Real, Authentic Value

There is a myriad of questions swirling around in the wake of the Facebook IPO fallout.

Despite my reluctance to set up an actual account on the networking site (I am the luddite of the group), I cannot help but be a bit fascinated by Facebook as a cultural/social/economic phenomenon. As a result, I have spent the last three weeks or so perusing the articles, the business dailies, and the blogs to figure out what exactly happened on May 18th.

The most interesting question that keeps popping up in the discussion is simply -

What exactly is the VALUE of Facebook?

There is no denying the intrinsic value of Facebook for advertising but the question as it's posed is aimed directly at the users - us.

What exactly is VALUABLE about Facebook?

I guess my preoccupation with the whole ordeal stems from the sense that we are standing at a unique turning point in how business, networks, culture, art, music, information, and ideas are created, shared, passed along, and used. On the heels of Friendster, Myspace, etc., Facebook helped to usher in a new era of how we use communication technology. As of today, Facebook is certainly the epicenter where we connect with people we knew from our pasts and where we connect with people will meet now and into the future. Facebook is the network. However, the future of Facebook cannot be sustained on the fuel of connectivity alone without supplementing that interaction with something more tangible, practical, authentic, REAL.

I've been told that nothing is going to be the same now that we have smartphones and social networking - that you have to "get connected" if you're going to survive.

Honestly, I don't think a whole lot really has changed. Facebook has become a new marketplace, a new front porch, a new mall. Our phones and our computers are now just new places where we get together. The responsibility now is ours to guarantee that those connections have meaning and purpose.

With the shadow of a struggling economy growing longer into the future, this responsibility is all the more urgent. The United States stands at a strange and unpredictable crossroads. We are losing jobs but we are no less talented and no less able to get the jobs done and done well. We know the problems in our communities. We know the solutions. Yet, why does it seem like we're waiting for someone else to fix everything for us? Are we waiting for permission?

We have to connect. We have to get together and create something meaningful, tangible, authentic, REAL. Our responsibility today is to channel the power of social networking towards revitalizing the American worker, the American entrepreneur, the American artist, the American tradesperson, the American teacher, the American student.

Imagine a network where every post promotes practice and every practice progresses to perfection!

Imagine a network where you could connect and creatively collaborate with colleagues in your career or vocation!

Imagine a network that catapults it's users out into their communities, into their jobs to do something more tangible, practical, authentic, REAL everyday!

The irony is Facebook and any other social networking site cannot provide nor guarantee it's own value. Value in interaction can only be provided and guaranteed by us.

It is our responsibility to ensure that this value is authentic and REAL.

Cheers!
Josh