Power of Social Media
Social media now delivers the news
Lots of people have been talking about the power of Social Media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and more. These tools now not only share news, but also help people make it. Those who use it are aren’t surprised. Those who don’t, and I’m still a bit surprised how many still don’t venture to even the simplest social media tools, don’t quite get it. How can the events in Egypt be so influenced by these silly sites where people tell each other what they are having for breakfast or where they play these games where they can buy virtual farm animals?
But it is reality; these sites are now how our greater society communicates. If you were logged into your social media site during the Superbowl, it is likely you would have seen regular updates on the games and commercials. I was actually preparing and cleaning up dinner, and just by reviewing Facebook every few minutes, I already knew about the National Anthem fiasco, who was up in the score, and that the VW Darth Vader ad was well liked by many of my peers. No more waiting until the morning talk-shows to know what’s hot. I had a good picture real time. That’s only one site, and only comments from my small number of friends. During the Superbowl, there were more than 4,000 tweets every second at the peak. I personally figured it would be overwhelming, so I found FB a better pace for my news.
But social media is now where I typically hear first about so many of the major events of a day. Not only things like the situation in Egypt, but I know when someone famous passes away. I know when bad weather is coming and when it arrives. I know which sports team is doing poorly or well. And so much more. Of course, it is sent through a filter of other people’s perspective so it may not be accurate or unbiased. But it is still news. It’ll be interesting to see how the traditional media responds and adjusts as they are no longer the first or only source for information.
twitter helps keep me on top of the latest news from blogs – far better than even google reader
i supplement my social media monitoring with google alerts – the combo is hard to beat for keeping a finger on the pulse of whatever field you specialize in =)
nice post – thanks!