Why I do it: People, Networks, and Passion

Yesterday, I attended the 2011 Social Media World Forum held here in New York. I've been lucky enough to be in attendance for a lot of conferences lately, where I have heard great keynotes and panels from some of the tech industries most innovative thought leaders. 


As I sat at the conference today, immersed in a panel discussion on social scaling, analytics, and monitoring, I begin to look around the room at all the "social medialets" around me. Many of us sat there listening, while simultaneously tweeting surprising statistics and noteworthy quotes from the panelist. And I began to think about a couple questions I often get asked, "What does social media mean?" and "Why do I do it?!". 


I recently had the conversation with someone regarding why I enjoyed working in social and mobile, two so called "premature" or "developing" industries. As I sat there listening to debates on ROI measurement and an industry that hasn't even been around for more than a decade, I began to think back to that conversation and - Why where we all there? Why were we so passionate about something "premature"? 


Of all the keynotes, panels, fireside chats, and demos I have heard year, there is one speaker who stands out to me. It was a keynote given by one of the most disruptive thought leaders of our time, Rishad Tobaccowala. Rishad, the Chief Innovation Officer at Vivika, gave a keynote in which it desrves a  blog post for itself entirely (which will come). There is one quote from this presentation that I continually think back to, and likewise did so today. Rishad said: 

"The world is not digital at its core but its people at its core. People among other things crave simplicity, value, connection and relevance."

Monday, Twitter launched an edition to their website Twitter Stories, which consists of stories designed to remind users “of the humanity behind Tweets that make the world smaller." Last night I spent several hours plugging through the site watching videos and reading stories of how this network had brought people together, and through doing so created value in their lives. 


As I sat in the conference today, thinking about Rishad's talk, the Twitter Stories, and the passion for a premature industry that surrounded me in the room, and I realized I knew this answer. 


This, is why I do it.

One of the featured videos from Twitters Stories: