Sheri Helvey

Is Social Media here to stay or is it a fad?  “Word of Mouth Goes World of Mouth”!  Erik Qualman speaks about the importance of Social Media in his book,  ”Socialnomics: How Social Media Transforms The Way We Live and Do Business” and how things are rapidly changing in our social world.

Here is a great excerpt from his book: 

“Why is there a need for social media?  Why has it become the most popular activity on the Web in a span shorter than three years?  Despite fragmenation caused by the Web, people still desire an understanding of what the majority of people are doing.  Social media is that mechanism.  In the future we will no longer look for the news; rather, the news will find us, or we will create it.  That future is now.”

It seems like everyday you hear of corporations, television programs, authors, radio and tv stations and even schools say, “Follow us on Twitter” or “Join us on Facebook”.   These sites are rapidly becoming the way we communicate.  People are finding it easier and easier to reconnect with friends and schoolmates, create new friendships, keep abreast of the news among many other things.   The Twitter and Facebook logos are popping up everywhere!

Alexa.com, which is a resource to discover information about websites, lists the “Top 500 Sites on the Web”.  At the time of this post, five out of first 13 sites are Social Media sites:

• Facebook is number 3
• YouTube is number 4
• Blogger is number 7
• MySpace is number 11
• Twitter is number 13

The following video is an excellent overview of where we are headed with social media . . . Watch and absorb!

So, is social media a fad?  hmmmmm . . . . looks like it is here to stay to me.  What do you think?  Don’t get left behind!