Social Channels of Communication

Reflecting back to the beginning of the semester I can definitely say that my use of social media and its integration into my everyday life has drastically increased. When I first enrolled in our Social Media Seminar, my technological capacity stopped at Facebook and Twitter.  I would go through phases of heavy Facebook use, but in the months leading into Fall my digital voice was exercised on Twitter to a greater degree. My goal coming into this class was to obtain a deeper understanding of the impact and importance social media has on business.  Over the course of the last few months, I've come to realize the broader significance of social media as an agent that affects the ways in which we communicate not only in business but throughout our lives.  In comparing my use of social media between then and now, I have added another channel to my case.  I recently created a FourSquare account and am yearning to tap into Spotify.  The volume of my tweets has increased.  In addition, I find myself tweeting more about digital applications in social spaces.  While my Facebook usage might not have increased, I do find that I have become much more conscious about what I share with the public.  In addition, I noticed that I am slowly bridging the interest gap between Twitter and Facebook. While my Twitter is heavily geared towards my professional side and my Facebook is tweaked to reflect my character, I've noticed that the two are merging to become slightly more in sync. 

My thoughts of social media have changed drastically.  I did not think participating in social media was a necessity at first.  But after learning about the ways in which social media can be optimized for marketing (whether it is a brand or an individual), I've come to realize how vital it is to be a participant in this movement.  Communication is undergoing a paradigm shift in which information is no longer broadcasted but rather talked about amongst people.  In truth, prior to this class I actually rarely read reviews for products before buying them.   Now, I am religious about reading what others have to say about their experiences with a product or company.  In turn I find that I share my experiences more often as well. Word-of-mouth marketing has always been powerful.  One of the first benefits appointed to the use of social media was ability to spread word of a brand from person to person.  However, what developed is my understanding of why this matters.  The obvious trust of peers opinion was not the only factor.  The empowerment that social media gives to the user is actually making the world more consumer-centric place.  Brands, institutions, organizations are confronted with voices that have a vast potential to share experiences.  Social media is the multipurpose avenue for sharing that forces these socioeconomic entities to listen, cater, and deliver.  I still think I have much to comprehend about the benefits and risk areas of social media, however after that past few months I feel a newfound comfort with the medium. 

I am quite ecstatic that I took this course because I know that social media will change.  To have a foreground understanding of it will help understand and be aware of the changes taking place. Facebook has this inside saying "we're one percent finished."  While I do feel like social media has trumped this one percent, we are still in the beginning stages.  Companies are just learning how to use social media in a way that genuinely engage people.  The Facebook "Like" was the inception of prompting consumer engagement.  Just a few years from that development we already see companies finding new ways to enhance experiences and engage its audience base through digital applications. I feel like social media is only going to grow and with it will the privacy and ethical issues will come to focus.  We already see how institutions are coming to the realization that social media is a force to reckon with, as they try implement limitations.  I am curious to witness the evolution this medium and the way large entities of power use and confront it. 

@gabolletta