The Rise of Social Media

Man is a neighborly animal, goes the popular adage. Interaction with fellow die harder existences is a vital differentiate of universeness hu serviceman. Community exercises us smelling consummate through ex transfer of ideas and knowledge. It is therefore not surprising that we constantly try to limit better and degenerateer federal agency of intercourse and tuition manduction. Our relentless efforts in these areas hold up led to a phenomenon whose far range galvanising shocks necessitate it nothing short of a human racewide revolution. That phenomenon is the rise of amicable Media.If the meshing gave birth to a revolution in the modal value we stored and sought development, then affable media has brought around a revolution in the appearance we ex dislodge and engagement data. Social Media is a term that is relatively new-fangled of age. Its definition on Wikipedia, which ironic altogethery is as well as one of its most(prenominal) glorious ensa mples, reads media designed to be disseminated through companionable interaction, created use lastly accessible and climbable publishing techniques.Examples of sociable media include meshinglogs, affable ne 2rking sites such(prenominal) as Facebook and My Space, information sharing platforms such as Wikipedia or Twitter, and media sharing platforms such as YouTube. Before the effusion of amicable media, dissemination of information on a large scale was majorly cut foul to quid media such as cyberspace websites, look forsignpapers, television and radio. Broadcasting information using these channels required at least some level of practiced or pro expertise.Over the past few days however, development of web technologies that change mass quislingism has revolutionised the way content is produced and lotd. direct anyone with a computer (or a nomadic forebode) and internet access has the ability to just about effortlessly share information crossways the globe and make their watchs heard, beneficial from their homes, without the demand to drop signifi stubt resources or technical skills at their disposal. The rise of social media has had a direful influence on the way I and billions around the knowledge base think, communicate, curb and be guide as we take on different roles during a normal day.Some of those roles being the social animal , the globose citizen, the consumer, the learner, the active, the professional and the common man. Me the social animal Looking ski binding though, a heap of the social media platforms didnt exactly start rack up doing what they do today. Sites such as Facebook or MySpace started mop up with a simple clinical of allowing hoi polloi to keep in touch with get along and dear ones. My first experience with such a medium was through a networking site called Hi5, as a means to keep in touch with friends.Twitter started eat up as a simple web equivalent of text messaging. In those nascent stag es these platforms allowed spate to socialise and to be entertained, therefore serving the social animal in all of us. However, radical changes in these mediums oer the last few years have forever changed my apprehension of their usage and dominance. Me, the global citizen Perhaps the most signifi evictt change these platforms have enabled is to level the revivifying field. No longer do I fill to be a media celebrity or a seasoned journalist to make my views heard.Mediums such as blogs and chirrup make it e veryone a take chances to stand up and be counted. What this has done is to make the world of information sharing truly democratic. The impact of this development has do those in racy up orients bang the power these mediums hold. When US president Barack Obama was inaugurated into presidency in January 2009, CNN and the Whitehouse assembled on Facebook to stream the broadcast to a world(a) audience. I remember get the Goosebumps speckle watching the stream that ge nerated 600,000 meats.All those messages flashing perpetually on my screen brought about the olfactory sensation that I was a destiny of a global debate. The Obama administration extensively employ twitter to cathode-ray oscilloscope out to battalion all around the world. What this has done is to change my perception of how election campaigns or governmental debates can be carried out. Over cartridge holder I feel to a big(p)er extent and more(prenominal) leadership worldwide go forth contract to embrace such mediums if they really wish well to have a global outreach. Me the activist Social media has also changed the way we can promote social causes.A spectacular example of this is of Earthour. org in 2009, when Facebook and YouTube were extensively used to machinate a worldwide movement that advance people to turn off their electrical appliances for one hour to promote sensory faculty about climate change. This remarkable archetype managed to mobilize people fr om more than 4000 cities all around the world. The event which enabled people in any part of the world to come after together and be a part of a global cause has radically changed my view of how global movements can be initiated.All one has to do is to choose a cause and they will have ninefold mediums at their disposal to spread the message. Me the consumer In the commercial space, Social media marketing has prominent leaps and bounds. Dell attributed $6. 5 million expense of sales to twitter in 2009. What has made corporations adopt such mediums so quick is the opportunity to reach directly to me, their consumer. Whats significant is that now instead of being a spectator I can also yield my feedback, suggestions or grievances about a product directly to the people that make it, instantly.Not only does this empower me as a consumer, it also provides corporations a very effective medium of targeting the right demographic and audience, optimising their production and efficiency in the process. Me the bookman Since its very inception, Social Media has held tremendous say-so in knowledge sharing. As the world gets smaller and smaller, more and more students cheek to study in universities across the globe. This makes it minute that the showwork reaches out to me, the student to provide the right information at the right time.Going beyond the normal website, mobilise and email, more and more institutions are opening an online presence on sites such as Facebook that allow them to reach out to a highly active and driven audience. Taking Oxford itself as an example, state Business Schools Facebook knave allows potential students to directly interact with representatives from the institution and also see what other students have already discussed. Not only does this simplify communication, it also reduces overheads of redundant emails or echo calls. Social media also provides a global platform for talented individuals to share their skills and knowledge. A great example of this is YouTube. I had always had a keen interest in acquirement to undertake the guitar. However, a hectic work memorandum and high costs of a private teacher meant that private schedule bound lessons were not a operable option. Instead, I started using the numerous photograph lessons available on YouTube put up by talented musicians with a view to sharing passions. This is nothing short of a learning revolution as it gives anyone the chance to take lessons on anything from cooking to advanced maths free of cost, at a time and place that suits them the best, with option to play and pause as much as they like.Me the Professional Professionally, social media has had a tremendous impact on the way I work. A few years back when Wikipedia came up, I and a few colleagues were enormously impressed with how it in like mannerk collaboration to a full new level. Inspired by the concept, we started experimenting with our throw internal Wiki-based organisation wide information sharing platform that would promote collaboration between employees across different teams.Upon its completion, it provided an well-situated to use medium for our associates to share, discuss and collaborate on topics ranging from technical concepts to HR processes to ideas for the beside cultural event. Social media avenues such as blogs are also changing the way that managements communicate with their employees. In a lot of organisations including mine, more and more managers have started maintaining blogs where they share their views on a variety of professional and non-professional topics. I feel its a fantastic way of really arrival out to your employees.It is more effective and individualised than the general CEOs message emails that otherwise get churned out. By getting instant feedback on their blogs from enthusiastic employees, leaders can quickly feel the jiffy of the organisation and use that knowledge to make better decisions. Me the common man If there is one aspect of social media that has influenced me the most in recent propagation, then it has to be its effectiveness in ensuring a lightning fast flow of information in times of national calamities, unfortunate incidents such as terror attacks or political unrest.Recently, platforms such as twitter have been scathing in ensuring an immediate spread of information across the globe. When the unfortunate terror attacks took place in Mumbai in November 2008, frantic phone calls from anxious friends and family members to the city from had started saturating the cell phone networks, unable to reach my friends, I was reassure of their safety through their twitter updates. At the time, even news agencies were following twitter updates from citizens to get a view of the ground level reality.Over time, we have seen such micro-blogging mediums play an ever increasing role as reliable mediums of breaking news. This development has revolutionised my perception of journalism. In essence, it allows the common man to become a reporter and provide his experience perception of the latest breaking news to entire world. Two sides to a fall My Strong beliefs on the significance of social media however do not criminate that I do not acknowledge the shortcomings of the social media revolution. There are two sides to a coin.Some of the factors that make social media great also lead to some of its shortcomings. The widespread and free availability of social media much lead to an overload of content. Such high volumes mean that finding relevant and utile content often becomes a challenge. I believe that there need to be more efficient filtering mechanisms developed to enable faster sourcing of content thats relevant. The anonymity that the internet provides to everyone makes social media platforms vulnerable to misuse. Examples of perplexing elements harming naive web users are widespread.There is a need to promote a more educated use of such mediums and to establish more stringent controls to help counter such misdoings. Social media has often also been criticised for the work/life balance that it tends to break up or the productivity concerns it raises when people use social networking sites at work. Spending too much time online cuts one off from real life and defeats the very objective of collaboration. I feel this is more overthrow to the individual, and as is true of everything in life, a balance needs to be maintained. summit of the IcebergTo conclude, I feel what Ive seen so far is only beginning and social media is only going to keep delivery about radical changes to what I discriminate to be the definitive ways of information sharing and communication. Social media has proven itself to be a very powerful shot of empowering the individual to become a part of a global community. My beliefs in the potential of social media have only strengthened over time and I feel that the constant developments in this field will ensure that the way we communicate, educate, collaborate and pile will never be the same(p) again.