Social Media - Don't Take it Away from Me!

Social Media Post

1. How I use social media:

I use social media on a daily basis for various aspects of a well-rounded life. 

Personal

I use social media for personal reasons and satisfaction.  To keep in touch with family and friends from around the world, social media plays a key role in us staying connected.  My niece, nephew, sister, and brother-in-law live in New York.  Thanks to our iPhones, iPads, and Facetime we have regular conversations and I am able to see how quickly my niece and nephew are growing up.

I spend many hours a day on my iPhone – mainly text messaging my friends, emailing volunteers in my organization, reading my Facebook feed, and reading my Twitter feed.  These tools help me stay on top of what it going on with the things that interest me the most.  I am able to stay in regular contact with my friends, I can keep up with the sports world, and I know what is in the news at any given moment.  In fact, it is Twitter where I first read the news of Michael Jackson dying, the earthquake in Haiti, the Japanese earthquake and tsunami, and many other world-altering events. 

Education

Social media has initiated a great paradigm shift in the way we educate ourselves.  This class blog is a prime example of how we use social media to enhance our learning in school.  Many classes have class websites, which allow students and the instructor to interact with one another outside of classroom hours.  This helps the instructor provide supplemental information and helps students’ access class material even when class is not in session.

With various tools (email, Skype, online discussion forums, Google docs), group projects have also become much easier to manage.  It is easier to coordinate back and forth online between members of the group, minimizing the need for face-to-face meetings.  Many times it is difficult to coordinate the availability of 5 people and arrange meeting times – online social media tools allow group members to work on their own time and be in constant communication.

Career

As I work toward a career in the business world, social media helps me stay abreast of what is happening in the industry.  Blogs, Twitter, and various articles make the opinion and experiences of veterans in the industry available to the public.  Making a habit of reading my Google Reader feed (which has been customized to include relevant articles for me), I can easily and quickly read articles related to the fields I am interested in. 

What is perhaps today’s most powerful social media tool in the professional world, Linkedin plays a large role in my career pursuit.  This is where I showoff my skills and my interests to the business world.  By posting relevant articles and opinions and by building a network of colleagues, I hope to appeal to the recruiters who are constantly searching Linkedin.

It is difficult to recall when I “started” using social media – the first social network I joined was Facebook.  This was in 2007 when a friend told me about it, describing it as the “next best thing.”  As Facebook grew, paving the way for other social networks, I continued exploring more and more.  Being a student of Marketing, recognizing this new way of communicating with the market, social media has to be an area in which I am fluent.  In 2011 when I switched from Computer Science to Marketing, I recognized that become more frequent and effective on social media was important. I would say I started using social media the way that I do today in 2011 when I became a Marketing student. 

If social media were taken away, information would take a longer time to disperse.  Social media has brought us to a time where information is available almost instantaneously.  I think if social media were taken away, on a personal level, I would lose communication with my friends and family.  Social media is the primary way I keep in touch – mainly because it is quick, simple, and hassle free.  If social media were taken away and we went back to face-to-face meetings, it would be difficult to see my friends regularly.

Career-wise, it would also be difficult to stay on top of the industry.  News breaks within seconds of happening – social media allows us to know what’s going on right away without waiting for the 6 o’clock news.  It would be more difficult to build a professional network without social media given that I am a student.  If it were taken away, it would be difficult to replace especially since I have become so dependent on it.  In an industry that’s all about “who you know” it is tough to know people before starting your career – social media gives you a foot in the door. 

Suffice to say that social media helps information disseminate quickly.  If I can conclude and sum up with one plea it is – “please don’t take it away from me!”

-A