President’s Column

by Steve Higgins, IABC/Tulsa President

Actor Rainn Wilson (a.k.a. “Dwight Schrute”) recently dispatched the following tweet: “I’m not on Facebook” is the new “I don’t even own a TV.”

Apparently, in Wilson’s mind, the only people left who could possibly resist the allure of Facebook are the smug, the superior and the self-consciously hip. They are individualists who hope to elevate themselves above the riff raff by rejecting what everyone else is into.

These are the same people who still listen to vinyl records, shoot 35mm film and read books made of dead trees.

People, I suppose, like me.

I’m no Luddite. I can set alarm clocks in hotel rooms. I know my way around the interwebs. I even tweet occasionally. Facebook, though, just doesn’t grab me.

So I’m not sure it’s fair of Wilson to disparage people as snobs just because they’re not active on Facebook.

There’s no doubt social media is a proverbial “game changer,” not just in communication, but in politics, business and society in general. It’s hard to argue with the power of something that brings together 500 million people.

Our third annual OkieSMart event in August will explore how communication professionals can tap into that power. There’s a convincing business case to be made for Facebook as the single most efficient, targeted communication channel out there.

Still, there are people who simply aren’t interested in spending their precious personal time online. Do these people deserve to be marginalized, ridiculed and insulted?

Feel free to comment on our IABC Tulsa Facebook page.

I may or may not see it. Especially if you post on Thursday night, when “The Office” comes on.

See, I do own a TV.

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