Seth Godin on Tribes We Lead
Seth Godin’s presentation on Tribes We Lead, is an overall serious, thought provoking and inspirational presentation which challenges us to get out there and start a tribe. In his presentation, Seth Godin argues that the Internet and social media have brought an end to mass marketing and instead we are seeing the creation of tribes which consists of a group of individuals with a set of shared ideas, values and/or beliefs. Seth Godin does not end his presentation before challenging us or urging us to get out there and create our own tribes.
Mr. Godin asks the question, ‘What do we do for a living?’ He contends that we try to change everything. Human beings are always trying to improve things and in trying to make things better, we effect change. I reflect on many of the great inventions such as the invention of the light bulb, the telephone and the airplane. These inventions are a result of people trying to make things better. Those persons who have created movements, or tribes, were the result of people trying to effect change. One such person, Susan G. Komen started a movement called Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Mr. Godin gives us the example in which a Jewish couple would smash a light bulb when they get married signifying a change from before to after, from old to new, “it is a moment in time”, he says. We are living at such a time when we are seeing a change in the way that ideas are created and spread and implemented. With the advent of social media, ideas and information are spread at lightning speed and this benefits marketers significantly because they can now get their message out to millions of people in a very short period of time.
Social media though, did not just happen. First there was the factory cycle and then television or mass marketing. Now we are experiencing a new model where each person has the potential to become a leader and hence start a tribe thanks to social media. For example, there are those who follow their favourite celebrities on twitter and there are persons who will ‘like’ a company’s Facebook page and become fans of that company. Each individual group could be referred to as a tribe. Key to starting a tribe is the ability to target and attract those with whom you have ideas and beliefs in common.
As I reflect on a time when I felt the impact of the changes that have come from increasing use of social media, I recall when my friends and I spoke via msn instant messaging. Then they established Facebook profiles and were therefore no longer using msn instant messaging. I recall when I would log onto my computer to see which of my friends were online and more and more, I found that they weren’t online. Instead, they were logged into their FaceBook accounts posting pictures and updating their statuses.
Bronte
References
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tribe
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