Searching for Connections: Online and In Space

I was reading a National Geographic article the other day entitled “Worlds Apart, Seeking New Earths” about research to find earth-like planets in the universe that may house some form of life. I was immediately drawn to this article, which was no surprise to me as I’ve always been enthralled by the idea of exploration in the universe . What I found interesting as I read the article though, was the way my mind was trying to process and digest the information. I kept trying to draw comparisons between what I was reading and my everyday life. I realized that I was doing the exact same thing as those researchers looking for earth-like planets. We are both trying to make a connection with something familiar. It is human nature to try to find similarities in things, places, conversations and ideas – I think because it makes us feel secure and connected. It allows us to wrap our minds around something and make it real.

What I took away from reading this article, aside from being temporarily more educated about the latest astronomy trends, is a reminder to keep that inherent human tendency in mind in all things I do, particularly in my life as an internet marketer. What I realized is that the human tendency to find things that are familiar to us, in some way, applies to everything we do online.

• PPC: our ads have to resonate with users’ needs, otherwise they won’t be clicked
• Web site: a Web site has to connect with people by addressing a problem they have and organizing content and site flow based on their needs to evoke a response
• Social networks: are built almost entirely on this concept of familiarity and connection. Facebook was first developed as a way for people to connect with other people they went to school with. It has clearly evolved beyond that to connect all kinds of people that know each other in some way, shape or form

On a broader scale, I see this human tendency in all iterations of the web:

• First, just as a taxonomy of information
• Then, folksonomies that people developed
• And moving forward, a hyper personalized/localized version of the web allowing people to connect with everything they touch online; brands, friends, information and advertising

With the pace of change in this industry, we are all continually pontificating on the next iteration of communication and marketing online. When I do this I’m going to remind myself to keep the very basic principal of human nature in mind. In doing so, it creates more clarity and division between passing fads and long term shifts in how we interact online. They are all driven by the same innate human need to connect with things, places and ideas because they are familiar, make sense and are relevant.

In other words, we’re all vain, selfish and think the world revolves around us.

And maybe it does.

*Photo Credit: Ethan Hein (Flickr)

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