THE DREAM IN ACTION

Fred Wilson recently posted about the value of sharing on the web, which he called extroversion. Fred, and I, are both fairly open with our identities on the web and by doing that we’re taking a bet that the value of sharing is larger than the small chance that some web stalker will do something stupid. Personally speaking, this bet has definitely paid off.

In the comments I expressed an interest in identifying some sort of non-cash currency that could help measure the value that we receive from sharing on the web. Whether it’s specifically via knowledge sharing or something more tangible I’ll have to work that out, but it is an idea that I’d like to continue to develop.

Then shortly after that conversation, Blagica recently asked a similar question on her posterous blog:

Do Local Communities, Businesses, and Organizations still not get or want the social web?

I began to answer in a comment, but will further expand on my answer here…

Blagica, I don’t think it’s a matter of local communities not getting or wanting the social web. IMHO it’s not rocket science to understand how the tools work, and it’s easy to understand that they help you connect with people. In my eyes it’s that the value proposition of using the social web still hasn’t been defined well enough to clearly communicate how to “fully embrace” the tools. There are not YET enough use cases of success such that the majority of people will know what to do with the tools, and why. There no social media for dummies book to make it mainstream. (Which is a good thing.)

The confusion, I think, stems from the fact that people are still trying to measure everything by using the dollar. I believe the value of sharing on the social web will be best identified, and communicated, when a non-cash currency is used to evaluate this value. Currently, if they don’t see a way to directly ‘monetize’ their time spent on social media platforms, they give up.

What I’d like to see more of is measuring input to the social web with another output than dollar bills (ya’ll).

Now the challenge, defining that currency. I’ll take a preliminary swing at it here.

Opportunities As Currency

If there is one word to sum up the benefit that I’ve received from being open on the web and using tools like Twitter and my blog extensively, it’s been opportunities. I’ve met CEO’s of companies (10 opportunity credits), best selling authors (9 opportunity credits), and had enlightening conversations with people I absolutely never would have met outside of those circles (6 opportunity credits). I’ve not even had to reach out for all of those experiences, I’ve been contacted without solicitation numerous times with these kinds of opportunities. I completely believe that the mantra, “it’s not about what you know, but you know” is true and the social web has significantly benefited me in that way.

I’ve also had the opportunity to read and review books (9 opportunity credits) and products (5 opportunity credits) before they’ve even hit the shelves at Barnes & Noble. As an avid reader, and kind of a nerd, this is exciting to me! It’s not always been the author who’s reached out to me but to get a book in the mail or a ‘Alpha released product invite’ I’m pumped by that.

The last opportunity, that admittedly is less tangible than networking or pre-release product insights, is the opportunity to receive feedback, validation, and challenges of my ideas )2-6 opportunity credits). Every week I post a 2 or 3 times something that I’ve been thinking through, or something that I want to share with the interwebs/world. And almost every post I get valuable and intelligent feedback on that idea. If I’m completely off base with my thesis, it get’s challenged, and I’m able to work that out. If it’s a travel experience that I’m sharing, I’ve gotten recommendations of where to go or travel tips getting their (3 opportunity credits). When I discuss entrepreneurship and social trends people validate that my assumptions are correct or not and help me to clarify my understanding on certain issues, which in turn prevents me from making mistakes and wasting time, a huge value to me, roughly 7 opportunity credits.

So, I’ll continue to share on the social web, I’ll continue to be a Extrovert as Fred calls it and I’ll continue to rack up my opportunity credits by the boat load. I will also continue to look forward to your feedback, thoughts, and insights to the often dumb, but sometimes halfway intelligent topics discussed here on ‘thedreaminaction’. After all, sharing is a two-way street right? I’d love to share some opportunity credits with you!

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