The Social Media Country Club

I came across an article today that, removing the fluff and style, boiled down to stating that the old school country club culture is becoming a thing of the past as times change and the economy struggles.

It related the story of a couple in their 80’s that had witnessed the decline of their beloved small town country club.  The club had gone from being the social center of their world for nearly 50 years to becoming just another public up-market eatery in their community trying desperately to stay profitable.

What was once a dining room filled with friends and those that “mattered”, staffed with people that knew them on a personal level, had evolved into a dining room filled with “those that could afford the bill” with no real emotional investment in the enterprise. It made the old members sad.

I am the son of a family that once was a member of just such a club some 30 years ago. I can easily picture the dining room that this couple once looked fondly upon. Not because of the food or the decor. It was typically behind the times in both cases even for the ’70s. The club was special because of all of the friends that surrounded us, reliably, every time we entered the dining room. The dining room was as much a part of our lives as the kitchen we had at home, only more so, because it was filled with friends and a staff that made us feel special and welcome.

Golf was the foil wrapped around our club, but I could easily be talking about a tennis club, a Lion’s Club, or even a yacht club I suppose. The days of spending serious money to join a “country club” is fading fast although my parents continue to be members of just such a struggling club to this day. I learned a long time ago that there is nothing in this world that fades away without being replaced by something else and I contend that the replacement for the local country club is online social networking via such sites as Twitter and Facebook.

Although I find that the onion soup isn’t as good.

The social networking sites are filled with cliques we desire to be a part of so we can gain influence and grow our personal brands. We all lose our minds when we hear of a new power broker joining the club. Witness the recent mind freak when Oprah joined Twitter. You want to position yourself to be part of the power groups, but as a lesser-known member of the club, it takes time to earn your way over to the big table. You have to satisfy yourself with talking with the other new members for a while. They are good people and you enjoy their company but you easily sense that you are all trying to gain the attention of those above you in the social structure at the same time.

Then, eventually, maybe, one of the upper level members notices you and welcomes you into their sub-group with an @ message or even a retweet. You may not be at the head table yet, but you’re working your way up just like an new country club member might be invited to sit on a low-level membership committee. They’ve invited you to participate in their conversations and are watching you to make sure you remain worthy. Impress them and they will continue to support you. Disappoint and you can be black-balled (unfollowed) back to the joiners table in a heartbeat.

Eventually, if you are a solid member, you do gain the notice of the upper-crust members, the power brokers. You become a member in good standing and are brought into the fold. You now dine among the elite, with your tweets being retweeted by those that matter, and a mass of followers counted in the tens of thousands on Facebook. The online world is now your oyster because you know the right people, they like you, and you see your personal brand explode in popularity…

Isn’t this the type of fake garbage that being completely transparent while using social media was supposed to get us away from? What is old becomes new again it seems.

How can we do better?
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Cover photo provided by danperry.com
Article photo captured from Twitterholic.com