You heard it here first

I've been looking for the next big thing on social media for a while now, and I think I've found it.
No it's not vlogging, podcasts or a new platform, it is a complete philosophical shift in how we use the internet for marketing.
The way I look at it is that the internet is growing up, so Mildred Parten's 1929 Stages of Play is a useful model, you'll probably recognise some of these stages:

Unoccupied play – not playing, just observing.
Solitary play – uninterested in or unaware of what others are doing.
Onlooker play – watching others but not engaging.
Parallel play – separately but close to others, mimicking their actions.
Associative play – interested in other people, but not in coordinating activities.
Cooperative play – interested in both the people playing and in the activity, they are doing

I propose that the cacophony of Social Media is due to most users being in transition between the Parallel and Associative stages, and if you want to get ahead of the curve you need to leapfrog to the Cooperative stage.
And what does that look like?
Actual conversation and communication; I call it Osmoblogging - instead of trying to be louder, cleverer or more shocking to get your prospects attention; drilling down, taking a real interest in the problem you choose to solve, and building solutions with your prospects and clients through conversation. Excellent questions and lots of listening...