But does it make you happy?

I'm being asked a lot lately if all this Wild-and-Webby 2.0 information overload is truly a good thing and whether all of these social media tools really make people more productive.

Or far less so.

(being there's only so much time in the day and still so many things to get done)

These are very good questions.

I get asked, "Does this make you more money?", "Doesn't it take a lot of time?", "Do you ever sleep?" and "Doesn't it stress you out having to maintain content?" And so on and so forth.

So instead of listing all the answers to all of the questions I do get, I'll pose the one that's hardly ever asked:  Does it make you happy?

Let's back up for a second and let me pose it to you, k?

If the time that you put into these tools and these talented professionals didn't bring you a single cent of business--be that business from referrals, readers or learning a new practice area--would you still invest the time? Or would the sheer notion of learning new technologies that broaden our horizons and make the world smaller be worth all the trouble? Would learning myriad viewpoints--whether they make you change your mind or make you shake your head--be worth the trade-off to less viewings of whatever ABC or NBC is serving up that night?

And is making new colleagues and friends worth the time you spend doing this...being that the time you spend doing this takes away from the time you spend doing that (whatever "that" may be)?

Now, to be sure, we have to prioritize. Families need to come first, work must be delivered and deadlines better be met. But I ask the happiness question since, well, happiness is my compass (I'm sure that's the same for many).  And if there's one thing I've learned in life and in business it's this: money comes, goes and flows; but time is something I'll never get back. It simply cannot be bought, borrowed or stolen.

So I better be enjoying what I'm doing with my time.

I've always (always as in before 2.0) gotten a heck of a lot of happiness from learning and so much joy from creating...and a ton more from sharing/connecting. Since stumbling into social media, I've certainly found there are some tools that rock (like blogging and Twitter) and some that I just can't support (that which won't be named). And there are some programs that I just can't pass up helping to push into existence (like Book Club and Blogger Social).

But the community of smarts, support, fun, debates and challenge that comes with the information overload?

Well, it might not make me richer.

And I likely won't change the world.

And I do get less sleep (yawn).

But it sure does make me happy.

Extremely.

So maybe they're asking the right questions...or maybe they're missing the most important one (or just the one that's most important to me).

Comments

[Jason Falls]

Nailed it! Web 2.0, the social web, whatevertheheckyouwannacallit ... makes me very happy and for a reason that, I believe, will keep the social web thriving, eventually carrying it to the full mainstream instead of just those of us inside the bubble: It facilitates human connection.

Mind you it doesn't produce the connection, but just makes it easier to find real people who share your worldview.

On April 4 this year, I get to meet you, CK. We probably have a lot in common -- at least I assume we do from reading your blog and knowing that we exist in the social web together. Beyond that, we may find a lot of other commonalities. We may not, but connecting to someone out there that I didn't know before excites me, intrigues me. And that's why I'm here.

Sure, I can use my knowledge and understanding of the web to make money, but that's just a job. When I go home and my kid is asleep and my wife is watching Law & Order ... again ... I get online and have conversations with folks. Sometimes it's about marketing, sometimes its about bourbon (which is work-related) sometimes it's about baseball, funny movies, crap-ily written instruction manuals, Zen ... whatever. I do this because it makes me happy to connect with other people ... to socialize without the commute or risk of ignoring my limits (hehe).

When the rest of the world ... those who think the Internet is where to get emails and buy crap from Amazon ... realizes there are connections to be made here, be they old high school chums or just someone else who thinks Dwight Yoakum's tight ass jeans are sexy, the social web is just going to become the web. And it will reach more than just the extroverts because the shy types can still hide behind their avatars. The social web is for everyone. I just hope we can get them all here and thriving sooner. After all, I've got more people to meet.

See you in a couple weeks.

[Toad]

It definitely makes me happier. Lets me connect with people I wouldn't have otherwise connected with.

But I do wonder if that's because the people I connect with are all similar to me and like hearing the sound of their own voices on Tweets and FB updates and whatnot or if it's a more universal thing.

It also feels like I have two lives at times-- the one I live online and the real one I live offline.

BS08 is going to at least merge the two. But it will be odd- sort of like in the old days when you met the person you'd only known as a voice on the telephone. Online, we don't get to see any of each other's tics, quirks and other things that shape perception in the real world. So it's going to be odd at some level. Very odd.

[CK]

I agree with the connection factor that Jason and Toad cite (that's what I rated tops way back on that collage right here: http://www.ck-blog.com/cks_blog/2006/11/oh_marketers_th.html)

And hey, connecting is a core need (thanks Maslow) for we social animals (thanks Aristotle). But happiness, unlike money and advancement, is an emotional factor (versus a "rational" one). Yet it's the base question for me. I certainly don't expect for those that aren't 'in the convo' to get that, how could they?

But, regarding what Toad mentions, it's also the voices that disagree with me that advance me (Toad, when we first 'met' we disagreed...and remember I thanked you for it? Becuz you showed me something I was blatantly missing--and I see that type of feedback as a favor).

Now, I may not always agree with different takes but it can either make me better think my way through my rationale...or entirely change my mind.

PS: And Toad, I can see why meeting so many people at Social will be odd (especially with 90 of us!). But having met so, so many already (I think I'm close to 60 now), both here in my home city and when I'm traveling, one thing I've found (and this is just my experience) is that the "nerves" fall away pretty fast. Mainly because in "talking" with these colleagues so much you feel you better know them right off the bat. And hey, there's plenty of nerve-busting booze at the open bar ;-).

PPS: Jason, interesting what you write about the "social web just becoming the web". I often think about the zillions of communities (other than marketing) that exist 'out there' and it truly astounds me. But, after all, everyone is just in search of a community. Part of being human. A core part.

[Steve Woodruff]

CK,

I guess if we value ideas and people - if we like to express and connect and exchange - then anything that helps us do so will be valuable, and will make us happy.

Without the slightest embarrassment, I admit that this social media stuff contributes to my happiness. I'm not necessarily looking for any short-term ROI. But our Return on Conversing (RoC) will be a richer and happier life. What's not to like?

[David Reich]

Since you asked... Social media, or my little blogging corner of it, makes me happy. Lately, though, I can't honestly say that 100%. There's just too much out there and I feel pressure to be up on the various conversations, especially among my friends online. I find myself skimming posts (I skimmed this one, so I may have missed a key point -- who knows?), and if they're too long, I just move on.

But lately I just can't keep up with it when work gets busy. I don't rush to the computer as soon as finish dinner to see the latest.

Am I getting burnt out, or is it just a cyclical things as I've been extremely busy with work the past several weeks? I don't know. But I'm not going away, that's for sure. 'Cause when it's good, it's really good.

[Lewis Green]

Your question is the right one to ask for many of us but it might miss the point in terms of business.

The real question I pose to clients (and to myself) when discussing social media isn't so much whether it makes me happy. (It does.) But the smart question for business is whether or not it makes their clients, customers and potential clients and customers happy. For we aren't in business to serve ourselves but to serve others.

[CK]

@Lewis: I hear you, but I'm talking from a purely personal (vs. professional) standpoint here. It's a different conversation than I have with my clients. You're perfectly correct; insofar as my clients, my level of joy is pretty irrelevant, the results of my strategies, plans and programs are what matters. That said, I purposely chose a career path--and a work format--that I enjoy...just like you ;-).

But here I'm not talking about client work. My only focus for client work is determining which strategy and which media will meet their goals. Instead, I'm talking about how I spend a notable chunk of my free time--and specifically to the info. overload that friends and colleagues ask me about.They ask a lot of good questions about money, free time and the like. But I also like to explain the sheer joy I receive from learning, sharing and connecting. Even if I wasn't increasing an expertise through these tools, just by virtue of learning so many viewpoints and meeting so many grand people (like you), I would, and do, happily invest the time. When you're outside of the convo, it's hard to understand that. But joyous it is (as you well know). And I hope for more to see that...otherwise a learning curve and the time can see pretty daunting. But much payoff personally, at least in my experience.

[CK]

@David: Why the pressure? I've needed to go full weeks without reading other blogs or checking on Twitter/etc. (lately due to so much Social planning during that time). Everyone has. The beauty of the convo is that we can just hop in and hop out as time allows--like I wrote in my post, there are priorities, and everyone understands those (as they have them, too). But thanks for reading because I know how crazed you've been!

@Steve: Yup, not embarrassed here either (it's like we're in a support group..."Hi, I'm CK, I use social media, and it makes me happy to so do.") Ha!

[Gavin Heaton]

You know, being here in Australia I would never have met all you wonderful folks without social media. Does it change your life? Sure does!