That was before the modern meaning gained traction: That populations tumbled because packs of lemmings would occasionally run head-first off of cliffs, plunging to their self-induced death for no apparent reason. Back in the 19th century, the Naturalist Edward Nelson wrote that 'the Norton Sound Eskimo have an odd superstition that the White Lemming lives in the land beyond the stars and that it sometimes comes down to the earth, descending in a spiral course during snow-storms.'" "In the 1530s, the geographer Zeigler of Strasbourg, tried to explain these variations in populations by saying that lemmings fell out of the sky in stormy weather, and then suffered mass extinctions with the sprouting of the grasses of spring. For years, theories on these populace peaks and plummets varied from the supernatural to the absurd. Populations of lemmings fluctuate dramatically, from massive herds to near extinction. However, the long-lived myth actually has its roots in Hollywood trickery. That is, except for the lemming-a small, furry, gerbil-like rodent that has come to be defined by its alleged tendency to mindlessly kill itself by jumping off of cliffs. Perhaps because when your daily thought pattern is limited to eat-sleep-defecate, there's no time for existential exegesis or contemplating the futility of life. It can.Animals are rarely known for their suicidal tendencies. Don’t pretend that it can’t come up an get you. My advice to those people, the social media channel is much more powerful than you might have imagined. Many PR folks are concerned about the rise of social media and the fall of traditional methods to engage with members of the press. Because if you don’t, unhappy customers have the power to make your life miserable, just like the revolutionaries in the countries mentioned above have for their leaders.
So what can the tech sector learn from this? It’s very important to work closely with your customers, address their needs and make sure that you follow through on your promises.
“The Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University cited Facebook and Twitter as playing key roles in spreading dissent-and up-to-the-minute news-in Tunisia, leading to the removal of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who gained control of the country in a 1987 coup d’etat.” And we have social media, at least in part, to thank. Yet the ability of the masses to share the message of freedom with the world did not go unnoticed by those of us outside of those countries. The people who suffer under the repressive regimes in Tunisia, Yemen and Egypt have been controlled and repressed over the years by hard-line governments. I’m here to say that, as a history buff, I find it fascinating that the social media wave has become a crucial part of the recent upheaval in the Middle East. That message was clear at the recent Demo show where “just about everywhere you look these days, Twitter and Facebook are the most popular kids in the room.”īut I’m not here to debate the merits or praise the rise of social media. Yet in the tech sector, we tend to get a little too excited about new technologies and sometimes I think we’re simply lemmings jumping off of a cliff by blindly following the hottest trends. The beauty of social media is simply that – the act of sharing a message. But the key, as blogger Om Malik suggests, is “the message - the act of sharing - is the real product.” I love Facebook for a variety of reasons: I’ve been able to re-connect with long-lost friends, it allows me to share thoughts and ideas and get discussions going, and it enables me to learn from those around me. I will admit that I am a fan of Facebook and I use Twitter on occasion. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. It’s one of the greatest inventions of our time,” said the second person. “Social media is the biggest waste of time,” said the first person. Two guys walk into a coffee shop, get their drinks, sit down and start chatting.
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