Social Media & Social Change

Week 5 Blog Assignment:

 Writing a blog for class and creating websites in hours would be unheard of for the generation before us. But as we find ourselves in such a technologically savvy era, new issues arise and it is incredibly difficult to stay on top of the evolving social media and the correlating social change. For this week's blog, I will be highlighting some of these social media outlets and the unnerving power that they hold.

 

Last quarter, in my Small Group Processes Communication course, we read a New York Times article from April 9, 2011 byt Jenna Wortham, titled, "Feel Like a Wallflower? Maybe It's Your Facebook Wall". In this piece, she introduces the concept of FOMO (fear of missing out), and "refers to the blend of anxiety, inadequacy and irritation that can flare up while skimming social media like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc".

Wortham acknowledges the benefits of feeling more connected to friends and family all over the country but thinks that the may not be worth it. In her article, she quotes Sherry Turkle, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of "Alone Together", saying that "as technology becomes ever more pervasive, our relationship to it becomes more intimate, granting it the power to influence decisions, moods and emotions.

While I have not joined the world of twitter or instagram or even tumblr at this point, I can see the ways that Facebook does influence my perception of others and even how I am spending my own time. And beyond this somewhat shallow social aspect, there is the growing pervasiveness of this social media seeping into the workplace. Employers are seeing these personal sites and making decisions before the applicant even begins their interview.



I was recently given a book called, "Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations"by Clay Shirky and though I have yet to read the entire thing, it proves to be entertaining and anyone interested in this sort of thing should check it out.

The video below is one that I have seen before but never fails to surprise me with the numbers and comparisons that make the power of social media that much more real. If you haven't seen it before I definitely encourage you to check it out.

Two quotes in this video in particular seem to sum it all  up very nicely and reflect my attitude towards social media. The first being from Erik Qualman, stating that "we don't have a choice on whether we DO social media, the question is how well we DO it". While it is daunting and somewhat overwhelming at times to try and stay proficient at all of the emerging technologies, it really is something that you need to challenge head-on to increase your employment opportunities after college. Having these skills is not necessarily and choice if you want to stay on top of it.

And I'll end with this great quote from the video, "Social media isn't a fad, it's a fundamental shift in the way we communicate". So true.

Sources used:

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/10/04/101004fa_fact_gladwell#ixzz1STUPJxOE

http://www.amazon.com/Here-Comes-Everybody-Organizing-Organizations/dp/1594201536
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eUeL3n7fDs