Danica Radisic, better known to the online world as NikiBGD for the better part of the past decade, is a freelance writer, copywriter, translator/interpreter, research assistant, blogger, old-school information junkie, all around Web addict and single mom of a (possibly evil) genius.

Facebook’s new look , Google’s new gig, FireFox 3.5.whateva’, Seesmic smell for your bathroom, Twitter face paint… So, what is the “next big thing”? To be honest, I’m just a tad sick of the web and social media “news” these days. Obejction, your honor, judge Internet! All hearsay, I tell ya, and based on circumstancial evidence! Ah, but there seems to be a new tide rolling in. Those who have thus far been early adopters, leaders that have implemented these new ideas successfully and mostly non-conformists are calling on others to go - wait for it… back to basics. Conformism is the new revolutionary! And faux-revolutionary is the new conformism.

How could conformism ever be revolutionary, when it’s the exact opposite? Usually that would be true. But congrats, folks. You’ve managed to turn the world up-side down. And not so much in a good way. By definition, conformism is “a term used to describe the suspension of an individual’s self-determined actions or opinions in favour of obedience to the mandates or conventions of one’s peer-group, or deference to the imposed norms of a supervening authority”. Um… so when everyone is raising their voices to high hell, signing petitions in rabid protest and complaining about the new Facebook look or a new Twitter feature that’s - anything but a revolution. In fact, it’s going along with the herd. If it barks like one and it looks like one - it’s a social media user who doesn’t know how to use social media.

Today I ran into the Facebook status of an old schoolmate of mine who is now your run of the mill early adopter/IT guy:

Groups will form, petitions will be signed. “No to the new facebook!!” In 6 months time no one will remember what it looked like before, will be happy with what it looks like now and be against the next change. Been there, done that, got the t-shirt… I, again, like the change and think it’s another step forward.

Now that status right there calls for a FTW! By going along with the changes implemented by the social media powers to be, my friend there actually did something revolutionary in today’s use of social media. He sat down and checked it out, got a feel for what the new Facebook layout was all about and I’m supposing he’ll be using those changes to his benefit within the next couple of days.

I’m an avid reader of blogs and other less traditional news and opinion channels, an info junkie, if you will, and I’ve noticed a lot of my early adopter friends and some of the big names in blogging coming back to this way of thinking. Or perhaps they’ve had it all along and have grown sick of hearing about how change is bad, what social media is for and what the next big thing is. I’m hoping they’ll be loud about it. Loud and clear about being a web revolutionary by conforming and accepting change - the only way to be a revolutionary these days. Just yesterday Gary Vaynerchuk came out with a short vid to say something many obviously need to hear - Content Is King! What Gary says is simple and you’d figure it’s an axiom. Everyone should just know this. Water is wet, the sky can be any shade of blue and guess what - if your product is crap, no social media or marketing tactic is going to help.

Then we’ve got the analyst types on speed. Thanks to them, I’ve become accustomed to reading blogs before meals these days, afraid I won’t be able to keep my lunch down when I look at some of the blog post titles: Where’s the ROI In Social Media?, How to Measure ROI In Social Media, Should ROI In Social Media Be Measured?, Are Facebook and Twitter Right for Your Business?, 2010 is the Year of ROI in Social Media, 10 Ways To Boost Your Social Media Presence, 5 Ways to [do whatever] on [Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, blogs, or, God forbid, MySpace]… Really? I mean really REALLY? Everyone’s either a social media expert or a critic these days. Seriously, we care about the exact numbers (and there are no exact numbers) realted to social media about as much as we care exactly how wet water is. It doesn’t help. It creates mass confussion and hysteria, which is great for buzz, if that’s what you’re going for. But, and here’s the rub, if your content or your product sucks, it sucks. Ain’t no two ways about it - buzz or no buzz you have to have something concrete and high quality, be it knowledge, experience or a product, behind the words and thoughts you send out into the WWW.

I’m not saying the effects of social media and on-line marketing can’t or shouldn’t be measured at all. I’m just saying that when you take something that is still developing, that consumers are still getting used to and learning to use in new ways every day, you can’t expect to measure it right off the bat and get anything real or precise as a result. A 3 year old child is about half the height it will be as an adult. How precise is that? Can anyone, medical expert or not, guarantee that a 3 year old measuring a meter in height will be exactly 2 meters tall in 17 years time? Of course not. Things will happen along the way that can have massive and permanent effects on that child’s height, in good ways and bad. So do we stop feeding the child because we don’t know exactly how tall it will grow or how it will contribute to society? Again, of yourse not!

So Facebook has a new look. So what? Stop whining about it. Yes, they’re going for the money. That’s why they’re in business. That’s why you get to use this awesome service that let’s you connect with friends you haven’t seen in a decade for FREE. Want less ads and a look that suits you? Go make yer own damn social media platform and invite all your freinds. Oh, and don’t even think about selling ad space on it to cover the humongous maintenance costs you’ll have. Go ahead and be a goddamned “revolutionary”. I think I’ll go with Darwin on this one and just conform, adjust to the changes and learn to use them to my benefit. Afterall, that’s what being a higher species is all about. That and complex communication ability.

My point, just when you though there was none, is that you can’t really predict something that’s still developing. But if it’s growing at a fantastically healthy and stable rate - feed it. Whether that 3 year old becomes a 1.6 meter uber geek programmer or a 2 meter NBA star, it will be well worth it. Plan and invest in social media wholeheartedly, with enthusiasm. Raise that baby blog or Twitter account to be a full fledged, innovative part of society. Teach it to communicate with people, to respect others, to have core values that others will respect. Using social media for anything with a point behind it is a whole lot like rasing a kid. It will never be easy, it doesn’t come with a precise user manual and sometimes it won’t even be cheap - but it will be well worth every minute and cent you invested if you do it devotedly and without alterior motives. Just shut up, get used to it and do the job.