All Relative To The Social Media Site
One definition of the word revolution is a sudden and complete change in something. A famous example, of course, is the American Revolution. Another is the counterculture revolution of the U. S. and much of Europe in the 1960s. Currently, the social media revolution is spreading the most.
Social media has transformed people from content consumers to content producers. How knowledge and information spread has undergone radical change. In the past, we were used to the monologues of broadcast media: one person delivering information to the rest of us. We know this typically in the form of newspaper articles and TV newscasts.
However, these norms are fast becoming forced to coexist with what the revolution is bringing. Known as social media dialogues, this is where many people disseminate said information to the people. Everyone becomes recipient and disseminator. This is why they’re referred to as content producers.
There are several common forms of this phenomenon. One well-known form of social media includes concepts or slogans made to be so easily remembered that it galvanizes others to repeat them often. Print media created to be redistributed to the masses is another form. Dissemination from electronic media such as Internet and mobile phones with advanced search capability is a third. Another example is grass-roots direct action dissemination, such as public demonstrations, public rallies, and public speaking.
Traditional media, also known as mass media, broadcast media, or industrial media, differs from social media in many ways. To begin, social media is less expensive and more easily accessible. Mass media normally needs more resources to be able to share information. Second, industrial media production normally necessitates learning specialized skills; normally, social media does not. In short, social media can be utilized more easily by anyone.
Third, response time and relevancy are more impacted, whereas, the time lag in social media can be instantaneous. In industrial media it often takes hours or even days. However, it should be taken into account that as industrial media takes on more and more of social media’s tendencies, there might not be such differences much longer.
A fourth difference is the issue of permanence. In social media, articles or blogs can be edited for content immediately and constantly, as is necessary. This is not true in traditional media, as once an article is published, it cannot be changed. Other things might be necessary, such as apologies or retractions, but the original article cannot be modified.
It is interesting, however, to note the similarities between the two forms of media. Both types of media can be dispersed to a worldwide audience or to a local one. A blog posting may reach no one ‘ or it may reach everyone. TV news broadcasts may reach the same ranges of people.
The future direction of social media and traditional media is, of course, unknown. One hypothesis is the hybridization of the two. In this scenario, what is known as community media is the use of the frameworks of both traditional and social media. In fact, this hybrid is already being commonly used in some corners.
Regardless of what the future holds, the social media is not whimsical. It is here to stay, though the direction is still unclear. Will hybridization continue to evolve? Will traditional media as we know it survive? Will the social media network evolve so much that it consumes both the traditional and the hybrid? Stay tuned to your local media outlets.
Tagged with: social media • social media network • social media revolution • social media site • social media tool
Filed under: About AskAME
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