It is funny how at concerts I consider my voice vital. Without me, I think, the public won’t be loud enough. So, I let my voice slice the air and I clap as hard as I can. But when I take a break to have some beer, I get a reality check: I hear the crowd cheering pretty loud without my help.
Similarly, many users of social media consider their voices vital. Without your interesting interactions, comments and photos, you may think, social networks won’t be half as fun. Well, have some beer because it is time to get another reality check: the online community will be doing as well without you.
Both concerts and social media are not about you in the singular. They are about the entire music-loving audience or the entire networking population. The goal of both activities is to unite a community with similar interests and make it stronger and more fun as a whole.
At concerts, there is this brief but nonetheless palpable moment when you become one with the culture around you. And you can express it by shaking your head to the beat of the music or holding the hand of the person swaying next to you. Either way, you are achieving the ultimate goal of concert-attending—connecting with people. Isn’t it the same with social networking?