Two days ago I taught a brief workshop on social networking to a group of professionals.
I was explaining briefly how one particular network worked, how to make contacts in your target market, etc.
Once I was done, I asked everyone if that made sense.
One individual snorted and replied somewhat snidely, "No.
" Knowing there was something he was thinking but not wanting to come out and say, I decided to play innocent.
"Which part didn't make sense?" I asked.
He then told me he didn't understand why people were using that particular social networking website, with the implication that it was a waste of his time.
In part of that, he's not alone.
Not in a general sense, anyway.
With all the new technologies coming out, we can't always understand why people are using some of them.
I often wonder why people use one particular social networking site and not another.
But it doesn't matter if I understand their reasons.
Because regardless of whether I understand or not, it's still happening.
What I told the real estate agent who scoffed, and what I'll say here is this: It doesn't matter if you understand them or not, you just have to believe it.
I don't know why some people still use MySpace instead of switching to Facebook.
But the why doesn't matter.
I accept that it's happening, and therefore still use MySpace for marketing.
So while you don't have to understand, if you're going to succeed, you still have to believe it and act on it.