Keyword of the Day

Revolution can be defined as the sudden, radical change in something. Our most famous example here in the U. S. Is, of course, the American Revolution. Another example well known to Americans is the 1960s counterculture revolution here and in most of Europe. An up-and-coming revolution currently taking place is the social media revolution.

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.

Major differences exist between social media and traditional media, also known as broadcast, industrial, or mass media. To start, because industrial media normally requires more resources to share what it knows, social media tends to be less expensive. It’s also more accessible, too. Next, in the structured world of traditional media, specialized training is imperative. In the unstructured world of social media, no such training is required. Social media can be used and operated by anyone.

Third, the impact on response time and newsworthiness has been profound. While in social media, this can be instantaneous, the same can take hours or even days in mass media. However, as the influence of social media on traditional media grows, this difference will probably become minimal.

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 revolution 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 evolve so much that it consumes both the traditional and the hybrid? Stay tuned to your local media outlets.