Online Branding Blog – reactorr.com

Social Media Impact

We’re on the verge of a huge shift.

I can’t put my finger on it, but a lot of advancements in techology like smart phones, social media, and much more give me the impression that we’ll soon witness some noticable changes in how we go about getting things done.

With the advent of consumer journalism and social media, we are now empowered moreso than any other time in history. We’re controlling what we read, and view, and also have a direct impact on what others see by the power of our vote. News all over the world can now be reported in real time. From Twitter and social bookmarking sites to CNN’s iReport, we’re now the correspondents. Know as consumer journalism, technology and social media are the tools of the trade and they bring truth.

But what’s really amazing is the impact all this can have, and the change that it can make. Take the recent events that are happening in Iran for example. After the recent elections,  a landslide win led to riots over the concerns of voting fraud, and created Iranian protests worldwide. Technology and Social Media makes the truth prevail.

Using Twitter, news of the civil unrest leaked out in real time. People not only tweeted about what was happening around them, they shared via cell phones and uploaded video of riots in the street from their phones to youtube. While the Iranian authorities prohibited journalists from reporting, social media tools kept us informed. Iran’s authorities later attempted to block communications such as TV, radio and cellphones, but the Internet proved to be more challenging. To illustrate the Iran election and use of social media, see this timeline.

When there was an earthquake in China, people twittered it as it was happening! CNN didn’t break the story for another couple hours.

But beyond social media for current events and trends, how do you use it for your business? You can use social media tools to empower your employees.  So long as you have a social media policy of some kind, why get in the way of the conversation? But how you might use it for a business is for another time.

Here’s an interesting clip from the Ted talks that’s a must see;

Clay Shirky – How Social Media Can Make History