Growing relevance of social media

June 30, 2011 marked the second annual social media day.Also around that time two important happenings marked the social media news space.

News Flash –
· July 6. Facebook announces integration of Skype into their platform, allowing Facebook users the opportunity to video chat with their friends.

· July 1, 2011, Boston – Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s personal fortunes have soared following GSV Capital’s recent stake in the social networking site. He is now worth more than Google founder Sergey Brin and Larry Page.

· June 30, 2011. Google.com launches GooglePlus, a new social networking site aimed at the wildly popular and lucrative Internet market.


These significant news stories have highlighted the growing importance of social media in the global domain.
Social media refers to a group of internet-based applications or mobile technologies that make social communication interactive. Social media is characterized by its penetrative global reach, easy accessibily, instant communication and relatively permanent form of content.

The birth of social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn etc have revolutionized the way communication is enabled and information is transmitted.

Today the growing significance of social media is clearly apparent in our daily life- situations. Understanding it will make it easier for us to use it to our advantage.

Social media is the new social revolution tool. Early this year when Libya was churned by political unrest its citizens took to microblogging in a large way to raise their voice and heighten international awarness against domestic repression. Soon people of Egypt, Tunisia followed suit to rise against their respective dictatorial regimes. Results were quite forthcoming. World nations joined hands in diplomacy, sanctions and military action against the regimes.


Social media has become a tool of personal branding as well. By blog posts, podcasts, eBooks, webinars, linkfests and the like people are establishing their presence in the webspace. This is helping in building and projecting one’s profile. Job search,business and social networking get only butressed by such personal brand building.

In the business sphere social media is helping companies in brand building, marketing and customer-networking at minimal costs. In the US adoption of social media by small businesses has doubled from 12% to 24% in 2010.

Social commerce is getting a fillip on sites like ebay,Gumtree and DoneDeal.
Marketing is getting increasingly aggressive and targetted by using games and contests in this space. Viral videos have gone viral and youtube has become the next big thing after television ! !

At such a time when social media is growing and innovating exponently to remain illiterate of its potential is to miss an important bus in life.