Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms the Way We Live and Do Business, 2nd Edition

Chapter Six

Death of Social Schizophrenia

If you are Generation X or older, you have spent most of your life in a schizophrenic¹ world. You took on a different role or character depending on where you were and whom you were with. Most of us had at least two personas: a work persona and a nonwork persona. And many of us had several personas: social, work, family, coach, charity, and so on.

Your behavior at an event like Woodstock, Mardi Gras, or Burning Man was very different from your behavior at the office. Al the accountant may be known by his co-workers only as meticulous accountant Al, whereas his bowling pals would know him only as “Al-valanche,” because you'd better get out of the way when he is partying, or you could be the next victim of the “Al-valanche.”

Even if you believe that life is worse with social media, you cannot deny that social media has forever changed the way in which we live.

In 2008, the University of North Carolina's All-American basketball player Tyler Hansbrough found himself in the middle of a media whirlwind. Hansbrough was a hard-nosed player and the poster child of all that is good about college basketball. Because of his intensity, he was nicknamed Psycho T. This intensity helped him be a high draft pick of the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

One sunny day in Chapel Hill, Hansbrough was hanging out with some friends at a fraternity house off campus. With some encouragement, Hansbrough thought it would be a thrill to ...