Sunday, October 7, 2018

Explosive Social Media: Advantages & Incursions

It all began with the advent of  the Internet! The big bang that shook the Earth. The soft entry of social media took us by unprecedented surprise - enmasse and one by one. Little did the World realise the paradigm shift taking place as to the way we would socialize, network, find news and niche; communicate ideas and opinions, spread diverse thoughts, do business and more, besides just whiling away time.  

Platform by platform we were bombarded by new tools coming at our disposal almost free. Little did we know how consequential these platform would become, powerful enough to shake governments, negate standard beliefs and create volatility enmasse.  Most of the social media have become an institution in themselves commanding immense respect, awe and power. 

Though for most of the people or the common human it is recreation on a finger tips, and an easy way to communicate, keeping in touch and form communities and discussion forums within one's niche, it may carry a different meaning for the powerful establishments on the Earth. The phenomenon that social media is cannot be summed up comprehensively using few words. It carries a definition which may differ from people to people.   

It is the versatility, speed and global reach of the Internet that makes this anecdotal features infested medium so powerful with earth shaking qualities. People all across the political spectrum especially the right wingers, and the conservative ideological bodies are extremely vary of this medium which is a free and open peoplespeak platform. So effective has been the discourses on Internet - political or ideological - that some countries have imposed partial or complete ban on the specific platform with little success. Hence it seems that invincibility is an inexplicable characteristic of this phenomena in the cyber space.   

Albeit main purpose of social media is to propagate knowledge and awareness like the television, and help people communicate globally, the medium is an extension of our sensory apparatus through which we can voice over effectively using the prevailing platforms like Twitter and FaceBook. 

For the professionals, entrepreneurs and  industry as whole it is a alternate arena to promote services, conduct business and market products. The cyberspace is a virtual medium that has proved to be a boon for unprecedented commercialization. The main players have been the ecommerce portals, B2B sites and the advertisement mediums.      

Twitter is an evocative and powerful medium that can spread voice, dissent, opinion and thoughts with the composition of few words. For the popular politicians, celebrities and the big vigs it has provided unprecedented reach to communicate with common human masses, fans and followers.  

The interactive features has given rise to miraculous access and expression to the propaganda and entertainment industry.  Singers, actors and musicians promote themselves with huge success so do other professionals. The religious gurus or the proselytizers have flooded this cyberspace in order to spread their creed. The political dispensation too has become an active participant using it as a propaganda tool in order to win battles at hustings and overcome the poll outcomes.

Facebook offers a interactive platform to socialize online using groups and making friends, communicate and create propaganda pages. It is ideal for creating niche communities as well as promote services and market products.  It has millions of members like other popular social platforms.     

The blogging fraternity has been one of the main beneficiaries it has given them voice devoid of difficulties of accessing conventional agencies. It has become a powerful evocative medium to express diverse thoughts, expound dissent and negate traditional practices and views that have become the scourge of rigid societies. The popular blogging mediums are blogspot, typepad and wordpress besides portals embedded with these features.        

Blogging is a powerful commercial medium as well where product specialities and comparison can be offered. One can also create an professional niche among the targeted readers hence for online reputation building it is one of the key elements. This is also one of the finest platform to create what is now termed as user generated content for marketing and reputation building on the Internet. 

Though the social media has arrived in our midst as a boon there are negative imprints as well. The promotion of unethical practices, pornography, fake news, unwarranted views, promoting extremist viewpoints, false propaganda and misuse in terrorist activities are the negatives that the World will have to learn to deal with. 

The social media incursions will continue it is for us to deal with it and adjust our lives such that the imperatives are fulfilled without any adverse effect. Addiction of any kind is harmful.