Making sense of a world in motion

I couldn’t make it to the Lagos Social Media Week this year but I did my best to follow up on the week- long activities at the venue online.  Social media has become a major feature of how we communicate globally that we all need to pay attention to what it makes possible.

The various platforms can be a major distraction in our daily lives, but it’s up to every user to decide how he or she wants to maximise the potential it offers. Like every other thing, it has its good and bad sides which must be understood by anyone who wants to use it.

Not being on any of the platforms is not an option for anyone in this age who does not want to be left out of the global inter-connectedness which social media offers.

There is a Yoruba proverb which I usually use to explain why everyone should use social media one way or the other. Literarily translated, the proverb means, whoever closes his or her eyes to allow a bad person to pass bye, he or she will not know when a good person will pass bye.

For me, being on social media requires being discerning and deciding what to use it for. Originally designed for social communication, the platforms have now become professional tools for advancing personal and corporate brands.

The problem is that many don’t know what to share or hold back on social media. There is need for a lot of restraint as whatever we share remains part of our life story that can be accessed long after we have forgotten about it.

One session I would have loved to attend was the one where the Managing Director of Guaranty Trust Bank, Mr Segun Agbaje, spoke on how to make a sense of a world in motion. The world is indeed in motion and everyone must understand what is changing and what is not, to survive.

Nowadays, it is so easy to be left behind in whatever endeavour except one pays attention to the changing landscape around in all sectors. There is need for constant innovation and review of how things used to be done.

The disruption caused by social media and other technologies is such that only those who are alert to them can remain relevant.

Despite the changes, there are things that remain sacrosanct, which Agbaje drew attention to.

“You can’t feed people with what you think they want, you have to give them what is important. Honestly, for me, I think those values will remain values and in whatever business modules you do, it’s got to be value-centred and value-driven because values are not going to change.

“In this fast moving world where everything seems to be going at speeds that nobody understands, you can develop the ability to see it in slow motion.

“If you get to the point where you can see this world in slow motion, even though it’s moving very quickly, you would have built a competitive advantage that will allow you to beat your competitors,” Agbaje stated.

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