Social media impacts our social rituals

As I made my way to the office this morning in the all-too-dark early hours, I passed a familiar coffee shop packed with the usual suspects.

And then I passed another early morning watering hole and then another and another.

The morning coffee shop is an important ingredient in the lives of many - mostly men - farmers, bankers, lawyers, small businessmen and such.

And I'm reminded of my very early years in this business where I first learned the importance of this morning ritual.

On my first day on the job, my managing editor - a crusty, chain-smoking veteran - invited me to the "popular" power broker coffee shop.

I assumed we were going for a cup of java. But instead, he was going to learn the latest news, gossip and assorted tidbits that would more often than not, make their way into the newspaper.

As the years passed, I became a regular participant in these early morning sessions fueled by caffeine and bs. And sure enough, I too began to pick up news tips and sordid gossip and slowly began to learn the intricacies of the ritual.

Every coffee shop has an alpha male who holds court to offer his opinions and his keen insight into the ways of the world.

I'm told on good authority that these pre-dawn sessions have been a staple in small towns and large cities for as long as anyone can remember.

Some argue that the after-work "toddy" sessions are where the action is. Though alcohol can certainly have its value in loosening the tongue, the 6 a.m. coffee shop is where the "news" is first aired.

But as I glanced at the row of pick-up trucks lining the parking lot and recognized several familiar faces working on their third cup of dark, rich fuel, I wondered how emerging social media will impact the coffee conversation.

The reality is that these morning men - no offense ladies - more often than not have little interest or knowledge of Facebook or Twitter or the array of new ways to circulate information.

I read last week where something like 90 percent of college journalism students get their news from Facebook and Twitter. Not newspapers. Not talk radio. Not even television.

The coffee shop crowd remains almost exclusively in the world of morning newspapers. And yet despite this lack of social media awareness, I will argue that the coffee shoppers still hold power and influence.

But those days are numbered.

I can't imagine the coffee shop of tomorrow where men are tethered to an electronic device flowing with instant news at their fingertips. Will those conversations involve the latest Tweet or Facebook rumor?

Just how would that work?

Sometimes rituals simply die. They become outdated, obsolete. The morning newspaper headlines are trumped by more recent Twitter updates. And the alpha male sits almost silently in the corner lost in a world of technology that has changed the nature of the ritual.

Next week - beauty shops!