By now, most of us know about Social Media and its benefits. People gain information, education, and news instantly. Social Media is free or relatively inexpensive and accessible to enable anyone to publish or access information.
Social Media allows private individuals to reach small or large audiences. A blog post may reach zero people or millions of people! But in case you need a little more persuasion, Tony Hastings of ‘The Top Ten Blog’ spells out the main attributes of Social Media.
Guest author: Tony Hastings
What Social Media Means to Me
S = Sharing
Sharing is a great feature of all Social Media, whether it’s Retweets, Likes or blog comments. Sharing information, images, music, video, opinions, worries, celebrations, successes, failures, the list goes on and on. Social Media is sharing and caring…
O = Omnipresent
Omnipresent is defined as, ‘present in all places at all times’ and this is exactly what is happening with Social Media. Ok, not everyone has access to a computer, and computers don’t work all the time and we have the Twitter ‘fail whale’ to remind us! But generally speaking, the spread of the phenomenon encompasses most of the world. Particularly so with the advances in mobile technology. I marvel at how my kids use their devices to be in touch with what’s happening wherever they may be. They are never without their phone now, I think they would rather lose me than their beloved iPhone! The rumor spreads instantly which means that, due to Social Media we are living in a different world.
C = Creativity
Creativity is Social Media. In all its forms, social media is fantastic for creative people (like Lori) to share their talent. I have to say though that it’s also a wonderful medium for people who have exhibited no previous creative talent (like me) to flex some previously unused muscles. I am able to write, think about the blog design and layout, work with images and generally play around with stuff that I have never had the opportunity to do before. The reader will be the judge of how well I do that but to my mind it’s a great way to develop yourself.
I = Information
Information as a source for learning at the touch of our fingers! For example, how to blog or use Twitter! There is so much help to be found by following links from Facebook and Twitter. Because of the random nature of people you follow or be-friend you also learn about subject you would never have otherwise come across.
A = Acronyms
Acronyms, OMG!! I don’t understand much of what is being said on Social Media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, I have to Google stuff so I don’t get hold of the wrong end of the stick and respond inappropriately. LOL, I used to think that was Lots of Love! A Twitterer was laughing (using lol) and I thought they were being affectionate, that sort of misunderstanding could lead to big trouble. So I check now, recent revelations have been as simple as NP and as complex as ROTFL. IRL had me going for a while until I realised that I don’t have one any more! I would like to add a new acronym – WCPJSWTM,ITCCIIOHAFCIPNWSA! *Answer at foot of post
L = Love
Love, lol! Now it has to be said that not all aspects of Social Media are good, in fact some are downright dangerous. However I am astonished by the amount of love and genuine caring that is going around on Social Media. For instance, if someone has a bad day and expresses that on Twitter or Facebook, it’s not long before they are getting messages of support from friends. I have seen someone organize a special video compilation to celebrate a birthday. And what a polite world the online world is with so much thanking and complimenting going on, if only it was like that IRL (in real life!)…
M = Madness
Madness = Hackers, viruses, hoaxes, spammers, pretty girls who always seem to have 4 digits for a surname (I soon realised it wasn’t my toned body and sparkling personality they were after LOL – see ‘Acronyms’ above). People whose only reason for being on Twitter/Facebook is to see how many Followers/Friends they can get, ‘Follow me and I will follow you’. Say something interesting and maybe I will. Buying followers, automating Tweets, sponsored Tweets, the lunatics are taking over the asylum!
E = Entertainment
Entertainment is fun – who wants information and serious stuff all the time? Not me. There is a lot of fun to be had by following links to blogs and web sites. It may be as simple as someone posting a funny picture on Facebook or maybe a movie or book review blog, which points you in a new direction. New stuff seems to be spring up all the time and we have even got ‘Twitters Got Talent’ now. (http://www.twittersgottalent.tv/)
D = Days
Days, ‘Hashtag’ Twitter Days that is. So far, I have found #musicmonday, #manicmonday, #mentionmonday, #traveltuesday, #humpday (the mind boggles), #woofwednesday, #writerwednesday, #thanksthursday, #followfriday, #sexysaturday, #sleepysunday and I am sure there must be many more. Can we not have day off? #dayoffsunday sounds good to me.
I = Inspiration
Inspiration in the form of quotes, personal development, charity efforts, people reaching out to help others – there is so much to inspire and admire!
A = Addictive
Addictive! It’s taken my life over! What did I do with my time before I discovered blogging and Tweeting? I have turned into the sad person who turns the Mac on as soon as I get up and who just has to check one last time to see what is happening before I go to sleep, which I can’t do because I still thinking about that last Tweet or the next blog post. I really do need to get a grip and reacquaint myself with the family before it’s too late.
*****
Tony Hastings is the owner of the popular‘The Top 10 Blog’ which developed as a forum for his own opinions and into an opportunity to share his finds so that others could connect with them. But much more than that, Tony then asked these fantastic Tweeters and Bloggers to share their favorite thoughts by guest posting on ‘The Top 10 Blog’. http://www.thetop10blog.com/top-10-twitter-people-of-the-week/
*Why can’t people just say what they mean, if they can’t condense it into 140 characters it’s probably not worth saying.
Thanks Tony, for the fun post and reflective post about Social Media. I have to agree with your observations, lol! ~Lori 🙂
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