As I talk with business owners and other professionals, I come across the occassional person who tells me that social media is a fad. I have to answer this with my personal opinion, because I can for one, and because there is not a whole slew of data to support it either way. We have to look at how far social media has come and to what extent our daily lives are affected. I also think we have to analyze the age groups that are using social media.
First, I hate it when people call something they don't like or understand a fad. Seriously? Can you not find a more creative way of criticizing something outside of calling it a fad that you hope will go away? Okay on to a real explanation.
I can't see social media being a fad. 8 out of the top 15 sites in regards to traffic are social sites. I have to agree that there is a possibility that some of the social networks will dissappear. Twitter may not make it as long as Facebook has, but it still has its place, and something may replace Twitter, or they may improve their interface, but the idea is working very well. In fact, since we are talking about Twitter, many major companies are promoting Twitter and really adopting the idea of using it. Outside of Twitter, there are very useful and long-running social media sites such as Facebook and Linkedin.
These two sites have been in use for quite some time, and they don't appear to be losing any ground. Both Facebook and Linkedin have easy-to-view interfaces, and their usage is pretty easy to navigate as well. Although social sites took off in the younger age ranges as well, older age groups are migrating to them. In fact, 30-49 year olds are the fastest growing users on Facebook, and Linkedin has been a "professional" network since inception. Increasingly, more of the general population is adopting the idea of social media.
Lastly, I want to touch on the extent to which our lives are affected by social media. Cell phones have increased our connectivity, and people now feel you should be accessible at any time. I have people stalker-call (call 4-8 times in a row) me because they think I should be able to answer my cell phone whenever they want to reach me. Socia media only enables this thinking to a further extent. Now you can show people what you are doing, tell them what you are thinking, and explain why you think the cashier at Wal-Mart is stupid all from your cell phone, and anyone can see it. talk about connectivity. Now, I personally don't suggest using social media for this reason, especially since we focus on business use of social media, but I just want to illustrate why I feel social media is not a fad. It is far reaching, and so many people are using for interaction instead of the wide-spread cell phone.
Is social media a fad? No. Are some of the sites a fad? Probably. Don't be so naive to think it is going away. I heard of a high school principal that said in the eighties that computers were a fad... Good luck with that, and good luck with thinking social media is a fad as well!
Written on Friday, 30 October 2009 07:30 by Nate Stockard
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