What's for breakfast?

I’ve talked with many people over the last couple of years about the effectiveness of Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms for individuals, families, churches, and other organizations. Some have taken it to heart. Others…not so much.

One of the people with whom I’ve discussed social media is an executive at a marketing and communications firm. His response to Twitter and Facebook is, “I don’t care what people are eating for breakfast.” He doesn’t have time to sort through all of the useless conversation that’s out there. While I understand there is a lot of useless conversation in the social media realm, there are also a lot of people in the social media realm…and that’s where he’s missing the point.

But he’s not the only one who has underestimated a new technology. Take a look at a few quotes:

>>> "This telephone has too many shortcomings to be considered as a means of communication. The device is of inherently no value to us." - Western Union internal memo, 1876

>>> "The phonograph has no commercial value at all." - Thomas Edison, American inventor, 1880s

>>> "Fooling around with alternating current is just a waste of time. Nobody will use it, ever." - Thomas Edison, American inventor, 1889
(Edison often ridiculed the arguments of competitor George Westinghouse for AC power)

>>> "While theoretically and technically television may be feasible, commercially and financially I consider it an impossibility, a development of which we need waste little time dreaming." - Lee DeForest, American radio pioneer and inventor of the vacuum tube, 1926

>>> "Who the h**l wants to hear actors talk?" - H.M. Warner, Warner Brothers, maker of silent movies, 1927

>>> "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." - Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943

You see, even those who are innovators in their own right (Edison, Warner, Watson) can still get lost in the ever-changing world of technology. Don’t let your vision get blurred by what you’re doing today…keep your focus on what’s coming next and how you can leverage that in your ministry, organization, or personal life.