Entry 2

SOCIAL MEDIA!

I cannot deny, I am officially married to my iPhone because of the various social media that is lurking in my phone. Social media has evolved into something so powerful that it has literally taken over our lives. No doubt, it may sound like a bad thing that we are losing touch with reality but in fact, it is actually a good thing. People argue that it is a bad thing because with social media, privacy is being minimised and the public is aware about your every move. However, on the contrary, it has helped built businesses as well as fame for some! 

Social media platforms has helped people in their everyday lives, businesses as well as a form of entertainment for people. In this day and age, people are constantly on social media because it has become a routine to "tweet", "instagram" and "foursquare" about their locations, food they eat and the location in which they are doing their current activity. I must admit I am guilty for doing these various actions because it has somehow moulded into my daily "activity" that I do. In addition, it has become a hobby to some to do things like this on social media.

(My very own Instagram account in which I post activities that I do)

Another social media platform that has taken over the lives of people is none other than Facebook. Facebook has now become not only a page whereby people post their activities and photos and update their profile about themselves, but it has become a social network site where people gain fans,popularity as well as building branding for their companies. Amazing isn't it! Because of its user-friendliness in creating pages and events on Facebook, it has been the most convenient platform to market yourself or a product. Small business such as blogshops has utilised Facebook event pages and fan pages to increase their branding and popularity. 

(The Tinsel Rack is a local blogshop in which utilised Facebook to gain customer as well as brand awareness)

Blogshops like The Tinsel Rack has successfully gained the brand awareness they needed and are now doing extremely well thanks to Facebook. As you can see from the image above, they manage to gain a total of 48,012 likes for their page and definitely counting. Thus, social media has helped people be more open to business opportunities because they are aware that with a powerful networking site like Facebook, they would probably be able to succeed just like any businesses with pages on Facebook.

Also, social media has also increase communication. For example, what I am doing now (Blogging) is a perfect example of how people communicate through social media. Whatever I post on my blog, the public is allowed to comment back and I reciprocate by replying their comment under the comment box. As simple as it is. Blogs, Tumblr, Formspring, Ask.fm etc are all various sources in which people engage to communicate/network with one another. Another example could be if I am interested in a particular actor and everyday I read his blog, and one day I decide to comment on his entry and he replies me. This example portrays to us how social media helps us to connect with people we may/may not have relational ties with and this helps us to be closer to them in a way. 

Social media has also help in building a community! Usually, organizations tend to use social medias to build community for people in that organization to join. Hence, the organization does not have to go through the hassle of mass sending letters to the people about a Homecoming event, but instead, could access Facebook for example, and post about a Homecoming event happening at the end of the day. For example, I joined a community in Facebook and it was the University at Buffalo. I got updates on the events that were happening on their campus and recently, President Obama paid a visit to the campus at Buffalo!

Thus, this sums up about how social media has been a powerful source in helping us to not only be entertained but also bringing us closer to one another as well as aiding in business growth.