Kirsten Incorvaia on Social Media Quotes

Continuing our social media focus inspired by the release of The Social Network, we asked quote fan and social media consultant Kirsten Incorvaia to tell us why social media matters…

It’s been a hard, fast turn to social media marketing. I hardly remember another form. Probably because the moment I entered the job market social media was already emerging as small businesses’ only chance at survival in the waning “economy.” It has since risen as the cost-effective, far-reaching marketing campaign that is actually demanded by consumers. We’ve put up with advertisements all our lives, from Saturday morning cartoon breaks to freeway billboards. Why not welcome them into our social life (online or otherwise) for the sake of convenience, and “free”? 

The danger of social media is that it’s a portal to business networking near and far but its core is social; a vortex of entertainment that’s ephemeral as a dandelion. At times I wonder, why am I writing to this dear friend on Facebook when I could just as easily jet over to her apartment? Facebook and Twitter (my preferred platforms for microblogging) can suck up an hour of time with little to show for it; yet with systematic goals and schedules, they can be powerful tools for productivity.

For the past two years I have made a living off social media and online marketing services. Even this blog post was solicited by a fellow tweeter. I have used online communication to promote what I believe in, and it has helped me access the larger international community that also relates to these causes. Social media isn’t just for Urban Outfitters; it’s for the studio painter, the graphic designer, and the independent documentary filmmaker, too. 

Kristen’s Top 5 Social Media Quotables

So here are my Top 5 quotes to sum up social media at the final hour of 2010, the year Mark Zuckerberg became an historical landmark thanks to The Social Network. 

The pace of the social media world is like a busy bar or restaurant: fun to visit, but stressful and demanding to work in. If you’re not willing to constantly read, learn, solve technical puzzles and socialize with people – you’ll just be treading water and going nowhere.

— Brett Borders, Social Media Rockstar.com

Feel free to get all excited about the neat things you can do with the New Marketing. But be prepared to fail. If you don’t get your marketing in sync with your organization and your product, game over.

— Seth Godin, “Meatball Sundae”

Nobody has ever built a reliable peer-to-peer service, where people can really access all the music they want in one location, … Once I got it into my head, I couldn’t imagine the media space without one.

— Shawn Fanning, Founder of Napster

Early on someone said, “Twitter is fun but it isn’t useful.” Ev said, “Neither is ice cream.” So what if it’s just fun?

— Biz Stone, Founder of Twitter 

And a little one-liner from Conan…

I hear YouTube, Twitter and Facebook are merging to form a super-social media site – YouTwitFace.

— Conan O’Brien

- Kristen Incorvaia

Remember to add your own favourites on Quotables and see if yours makes it onto our mammoth Top 100 Social Media Quotables list tomorrow – definitely one to bookmark social media peeps!

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Image from illusion360.