Four hundred years ago, Italian astronomer Galileo Gaililei unveiled his newest innovation: a 3x telescope. This would enable him to prove a theory that would have profound impact on humanity: the Sun is the center of our solar system, not the Earth. I believe there to be parallels between this discovery and social media.


The date was August 25, 1609 when Galileo, the chair of mathematics at Italy's University of Padua, presented an improved version of a Dutch telescope to the city-state government in Venice.  It's worth noting he did not actually invent the telescope as many mistakenly believe (he improved on an earlier design). Even so, the discoveries he made using this new device were astounding to the citizens of the early 17th century:

• Jupiter had moons of its own




• The Moon was not smooth, but filled with rocks and craters




• Mysterious artifacts surrounding Saturn that were later proven to be rings




• Venus had phases where it appeared and disappeared like the Moon.

This last discovery arguably had the largest impact on our history and our sense of identity. It proved the astronomer Copernicus's earlier prediction that our planets orbited around the Sun, not the Earth. As human beings, we no longer were the center of our universe. In an instant, our world got smaller and our universe got much bigger.
With appropriate respect to the great scientist, I see parallels with Galileo's discoveries and social media:

• Like the telescope, we use tools like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs to expand our vision.  We peer into conversations in an attempt to discover where we fit in the minds of consumers.




• This process of discovery is about losing the egocentric view that your company is the center of the universe.




• In order to make his discoveries, Galileo not only had to discard a lot of superfluous visions in order to hone in on what exactly he was observing, but also look beyond bright or otherwise distracting sightings trying to grab his attention.  Our task in analyzing conversations and implementing social media strategies is remarkably similar.  To find what truly inspires consumers, we must often discard extraneous chatter, ignore shiny "flavor of the month" tactics, and remember that "influential" does not always equal "loudest."

Galileo's observations were ongoing. In fact, he actually saw Saturn's rings appear and disappear twice over a period of several years. To truly have an impact, our work in social media must be ongoing as well.  truly effective social media strategy is not a one-time flash in the pan, but instead a commitment to continuous provement over a period of time.
What do you think? Is there a correlation here?