. We need each other. We co-operate, we fight, we find ourselves through our relationships with others. The ancient Greeks had a punishment that was considered more painful than death - banishment. By removing a man from his network of friends and family you were in essence condemning a man to certain death and an extended one at that.

In 1934 Abraham Maslow wrote a paper called A Theory of Human Motivation. Maslow codified his research on the five essential human needs in his his now famous Hierarchy of Needs (much be-loved by Planners the world over) The basic most fundamental human need that lies at the foundation of all of us he argued is Physiological (breathing, sleep, food, sex etc), then Safety (personal, financial, health), next Social (friendship, intimacy, family), then Esteem (self-esteem, self-respect, belonging) and finally at the top of the hierarchy came Self-Actualization.

It's the two middle levels which are the most important to our discussion on Social Media. For what is the behaviour demonstrated on Social Media platforms such as blogs, Flickr, YouTube and Flickr but "Belonging/Social needs" and "Esteem needs".

"Belonging/Social needs" in as much as digital technology platforms allows connections and enables people with like-minded passions to come together, be it a passion for gaming and the ARG that attract people from all around the world to play (incidentally Prof Monica Whitty has written extensively on the romances that blossomed in the alternate reality worlds, many of which have ended in real-world weddings and families), or more disturbing passions such as Armin Meiwes's who found a "well-built 18 to 30-year-old to be slaughtered and then consumed" through the website The Cannibal Cafe. Social Media is merely the platform for connecting and sharing, in essence finding your place in order to belong.

But perhaps more interestingly is the way in which people gain self-esteem and self-respect through Social Media channels. Also known as the esteem need, Esteem presents the normal human desire to be accepted and valued by others. People need to engage themselves to gain recognition and have an activity or activities that give the person a sense of contribution, to feel valued and accepted, often that is in a professional sphere but it equally could come from the sharing of a hobby or skill online. It is through the comments and links of others that individuals online gain authority and influence in the social space and thereby increase their own levels of esteem.

The need is belonging.

The behaviour is social.

The out-take is esteem.

The fundamentals of human nature remain constant.

.....................

Thoughts? Additions? Examples? Ideas?

All gratefully received.

Background to the project and all other 9 Principles housed here at IPA Social.

Comments

[Mrs Belmot]

I hold the theory that behaviour on the web is driven by the seven deadly sins.

Vanity = EVERYONE thinks they can write a book or act, so blogs and YouTube are BIG hits with talentless but self-important proles.

Greed = eBay. Self-explanatory unless you've never seen it. It's the greedy person's car boot sale. See also the needless accrual of friends and followers

Wrath = Most internet forums. It's like having a conversation with a bile duct that has web access.

Gluttony = BBC recipe section. Ainsley and Worrall-Thompson are getting fat and rich at YOUR expense off this money-printer.

My "tip from the top" would be to put your beach towel down on any of the remaining cash-making sins. Here's a scalding hot idea I've made up that's "on the house":

Pride = I'm Bettr.com - a collision of Flickr and Facebook. You find people you know and connect to them like a social network. Then you post photos next to theirs of you looking more attractive and with better possessions. You fill with pride and feel like a THOUSAND dollars because everyone can see you are better than others.

If you're on the receiving end, this will also tick the 'Envy' box. I can guarantee that the DOUBLE sin combo will earn cash overnight, EVERY night.

[Amelia]

This was from an email that I received from Graeme - thought that it added some good thinking to the debate:

................

Read your blog post (re Maslow etc) and thought I’d share this slide (attached) with you.

It was from Evgeny
Morozov’s “The Internet in Society: Empowering or censoring citizens?” presentation at the RSA last week.

Full presentation is here

http://www.thersa.org/events/vision/vision-videos/evgeny-morozov---the-internet-in-society-empowering-or-censoring-citizens

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=686420162]

The human problem that has been amplified with the expansion of online social communications is the absence of listening.

One of the most interesting things I noted from the recent developers presentation of Google Wave was that they have built in functionality that allows you to start generating a response before the person you're communicating with has actually finished their reply.

This effectively replicates one of the least useful characteristics of human communication i.e. a speedy response rather than a considered one, that takes into account what has been communicated, not what you think is going to be communicated.

All good communication is about listening first and responding appropriately. My biggest challenge with my clients at the moment is holding them back from building platforms from which to hail, before they even know what people want to hear.

If we apply this to brands. Brands are trying to establish themselves within social environments but they are falling into the trap of making themsleves far too conspicuous and therefore unapproachable. They need to stand back, listen, restructure their offering accordingly, then let everyone know that.

If not people will just switch them off for ever.

[Amelia]

Another comment via email - this time from Nimi

hey!
how are you?
random thought on your principle : I read a thing ages ago that said:

"The tools we use are not as important as the behaviors they create"

so I guess people haven't changed as you say with their basic needs and I agree with your:

The need is belonging.
The behaviour is social.
The out-take is esteem.
The fundamentals of human nature remain constant


So, I guess what you are saying is social media has just given people another way to fulfil those- the need was always belonging, the behaviour social - back in the day you went to someone's house, picked up the phone, in our world you advertised more on TV or radio or right back in the day like an old style market place - you shouted out to get attention. Now a days you tweet, facebook , email , text to fulfil that need.

Maybe now social media has enabled people to be more selective about where they want to belong?!? or maybe that's a step too far.?!