Why social media is like Stone Soup

I have always loved the story of Stone Soup. In it, a hungry traveler only has a soup pot. He fills the pot up with water, puts a stone in it, puts it over a fire and convinces an entire town of people to contribute to his soup. The end result is something wonderful and everyone, including the hungry stranger, enjoys the delicious soup.

It got me thinking that social media started out pretty much the same way. You had this blank canvas of internet, and people just kept adding to it. We do it everyday on Twitter. Someone has something to share, and then someone else finds it interesting and retweets it, and so on.

A new person, or a person who has been on there a long time, fueled with all of this great information, can go off and create something wonderful -- all because they were open to this information that everyone freely shares. It's how passions are found and formed. You hear something, you try it out, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. The great thing is that all you have to do is watch your stream, and maybe you'll see something else that might strike your fancy.

Sometimes in social media we get fooled into thinking everything happening in our own little network is all there is. It is a big world out there. There's room for everyone. Share freely and enjoy the rewards of your own Stone Soup.

Photo acknowledgement