Explosion of Social Media

Social media is quite possibly the most overdone topic circulating right now, but for good reason.

I remember back when I was in middle school, when the closest thing to social media was the profile you could create on AIM, complete with background color and crazy fonts. Now, I'm a member of not just one, but multiple social networks. Facebook, Myspace, Tumblr and Twitter to be exact, but let's not forget this lovely blog or the poor excuse for a Web site that I'm slowly creating (I'm working on it, just give me time!). As sad as it is, I often feel that the majority of 'socializing' I do is online, and I think it's a safe bet to say that many others feel the same.

About four years ago, when I reached the pivotal moment in life where I too could have a Facebook account (mind you, this was back when you still had to have a valid college e-mail address) I never would have guessed that these social networking sites would be used for anything other than just that.

But, here we are in 2009 when sites like Facebook and Twitter are put to use far beyond the context of connecting with friends and staying in touch--they're now used for professional networking, marketing yourself to potential employers, and perhaps the biggest difference, they're used as part of most business models.

Social media is allowing us all to witness history-- its changing the way business is done. Companies recognize, now more than ever, the importance not of listening to consumers, but engaging in conversation with them via social media. Consumers no longer take complaints to the company, they take them to the internet, so monitoring the convesations about your brand is more important than ever. Yes, this ability for consumers to voice complaints to the masses instantly presents a huge challenge for companies, but more importantly, it provides a great opportunity for companies to effectively handle these situations in the public eye, a great PR move that can boost the company image.

I can't wait to see what approach brands choose to take--who will dive head first into social media, and who will continue treading water to see if the trend passes?