Back to the Future?

The future of social media, what is it going to be? I can only imagine that people are going to continue to use it just as much as we already have been, if not increase our daily, weekly, and monthly usage. I just wonder what it is that will be making us do so.

When researching for this blog post, I located a new app called Pheed, apparently it is a new  “monetized social network”, where members can actually place a monthly subscription fee to users to access your Pheed channel.  It isn’t mandatory to do so, but I wonder how many people will do it, celebrities especially. Pheed allows you to combine your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube accounts all on the same feed/channel. Considering how new Pheed is, it is “already believed to be the social media company of the year.”

Obviously businesses are going to continue using social media to broaden their audience and reach their target markets, as well as keep this sort of personal relationship they’re building with their customers. To me, that’s something I do love about social media. On Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, I’m able to follow my favourite designers and see sneak peaks on upcoming products, be the first to know about promotions, as well as creating my own content of products I’ve purchased to be eligible for certain contests. I think it’s amazing that businesses are becoming so personable through social media.

However, it is kind of crazy to think about how much time we actually spend checking Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like… I wouldn’t say I’m dependent on social media, but to me, it’s basically the number one thing I do whenever I’m bored and want to find a distraction from whatever it is I’m doing. I think a lot of people could say the same thing. So are we going to become even more bored than we are now in the future? Are we going to be looking for more and more distractions? Time will only tell I guess…

Reference:

Leonard, Heather. “Is Pheed The Future Of Social Media?.” Business Insider. MongoDB, 18 Mar. 2013.  Web. 14 Apr. 2013.  <http://www.businessinsider.com/is-pheed-the-future-of-social-media-2013-3>

More Quantity, Less Quality

The question for today’s blog posting asks if social media has increased or decreased the quality of news and information… while I definitely do not think that something the average citizen regularly posts of their own account will be newsworthy, I do think that social media is able to spread news stories at a much faster pace than it did before.  Social media is quantity over quality in my opinion.

Unless you follow a reputable source like CNN, The New York Times, People, Entertainment Weekly and the like, the news stories that we see on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook are not always very accurate. The times that I have seen a breaking news item posted on these social media sites, I have always double-checked with the reputable source before I believe anything.  I remember finding out on Twitter that Michael Jackson had passed away, I hadn’t believed it until I checked on the news and saw that it was true.  But I also remember the days when I read that Justin Bieber, Johnny Depp, Lil Wayne, and Rihanna had died, only to find out that those were all untrue. I think the reason we're not believing what we see and read on these social media sites come from the fact that there have been multiple hoaxes.

In class we discussed KONY 2012, the story spread like wildfire on YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter last year.  While it’s great that people are taking the time to share stories like these when they see them, I’m unsure if any of them are really making a difference to actually help any causes or organizations.  An issue I have with my generation and those younger is that mostly everyone is all about appearances, people want to look like they’re concerned for the well being of others, but if you asked them to donate in any way, would they?  I came across a great term online, “slacktivism -- the idea that sharing, liking or retweeting will solve a problem -- across the social web.”  After finding that term, I completely understand that’s what those 20 friends are doing when they share the same video on Facebook.

Yes, social media can distribute the news at a rapid pace, but I do not think that it will ever override the quality of news that CNN provides. Unless everyone retweets CNN’s news post of course! ;)

Reference:

Fox, Zoe.  Mashable. Wright’s Media, 8 Mar. 2012.  Web. 15 Mar. 2013. <http://mashable.com/2012/03/08/kony-2012-scam/>

#seekingattention

I wouldn’t call Social Media a fad, especially since I think that it’s here to stay, but I wouldn’t say it is as big as the Industrial Revolution. I do think that Social Media has made an impact on the way that society, especially this generation lives their lives though.

I know that Social Media is used mostly to our benefit, but I wonder if it’s almost becoming a curse… I do love Instagram and I check status updates on Twitter and Facebook, but I’m wondering if people are becoming dependent on these outlets.  People feel the need to constantly post things and it’s becoming to the point where it’s annoying. Do you really need to post 20 hashtags along with a photo you’ve just posted? My answer is no, but then again I don’t like random people liking my pictures and following me. In my opinion, the people that do this are craving attention and I don’t think it’s healthy. Are they lonely and just want companionship or does having 150 people that you don’t know follow you on Instagram or Twitter make you feel popular?

My hope is that we can use Social Media to our advantage, to distribute news, to help each other and our communities and not for personal gain. But we'll see where the future takes us...

White Blank Page...

So I'm sitting at my computer right now wondering what on earth am I going to write... I actually started this blog way back in 2007, but funnily enough I never posted anything! The reason why I'm finally posting now is due to a class I'm taking in school, so I'd like to formally welcome you all to my blog! I can't guarantee that what you'll read will be interesting or exciting, but hopefully it'll bring some entertainment to your life, even if it's only a little bit! 

Well that's it for now, chat with you soon! :)