The impacts of social media on our society can be seen all around us. From political revolutions in the Middle East, to creating overnight celebrities, to revolutionizing the way goods are manufactured and delivered, social media has been far more influential than anyone could have ever expected.
When Facebook was developed by Mark Zuckerberg in his dorm room at Harvard, he could not have grasped how impactful not only Facebook would be, but the entire “Social Network” concept.
Who could have imagined that that very same social network would help inspire revolutions half a world away?
The unintended impacts of social media are many, but I wanted to highlight just a few to show how vastly changed our world has become as a result of social media.
- PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING
Today, with LinkedIn, the idea of leveraging social media for professional networking seems obvious. However, it should be remembered that social media was created as a network for socializing – particularly for those of college age.
But social media has created a platform that allows anyone to bypass the “gate keeper,” and go directly to the person they are trying to communicate with. For example, Twitter, being the most “open” of all the platforms, enables you to merely tag the CEO of the company you may be interested in – you’d be surprised how often you’ll get a response.
- POLITICAL REVOLUTION
While the Arab Spring has been attributed to the self immolation of a street vendor in Tunisia, the flames of the revolution were fanned when cell phone videos of his protest were shared around the globe. The rapid spread and far reaching affects of the Arab Spring would never have been possible without social media. From live tweeting in Tahrir Square, to organizing impromptu protests, Pew Research found that social media had played a “crucial role” in these uprisings.
- OVERNIGHT CELEBRITY
Justin Bieber. The Beebs. Beliebers.
Without social media, these words would mean absolutely nothing to you. Justin Bieber became an overnight sensation as a result of a YouTube video.
Bieber’s mother recorded the video above after he placed second in a talent contest. Remember, this was 2007 – YouTube was in its infancy. She continued to post videos online and Bieber’s fan base grew. It was that first video she posted that caught the attention of a producer who took Justin under his wing. The rest, as they say, is history.
- NEW CONSUMER EXPECTATIONS
Social media has become the great equalizer in our society. The power balance between business and consumer has traditionally been to the business’ benefit. That’s because they were able to control the message and consumers didn’t have that much opportunity to research alternatives.
With social media, finding information, opinions and reviews of a product or service can be done in an instant. This has put significantly more pressure on companies, and especially their supply chains, to improve and streamline. This means that prices have become more competitive, manufacturing has become more streamlined, and supply chain management has become more dependent on technology.
- REAL-TIME NEWS
The 24 hour news cycle has become a normal part of our everyday lives. But many people often by-pass CNN and Fox News in favor of real-time social networks such as Twitter. Twitter’s “trending” feature let’s people track events in real-time, right when they happen.
The downside of social media as a news source is that there is no vetting. Anyone can say anything without having to go through any sort of fact checking. This leads to false information and, often times, confusion.
Nonetheless, social media as a news source has been an invaluable tool for us to know what’s going on in the world. The major news networks have also taken to using videos posted on social networks in leu of having any reporters on the ground.
Social media continues to impact every aspect of our lives. I could write a thousand blog posts about how social media has changed our lives, but I chose to focus on just a few. Please leave comments below about how social media has impacted your life!