Inescapable

Social media has certainly made it's impression on the world in a short period of time. As I was perusing Mashable for some inspiration for my final blog, I came across an article regarding how social media has changed our everyday lives. I've chosen the three that are related to my personal social media experience.
1. Where we get our news- You know, there was time when I would turn on the computer and look at CNN.com to see what the day's important news was. Now, I just go to Twitter and see what my followers are tweeting about or glance at the trending topics. So much has changed, in such a quick period of time. There was a point in time where reading the newspaper or watching the television would inform me of what was going on the world. Now, I just look at Anderson Cooper's tweets on my Twitter home page and see what important news he has linked to. And if that fails, then I can always see what President Barack Obama's (or his trained PR professionals) is tweeting about. Times have changed and I have found a more appropriate way of keeping myself informed.
2. How we meet and stay in touch with people- In high school, I went through a huge transition when my best friend moved back to Canada. I was devastated because at that point, the only way I could use the Internet to contact her was through e-mail or instant messenger. Then, Facebook swooped in and saved our friendship. Through Facebook, we have been able to keep in contact with each other and see how our lives have changed over time. Not only through Facebook chat, but with photos, videos, notes, etc. In addition, I have befriended distant relatives from all around India on Facebook. How cool is that? I can keep in contact with people I've related to without even meeting them. Social media has seriously shrunk the size of our world. Not just through Facebook, but even with more interactive outlets like Skype.
3. What we reveal- I think my start in the social media realm was activating my Xanga account. I started blogging in March of 2004. Little did I know that I would keep this blog for 5 1/2 years! Now, my Xanga is primarily used as a emotional outlet of sorts. I used to pour my heart out through elaborate journal entries and my readers (mostly just people from school) would respond and relate to what I was going through. It wasn't quite as embarrassing as talking about my feelings out loud, but through social media, I was able to be myself and not feel the need to hide anything.

Social media is an ever-changing field. I hope to try my hardest to keep up with it as much as I can. Because the truth of the matter is, social media is the future, not just for PR, but for the world in general. It's inescapable.