Let's Revisit the Power of Social Media

Holly Stewart, Australia 

Once again we come to the topic of the power of social media. 

I think it’s safe to say that the rise of social media is resulting in a call for brands to be active and get involved. However the question must also be asked “What does it mean for everyday Joe Bloe”?

It seems everywhere we turn, social media is a part of our everyday conversations. The phrase “I read it on Facebook…” is becoming increasing prevalent in today’s society and YouTube has seen everyday people rise to fame – think Justin Bieber and Chris Croker (“Leave Britney Alone”). 

In my university days, a fellow student studying PR posted on her Twitter account that she was looking for a job. Two hours and two tweets later, she had an interview with a digital team in one of Australia’s top PR agencies.

More recently, Ben Grubb, the Deputy Tech Editor of one of Sydney’s leading newspaper, The Sydney Morning Herald, was arrested for writing a controversial article regarding Facebook security. Once arrested, Grubb tweeted “I’ve been arrested by Queensland Police for a story I wrote today. They’ve also seized my iPad,” sending the twitterverse into a frenzy of support for Grubb and ridicule of the Queensland Police. Following this, a barrage of media articles surfaced and consequently turned Grubb into somewhat of a celebrity.  

 

Source: http://twitter.com/#!/bengrubb

Looking at this on a global scale, Ted Williams, a homeless man in Columbus, Ohio, struck fame after a passersby filmed him and his ‘golden radio voice’ and posted it on YouTube. Within a number of days the video had gone viral with over 13 million views. As a testament to the power of social media, Williams was offered a job with the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers as an announcer and even appeared on Oprah.

While all of these occurrences seem unlikely to occur to the everyday Joe Bloe, the avenues that social media have opened up are incomprehensible, and if I say so myself, a little bit exciting. When social media didn’t exist, we weren’t aware what every single friend was doing on the weekend, stardom came through tireless auditions, job interviews were sourced through HR websites and people weren’t necessarily getting in trouble for their own opinion.

Having said that, the world is all the more interesting for it.