Social Media Minute: Why All the Fuss About Social Media?
My approach with this article is based on a couple presumptions. First, you may not be too familiar with what is called social media. And second, you may be wondering if it's really that big of a deal.
Defining Social Media
So that we're comparing apples to apples, I'll use social media and new media interchangeably. For purposes of this article, social media means multi-way communication using technology encompassing mediums from the written word to pictures and audio to video files, and every conceivable combination.
If you think of traditional media as newspaper, radio, television and magazines, you can pretty much count every other kind of media as new media.
Or, if you're not a digital native (meaning you didn't experience adolescence accompanied by broadband Internet), pretty much all the Internet tools you hear about - blogging, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube - are social media tools. And you're referred to as a digital immigrant.
Blogging, for instance, is a social media tool because it facilitates conversation through technology. You post, people comment, you respond, etc.
What's the Big Deal?
This leads to my second point. Never before have everyday people had as many tools to connect with others.
The Guttenberg Press was revolutionary because it allowed lay people access to the Bible and other literary works. In the same vein, social media is revolutionary because it shifts the primary source of news and information away from traditional media conglomerates to the people.
Research shows consumers trust recommendations of family, friends and colleagues long before they'll trust what a CEO or company spokesperson says. Social networks, physical and virtual, are important.
People also expect their information to be free-flowing and readily available. A recent focus group of 20-somethings, the demographic with the most Facebook users, was asked to provide feedback on the possibility of Facebook charging a fee for access to the online network. They overwhelmingly said if it cost them to participate, they'd go elsewhere. Think about what this means for the future of newspaper subscriptions.
Young and old alike now have a sense of entitlement when it comes to news and information. People expect transparency and authenticity in communication from both individuals and organizations, but that's a whole other article.
Are We on the Same Page?
Hopefully you now understand what new media is and why it really turns the tables on the traditional media model. It's widely believed that in the next year, 10 major newspapers will either go bankrupt and close their doors or shutter their print operations and go digital only (see NewspaperDeathWatch.com for a list of already closed and soon to be closed newspaper operations).
To their credit, most traditional media outlets have now embraced social media, as exemplified by last year's CNN and YouTube U.S. presidential debates.
An Example
Want a good example of social media in practice? Look no further than President Barack Obama. From his campaign to his election to the changes this year in the way the White House publishes information, Pres. Obama provides the perfect case study for the effectiveness of new media.
Check out whitehouse.gov and its associated sites, and read what Fast Company says in its April issue about Chris Hughes, Facebook co-founder and Boy Wonder of the Barack Obama campaign.
What to Do
So now what? Does it really matter that times have changed and we have these new tools to communicate, to motivate, to market, to engage, to entertain?
I'll answer with a resounding yes!
This is the type of revolution that you either join, or get left behind at the unattended station. Because of the economy, because of accessibility, because of simplicity, and because of the fun technology, social media is here to stay.
New media will forever change the way we get our information and communicate with others. The real challenge is to not forget that human interaction is nothing without physical, emotional connection, something technology can lead to but never replace.
So start somewhere. Open a Facebook account and connect with old friends. Create a YouTube channel for your company and post video about your products or services. Launch a personal or professional blog.
By the way, blogging about your work is a particularly effective way of ensuring employment. Demonstrate your expertise and thought leadership and your current employer, or a new employer, will be happy to include you in their team.
Start the Adventure
Don't be paralyzed by the quick changing social media landscape. Read up. Learn what you can. Be strategic in your approach and always be familiar with new media tools personally before you employ them on a professional level.
Be yourself, have fun and contribute to the online discussion. You'll expand your circle of influence beyond the geographic boundaries to which you were confined only a few years ago.
Yours in the adventure, Pete Codella, Accredited in public relations.
Pete Codella, APR is a social media evangelist. In addition to serving as the Social Media Club of Salt Lake City's first program director, he is the first and only person to be president of the Las Vegas chapters of the Public Relations Society of America and International Association of Business Communicators. Codella's agency, Codella Marketing moved to Bountiful from Las Vegas last fall. He has received numerous awards and always enjoys a good communication challenge. (See SMCSLC.org or PeteCodella.com)
