Social Media - A Definition

One of the questions I get asked constantly when meeting with clients for the first time is for a concise definition of what exactly "social media" is, especially in the context of a marketing tool. Most people I bounce this question off at conferences or workshops fumble around between the academic "democritisation of information" and the schoolyard "Twitter and shit".

Personally, it's a question I'm still looking for answers on.

One of the better answers I've heard comes from a keynote given earlier this year by Shiv Singh, VP of Razorfish. He took self-described "social ecologist" Peter Drucker's classic business definition of "The purpose of a business is to create customers" and gave it a social media slant:

The purpose of a business is to create customers who create customers.

I really like the simple and effective imagery this quote gives to the purpose of social media from a brand or business standpoint. Although possibly over-simplistic from a business theory angle, the sentiment is right.

Thinking about it further, and in my deep desire to achieve a perfect definition on this, I think I've stumbled upon a new definition for business in the Information/Attention Age:

The purpose of a business is to create a community.

Brands can no longer look to satisfy or please the individual, and can no longer present themselves as a single, unified voice. Connecting with customers today involves being transparent and open to the people you're selling to and letting the consumer dictate the brand image.

To the old folk entrenched in the Old Media world it's a scary proposition, where brands were the core to which communities flocked. The future is the inverse, where brands must come to communities and earn their trust, respect, loyalty and advocacy through unique and engaging concepts.

In summary - it's an exciting time to be a consumer.