The Rise of Social Media

Man is a kind animal, goes the popular adage. Interaction with fellow beings is a full of life part of being human. Community brands us feel complete done exchange of ideas and knowledge. It is therefore not surprising that we aeonianly try to adjust better and faster means of communication and instruction share-out. Our relentless efforts in these areas down led to a phenomenon whose far reaching violations make it aught short of a world(a) revolution. That phenomenon is the rise of fond Media.If the internet gave take in to a revolution in the way we stored and sought cultivation, then complaisant media has brought most a revolution in the way we exchange and subprogram information. Social Media is a term that is relatively young of age. Its rendering on Wikipedia, which ironic on the wholey is as well as one of its most glorious typefaces, reads media knowing to be disseminated through genial interaction, created using passing accessible and climbable publ ishing techniques.Examples of affectionate media include weblogs, companionable networking come ins such(prenominal)(prenominal) as Facebook and My Space, information sharing platforms such as Wikipedia or Twitter, and media sharing platforms such as YouTube. Before the explosion of social media, dissemination of information on a large scale was majorly restricted to mass media such as internet websites, newspapers, television and radio. Broadcasting information using these channels required at least some level of technical or master expertise.Over the preceding(a) few years however, development of web technologies that simplify mass coaction has revolutionised the way content is produced and shared. Now anyone with a computer (or a supple phone) and internet access has the ability to almost effortlessly share information across the globe and make their expectations heard, right from their homes, with proscribed the need to have hearty resources or technical skills at th eir disposal. The rise of social media has had a direful influence on the way I and billions around the world think, communicate, look and behave as we take on different roles during a typical day.Some of those roles being the social animal , the orbiculate citizen, the consumer, the student, the activist, the professional and the common man. Me the social animal Looking rachis though, a lot of the social media platforms didnt exactly start take doing what they do today. Sites such as Facebook or MySpace started off with a simple object glass of allowing citizenry to keep in touch with near and dear ones. My beginning(a) experience with such a medium was through a networking site called Hi5, as a means to keep in touch with friends.Twitter started off as a simple web equivalent of text messaging. In those nascent stages these platforms allowed people to socialise and to be entertained, hence serving the social animal in all of us. However, radical changes in these mediums o ver the farthest few years have forever changed my perception of their usage and voltage. Me, the global citizen Perhaps the most important change these platforms have modifyd is to level the vie field. No longer do I need to be a media celebrity or a seasoned journalist to make my views heard.Mediums such as blogs and twitter give everyone a fortuity to stand up and be counted. What this has done is to make the world of information sharing really democratic. The impact of this development has made those in high up places screw the power these mediums hold. When US president Barack Obama was inaugurated into presidency in January 2009, CNN and the Whitehouse gatherd on Facebook to well out the broadcast to a worldwide audience. I remember bulge outting the Goosebumps succession watching the stream that generated 600,000 messages.All those messages flashing endlessly on my screen brought about the feeling that I was a part of a global debate. The Obama institution extensi vely used twitter to reach out to people all around the world. What this has done is to change my perception of how election campaigns or semipolitical debates bed be carried out. Over meter I feel much and much(prenominal) leaders worldwide will need to embrace such mediums if they really wish to have a global outreach. Me the activist Social media has in addition changed the way we washbowl kick upstairs social cases.A huge example of this is of Eart moment. org in 2009, when Facebook and YouTube were extensively used to co-ordinate a worldwide strawman that encouraged people to turn off their electrical appliances for one hour to promote awareness about climate change. This remarkable concept managed to muster people from more than 4000 cities all around the world. The event which enabled people in any part of the world to come 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 choos e a cause and they will have multiple mediums at their disposal to overspread the message. Me the consumer In the commercial space, Social media marketing has gr witness leaps and bounds. Dell attributed $6. 5 one thousand thousand worth of sales to twitter in 2009. What has made corporations adopt such mediums so readily is the opportunity to reach in a flash to me, their consumer. Whats significant is that now instead of being a spectator I can excessively provide 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 efficient medium of targeting the right demographic and audience, optimising their deed and efficiency in the process. Me the student Since its very inception, Social Media has held tremendous potential in knowledge sharing. As the world gets smaller and smaller, more and more students look to study in universities across the globe. Th is makes it critical that the institution reaches out to me, the student to provide the right information at the right time.Going beyond the normal website, phone and email, more and more institutions are establishing 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, Said Business shoals Facebook page 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 phone 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 learning to free rein the guitar. However, a hectic work schedule and high costs of a private teacher meant that private schedule bound lessons were not a viable o ption. Instead, I started using the numerous video 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 hugely impressed with how it took collaboration to a whole new level. Inspired by the concept, we started experimenting with our own internal Wiki-based organisation wide information sharing platform that would promote collaboration amidst employees across different teams.Upon its completion, it provided an easy to use medium for our associates to share, discuss and collaborate on topics ranging from technical concepts to HR processes to ideas for the next 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 reaching out to your employees.It is more effective and personal 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 pulse 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 times, then it has to be its effectiveness in ensuring a lightning fast flow of information in times of topic calamities, unfortunate incidents such as terror attacks or political unrest.Recently, platforms such as twit ter have been critical 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(p) to reach my friends, I was reassured 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 increase 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 own perception of the latest breaking news to entire world. Two sides to a coin My Strong beliefs on the significance of social media however do not imply 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 often lead to an overload of content. Such high volumes mean that determination relevant and useful content often becomes a challenge. I accept 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 penetrable to misuse. Examples of dubious 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 disrupt 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 ve ry objective of collaboration. I feel this is more down to the individual, and as is true of everything in life, a balance needs to be maintained. Tip of the IcebergTo conclude, I feel what Ive seen so far is only beginning and social media is only liberation to keep bringing about radical changes to what I perceive to be the definitive ways of information sharing and communication. Social media has proven itself to be a very powerful tool 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 craft will never be the same again.