As is routine, the first half of January bring forth predictions from experts in every realm of life.  It’s important to know what these experts project for the coming year while maintaining a balanced view fueled by one’s own experiences and perspectives.

Earlier this week, instead of placing myself in the middle of my family members’ various, swirling activities, I chose escape.

I sat in my robe in a quiet corner of my kitchen; reading glasses perched on my nose, and immersed myself in The Economist’s The World in 2012 issue, more specifically the article Sharing the Power of 2012. It went beyond the obvious statement about the future of social media – that information sharing via social media is transforming relationships on every level – with an interesting and alternative view to the common held notion that more time online is leading to alienation from the kind of face-to-face community building of the past.

Instead, the article, (without a byline, or I would credit the author), spoke of a new paradigm of relationships strengthened via social media – a paradigm where “sharing” online via social media supports more involvement, engagement and “in person” community action than ever before.  The author credits a recent Pew Institute study that sites Facebook users are more than 2X as likely to participate, in person, in a political meeting or community rally.  It’s a dynamic that has been demonstrated through recent social movements like The Arab Spring or the Occupy Movement.

In short, it suggests what starts online does not stay online.

For me and my colleagues, it reinforces our perspective on social media as a communication medium. Information and dialogue through these channels should be integrated with other communication mediums to take someone through a process whereby they express interest, increase their understanding, and are motivated to take personal action, both online and offline.  Sometimes that requires an opportunity to express your opinion and the comfort of knowing you are not alone – something that online communities, and dialogue, supports so well.

When individuals find a community of like-minded people united by an issue online, they will feel more empowered to transfer their interest, and their actions, offline and in person, to the opportunity or issue at hand.