There’s nothing really new about social media, but for newcomers, it’s a wonderful world of miraculous opportunity and adventure.  New friends to be made, if not to get business then at least to provide comfort and support where it doesn’t exist amongst people who know you in real life.  It’s like being a child in a candy store, and everything is free.

For those who are old to social media, a concept that has a very different meaning than old in any other endeavor since three or four years under the belt in SM years is the equivalent of a lifetime in real life, things are a bit less exhilarating.  They’ve already gone through the stage of pretending to love all their new friends, learning that some are dumb as dirt, others are lying scum, and there there are the certifiable nutjobs.  Maybe there’s a few people who you would actually want to dine with in person.

No, for the old-timers, the thrill goes quickly.  It used to be a few months.  Now it’s a miracle if the newest, shiniest thing can hold your interest for a week.  After that, a new fix is needed.  From this need is born the surest sign that excess indulgence in Social Media causes the death of sensibility, the  Bold & Digital Men of Social Media.

Anyone can be bold. Anyone can be digital. Being bold AND digital is a dedicated lifestyle. I (Libby) started talking about Bold and Digital matters about two years ago at my place of employment, Edelman Digital. The concept quickly evolved into the “bold and digital humanitarian” awards which were bestowed upon colleagues that exhibited amazing bold and digital qualities.

This space is dedicated to the latest venture of the Bold and Digitals – The first ever Men of Social Media Calendar for 2011.

Yes, get ’em while they’re hot.  Who doesn’t want to stare at Chris Brogan for a month?  Isn’t he staring at you?

Think this is twisted?  Well, the Bold and Digital thought they came up with this stroke of genius, only to be informed that they are not only not the first, but actually third on this brainstorm.

When I was in college, Playboy decided to do a feature called Girls Women of the Ivy League.  It was scandalous, replete with protests and outrage.  These weren’t women who took being objectified lightly, except for that surprisingly large group that showed up to be selected for the feature wearing dark sunglasses so their friends wouldn’t learn of their betrayal to the cause.  As it turned out, the scandal was far more fun than the feature, which was another shoot of women without clothes.  To those of us on campus, it came as no surprise that there were some very attractive women who were extremely intelligent. 

One of the most important attributes of the blogosphere and twitter is that it’s the great equalizer.  You can be someone you are, someone you’re not, or nobody.  Many of the “isms” that plague society’s perceptions can be swept away with a keystroke.  Letters on a screen won’t disclose your skin color or weight, gender or shoe size.  Provided you avoid making your normative views the message, you can be anybody you want to be and let your ideas rise or fall on their own.

Perhaps there are some studly fellows in social media.  To the extent it’s not merely a reflection of men (and women) who have embraced a computer for lack of a warm body willing to embrace them, there’s a decent chance that there are some geeks who have abs worth a second take, just as there were beautiful women in the Ivy League happy to betray current feminist sensibilities.

Is there a reason to take social media down this path?  Maybe a handful of people will respond, “hey, it;s just some fun. Chill out.”  But I don’t think it’s being done as a goof, which would be fine with me.   No, this is some bizarre variant on Revenge of the Nerds, a fantasy of the outcasts come true.  The sexiness of google pagerank on glossy paper, weight issues and pocket protectors thrown to the wind.

Given that social media has given rise to its own class of glitterati, proclaiming themselves “social media rock stars” because amorphous wannabes flock around anyone they think can enhance their Technorati rating, and they’ve run out of posts entitled “The 10 Most Important Though Obvious Things I’ve Posted About 72 Times Before,” something as incredibly ridiculous as this was bound to happen.  That doesn’t mean it’s not absurd and potentially the end of sexual desire as we know it.

Social media has hit a new low.  Robert Scoble will not be the next George Clooney. 

H/T Brian Tannebaum, who keeps a finger on the pulse of Social Media