Social Honeycomb

Social Media Vocab: Engagement

Two of my dear friends just got engaged. When I heard the news, I was so excited for them, but also incredulous at the thought of being in the age bracket where your friends begin to mate for life. Their engagement came when I was without a computer, so it got me thinking about what it means to be engaged and about engagement itself as a word and a concept.

Engagement is an obvious social media and mar-com buzzword, but its meaning takes on different forms and meanings for different people. To my friend Jenna, engagement means a diamond ring on her finger and an outdoor wedding in the summer of 2009. To me it means a potent give-and-take in social conversation and brand awareness… Until now, I had never really stepped back and thought about how many ways this word is used.

Exhibit A: The American Heritage Dictionary’s list of definitions for “engagement.”

en·gage·ment (en-gaj’ment) n.

1. The act of engaging or the state of being engaged.
2. Betrothal.
3. Something that serves to engage; a pledge.
4. A promise or agreement to be at a particular place at a particular time.
5. Employment, especially for a specified time.
6. A specific, often limited, period of employment.
7. A hostile encounter; a battle.
8. The condition of being in gear.

Some of these definitions are really interesting to me. It is so strange that the same word can mean an intention to get married and a “hostile encounter.” But I suspect that some married (or divorced) people aren’t surprised that these two definitions are connected, haha. More than that though, the definitions that jump out to me are 3, 4 and 7.

I really like the idea of engagement being a pledge. I think in social media and public relations, this makes sense. Engagement is a two-way commitment. It isn’t enough to just pop into Twitter, say hello once a month and consider that meaningful participation in social conversation. By joining this conversation and by making this space part of your life, you are, in a way, making a pledge to be involved and active on the Web. It’s about feeling connected and giving others an opportunity for connection. We are making a choice to join the community on the Web, and when we choose to take ownership of our presence here, we really do make a pledge to engage with each other and with the technology we use. This relates to the No. 4 definition as well, in that by establishing ourselves here, we sort of promise to contribute on a regular basis and enhance the environment we are all constantly creating. Our agreement is to be active on the Web in our daily lives. Our pledge is to be engaging and to engage. (Diamonds sold separately.)

Since my old Dell laptop kicked the bucket right before Christmas, I spent more than a week without a computer to call my own. Consequently, I felt very disengaged. I wasn’t able to live up to the pledge I made in wanting to be engaged with my blog, my socnets and my social media pals. Now that I have my sleek, new MacBook Pro (w00t!), I’m back in the game of engagement. I haven’t had a chance to really catch up on all my blog reading yet, but I really liked the Resolutions post Jason Falls made on Social Media Explorer this week–really good advice on how to kick start or re-energize your engagement in 2008, plus you get the use of the word “tech-tard.”

So, I’ve been disengaged. My darling friends Jenna and Thomas got engaged. I’m about to begin my professional engagement at SHIFT. I’m looking forward to several social engagements coming up in the next few months. Oh yeah, and I’m getting in gear.

What does engagement mean to you and how are you engaging or being engaged?

Public Relations, Social Media, Social Networks |