The Market Place - Is It Lost In The Social Media World?
In the days of our fore fathers and for me not so long ago in the late 1960s, I was often sent to the market place to source the weekly groceries for the family. With busy working parents, little did I realize that the hard cash that was thrusted into my hands and mad scribble of purchasing eggs, choosing various vegetables, picking up the choice meats with the butcher and Lord forbid, selecting the squawking chicken in cages on death row was part of my right of passage.
There was more to the eggs, the vegetables, the meat and the unfortunate poultry as in the market place, I learnt at a tender age of around 7 to 8 years the art of negotiation, the skills of bargain and barter, the choice of communication, the understanding of money management, the choice of words and equally important the unspoken body language that only human interaction can provide.
This market place back in post colonial Singapore was my 'social media'. It taught me to think on my feet, to be savvy, to negotiate and observe from the many hundreds of people, mostly adults in my presence. It was a noisy encounter, yet I learnt as a child to filter out the unnecessary sounds to bring focus to my task and with a steely eye, make by way to the specific vendor to purchase for the home.
It was also my forum that allowed me to make mistakes. From the wrong choice of food, to the incorrect change obtained, to the incorrect bargaining techniques which resulted in quick loud and sharp retorts. It taught me resilience in a world that was moving rapidly, that stood still for no one and a world that was demanding and fast paced. The social media works allows for no mistakes as every digital is forever....
Fast forward to 2025, my dialogue and ability to undertake a lot of the above is the sum total of the ability to be a keyboard warrior, where the syntax and nuance of the words and sentences chosen seldom allow the conveyance of the expression of emotion, of passion, of determination and of purpose.
Yes we do so now in quick social media handles and feeds, like Reels on Instagram and Ticktock and on captured, posed and staged images on other handles like Facebook and WhatsApp and even on this business forum LinkedIn BUT does it really convey what you wish to express or does it merely express an image you wish to project but perhaps may not be able to deliver in reality or in person?
The Market Place must be preserved and perhaps in the suited world of LinkedIn and Business Networking, the summary execution of chicken and other livestock would be considered 'inappropriate!' but the essence of the Market Place is what I have decided to preserve through my 2025 Business Networking Group series of Sessions that we will host throughout the year.
The first Market Place scheduled for the 12th Feb 2025 will have the following indices where:
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We may even have a raised circular podium that one could stand on like the medieval days of yore and where one can proclaim their thoughts and ideas.
The format will be revealed on the 12th Feb 2025 so join me in the counter revolution to make human interaction and intelligence directly relevant in the next Business Networking Session here:
Ian Wee, Chair, Business Networking Group
Email: [email protected]
I help Education and Business organisations improve their business processes through physical and extended reality options.
1 个月Thanks for an insightful picture Ian Wee of what we miss out on and what we need to maintain. Good banter, comradery and willingness to help.