Zirk Botha
Recently I was referred to a blogpost by Hugh Macleod regarding Social Objects and it’s impact on Social Media. Hugh went further and showed how Social Objects are also the “nodes” for all our social interactions.
The full impact of Social Objects are however further reaching than I initially grasped. As the days went by I came to deeper insights regarding the impact of Social Objects on my life past and present and hopefulle future as well.
As a serial business owner I started my first venture focussing on sports event marketing and management. As an adventurous ex-naval combat officer the adventure sports bug had become viral and it was a natural development for me to focus on Eco Adventure Challenges.
Eco Adventure Racers
Although it is a sport that has a limited following owing to it’s physical demands, it’s followers are die-hard competitors. The visual appeal also lends it to sponsors wishing to align themselves with an outdoors adventure identity.
Mountain biking more recently has however taken over as the most popular sport for Adventurous sportsman. At face value this is owing to it being a more accessible sport for the average person, but in fact, although this is a half-truth, it is not valid.
The Eco Adventure racers went out of their way to create an image of an extreme sport and although it is tough, it is not remarkably tougher than a multi-stage Mountain bike race. The Mountain bikers are more social and created an image of a social sport that is moderately challenging.
The motivation for both the above goes straight back to Social Objects. As Hugh Macleod explains, all humans are social animals on the look-out for a reason to be social. The reason or excuse must fit in with the person’s identity of who he or she believes themselves to be or aspires to become.
This reason is defined as a Social Object and it is the “node” or focus of a person’s need to belong.
The Eco Adventure Racers needed to belong to an identity that created an image of extreme adventure, so they created that image for their sport. On the flip side the Mountain bikers created a more accessible identity for their sport and thus it was the one that grew.
This scenario applies to most everything in our lives, from sport to business and even socially.
You might wonder how this applies to business. We do know that most people will do business with people they know, before they do business with someone they don’t and that if you don’t have the connection but your friend does, it’s a done deal.
It always goes back to who we are connected with and who we are connected with is determined by our interests. Our interests are our reasons for socialising, it’s our Social Object.
Want to grow your business network? Change your Social Object or possibly re-defining it will do the trick. But hang on, How are you doing as a Social Object?
Are you like Eco Adventure Racing with a limited appeal or like Mountain Biking with a mass appeal?
Could it be time you re-wrote your personal Rule Book on how to dress, act and communicate in order to change your identity as a social object?
As the saying goes, “Change your Story, Change your Life”
