On Our Minds

Just a mere 5 years ago, social media was largely perceived as a fad that was strictly built for teens and college aged adults. One or two platforms led the market and interactivity was at a minimum. Social media was thought of as a cluttered and utterly useless online space secluded for nerds and gamers.

Fast forward to 2012 – Facebook is set to hit 1 billion users, new platforms such as Tumblr and Google+ are growing at an incredible pace, a blog is no longer a foreign object and YouTube has claimed, with reason, sole responsibility for Justin Bieber’s popularity. These effects have not only shaped popular culture, but have had drastic effects on the communications industry.

Companies now understand the role that social media can play in drawing media attention to their brands and creating conversations around their products and services. Tools such as Twitter and LinkedIn have even made historically bureaucratic corporations more transparent and available to their consumers. Even the U.S. Secret Service opened a Twitter account in late 2011. We now live in a time where every organization – from Joe’s Donuts to Coca-Cola – needs to maintain a robust online presence in order to stay competitive.

2012 will see even more advancements in the way people communicate. Geo-technology such as Foursquare and Gowalla (recently acquired by Facebook) are estimated to peak this year, while new industry specific social networks are popping up every week. These new networks will continue to develop as consumers look for innovative ways to interact online.