Simply funny
New media not only bring new possibilities and changes to communication, but they are also said to influence the content of what we communicate. I recently came across two articles that both question the way we communicate in new media. It’s supposed to be simple and fun.
In August, I read an article on t3n.de entitled "Social Media: How Trivial Can It Be? There, the topic is addressed particularly from the point of view of companies. Almost all of them have found that particularly trivial posts on Facebook, for example, are well received by users. Because of this, more and more companies are now also communicating in a rather trivial and "meaningless" way. We live in an entertainment culture. More so than ever since the advent of social media. We consume and want to be entertained. It has to be entertaining, not interesting or substantial. On t3n.de, people also talk about the trivialization and image-heavy nature of communication in new media. There is no denying that such a tendency can indeed be observed.
Columnist Joel Stein in Time looks at this change from a different angle. He points out that today somehow everyone has to be funny, or at least strives to be funny. This can be seen on many platforms, be it Twitter, Facebook or YouTube videos. The usually concise form of communication is to blame for the fact that topics are only dealt with in a reduced way. Certainly, the speed of the new media also plays a major role here.
Stein also picks up on something that is universally valid: people can remember jokes well. If you hit the other person's humor, you get their attention, and the emotions triggered make it easier to remember later. So the fact that this is also attempted in social media is only a logical consequence. In principle, there is nothing wrong with spreading entertaining messages, especially if they trigger positive emotions.
Fortunately, it also remains to be said that the Internet is a great medium for dealing with topics in greater depth. Understandably, no profound discussions can be held in 140 characters on Twitter alone. But if companies or individuals really want to hold substantive discussions and write profound articles, blogs, for example, show that this type of communication has not been lost even in this day and age.
It seems important to me that people as well as companies remain authentic and communicate in a way that suits them. You know when someone is trying to be funny. Trying... I like thoughtful discussions, but I won't deny that trivial posts also entertain me. To conclude in the words of Stein, "I only wish everyone didn't have to try so hard all the time."
Manuel P. Nappo
Director of Studies CAS Social Media
Management at the HWZ,
Chief Networking Officer
at Centralway.
www.about.me/mpn
