Media Snacker R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Jeremiah Owyang, Senior analyst for Forrester Research recently asked on his blog, How do I respect media snackers?

Until today I hadn't thought about it. I had not heard the term "media snacker" although I had a good idea what it meant. When I heard about this meme, first through Chris Brogan and then through a tag from my Facebook and Twitter friend John Johnston, I thought the question was asking "How are you a media snacker?"

Given the chance to think about it, I see no reason for any producers of social media to change their approach with respect to media snackers. I mean no disrespect, but we show respect for all social media consumers by assuming they possess the intelligence and faculties to decide for themselves how, when and where they want to consume media.

Participatory online media, like blogs, podcasts and social network profiles give the creators and audience a chance to connect with new, intelligent people they might never have met through a shared interest or perspective and to build a friendship, a business, a movement or a fun game of scrabble.

Half the fun of producing blogs or other forms of this personal journalism is that it is about YOU, the creator, what you have to say and when you have to say it. People that find you or your topic interesting will make the time to read it. Or they will skip or skim your post if it's too long or too involved for the amount of time and attention they have available. If you aren't getting the audience you want, it may have as much to do with what you have to say and how you say it rather than the venue, format or length of time and space it took you to say it.

If you define respecting a media snacker as giving them little, streamlined bits of content that don't tax their attention span, then I inadvertently respect media snackers by rarely posting to my blog. That's probably because I'm so busy being a media snacker, I don't have time to entertain the rest of them.

In fact I consider myself a media binge-er. When I finally get to my Reader I page through it for hours and jump from post to post. If I get engrossed in a topic I jump from link to link to link and lose track of time. I never go on You-Tube, mainly because my computer is old and takes forever to download video and because I am afraid I would stay there and not move from my seat like that fat lady in the opening episode of last season's Nip/Tuck.

Having said all this, I naturally cater to media snackers because the short form fits my style. I Twitter a lot, not out of respect for media snackers, but because it's a great venue for my specialty, one-liners and wisecracks. I also like that it can be a forum for immediate and timely feedback and interaction. At its best Twitter truly is "The Conversation" everyone converses about, even if that conversation covers lunch menus, real-time baseball comments and Skipper Fridays. I try to craft my tweets to entertain the audience, again, not because they're media snackers, but because I want them to laugh and keep listening. But another important reason I do it is because it entertains me.

I worry sometimes that I tweet too much. Every time I lose a follower I fear I babbled and clogged their text message system. But Twitter is like a bag of Lay's Potato Chips, I can't Tweet just one. And just as I prefer Wise Potato Chips, some people have a different way of using Twitter. Similarly, when it comes to my own media consumption, whether bingeing or purging, if I don't like what the host is serving, especially if he or she doesn't seem to respect my intelligence, I just don't partake.

I see all this media as a big buffet. It's your choice to sample little bits or gorge on all of it. Why not eat 14 pigs-in-the blankets and skip the baby quiches? Whether I'm starving or stuffed, serve your best dish and I will decide how, when and where to eat it. Like the Chef in Big Night, if you remain true to your vision, I will respect you for it.

What do you think? Please post a comment or a post on your blog.