Thursday, January 26, 2012

Social media: hype or a trend?

Social networks now days have become one important part of urban lifestyle throughout the world. Many of us think 'what's in our mind' only when we look at facebook or twitter page. We strike a pose many times just to show it to our friends on facebook, google+, twitter etc. Sometimes I think is this a trend for Gen Y or just hype? .........To share......to exchange.....to collaborate.....to participate......to interact.....for making those emotional attachments & social connections.

Whatever it is hype or a trend, but this social media has affected our life to a great extent. Earlier kids used to indulge in hobbies but now most of them are glued to these new social networks. Forget about kids we youngsters are worst....... we have plenty of time to see all pictures, comments, status, trending topics etc and finally end up saying that we don't have time for hobbies or we are too busy to catch up with friends. We accept it or not but Social Media has many Socio-economic consequences....It is creating a mirage of happy life which is effecting our real life.

Every now and then we add friends.... even if in real life we don't talk to those people....No doubt personal & social network increases with social media. But knowingly or unknowingly we interact so much on the virtual world that real world at time takes a back seat and virtual world coincides with the real world. What happens in facebook, twitter etc stays for long in our mind and we end up losing time in real world. This in long run can become a cause of weak relationships.

Social media also acts as a intrinsic motivation for many of us..... Reputation, passion, hobby, fun, idealism, art, making relations, etc... In some cases it has been a source of crime as well, I know many of you will disagree on this but just pick up the paper every now and then we have something on these lines reported in the media. I agree it's still not that big issue, but trust me you can't ignore the signs when more and more people coming and becoming part of these vast networks.

Increasing relevance of Social Media in Politics, Economy, Society, and Business is another talk of the time. Social media takes an active role in shaping politics e.g. boycotts (e-petitions), fund raising, and helping the needy. Anna's anti-corruption campaign for example got more likes, follows on social media sites and thus, became an important source of revolution among youngsters. In nutshell, Society will be more connected when this facebook generation will have maximum say.... because this Social media has given them great platform to raise their voice to millions.

As far as economy is concerned, collective intelligence increases with social media in place.... Innovation potential also increases by crowd sourcing. Social media also became a new business model. Social Media act as a complementary sales and marketing channels. It gave business a new platform for a voluntary identification with a brand advertising which in turn can lead to pull instead of push-strategy. This evaluation platform can contribute to an enterprise’s success or failure. The internet strengthens the user‘sovereignty. With more and more people joining in social media marketing is becoming very popular.

Social Media like every thing comes with its pros & cons and only time can tell where we are heading with it. So, we can only make our own judgment how do we want to manage our real and virtual life. At the end I could say that, Social Media are not hype, but a consequence of technological progress.... which started as a trend and finally became a need for many of us.

2 comments:

  1. exactly not a type. it is just a part of changing world. and yes a great platform tho we have to maintain balance between the two worlds!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think its more of a hype and less trend... you can say it's a bandwagon effect, everyone wants to be on net by one or the other social network to prove their existance !!!

    ReplyDelete

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