This isn’t a 2010 predictions post. You could find enough of those to keep you reading from now through Valentine’s Day. I’m not going to list a half-dozen trends or tools that I think will “break out” next year. But I will talk about something that’s always been and will become even more important as social media continues to evolve: Creativity.
I recently read an interview in one of my favorite photography magazines (Digital Photo Pro) with celebrity photographer Indrani, who had this to say (emphasis mine):
Art directors who used to hire photographers to create their vision are now able to pick up a camera and create it themselves. Today, there is a great challenge – you have to be really, really good and come up with things that haven’t been seen or done before. Anybody can do the rip-off things. There are millions of people who have the capacity to make images look decent – photography is reaching a place where you don’t need years of training and tons of money to create a rip-off, but if you don’t have the artistic ideas to create, then you will come up lacking.
Creativity is what makes Indrani an amazing photographer, not simply her camera and lenses. She’s realized that her ideas and artistry are more important that what ISO setting or exposure she’s using when shooting. The technology has made it so that newbies can quickly pick up the technical aspects of digital photography. But it’s the artistry and creativity involved in composing a stunning image that’s key to Indrani’s survival as an elite photographer.
So what about social media? Well, just about anyone can learn to use tools like Twitter and Facebook, or learn how to build out a blog in Wordpress or upload photos to Flickr. It’s easy to look at what other brands have done in social media in the last 1-2 years and “do the rip-off things.” Twitter hashtag contests, crowdsourced videos, Facebook coupons – these have all been done.
Simply having a social media presence isn’t creative anymore – anyone can do it, and most companies are already or are at least trying to get on board. What’s going to be important in 2010 and beyond is how creatively organizations can use these platforms to drive engagement with customers.
For early adopters, merely using social media platforms as a way to reach out was creative in and of itself. But that phase has long passed, and companies who don’t want to “come up lacking” will need to think more creatively in order to rise above the constant noise that’s being created as more brands start engaging with social media.
I’m personally looking forward to 2010 to see just how creative we can all be.
Image via Flickr user mac.black
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A huge factor in 2010 and beyond for that matter will be businesses finding their space in the space. So loud, so much noise, can you actually “contribute” or should you be utilizing social media in slightly different ways.