Pushing boundaries or entering unexplored territory can be daunting, especially when the landscape is as unmapped as social media. Those of us working professionally in the field are a bit like early cartographers who scaled ridges and skirted wetlands to create the documents that “explained” the landscape to the paper on which it would be recorded—our “paper” a vibrant upright screen holding all the wonders of the virtual world. 

Not long ago, on another 100-degree day, we trekked to McSorley’s Old Ale House, the oldest continually operating bar in America and an institution in New York City, which was founded in 1854. Staying true to the character of its origins, sawdust still swirls around on the floors even as Y-3 wearing tourists and work-boot-clad locals whisk through to belly up to the bar. Presidents have sipped their choices of light or dark ale at McSorley’s, and some of New York’s most avant-garde creative types have squeezed into a sliver of standing room at the bar or taken a seat at one of the rough-hewn tabletops with their attendant rickety wooden chairs. 

This description might lead you to believe that McSorley’s is the antithesis of new media because nothing could be less modern than these dark, dank interiors; and in that respect, you would be right. But the bar has earned its place in the revolutionary history books because it served as a favorite hangout for a generation of visionaries that included the Beat Poets. The haunt particularly appealed to Jack Kerouac and another poet bent on experimental language, e.e. cummings, who birthed one of his innovative poems in the long, narrow room looking out onto 7th Street. It begins:

“i was in mcsorley’s.     outside it was New York and beautifully snowing.”

e.e. cummings

Just as McSorley’s fostered those who were determined to push the envelope, SoMe is the perfect incubator for those of us determined to create uniqueness with our own points of view. Think about the fact that this crotchety bar, which has been in existence for over 150 years, is now a player in the phenomenon of geo-location trust marks as patrons check in on Foursquare, Google+ and Facebook Places! We believe there’s a lesson to be learned here—that authenticity remains relevant no matter how much time has passed or how many fads have come and gone. The pub never tried to shift with the times or to be something it was not. We have a hunch that with new media, this ability to stay true to a vision will be as worthy an accomplishment as it is in the fickle world of hospitality. Find out who and what you are, articulate it well, and stick with it. If you do this, people will respond. And keep in mind, what we’re spraying out into the virtual world will long outlive us; once things are “published,” we won’t have the luxury of hiding our drafts away in our Moleskines like the writers of the past have done. These communiqués will be “out there” for time immemorial.

A beautiful reading by Jack Kerouac: he explains the meaning of the word "Beat"

Speaking of putting it out there: our salon question we’ll be riffing on here for the next seven days is, “Do you believe it’s the outsiders in a society or a culture who usually become the catalysts for change?” We posed this question thinking of the Beats, like Kerouac. We hope you’ll have fun with it this week and give us a piece of your mind by commenting below. We’ll also be continuing the dialogue on our Facebook page and on Twitter so check in there as well if you are so inclined. We will throw out our next question here next Thursday, giving you a week to think and respond. Let’s make this a lively salon, shall we?