Watching trends is one of my favorite things to do and when you sprinkle a little intuition in there, you have the makings of some fairly accurate predictions and forecasts. Each year, I write my hotlist of what’s in/out and trend reports. Since the phone and email are the primarily business tools for inside sales, I’m always looking out for new business and social trends which will impact their longevity.
So I’m paying attention when watching Sheryl Sanberg, COO of Facebook
talk about email eventually going away. She reminds us when we are surveying trends- we want to focus on what teenagers are doing because this opens a window into the future. She states that only 11% of teenagers are on email now. They are texting and using other social tools to communicate and learn.
I finally have figured out why I’ve been so reluctant to take such a big stand on Facebook and here’s my story. I have a big extended family, have lots of friends, colleagues, clients and peers. I also have people that like me and some that don’t. I tend to compartmentalize these things that seem to fit tight in their spot and I manage it all that way. They don’t overlap. Most of my friends really don’t understand the type of work I do and most of my clients don’t know about my personal world. .
Having a presence on Facebook is like a giant oil spill, it just soaks up and spills over. It’s like inviting a few people for a get together and more find out about it and you are forced to invite them all. It pushes my issues around inclusiveness. Plus, I feel added pressure to have fun, look good, always stay shiny and happy.
I must pick up the pace on this and so don’t be surprised if I friend you on Facebook one of these days.
