Any business use of social media ultimately has to form a Community to be successful.  That may seem like an overly strong absolute but it is easily justified.

The main difference between social media and traditional media is the interaction between people who use the service – users writing their own content on their own terms.  Without interaction the entire medium is nothing more than a traditional outlet where information is pushed.  That’s why it is important to separate the difference between a real social media Community and a “Scene”, or a place where the hip gather to show their fashion power and prowess.

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Advertising is everywhere, and it keeps our media afloat.  Without ads there would be no money to support cultural centers like news organizations and sports teams as we’ve come to know them.   But are the ads that fill our lives effective at selling the products – or, indeed, worth anywhere near the money spent on them?

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The great Bob Collins of MPR recent wondered aloud on twitter, “How many World Cup stories are actually about soccer?”  It turns out that football, or whatever you want to call it, really is a bit dull outside of the cultural stuff.  The stories are all about people, not the game.  Take that to an extreme and it’s hard to not notice a solid trend right now among the nations that are having a great time in South Africa and those that are not looking so wonderful.  Does World Cup performance say something about the mood of a nation – and perhaps even its future?

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