Social media.
It is all the rage. The topic was interlaced with most of the presentations during a recent meeting with news editors from across the country. The problem was, it was apparent that too few people understood what it is, how it is used, or who really cares.
Why is this important?
Not because everyone in the media business is rushing to have more Facebook or Twitter connections. We have shown over time that unique visitors to Web pages and a large number of page views on Internet sites do not translate into large sums of money.
Years ago, the media rushed to go online; unfortunately the advertising gurus were left on the sideline. This new world order of "If you build it online, they will come" never materialized.
The latest rage is being able to "friend" someone online via an Internet site and connection. This may be the ultimate extension of finding friends without every having to introduce oneself in person.
The way it works is to send a message to ask someone to be your friend. The network of friends may include someone you know from high school or another setting, but in many cases the connections are merely people being passed along from one Facebook user to another. True friends you can count on when times get tough.
The best part about social media is that you can share information that may or may not be true. Who cares? Few people read the fine print. You may choose to post a picture of yourself or replace your face with some inanimate object. Think the obituary page in a traditional newspaper when you want to remind those who see you on that final page as you want to be remembered, not as you should be remembered.
This introduction to social media or the means of never having to verbally say you are sorry or anything else is a preface to a gathering this past week of former state lawmakers.
David Copeland, who served in the Tennessee General Assembly in the 1970s, brought together state representatives and senators whom he had served with in Nashville.
These Republicans and Democrats met face to face, a strange situation for those who live in the virtual Facebook world. It also was strange to view political partisans who were not engaged in some form of verbal or physical abuse.
You could see firsthand that time takes a toll, but that is life. From their more vibrant days as lawmakers, now they carry the aches and pains of later years.
But they recounted stories and times of when Republicans and Democrats actually had civil conversations and even exchanged a vote every so often for the good of the cause. Some lamented what has happened in today's world of politics in Nashville, when scoring a political point is more important than taking care of an issue either back home or for the majority of Tennesseans.
They wrestled with the notion that to stray off the beaten political path -- either left or right -- was greeted with great fanfare and that political parties were much more involved in setting the political and legislative agenda than those elected to serve the public.
These face-to-face conversations were refreshing because there was real interaction among those in the room. No one reached for a computer or a cell phone to "Tweet" where they were or what they were doing. The faces they saw were real and not something posted on an Internet page for the viewer to determine truth or fiction.
Real networks of people exchanging ideas instead of a virtual set of friends who may or may not care who you are, what you are doing or anything else.
Welcome to a new world of real social media.
To reach Tom Griscom, call 423-757-6472 or e-mail tgriscom@timesfreepress.com.