Do I
think Social Media will change in the future?
Quite
possibly, I do.
It
could change by leaps and bounds.
Or, it
could not change at all, maybe even fall flat on its face.
There
wasn’t a whole lot I gained from this class this term, at least not anything I
wasn’t already familiar with. All it
really did was it reminded me was that Social Media is indeed a commanding
force in today’s society, as well as in the economy, as well as the worldwide
media. It continues to grow, not so much
exponentially anymore as it was in the early part of the century, but the only
constant indeed is change. And to that,
I do believe Social Media COULD grow, but how much and how fast is anyone’s
guess.
With
information technology still slowly progressing, Social Media technology
continues to grow, with faster devices and services, more and more people
joining Social Media hubs and groups, and more of those hubs and groups coming
into service and growing every day.
Trends? Not my thing.
I’ve never really been one to follow the crowd, I like to march to the
beat of my own drum, and if others follow me, then so be it. Trends in Social Media are another thing
altogether. I don’t really follow them,
and I certainly don’t start them. Sure,
I’ll post some hilarious e-card on Facebook full of sarcasm and wit, but if
others share it from my post, that just means they’re helping to spread what I
found, but it’s short-lived. Memes will
continue to evolve as more pictures become meme-able. People will continue to be as creative as
they want with them, making them socially applicable to whatever situation
requires it. Seriously, when was the
last time you saw a Kony meme?
In
regards to the question of technology, I have already addressed that, but just
to reiterate, technology will continue to progress as long as there are people
out there willing to help it improve, evolve, and change.
In
closing, if I was ever asked to take this course again, I’d say no. One, because I’ve just completed it, and two,
I just don’t see the relevance. We see
the impact of Social Media on everyday life every time we draw breath, blink,
or take a step. You simply cannot go a
millisecond in a metropolis like Toronto without bumping into someone with
their nose buried in a smartphone checking Facebook or Twitter, see someone sitting
on a bench in a park on a tablet playing Angry Birds, or on a passing bus
watching a YouTube video on their iPhone.
In my opinion, this class was neither necessary nor relevant; all it
truly taught me was that everyone has a hand in Social Media these days. No, that’s not right. All it really did was make me more aware of
that fact.
