Social Media: A Passing Fad or Bigger than TV?
Wednesday, December 2, 2009 | 13 Comments
Tags: power of social media, two way listening
Posted in: Listening, Marketing, Social Media
The era of mass media introduced a lot of changes in how businesses communicate with customers. It has also had a huge impact on society, as Marshall McLuhan noted: media such as TV and radio would shrink the globe into a “global village“, a term he coined in his book Understanding Media (1964), which I briefly reference in the video.
So what about social media? Will its effect on society and, more specifically, on business communications be a passing fad or will it have a greater impact than the era of mass marketing?
Here is my riff on that question. Please let me know your thoughts on the subject.
13 Responses to “Social Media: A Passing Fad or Bigger than TV?”
Taylor Marek on December 4th, 2009 at 12:46 am
Well said. I swear I’ve heard of Radian6 before, but never really took a longer look till now. I think I’ll hang around and see what comes of it… 
Taylor Marek on December 4th, 2009 at 12:46 am
Well said. I swear I’ve heard of Radian6 before, but never really took a longer look till now. I think I’ll hang around and see what comes of it…
Taylor Marek on December 4th, 2009 at 12:46 am
Well said. I swear I’ve heard of Radian6 before, but never really took a longer look till now. I think I’ll hang around and see what comes of it…
Morgan Siem on December 17th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
I love the quote in the video that, “Now your brand is the sum of conversations about it….Your customers have a very powerful voice in shaping your brand.” You are right that this creates a fundamental shift in the way marketing teams approach branding. Thanks for the tools that help brands stay engaged with their customers!
Morgan Siem on December 17th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
I love the quote in the video that, “Now your brand is the sum of conversations about it….Your customers have a very powerful voice in shaping your brand.” You are right that this creates a fundamental shift in the way marketing teams approach branding. Thanks for the tools that help brands stay engaged with their customers!
Morgan Siem on December 17th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
I love the quote in the video that, “Now your brand is the sum of conversations about it….Your customers have a very powerful voice in shaping your brand.” You are right that this creates a fundamental shift in the way marketing teams approach branding. Thanks for the tools that help brands stay engaged with their customers!
Morgan Siem on December 17th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
I love the quote in the video that, “Now your brand is the sum of conversations about it….Your customers have a very powerful voice in shaping your brand.” You are right that this creates a fundamental shift in the way marketing teams approach branding. Thanks for the tools that help brands stay engaged with their customers!
Viji Iyer on December 17th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
This is a fantastic video that breaks down and speaks to the effects of social media and how it can potentially have a “revolutionary effect” on how we market our products/ services as well as how we define a brand moving forward. I love the aspect of “powershift” where a consumer has as much voice as the brand. Thank you for sharing this, certainly has a RT value on twitter to be shared with others! 
Viji Iyer on December 17th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
This is a fantastic video that breaks down and speaks to the effects of social media and how it can potentially have a “revolutionary effect” on how we market our products/ services as well as how we define a brand moving forward. I love the aspect of “powershift” where a consumer has as much voice as the brand. Thank you for sharing this, certainly has a RT value on twitter to be shared with others!
Viji Iyer on December 17th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
This is a fantastic video that breaks down and speaks to the effects of social media and how it can potentially have a “revolutionary effect” on how we market our products/ services as well as how we define a brand moving forward. I love the aspect of “powershift” where a consumer has as much voice as the brand. Thank you for sharing this, certainly has a RT value on twitter to be shared with others!
Viji Iyer on December 17th, 2009 at 5:07 pm
This is a fantastic video that breaks down and speaks to the effects of social media and how it can potentially have a “revolutionary effect” on how we market our products/ services as well as how we define a brand moving forward. I love the aspect of “powershift” where a consumer has as much voice as the brand. Thank you for sharing this, certainly has a RT value on twitter to be shared with others!
bryan bliss on July 31st, 2010 at 7:58 pm
Interesting to look back on this.
I see what he means but the upcoming political campaigns, the citizens united, tea party corporate sponsorshop and even old spice ads all make the case that you CAN STILL BUY the media, even in social media. Having a budget and strategy maximized can equate to maximum exposure in even social media.
I think he probably means that money no longer MONOPOLIZES the media, but even that doesent quite get it. word of mouth always trumped paid advertising and there have been brands paying for word of mouth probably ever since there has been advertising.
Though the system seems more open and democratized, there are still multiple ways to buy or rig the game.
Fortunately our voices DO count more, but we need to keep a watchful eye on that power of ours and be cautious how we squander or abuse it.
Taylor Marek on December 4th, 2009 at 12:46 am
Well said. I swear I’ve heard of Radian6 before, but never really took a longer look till now. I think I’ll hang around and see what comes of it…