I wouldn’t stake too much in Google+. Check out this article. http://www.zdnet.com/article/google-isnt-dead-its-just-gone-to-a-better-place/ I was a member of 2 social media sites that Google launched in the past, Google Buzz and Google Wave. You’ve probably never heard of either. There’s actual talk of Google purchasing twitter, although I think this has more to do with their ultimate goal of data control. Many believe that this desire to control data is ultimately why Google can’t develop a capable social media channel. And owing to the success of Periscope and Meerkat, Facebook now has limited live streaming capabilities – another layer of depth for facebook.

These types of books all seem to point to the fact that the way we do business has not only changed considerably, but is a dynamic stage, which seems to be moving, changing and growing at a rapid pace. This parallels some of my own work and movement away from the voice over space, partially regaining my roots in marketing and advertising, but still with a core belief that “advocacy” is the main goal. Be an advocate and earn the trust of others so that they will choose to be an advocate for you.

I think that social media is at the core of this; it allows for the development of new relationships and also allows for existing relationships to be enriched and supported. To do this properly though, one needs to be both giving and genuine. There are tools that can support ones activities, but they tend to mostly fail if ones goal is to develop dialogues and/ or explore friendships in social media. It becomes even more difficult when, often due to mob rules, many, many participants in social media don’t seem to understand much of the workings or protocol.

I realize that most of the people that read Connie’s blog are specifically looking for voice over related material, but I think that today one needs to draw from as many potential sources of quality information as possible to both stay relevant and understand that “marketing” is inevitably what gets you the work.

Part talent, part science, part crystal ball. Our work is indeed cut out for us.