Social Media Interactions as a Platform During the Pandemic

Stories from an ecommerce jewelry store

Where do good ideas come from? That’s the question driving Steven Johnson’s “Where Good ideas Come From.” I think he wanted to find out what environments potentially lead to innovation.

I never thought about where good ideas actually come from — it’s not something you think about daily. Steven Johnson’s book helps evolution and innovation thrive in collaborative networks where opportunities for connections exist.

Platforms for Innovation

I enjoyed reading about platforms, and how they open many doors to the something Johnson calls the adjacent possible. For example; if you have a business during the pandemic, you were probably forced to use web-based tools to survive. Storefronts were forced to shut down due to the COVID-19 spread, so many businesses resorted to technology based tools such as websites, instagram accounts for businesses, online ordering set-ups etc..

Platforms for social media have come a long way, making it easier for users to interact and see the world in a creative lens.

Johnson notes that the adjacent possible “captures both the limits and the creative potential of change and innovation.”

This is something I can connect to with the pandemic and how that’s affected us as creative individuals. Social media has gotten a lot of attention ever since the pandemic hit, this is because people had nothing to do other than see what’s out there in the media world. The Harris Poll conducted between late March and early May, found that between 46% and 51% of US adults were using social media more since the outbreak began.

Social media has a dual purpose with its delivery, but it is also creative. Social is a content generation destination that we should be consuming content on, not only to inform distribution but to inform creativity as well as to network with other people. For digital enterprises, mass shutdowns have had largely the opposite effects then of storefronts.

I own an eCommerce business called SHOPALEXAHAJJAR, where I buy and design jewelry for people of all ages and genders. During the COVID-19 outbreak, eCommerce was rapidly evolving in the market space. In fact, online sales have been outpacing retail growth ever-since stores shut down. My online store eliminates the limitations of local foot traffic, enabling me to easily connect with customers from anywhere. This means that I can see products gain visibility and popularity on a national scale, giving vastly increased sales opportunities, this also led me to do various with influencers and businesses over the world.

The damaging aspect of the pandemic in terms of generating ideas is the fact that nobody can meet in person, sometimes that can be taught and one can lose their sense of social skills, for most, inspiration is gained through nature, others, places you go to, (traveling etc..) This connects to chapter 3 of the book “Innovation and evolution flourish when they are in large networks.’’

This section talks about how connections help ideas become easier, individuals adjust themselves into settlements, and cities. People became part of so many networks which peddled them to spread ideas to disseminate their own discoveries. After the pandemic hit, this concept decreased drastically. One wasn’t able to physically network with the outside world as much thus minimizing ideas among masses.

Social media usage has been shown to increase ever since the COVID-19 outbreak. It’s crucial for the community to understand how social media works in order to enhance our capabilities and make a more resilient community. Through media communication, businesses can collaborate around the globe in a faster and more knowledgeable way. Although Platforms open up doors for innovation during this time, social media has also had a negative impact on lives during the pandemic, that is the constant pressure that one needs to be constantly “busy”. This also brings individuals at a higher risk for perceived social isolation, When all physical social contacts are cut off in lockdown, feelings of loneliness might heighten. Social media as a whole has had its negative and positive effects stemming from COVID-19, but one thing we can get out of this pandemic is the evolution of technology and where that will lead us in the near future.