There’s something sexy about the old way of doing things. In an age where we jot notes on our laptops and phones, we still buy journals. As digital cameras improve, we still get excited about low-tech methods of creating. Just posting this picture of a cassette tape might get someone to feel a bit sentimental about the old days of making tapes (did you ever splice any? So fun!).

Switch this mindset to how you perceive your use of social media. “I’ll never go over to Google+. I’m too into Facebook.” I’m so thrilled with that perspective. “I’ll never send email. This paper and these stamps suit me just fine.” “Cell phone? Pshaw! I’ve got this perfectly serviceable beeper.”

It’s Never the Medium. It’s the People

We seek to connect with people. We want to reach them for whatever our goal might be. It’s our effort to connect with them in a meaningful way that benefits our mutual needs that should be the goal. It’s never about the delivery mechanism.

We want what we want. Can you listen to Dr. Stephen R. Covey on cassettes? Absolutely. But if I leave those cassettes in my car (well, if my car had a tape deck), then I’m out of luck, aren’t I? With Audible.com, I can download the audio file to whatever device I want, as often as I want. It’s not the medium. It’s the information.

The People Are the Goal

Who follows whom on Twitter isn’t all that interesting. What we do with those connections is why it matters. How we take our access and make something interesting happen-that is the goal.

Again, it’s not whether I follow you or not. It’s whether something I do can improve your business or goals, and it’s whether you can share something or introduce something, or riff on something, or whatever. It’s how we use the network to build a system. It’s how we make our platform shine to help others, to grow our business, and more. That’s the magic.

Is Pinterest The New Amazing Network?

It will be, for those who use it to build a relationship that goes beyond the pins. Any network is serviceable, if you learn how to interact and help people satisfy their needs.

Now, let’s make mix-tapes together, shall we? Let’s make songs of love: a love of doing better business by building stronger human relationships over whatever medium we want.

You in?