Social Media's Three Rs

What are they? Reading, Writing, and Relationships. And by recycling the recycling logo itself, we even have a fitting graphic for the 3 Rs of social media.

I've spent several posts on writing blogs and reading content from others online, but the most important R of all is relationships. It's what makes social media social. From the comfort of your own home or office, you can build real relationships with customers and countless other stakeholders anywhere in the world. You can share ideas with the terrifically smart individuals you'll discover and build lasting friendships with people whom you may never meet face-to-face.

It's actually amazing how well you can get to know someone online. To illustrate the point, one of my former learning team members in Seton Hall's MASCL program is a dentist. He told me that he got to know his online classmates better than he did the students he sat next to everyday in dental school. It's kind of like the difference between staying in a hotel and taking a cruise; there's something about everyone being in the same boat that promotes an entirely different level of interaction and sharing.

Social media provides a plethora of reading, writing, and relationship resources. Let's face it, the three Rs of social media and the three Rs of PR are two sides of the same coin. Now you just have to convince the rest of your colleagues.