Love it or hate it or be oblivious to it, Social Media has transformed the way much of the world is communicating. Ideas and images spread across the worldwide web as quickly as they cross the span of one’s brain. Crowds can be triggered to appear out of nowhere and then disappear again into the background; governments quake in fear of the instantaneity and ubiquity of cell phone cameras and smart texts.
Facebook and platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, have given the average person the ability, for the first time, to publish his or her own ideas and thoughts in a public forum. No longer is news, opinion, and advertising the sole domain of giant corporations companies. In this way, media has become democratized. Most significantly, Social Media provides an environment where one can easily find his or her “tribe” – other people with shared interests, passions, and desires, whether they be political, cultural, religious, etc. The result of this can be of great benefit, or of great danger, to the global community.
We will explore the origins of Social Media and explain why it has developed at such a rapid fire pace. And we will examine the power of this new and evolving phenomenon.
PRODUCER: Betsy Kent
Betsy Kent was an early adopter of the Internet as a marketing medium. She draws from her extensive experience in the media, marketing and advertising industries to help marketing executives leverage the power of digital channels. Training in Cultural Anthropology gives Betsy unique insight into how people behave, communities form and operate, and the cultural subtleties that can mean success or failure in marketing. She is known as someone who demystifies digital trends in simple, straightforward, un-techie terms.
After running a successful digital marketing agency for over 8 years, Betsy now acts as a coach and consultant and teaches entrepreneurs how to use blogging and Social Media as tools to increase their online visiblity, get recognition and improve their sales. She is the founder and president of Be Visible Associates.