I have a love-hate relationship with social media. Some days I want to
divorce myself from all of it, press the delete button and never look at
another Facebook page. Other days I spend far too much time looking through
the pages and pictures and eavesdropping on others' lives.
I have a Facebook page, and I do Twitter. I am "LinkedIn" and tied
to several other features of today's social media landscape. Like you,
I am astounded at the power and influence this has throughout the world. The
best example is what is happening in the Middle East, where turmoil continues
to bring changes and threatens to reshape the region. Facebook and the Internet
are at the heart of these events, with protestors rallied to "e-streets" and
then literal streets when summoned through these social forces.
We are all watching the power of the Web impact our lives. We are connected
to people and events in ways we never imagined a few years ago—well,
at least the way many of us never imagined. Those 30 and under have no problem
adapting to this new reality. My generation can remember when news and ideas
didn't spread quite as rapidly as the flick of a tweet.
Today nothing remains secret for longer than a nanosecond. Where we are
and what we are doing can be transmitted instantly at will—and even
against our will if our cell phone is on, because it will continually plot
our location to marketers. This power continues to influence events beyond
the control of leaders in every walk of life. To ignore this reality is
lethal to any organization.
Reading of the recent upheaval in Egypt and the role the Internet played
reminded me of a scripture from the book of Daniel. Daniel sought to understand
the meaning of all the prophecies of future events he was given to record,
but God said the meaning would remain locked until the end time: "But
you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the
end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase" (Daniel 12:4).
