The Telephone Game

To play the “telephone game,” players sit in a circle or stand in a line. The players are close enough that whispering is possible, but not too close that players can hear each other whisper. The first person whispers a phrase into the ear of the person to their right if in a circle, or to the person behind them if in a line. The game continues as players whisper the phrase until it reaches the last player. That player says the phrase out loud so everyone can hear how much it has changed from the first whisper. If you’ve ever played the game, the phrase usually comes out so different, everyone ends up laughing.

I think a modern version of the telephone game is now played through social media apps. There are great advantages to having these apps, and we all use many of them:  YouTube, Instagram, Etsy, Facebook, Pinterest, Uber, Yelp to name some. I found a list of some of the different social media networks and what they are used for:

• Social networks—Connect with people
• Media sharing networks—Share photos, videos and other media
• Discussion forums—Share news and ideas
• Bookmarking and content curation networks—Discover, save and share new content
• Consumer review networks—Find and review businesses
• Blogging and publishing networks—Publish content online
• Interest-based networks—Share interests and hobbies
• Social shopping networks—Shop online
• Sharing economy networks—Trade goods and services

The many types of social media can be used for marketing your business or to connect with family and friends, but some of them you should steer clear of because the end result might be like what happens in the telephone game – and the outcome might not leave you laughing.