Although I take a lot of kidding from my kids—and particularly, from my 23-year-old daughter—truth be told: I love Facebook. What a wonderful invention!
My network of friends keeps growing—as do our “Likes” on the tomsheehan worldwide page and my 19 North Records page—and it’s interesting to watch the connections among my real world friends and their friends and friends of friends. Small world, really. Virtually and in reality (and it’s getting hard sometimes to discern the difference between the two).
And I’ve made many new friends via Facebook, too—folks with whom I’ve had the most interesting conversations, mostly about politics and public policy (to each, his own)—but as real, genuine and easy as a conversation with someone I’ve known since college.
Speaking of which, probably the most valuable Facebook experience for me has been reconnecting with guys with whom I played music eons ago (okay, maybe just 35 years ago). Guys like Kevin, Mike and Jack from my days in Asbury Park; Bill from one of my Penn State bands and now a lawyer in Pittsburgh; and Joshua, one of my dearest and oldest musical friends, from Philadelphia. A small thing, perhaps, but very valuable to me.
I’ve also caught up with the accomplishments of friends from way back. Through Facebook, I learned that my college friend Aileen, for example, produced a movie called Monet’s Palette (which starred one Meryl Streep). And my buddy Elliott, long a very accomplished guitar player, producer and bandleader (think Steely Dan and the Saturday Night Live band), recently finished a stint as the musical director of “Hair” in London. I’m very proud of them, and I’m glad I’ve been able to catch up with them.
But it hasn’t been all fun and games. Facebook, like many of the new media models, has become an important tool in our work at tomsheehan worldwide, too. We (collectively) are just now exploring, trying and refining the application of social media for our clients. For some, the applications and advantages are obvious; for others, it’s a bit trickier. Still, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and the other social media mechanisms will no doubt play a key role in our business lives (and our personal lives) in the future.
It’s kind of Orwellian, when you think about it; but in that rather Orwellian future dwells opportunity. Leverage the new media and the new models. Make the effort to tell resonate, relevant stories—to every constituent, through every channel—make the effort to deliver real, valuable, differentiating information, evidence and experiences—make me want to trust you—and your brand will stand out. And people will buy. Some things never change.
And Bob Dylan was right: “he not a-busy being born is a-busy dying.”
-Tom Sheehan is Principal at tomsheehan worldwide. He can be reached at tomsheehan@tomsheehan.com.
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