by Jon Stookey, Strategist

A recap of the Pivot Conference, NYC, 10.17-10.19

Leave it to an iconoclast like author Doug Rushkoff (@rushkoff) to kill the conference in the closing remarks. Day three, hour 20, he takes the stage and drops this bomb: marketers don’t really belong in social media.

The chatter died immediately. This statement was by far the most drastic of the conference (Arianna Huffington’s speech subdued, in comparison). It’s also painfully true, with caveats.

Social media exists—and has reached the unstoppable global momentum it has—because it’s accelerating one of our most basic human instincts: to CONNECT. And no, not to brands. To each other.

This is something way bigger and more important than just selling…whatever. It’s the historically unprecedented (like, ever) organization of people based on their connections and affinities. It’s the poster child for disruptive technologies. Which is why we were all there. (That and to figure out something equally disruptive and alien: the ‘millennial’ generation.)

Point is, social media isn’t our playground. Or, at least, it’s MORE than our playground. We live in an age where 140 characters are used to overthrow repressive regimes—and really effectively market men’s deodorant. Where Farmville and Un Million Voces Contra las FARC share wall space. In other words: it’s tweak. But what’s the common thread? Engagement. Dialogue. Tapping into something in our collective nature, whether it’s the desire for freedom, humor…or just distraction

So, in retrospect, the seemingly bizarre juxtaposition of speakers at the Pivot Conference sort of embodies the times:  J.Y. Park talking about manufacturing global pop stars, followed by Arianna talking about the cultural zeitgeist of authenticity. All on the same stage. 

But back on topic: As branders and marketers, we have to own up to this cold, hard fact: people are using social media to connect to one another—and most of the time we’re just getting in the way. Like Doug said: “When people check Twitter or Facebook at midnight, it’s not because they want to see what recipe Land O’ Lakes just posted…”

Harsh, right? But it also underlines our biggest opportunity: We’ve got to constantly be thinking about how we can create platforms to support and connect the groups that already exist independent of our precious brands. Communities that are already tangentially related and simpatico with the brands we’re working on. How do we engage them and cultivate relationships that go beyond product launch cycles and quarter-long corporate initiatives? 

Is this harder than figuring out what to tweet on Thursday morning? Hell yes. Of course. It’s much less tangible. And there’s probably a pretty good chance of failure. But we’ve got to constantly ask ourselves: does this make sense for my clients/my company? Or, am I simply suffering from what Chris Winfield of BlueGlass Interactive described as “new, shiny object syndrome?” 

Those are the tough questions. But when we do actually hit on something real, we’ll have the power of the people behind us. And that’s guaranteed to be a wild ride.

Check out the video yourself at:
http://testing.pivotcon.com/Video/pivotvideopage.html

Highlights:
Day 2: Stefan Weitz, Director, Microsoft Bing
Day 2: Arianna Huffington
Day 3: Jeanette Gibson, Director of Social Media Marketing, Cisco
Day 3: Mike Kerns, CEO Citizen Sports/Yahoo!