I can see allusions to hopes that you had and changes you wanted to see, and maybe there are things you used to believe and don’t believe anymore. But I would describe those as changes that haven’t happened yet, or have happened somewhere, but not elsewhere.

I see you describe this as a rant inspired bt a seminar at LSE. I’d like to read more about that and your responses to it.

Surprised at the confusion in your comments. My interpretation of what you say is that of social media as a defined ‘item’ (institution/entity/force/initiative/movement/catalyst) being co-opted by the mainstream of humanity and its limited technical interaction, combined with static agents (bureaucracies/companies/basically defined institutions in the academic sense.)

In that sense, it is dead. In the sense others are thinking, that it remains something that individuals/corporates/etc have to think of, it is not. It just is no longer social media – its what is part of the interweb. Driving forces will – or will not – co-opt it and utilize to reinforce status quo or catalyze change.

In a sense, the whole term social media is a misnomer isn’t it… being social on the web does not in itself make it ‘media’ in the corporate sense. Perhaps one great root is the failure of our language to recognize that the term media has become synonymous with far, far too much?

By the way, A) I had no idea I was going to write that and B) I never write like that. I blame your post.

I take it that the “is Dead” predicate here has a sense similar to that of Nietzsche’s “God is Dead,” whereby he was not making a theological statement, but an anthropological statement. N meant to say that God was no more the predominate concept in society by which “man” defined his upward- or forward-moving ambition. Instead, concepts such as “The People” and “Progress” etc had taken that definitive role — according to Neitzsche. (He knew full well that churches and synagogues would go on indefinitely, and all his best expositors agree that he was not talking about God objectively at all.)

Likewise the statement “Social Media is Dead” in this post, I take it, is not a market segment assessment, not a prediction that Facebook and Twitter apps will fade. Rather it is a pronouncement that the once high-minded purpose of social media is hopelessly lost. If we want to empower the user, it won’t be so-called social media that does it. There is a strong case to be made here.

Indeed this is a post written “for all and for none”.

To me, that’s like saying a pool is dead because there’s a bunch of loud fiesty swimmers somewhere between the shallow and deep ends splashing, making noise, and annoying the crap out of the other swimmers. Which, from one point of view, does make a bit of sense. But only a little.

But seriously, we all know that social media won’t die until the Web and the Internet die. I just think your argument is too simple and too focused on trying to make a particular point.

1. I don’t think the ‘other lot’ is adapting to the changing world. Hence Social media as an agent of change being dead. It’s ran out of steam, got co-opted, sold out – take your pick.
2. I don’t think that there is any ‘movement’ – just waves of people discovering the nebulous ’social media’, to the point that it makes no sense to talk of social media anymore

I am not suggesting killing anyone. Just observing what I see. I am not interested in social media anymore and haven’t been for some time. There are other areas far more dynamic and disruptive that have potential to do what social media failed to do.

This post just spells out what I have known for some time. Showing ‘the bad guys’ (whoever you mean by that) better ways is not for me. I’d rather find ways for individuals to do more and more things that we can’t do now. Yet.

I don’t think they will ever disappear, but they will continue to change. Social media is just part of the change that will lead to the obsolescence of their current methods.

Why kill the bad guys if you can convert them to being good guys? Lay down the path and they will follow. Show them that there are better ways of achieving what they really want (and that what they really want is not always what they think they want).

And remember that if anyone is in a position to pull it off, you are.