BILLY OCEAN once sang: Get outta my dreams and get into my car . . . get outta my mind and get into my life!
The hit song took the world by storm and was followed by many a rendition of it generation after generation.
If the same song was to be sung today it would sound something like, Get outta my WhatsApp and get into my car . . . get outta my Facebook and come into my life!
The advent of social networks has led to illusionary and almost imaginary and unreal lifestyles. We all live so well, look so beautiful, sound so happy and successful on social networks.
Everybody is wise and with great opinion on Facebook and there is so much support for one another in Mark Zuckerberg’s world.
I believe the entertainment world has not been left behind by the social network hullaballoo. There is just so much happening entertainment wise on Facebook and Twitter, among other sites.
Millions of pages for individual and group artistes, be they musicians, dancers and theatre groups have been created and some of them are really active.
Shows and amazing posters are plastered on social network walls week in week out. Invites for events and shows jam inboxes and the responses of “I will be attending”, “see you there”, “I can’t wait to be there”, among others flatter the invitee and organisers well before the event takes off.
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Judging by responses on social networks most if not all shows and events are always sold out.
After the shows when pictures and thank you statuses are posted you would bet on events having been five-star at the least.
The question remains though: How real or close to reality are sites like Facebook and Twitter? I appreciate that they have made life easier even for those involved in entertainment.
It’s far easier to advertise events and shows than it was 10 years ago most certainly, but are those thousands of people we wow on social sites converted into actual numbers that attend our events, shows and events?
Are those who click the “like” button for our songs and videos taking a further step to show their support by actually going out to buy our CDs and DVDs, books and other products?
Yes, muted as the positive answer may be there are people who get on to know about entertainment products and events through social sites and go on to attend or buy the products.
I feel that in most cases, while we have raised the awareness numbers to what we are doing in our circles the actual growth of numbers at events and consumption of real products are still are a huge challenge. Is it not high time people got out of Facebook walls and came to real shows?
I always find it funny and worth a chuckle when people as far as Australia, Canada, UK and South Africa — many of whom have ready access to the Internet and therefore social sites — confirm attendance to a show or event in Zimbabwe happening in a day or two.
How practical and economical can that be? Many of our friends on Facebook stroke our egos but we now need ways to actual benefit from followers and fans on social sites.
My concern does not mean that fans on social sites do not like our work or deliberately mislead entertainers and artistes.
I may not necessarily have means to that end, but it is my wish that we could one way or the other, make the people who access our events, works and shows turn that support into reality and measurable returns for us in the entertainment industry.
Most if not all those that support you and your work on these sites genuinely do so, but we now should cultivate a culture of turning cyber power into practical, real and tangible results for the benefit of both artistes and fans.
A disappointed fan once posted on Facebook that it was high time artistes lived up to their flashy, aggressive and attractive posts and adverts on social sites. She felt robbed because an event that had shown so much promise and created a lot of hype on Facebook had not lived up to expectations.
She had a point that cannot be disputed. Some artistes engage a lot of amazing graphics and colourful posts on social sites yet the events in reality fail to live up to the hype.
Advertising has the power to override an event. It’s important therefore that artistes prepare and deliver quality events synonymous with their posts, invites and adverts on social sites. Social sites are for the benefit of everyone.
The time has come for fans, journalists, artistes, promoters and other stakeholders to get out of cyber space and get into real life. Keep walking.
Follow me on twitter @NkueInnoeDube
