For about a year now, I’ve been enjoying the social media insights of Justin Wise. Justin is the social media director for Monk Development, an Internet solutions company. He also co-directs the Center for Church Communication. He blogs about social media strategy, personal productivity, lifestyle design, and entrepreneurship. Today, he’s joining me for a conversation about the future of social media.

Justin Wise: I believe that social media will continue to integrate more deeply into the minutiae of everyday life. Social will find its way into what we eat, what we wear, where we are (and where we’re going to be), what we’re listening to. Social is and will continue to be everywhere.

When I say “social,” I really mean two things:

Share and interact. We want the ability to tell people, namely our friends and family, what we’re doing/eating/going to/listening to. We share, much in the same way we’d tell a friend or spouse over dinner, what our day was like. Now we can share socially and experience feedback in real-time, regardless of where our “conversation partners” are located.

My favorite example of this is the Nike+ running app for iPhone or iPod touch. I use this app for every run I complete, and it’s been astounding to see the results. You can connect the app to your Facebook profile, and your friends can “cheer” you on by commenting on the status update the app posts whenever you start a workout. I hear these virtual “cheers” in my headphones as I’m running. Similarly, I can post the stats from my run across social networks and challenge other runners to a timed race. I’ve heard everything from “You run a lot!” to “I’m going to start running because of you.” Social is actually affecting the real-world lives of people that are sometimes continents away. That fascinates me.

This, hopefully, isn’t breaking news. We’ve all experienced the impact of social, whether a small business owner, megachurch pastor, or Fortune 500 company. Everyone has been impacted by social. I see this when I talk to small-town churches who, quite bewilderedly, say something to the effect of “We know social media are important, but we have no idea where to start!” This is not an uncommon reaction.

That said, organizations will build social into their structural fabric by resourcing social media as a department. In the same way that organizations have communications, PR, legal, and accounting departments, they’ll have social media departments.

Brian Solis says that we’re about the enter Social Media 2.0. Much like Web 2.0, culture reached a saturation point with the Web, and innovators started doing what they do best…innovate. We’re starting to reach critical mass with Social Media 1.0, where literally everyone and their grandmother are using social media in some fashion.

Trevin Wax: For many years, I heard social media gurus saying that social media (from a business standpoint) was all about the conversation. You’re not using it right if you’re not heavily engaged in the conversation across social media platforms. I’ve always scratched my head at that kind of talk because – in my case, at least – I always felt like the people who read my blog and follow me on Twitter were doing so because of the content I was providing, not just the conversational aspect. It was passing on good content through my daily link-posts or (hopefully) crafting interesting articles for the main page that were driving the social media engine. A few months ago, I saw that other social media people were now talking more about content creation and content curation as the heart of social media strategy. What do you make of this shift?

Justin Wise: “Engaging in the conversation” is a waste of time. While that may seem like an overstatement, it’s not. I even have the data to prove it.

I wrote a post on this very topic using the data of Dan Zarrella, the social media scientist at HubSpot. Dan equates “engaging the conversation” to unicorns and rainbows—they make you feel better but don’t accomplish anything.

With the addition of iBooks Author, Apple, once again, is creating a “blue ocean” in which to market. If you make ebook creation as simple as Apple has while claiming sole publisher rights to books created with the tool, more and more authors will drift to the platform. This is typical Apple—creating an ecosystem where they control every last detail from start to finish.

In April, my new book comes out. I’m excited about it. I want to talk about it. My publisher wants me to talk about it too.

But I’m caught between my excitement for the ideas in this book and my resistance to promoting myself and my work.

So that leads me to the question: Is self-promotion always wrong?

Is it possible to choose to not talk about one’s book in order to not appear self-promoting (a more subtle form of pride)?

Is it an act of bad stewardship to not blog about one’s work, effectively walking off the platform the publisher expects you to utilize?

Kevin DeYoung writes:

Being willing to ask hard questions is a must. Do I want money and recognition? Do I feel the need for validation? Do I like it when I look successful? Or do I want people to learn more about Christ and honor him with their lives? Yes, yes, yes, and yes. I pray that my heart is mostly concerned with the last yes, but sometimes it’s hard to tell.

I can totally relate.

A friend of mine recently counseled me this way:

“Trevin, you are constantly pointing people to other books and blogs in order to edify and encourage them. You host interviews with other authors in order to get their books into the hands of readers. If you don’t ever talk about what you’ve written yourself, you run the risk of allowing your readers to miss out on edifying work you are putting out in other venues.”

I get that. And I know that publishers have a vested interest in my own self-promotion.

But I’m still conflicted about blogging about my book. Maybe that’s where I need to be. Maybe this is the Spirit’s method of rooting out sinful motivations and spurring me on to holiness.

Maybe God is saying, “I don’t ever want you to be totally comfortable with self-promotion, even if some promotion will result in more people buying a book that is beneficial to the church.” Maybe God wants me to remember that my motives are never completely pure, and even my best intentions are tainted with sin.

So here’s how I’ve decided to proceed: carefully and methodically. Over the next couple of months, I will blog once a week about Counterfeit Gospels. I’ll write about the book’s origins, what became of my initial idea for my second book, and how I settled on the six counterfeits that make up the book’s chapters.

Along the way, I look forward to introducing the concept of “the gospel as a three-legged stool” and getting your feedback. I’ll also tweet some lines from the book for Twitter followers. The hashtag will be #cgospels.

I’m grateful to those of you who choose to read this blog often and interact with the thoughts I post here. May our exchange of ideas lead to the type of iron-sharpening that edifies the Church. And may my work ultimately point past myself and to the King who deserves all the attention.

Today, I’m foregoing a regular post in order to point you to a roundtable discussion about Christians and internet presence. Brandon Smith moderated a discussion between myself, Jared Wilson, and Steve McCoy on the practicality and benefits of social media, not limited to but including blogging.

I hope you find our conversation engaging and that you’ll join in the comments section.

Here are some insightful quotes:

Steve McCoy: Tell your pastor about your blog for accountability. Or maybe find a trusted, knowledgeable friend who can challenge you when necessary on what you are writing.

Brandon Smith: I always remind myself of this: God has given me X number of blog readers, Twitter followers, Facebook friends, and other contacts in order to glorify Him and fulfill the Great Commission in whatever small or large way He has granted me to do so. I would be remiss to prostitute His gifts for my own gain.

Jared Wilson: The best practical way social media can benefit churches and leaders is through the rapid updating of informational “bullet points.”

Steve McCoy: For me social media isn’t about permanence of what is said but the permanence of those saying it.

During my blog fast, I decided to give Twitter a try. I was a hold-out when it came to FaceBook (my grandfather had an account before I did!), and I held out a long time with Twitter too. My reasons for disliking the idea of “tweeting” were:

1. It can be narcissistic. Does anyone care what I had for lunch?
   
2. It can be boring. Is my average day so exciting that I have to share its details with the world?
3. It can be redundant. I already have a daily blog. Why do I need Twitter?
   
4. It can be time-consuming. It will distract from other, more important tasks.
   
5. It can be dangerous. Letting someone know where I am at all times is like legalized stalking.
   
6. It can contribute to the dumbing down of society. Most people don’t have the attention span for a well-crafted argument in a book. The blog is a step-down. Are we taking an even further step down, demanding our information in bite-sized chunks?

I still think each of these concerns are valid. But I now have a Twitter account for some other reasons.

1. The rapidness of disseminating information. A friend of mine linked to my recent article in Christianity Today regarding the Southern Baptist Convention and the Clark Logan controversy. Within an hour it was being passed along to dozens of Twitter followers and hundreds of readers. I was amazed at how quickly the information went out.
   
2. The ability to share interesting articles. I usually save my best links for Friday’s blog post, “In the Blogosphere.” Twitter enables me to link other articles that might not be included in Friday’s list.
   
3. The importance of conciseness. The brilliance of Twitter is its limitation of 140 characters. Most blogs are surfed, not read. Putting out a brief quote will probably be read by more people than a long blog post.
   
4. Connecting with others. I am on Twitter primarily because I get to “follow” other people on Twitter. It keeps me connected to others who put out edifying “tweets” and who pass along interesting information.
   
5. Boosting the blog. It takes a lot of work to maintain a daily blog. Linking to a blog post on Twitter gives my “followers” the opportunity to pass the article on to others who may benefit from it.

Even though I only list five “pro’s” for being on Twitter, I still think these slightly outweigh the six “cons” mentioned earlier. With a little oversight, one can mitigate the negative aspects of Twitter. Here’s how:

Narcissism? Don’t make the majority of your “tweets” about you.

Boring? Again, don’t make the majority of your “tweets” about you.

Redundant? Instead of letting Twitter compete with your blog, let it point people to your blog.

Time-consuming? Limit the number of people you follow and don’t constantly check for updates.

Dangerous? Avoid giving details of your whereabouts and plans.

Dumbing Down Society? Send along good links to thoughtful articles and news stories.

While it is impossible to completely eradicate the negative aspects of a social tool like Twitter, it is possible to “tweet” in such a way that the “pro’s” outweigh the “cons.” And so, for now, I am willing to take part in the Twitterverse.