Golf, Babies and Social Media.

Ok, I'll accept that's a rather eclectic range of subjects for a single Blog!

So where was my mind when I typed them in? Quite simple really.

If like me and most other people, you have progressed via childhood through education and into the world of work, you will have found, once you get to the last bit, that historically two key areas of casual conversation normally come up.

The first is Golf, it will include handicaps, courses played, holiday planning and which big competition has recently been on the television. If you don't play, or have a passing understanding, you will be excluded and be bored or left on the edge.

The second is babies, or children. The exact definition is a bit broader, depending on the group you are in. From birth weights and birthing experiences, through to teenage angst, exam results and learning to drive, the conversation will be varied. If you are yet to add to the planets population, or your contribution is not of the same age range as those around you, then you are once agin marginalised.

For those outside these two loops the Golf bore and the Baby bore, have long been a frustrating experience when out socialising or business networking. The question is are we now seeing a third bore coming into play?

With the growing number of social media activists it can only be a matter of time before, instead of swapping golf handicaps or GCSE scores,(SAT in America)we are boring our colleagues and friends with our Klouts, Page Views, Numbers of Followers, Page Likes and so forth.

So will Social Media become the new golf in terms of bar talk? Will it stay the course, or will it get lost in the rough when a new craze comes along. Thrown out with dirty nappies?

The answer is uncertain, the truth is though you have to be engaged, or risk a serious chance of losing out.

Let me cite an example from this week. I spent 3 days visiting eco-build. (See www.sbmsearch.com for three mini reviews.) While there a stand holder dealing in domestic wind turbines said there was no point in his being proactive on-line as "his client base didn't use the internet, in fact not many people did"! A quick Google adwords check reveals 18,100 local searches for wind turbines and 1,000 for domestic wind turbines. How much growth is this company missing out on? By using the social media they could be really capitalising on being at the cutting edge of both social media and renewable energy.

So what do you think? Social Media here to stay, to be a fixed part of business and social conversations for generations, or not? Lets share and see what the consensus is.