People think that with new ideals and new technologies must come new tricks to the trade, but not so much. Just like you cater to a traditional journalists the way they want. You make sure you know their beat and their editorial calendar…and in some cases what their favorite restaurant is. You must do the same with influencers in the social media world.

It is interesting how you took the basics in understanding people and made it relevant for our profession.

P.S. I love your blog. ;-)

This reminds me of what was drilled into my head in grad school (MS International Marketing)…we lived and breathed Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions (http://www.geert-hofstede.com/) in every class regardless of the topic. When cultural dimensions are learned and excepted, it makes it that much easier to be open-minded about new ways to do business once you’ve accepted that others might have a better way of doing it.

Culture and social media are definitely a new dimension.

@ekreeger

I agree that in-person events like the SMBs, tweetups, and unconferences like BarCamp and PodCamp are a great way for folks like traditional marketers to begin the “cultural immersion” process into social media/social networking. I’ve always found that people farther along the social networking continuum are more than willing — they’re quite eager, in fact — to share best practices and resources and make introductions to newcomers.

So if you’re for the immersion, come on out to an event and make sure to ask plenty of questions!

Bryan Person | @BryanPerson
Social Media Breakfast founder