A recent viewing of a Yahoo! video of Seth Godin reminded me that the social media “sea change” is much more than an incremental shift. It is literally a game changer. (FYI, this was also the subject of my latest TheTVNews.tv video commentary.)

It’s no wonder that so many people are either being diverted by “get rich quick” scam artists or trying to stuff social media strategies into some kind of  “same-ole-media box.”

In order to make sure that your social media marketing time is well spent, here are some provocative questions inspired by some respectable authorities that I hope will help you approach your social media marketing in a meaningful, satisfying and successful manner. After all, “A Billion Dollars Isn’t Cool. You Know What’s Cool? Basic Human Decency” :

1. What’s the Difference between the Engagement Game and Actually Being Engaging?
   “The Difference Between Engaged and Engaging” — a blog post by Danny Brown
   
2. Why are Facebook “Fans” and YouTube Video Views a Meaningless Statistic?
   AdAge: “Sorry, but Counting Facebook ‘Fans’ or Video Views Won’t Help Your Brand”
3. What’s Wrong with Us? Are We Lazy or What?
   “Social Media Fatique” — a blog post by Chris Brogan

Creating meaningful social media means moving beyond this “Social Media Fatigue.” And, it’s not going to happen unless we, as Brogan says, take the opportunity “to make something interesting and worthwhile, to be helpful, to empower others, to encourage and inspire others.” (In an earlier blog post, I called this “Leading with Value.”)

As our grandmothers used to say, “If you don’t have something GOOD to say, don’t say anything at all.”

Bottom line, real relationship building—which is what social media marketing is (or should be) all about—comes down to communicating your “basic human decency.” Now that’s “really cool.”