I have had Facebook for a few years but only just created a Twitter account when I entered CreComm as a requirement. I started thinking about how I use them differently, then I started thinking about how other people use them.
I use my Twitter page to see what is going on in Winnipeg, to see what famous people are doing, and to let my friends know when I have a new blog post posted. The people I follow are people that I share interests with, and don’t necessarily have a personal relationship with them. Although I would love to be close friends with Steve Martin.
I use Facebook to keep in contact with the people I have some sort of relationship with. It is a place I feel I can be more myself, maybe because I know my instructors aren’t looking at it. Though, even if they did, they wouldn’t see anything displeasing.
What I use social media for pales in comparison to what other people use it for. Social media can get things done because social networks have the best coverage. Before news stories come out here are tweets and photos all over Twitter and Facebook; messages go viral and mainstream media has to catch up. Also, journalists aren’t always on the scene, and when they are, sometimes they can’t get their message out in any other way than to tweet it.
What crossed my mind when thinking about the way I use social media compared to people around the world:
1.) The role social media played getting rid of Hosni Mubarek is priceless. If there are any skeptics of Facebook and Twitter, just look what new media has done in Egypt, it has mobilized the people. One Facebook page dedicated to a protest, for instance, had over 80,000 followers. Late last month, the people of Egypt took to the streets protesting the rampant poverty, unemployment, and government corruption seen throughout the country. NYU professor, Clay Shirky is an author, professor, and guru of new media. Shirky says that social media tools can aid the revolutionaries with coordination. He has argued that Twitter helps to keep in touch regarding protests, meeting, and just keeping in touch.
"Social media is no longer simply about allowing your friends to see what you are thinking or for posting photos of your family vacation to Aruba. Social media is quickly staking claim as one of the most influential factors in grassroots socio-political organization. The January 25 revolution in Egypt gained a major foothold as a result of social media tools like Facebook and Twitter. Since the existence of media, individuals have used it to increase governmental transparency and mobilize liked minded individuals."
Read more: http://fastgush.com/socialmedia/upheaval-and-revolution-in-egypt-and-the-powerful-effects-of-social-media.html#ixzz1EL3pDOxu 2.) To access the important information, you have to be able to navigate through all the junk on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and similar sites to find out the important things. On an episode of Empire Professor Emily Bell, the director of digital journalism at Columbia University says, “Information will come to you in ugly big chunks, and you have to be able to make sense of it and you have to be able to make people care about it.”
3.) It would be neat to send a viral tweet. With a statistic like social media taking over porn as the number one activity on the web, it is no wonder why tweets get so much attention.
4.) Some more fun facts:
Years to reach 50 million users:
Radio – 38 years
TV – 13 years
Internet – 4 years
iPod – 3 years
Facebook – added 100 millions users in less than 9 months
5.) If used correctly, social media can hold people in power accountable.
If you have time, watch the video on this website:
How can Twitter and Facebook be used as a public relations tool? They are both useful tools in promotion and publicizing. If you use them right, you will be able to reach a large audience and influence large groups of people. It is a little effort for a huge payoff.
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