Understanding Push Content Versus the Social Stream

Do you still need a web page? In the age of Facebook and other social media outlets, what’s the point of having a webpage? Or an email newsletter? Why bother since everyone can just find you on social media? Don’t they already follow you? Yes and No.

Understanding Push Content Versus Stream Content

In the early days of the web, say circa 1995, email was all there was. I remember trying to come up with a modular, dynamic design for websites back around the year 2000. The technology just wasn’t there for the average user.

Then came myspace. Then came Facebook. Then went myspace. But that’s a different story.

But for those who haven’t grown up native digital communicators, there is a key concept that if often overlooked. Without it, your digital communications will be seriously hampered.

Social Media is a stream. It flows constantly, and like the Matrix, “its way too much to decode.” On average, most Facebook users have 388 friends. If that’s the average, the likelihood that you have more, and maybe many more, because there is no way you are average right? But… There is no way to keep up with 388 people. Add to that the hundreds, maybe thousands of people you can quickly follow on Twitter, and pretty soon, what happens?

Well, Facebook starts to decide who it thinks you like to interact with. Some viewers are hidden by the all famous “algorithm.” Though its possible to reset the feature, they keep hiding how to do it with every new update.

Why is this all important?

Because PUSH content is content that you can actively invade users worlds. Now, push content must come with permission, otherwise its considered SPAM. But if the choice is a “Like” on a page, or a sign up for an email newsletter, take the sign up. The “Like” gets you into the persons stream. But if they aren’t frequently users, if their time schedule doesn’t connect with yours, or for any number of other reasons, your posts will not be seen. You will flow by in the stream, unnoticed.

But if you have permission based PUSH content, you will get noticed.

The best of both worlds though is BOTH. In your digital media platform, you send emails, which draw you to a website, where you invite people to share, like, and comment in the social-sphere. Neglect the social aspect and people will think all you care about is yourself. Neglect the PUSH aspect, and you may be a nice guy or gal, but you’ll never get noticed.

With the vast number of social media outlets, a website serves as home base, headquarters, whatever. Its a place that needs to exist because in the social arena, you can’t know who is where when. Or even if they saw your post. But with email (PUSH) and RSS (PUSH), you can make an effort to have people dip into your stream where you are.

Hope that makes sense.