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One and half centuries ago, the humble buttonhook was cutting edge technology and irreplaceable in the average household. A buttonhook was a piece of thick wire, similar to a coat hanger in diameter, that had a small, open, hook at one end. The other end was either a larger, closed loop or a handle, sort of like the handle on a hairbrush.
During this time, fashion in Europe and much of America dictated dozens, if not hundreds, of buttons on women’s clothing. The buttonhook was poked through the buttonhole to catch the button and pull it through. Its use could reduce the time to dress by 50% or more.
By the dawn of the 20th century, this device that every cosmopolitan home possessed, was on the way out. By the time Ford’s Model T raced across the plains in great, shiny, black hordes, the buttonhook was a dim memory for most people, the need for it removed by changing tastes and the zipper.
In her February 3rd 2010 blog entry, Heather Hopkins said, “Last week, Google Reader accounted for .01% of upstream visits to News and Media websites, about the same level as a year ago. Google News accounted for 1.39% of visits and Facebook 3.52%. “ Read that again. Facebook is driving more than twice the amount of traffic to news sites as did Google News. This is a paradigm shift, plain and simple, just like the move from hundreds of buttons, to a few buttons and zippers.
What happened to companies that didn’t understand the change in women’s fashion? They kept building buttonhooks, maybe even improving them. They probably tried ads and sales programs and held their breath, sure that a return to Victorian styles was just around the corner. But they were wrong and they are gone, just like the dinosaurs.
Today, in nearly every company, in my own company, there are people who are sure that social media is a flash in the pan. “Sure it’s hot now, but give it a few years….” “Show me the ROI and we’ll consider sending some ‘Twitters’ announcing our press releases.” You’ve heard them too.
What the naysayers don’t get is, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and all the others and even ones that aren’t so much as a dream yet, are the next wave. Miss out on it now and you and your company can sit happily in the dustbin of history, along with the leading buttonhook manufactures.
This is the time to start the shift. Sure, there are still plenty of garments with lots of buttons, but aren’t those zippers starting to look good? PUSH your clients to understand social media. PUSH them to not only try it, but to do it right. The new frontier is not like the old. No longer is it a matter of a company spraying news from a fire hose. Social media—successful social media—is a conversation.
You have the knowledge (or you should!) and you have a responsibility to the people paying your salary. Don’t let them be left behind in a fading age.
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