Listening in the social media space : Why bother ?

I attended a workshop recently at the Foundation Center, on Social media technologies titled "Doing more with less: Social media tips and trends for 2012". While the information presented was all very relevant and timely, the one major take-away for me was this : Social media allows us all to listen carefully to what others are saying, and helps us to learn, tailor our communication and strategy accordingly.

Never before was such insightful listening possible. We are able to zone in, and listen carefully to what people are saying. The very process of hearing, listening and analysing this information can give us tremendous insights about human behaviour and how we can use this information to address our audience.

Marketing communications professionals take pride in their ability to skillyfully craft messages and deliver them to an audience, who in turn, are expected to behave in a certain way. Without careful analysis, we may actually be talking to a wall.
But if we do know what a person or a group of people are thinking, discussing, we can enter the conversation ( on Facebook, twitter) or anyother platform and contribute meaningfully to this discussion.

I strongly believe that social media should teach all of us good listening skills, as much as good skills in creating good conversations and dialogues.

As William Isaacs points out in his book "Dialogue and the art of thinking together" : " The heart of dialogue is a simple but profound capacity to listen. Listening requires we not only hear the words, but also embrace, accept, and gradually let go of our own inner clamoring. As we explore it, we discover that listening is an expansive activity. It gives us a way to perceive more directly the ways we participate in the world around us".

The social media sphere offers us this ability to build relationships, form communities of concern and also help us create positive change through discussion.

The preliminary criterion in the online world remains the same as in the "real world" : the ability to listen carefully and thoughtfully.