I blame Facebook for the cheapification of the word “like”.
Everyday we’re bombarded with requests to “like” some company’s Page.
There was a time when we liked something or someone, it signified a certain level of trust and affirmation.
I like John because he’s supportive and generous. I like blueberry pie because it taste good and reminds me of my childhood.
Alternately, I could say that I don’t like John because he’s an ass, or don’t like blueberry pie because it makes my tongue blue.
On Facebook Pages we either “like” you or ignore you.
So tell me again why you want me to dive into your sales funnel.
Why should I like you if I don’t know you?
If I don’t know you, why would I trust you?
If I don’t trust you, then why in the hell would I buy from you?
Humans have survived this far by being social; by creating communities that were built on shared values and trust.
We haven’t changed much but technology has – a lot.
I believe that the popularity of social media is fuelled by our desire to build supportive networks.
“A community is a group of people with a common set of values and beliefs, where trust emerges as a distinctly human experience of individuals sharing that very same common belief”. – Simon Sinek
Chris and Julien share a “trust test” is the book which I’ll sum up here:
(Credibility x Reliability x Intimacy) / Self-orientation = TRUST
Credibility: Authenticity, you are who they say you are. You want a high score here.
Reliability – Consistency. Again, a high score is a good thing.
Intimacy – Your emotional instinct about someone. Do you feel comfortable around them? Would you tell them a secret? Higher the score, the better.
Self-orientation – Is it all about you? Here is where you don’t want a high score. You recommend a competitor’s service? – Low score. (good) Your news feed self-promoting. – High score (bad)
We trust someone who displays the most C R & I and the least S.
Why is trust important?
Because we can’t build communities without it.
”Our modern, anonymous neighbourhoods provide none of the prerequisites for trust, and hence can never be true communities. In our search for community, many of us reach out instead to those outside our neighbourhoods, looking for support, or reassurance, or knowledge, or partners, or just company.” Dave Pollard
Hangouts and Skype are cool, but to really connect, nothing beats a good old fashioned handshake (or Montreal two-cheek kiss).
Technology is great for exchanging information and driving transactions; it’s not so great at creating human relationships.
I’m including a TEDx talk video of Simon Sinek. In it, he speaks about the importance of:
“ … making “handshake friends,” engaging in “handshake dialogues,” and building “handshake businesses.” In this way, we can return to valuing human relationships and get back to a place where trust becomes the standard, not the exception.”
Ray Hiltz is a Social Media Strategist with management roots in restaurant, hotel and performing arts.
A strong proponent for the power of collaborative communication and "humanized" digital networking, Ray writes about social media, social business and Google Plus.
His clients include hotels, restaurants, consulting firms, entrepreneurs, writers and individuals just trying to make sense of "social".
Ray is a popular speaker on Social Media, Social Business and Google+.
This entry was posted by Ray on August 30, 2012 at 18:29, and is filed under Social Business. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0.You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.
I too think Facebook has "cheapened" the like. We like everything now. I remember the first time I went to click that silly thumbs up, I wondered, "How do I know if I'll like this two weeks from now? I'm putting this on the Internet, it feels so final." Now I giggle that I even thought that!
While I see that electronic communication - of all types has it's value, I do see where the face-to-face seals the relationship. Do I call that a handshake friend? Not sure. It seems...........kinda a male term. ;)
@connectyou Interesting, I never thought of "handshake" having a gender identification.
As I mentioned to Mallie, I don't think it's to be taken literally. The gist is as you say; face to face seals the relationship if there is a symbolic handshake, an action that expresses mutual commitment to a shared goal.
Of course, if you're uncomfortable with a handshake, I hear "a kiss on the hand can be quite continental". :-)
@MallieDein Not that I will presume to speak for Simon Sinek, but what I took from that quote is that "handshake" is a stand in for "authentic". The words friends, followers and influencers have been neutered somewhat by social technology. Do we really have 500 "friends" on Facebook?
As he states in the video, we don't trust someone who won't shake hands with us because the act of doing so reflects a personal commitment. Online and in companies, it's easy to say your friends, but how many will reach a hand out to you?
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