As you know, I read through the wizard’s email when he’s away from his laptop. Here’s an interesting one he received from his partner, Jeff Sexton. (Sexton is the one we call The Professor.) – Indy

Socially, most of us never get too far past the schoolyard, whether it’s elementary, middle, or high school. The veneer might change or even look more sophisticated, but the essential wires and pulleys underneath remain the same:

• I want to look good to my peer group
• I want people to respect me
• I want the opposite sex to desire me
• I want my friends to reciprocate my friendship and to have my back
• I want to feel like I belong within whatever tribes I have joined
• I want my tribes to be proud to claim me
• I want to know what’s going on with other people in my tribe(s)
• I want to maintain or improve my status within my tribe
• I want to laugh and cry with my friends and family
• I want to laugh and scoff at my frenemies and nemeses
• I want to exert influence over others that are directly a part of my life.

All of that is already at play in the schoolyard and all of it remains at play for the rest of your life.  And if you get too far away from those things, you’re no longer concerned with the social. So just about anything that passes along Social Media will always be aimed at achieving at least one of those goals.

– Jeff