My immediate reaction when I hear about someone placing a high value on her privacy is, "Why? What do you have to hide? Or what are you unwilling to share?"
For me, sharing myself is a way to connect with people. Have you ever noticed how receptive people are when you are genuinely open and giving of yourself? It puts people at ease. The more open you are with yourself, the more likely it is that someone will find something about you they can relate to.
Certainly, there is such a thing as overshare. I'm not going to go around announcing every time I burn the rice or buy a new bottle of shampoo (unless, of course, either incident was particularly spectacular). That would be obnoxious and dull.
But when someone wants to have a genuine conversation, why would I hoard information about my life from that person? What if they want to know about the kind of milk I buy? What if they're apartment hunting in my neighborhood? What if they want to talk about how to choose cat litter?
Most human interaction is an exchange of information about life's mundane details. Being online simply helps you interact with (share mundane details with) more people in a broader scope. You broadcast your life, and you find more and more people who can relate to you.
I'm not sure why technology makes that concept seem so convoluted. It's simple, really. We've always known it. "Give yourself, if you wish to get others." - David Seabury
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4 comments:
Nice post, Meghan. You speak to the core of the big shift in marketing today. Whether you want to call yourself a Trust Agent or lead a tribe, your personal brand won't resonate with anyone if it's cold and impersonal. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Josh! I always appreciate your comments.
Interesting to put it in a marketing context. This thought process was a response to a Baby Boomer who told me she values her privacy more and more as she gets older (and also professed increasing feelings of alienation from those around her).
And you're right - it's the same with brands. Excellent point!
This just makes me think of how people are so freaked out about the changes on Facebook. Granted, I don't like that they keep changing things on us without notifying us of how we'll be exposed, I don't take much issue of having my Facebook info at least somewhat accessible. But I'm also comfortable with sharing online, in general. I agree. Transparency is valuable.
Natalie, I agree. It's strange to me that people are getting so upset about the changes. (Now, the way FB has been handling the changes is a whole other topic, but at their core, the changes are no big deal.)
I have to ask anyone who's panicked at the thought of publishing their work information to the entire Internet - have you never dropped a business card into a drawing? Couldn't some random stranger have hunted you down and stalked you? Aren't you listed in the phone book?
Why are we more fearful of strangers on the Internet than strangers in a bar or in a phone booth?
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