Are You Riding On The Social Media Bandwagon?

Okay, so what do X- Rays, the telephone and the Mickey Mouse all have in common?  

They were all at one time thought to be fads that would never last.  We laugh now but some of us are turning our backs on social media because we think it’s a passing thing.

I remember as a child hearing an elderly person say,  “I know all I need to know, and I don’t want to know no more.”   At that moment, I vowed I would never become that person.   You don’t want to be that person either.  But a lot of your friends, family members and even co-workers are technologically stuck, and proud of it.  

And if they are anything like I was when I was seven sometimes you just need an answer to the question, “Why?” 

So why should you blog, create valuable content and build networks on social media? Is social media just the new hot thing or does it go deeper than that?

Social media has changed the way we communicate. It has given us as individuals control over how we express ourselves. It also affords us a golden opportunity to build a platform that will help deliver our message to millions – should we choose to do so.

And it is so very exciting.

I’ve been a media professional for almost 20 years and have been granted access to some of the biggest platforms in print, television and radio. But for a long time, traditional media has been considered a members only club.

Through the power of social media, the club doors have now been thrown wide open and everyone has been invited to the party. 

No longer do you have to beg for a little bit of shine. You can grab it yourself.

Yes, social media is here to stay. And that’s a very good thing.

Below are some fun facts about the Internet and social media that prove that:

• 1 out of 8 couples married in the U.S. last year met via social media.

• Years to Reach 50 millions Users:  Radio (38 Years), TV (13 Years), Internet (4 Years), iPod (3 Years)…Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months…iPhone applications hit 1 billion in 9 months.

• If Facebook were a country it would be the world’s 4th largest between the United States and Indonesia (note that Facebook is now creeping up – recently announced 300 million users)

• 80% of companies use LinkedIN as a primary tool to find employees

• The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females

• Ashton Kutcher and Ellen Degeneres (combined) have more Twitter followers than the population of Ireland, Norway, or Panama. 

• 80% of Twitter usage is outside of Twitter…people update anywhere, anytime…imagine what that means for bad customer experiences?

• What happens in Vegas stays on YouTube, Flickr, Twitter, Facebook…

• The #2 largest search engine in the world is YouTube

• There are over 200,000,000 Blogs

• If you were paid a $1 for every time an article was posted on Wikipedia you would earn $156.23 per hour

• 25% of Americans in the past month said they watched a short video…on their phone

***Facts quoted in Erik Qualmans Book “Socialnomiccs”.