What If A Volcano Blew Ash On Your Social Networking?

The recent volcano eruption in Iceland and its subsequent ash-spewing raises a pretty good question concerning social networking. The scale of this crisis was huge -- $1.7 billion in lost revenues; 1.2 million passengers affected… EVERY DAY; 100,000 flights canceled (source portfolio.com). As usual, I have to ask the question (if even just to myself):

What Is My Point? (beware of circular logic)

Photo: Lilja Kristjansdo /NordicPhotos/Getty Images
I'll admit it, I photoshopped in the social networks on the magic carpet.

The point of this post is actually to discuss social networking tools.  I ended a recent post with the line “In the end, it’s not about the tools, it’s about the strategy.  Yes, you probably need a presence on social media, but figure out why first,” and since then, I’ve been a little irritated with myself.  The line “it’s not about the tools” just bothers me.  It bothers me even more because I’m not the only person who has said it.

Not About The Tools?

What a load of crap.  Of course it is about the tools.  Would you eat cereal with a crescent wrench?  Or fix your car with a croissant?  Tools matter, and in fact that would be Step 2 in the “Mike Smith's Ultra Simplistic View of Your Business and Social Media”

1. Establish a strategy
2. Choose the right tools to implement your strategy

I’m not going to tell you what tools you should use. a) That’s not my intention -- this article is a little more trancscendental and less directly educational, and b) Googling “best social media tools” will leave you with 108,000,000 results, so in reality I probably have little to add.  But what the OTHER people won’t ask you is this:

What If A Volcano Blew Ash On Your Social Networking?

...and now you can’t use your tools.  I’ve questioned before what would happen if your tools went away, in a midly similar post.

Your web strategy should harness the tools, but not rely on them.   For instace, I want to post videos on my site.  So, I put them all on my YouTube channel and embed the YouTube videos in my pages.  Although I could opt for posting video directly on my site, I like YouTube’s functionality and (obviously) the social aspect that I just couldn’t get by posting on my site alone.  But if YouTube went away, I’d deal. To keep with the theme, I wouldn’t be stranded on the floor of Charles de Gaulle International Airport with nowhere to go.  If/when it happens, your strategy will be your saving grace.  So yeah, it’s not about the tools, it’s about the strategy... (but it's also about the tools).

What about you?  Would it cause a global crisis of volcanic proportions… or would it just be a temporary annoyance?

We can probably learn something from watching the Ning fallout and where people go (maybe the brains at the Altimeter Group  could provide some good analysis... because more likely than not, I won't).