I'm currently reading the book Elizabeth Street by Laurie Fabiano. I'm only a few chapters in, but the the book, which is based on true events. On Amazon.com, the book is described as, "both a fascinating immigrant story and an intimate portrait of how a first-generation American--and the author’s own great-grandmother--outwits one of the most brutal crime organizations of the early 20th century."
Without giving away too many details, there's a part in the book where an Italian immigrant is amazed at the tall structures "the American's" have built, referring to the sky scrapers of the early 1900s. The character's cousin tells him, "They [Americans] won't stop until they scratch the sun."
I thought that was a great line and could mean a lot of different things.
As I reflect at all the people I met and all the things I learned at the #140conf in Boston this week, I think that this line resonates with social media in the sense that the space is a big sandbox for us to play in. Social media is meant to spark creativity, provoke ideas, connect people, educate, enjoy the life experiences of those and share a bit of your own.
Needless to say, social media isn't going away. Facebook probably will never just vanish (look at MySpace, they are still kicking around, though on life support).
My point here is that social media has given us all a chance to scratch the sun. We can all use these tools to spark innovation, foster our ideas and connect with people from all walks of life who will enrich our lives in one way or the other.
How are you doing on your journey to the sun?
Photo Credit: Amazon.com