“I love talking about nothing. It is the only thing I know anything about.” Oscar Wilde

Nick Bartlett
Digital Strategy Director

I live in a world that seems to be endlessly noisy. From six in the morning when the kids wake up until late at night I’m constantly surrounded by noise, news, opinion and chatter. How much I pay attention to is up for debate but it got me thinking about how, when I sit down to write this, my mind suddenly goes blank.

Today’s “social” environment allows media, brands and individuals to have the ability to publish and push their content to me through a multitude of channels, without pause for breath. Time to formulate my own opinions outside of this noise seems to be a scarce commodity. Even those that carve through the noise with a more selective approach to content (using bookmarking and RSS feeds) are finding it hard to keep their sources under control. Natural curiosity gets fat online, thinking time is squeezed to make way for more content to satisfy the increasing cultural attitude toward being the first to know and to not “miss out.”
This balance of being useful vs needed is a tricky conundrum when brands approach their social media content strategy. Frequency is often the dominant determining factor rather than target audience considerations or quality; and although you have the ability, it doesn’t necessary mean what you’re publishing is useful, entertaining or most importantly interesting.

Saying things for the sake of saying things can do as much damage as saying nothing at all. Dull communications that don’t resonate lead to content blindness so that when you eventually have a golden nugget that could change your customer’s life, too late, they’re bored, ignoring you or even worse listening to your competition.

Writing blogs gives me the chance to stop and think. Although I started with a blank canvas, I’ve thought about you and how I could honestly create something useful with an opinion that creates a debate. Next time you’re looking at your brand or company’s social media activities, have a think about Oscar’s quote and see if it resonates!