Do you find yourself asking what this frenzy craze surrounding Social Media is all about? Do you believe you are the sole bearer of uncertainty regarding this ever-evolving trend? Well here is the good news, you aren’t! In fact, welcome to the club (unfortunately unofficial) of those who simply are perplexed by this new world of communication.
Think far back to the early, uncertain days of Social Media – the year 2004. Facebook was gaining popularity as quickly as UGG Boots on college campuses, and people found themselves lost in New Media ranging from picture sharing to blogging, wiki pages to podcasts, and YouTube videos to innovative advertising.
However, despite hours of lost productivity (though many would consider Second Life or World of Warcraft chat forums ever-relevant), a trend began to emerge. Little by little, signs of cooperation amongst Social Media users sprung. As seeds on the tree of collaboration, the fresh wind of New Media had begun to spread the idea of sharing resources and knowledge and encourage the notion of supporting your online community.
Such unity has given rise to discussion forums ranging from increasing workplace productivity to relationship advice. Conversations on websites such as LinkedIn allow for individuals to seek answers to questions that may foster growth within their business. Whereas industry of past ages was closed-lip and back-turning, we now see individuals, strangers to the person in need, offering help and providing answers to such questions. Looking for nothing in return, this new group (we will call title them “Social Media-tors”) contribute to their fellow forum members because they know that when they have an issue or dilemma, others will do the same.
We see networks such as GiveWell, which studies charities in particular fields and ranks them on their effectiveness. GiveWell also encourages conversation about how to have the biggest impact with your gracious donations.
We see student groups, such as the Kairos Society, who have the support of global leaders such as President Bill Clinton and William Gates Sr. The Kairos Society is a student entrepreneurship group whose main goal is to connect the brightest students from across the nation with the purpose of encouraging entrepreneurship and economic sustainability, all while fueling collaborative communication amongst members and global industry leaders.
In the article Social Media for Social Causes Case Study: The Results, author Geoff Livingston mentions that “84 percent of the social media savvy aged 30-49 and 55 percent of those older than 50 used conversational media for these purposes.” So why is this important? We finally see that (gasp) social media is not just for kids (gasp, again)!
So what will the future of Social Media be? Will we continue to see a rise and influence amongst Social Media-tors? If the means are available, why not continue to help one another succeed and encourage positive uses within this expanding virtual world.
