A call for an anti-social media day: Mother’s Day 2012

My work involves thinking of ways to measure social media interactions. What is the value of an online ‘conversation’ ? What is the value of a ‘like’ or a download? I just looked at the calendar and there it was – Mother’s Day. Time of the year for a special conversation with Mom, I thought.

Then it hit me.

Of all the candidate anti-social media days, Mother’s day should be the one when Youtube, Facebook and Twitter etc. take a holiday.

Yup. Off.

No social media this Sunday.

Imagine spending the whole day hanging out with Mom…yeah, actually showing up in your mother’s kitchen rather than Instagraming your face? Sure, a Skype-call is the next best thing especially when distance is involved but imagine using those extra bonus travel miles to have a real live analog conversation with mom in her kitchen or on her roof?

Social media has made us less human – less SOCIAL, especially with those we love. I remember us trying to get Mom on to Facebook and e-mail with the thinking that we could bring her into ‘our new world’. Why? What were we thinking? Why not, after all those years of battling with diapers and baby formula could we not stay in ‘her world’ more and make a greater effort to reach out to her live and in the flesh? Maybe subconsciously it was to allow us the excuse later to say ‘Ah, she just doesn’t understand Facebook, so we don’t ‘talk’ much anymore’.

Companies will spend a lot of money to promote their goods and services in traditional, digital and social media for this Mother’s Day. As I think of new ways to measure social media conversations, I take a minute to reflect how to better create and measure the value of my offline conversations with Mom.