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Ethan Warlick

Professor Atkins

02/06/2012

ENG496

Social Media Era

Why is it that so many people are drawn to social networking? People have always been

drawn in by media, and social networks are also considered 'social media'. Unlike other forms of

media though, social media does not perform for the user. Rather, the user creates and maintains

the media. So again I inquire, why is it that people are drawn to social media as if it were an

addiction?

Compared to other forms of media, such as film or music, the user acts more as the

director, screenwriter and musician. Rather than enjoying the leisure of watching a movie or

listening to a favorite artist, social media actually forces the users to continuously work.

Compared to other forms of social communication, such as speaking face-to-face or on the

phone, social media is very hands on and exhausting. Instead of being able to quickly discuss

content with someone in person or on the phone, users must create sites with their information

and maintain and update them as changes occur in their lives. Not to mention how many social

medias one can have an account for; users must recreate themselves with each new network they

join.

So one last time I ask. Why so social? In fact, if social networking were to be compared

to anything it should be marketing. As defined by Merriam-Webster, Marketing is (1)the act or

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process of selling or purchasing in a market, (2)the process or technique of promoting, selling,

and distributing a product or service, (3)an aggregate of functions involved in moving goods

from producer to consumer.

Comparing social media to marketing is a much simpler process. To mirror networks

with the above definition you must envision every ones social lives on one field or in one

'market'. The social network is much like a social market because it is a way of displaying

oneself to others, or 'marketing' oneself. There is a certain process and an acquired technique to

social media marketing and instead of being for leisure it is actually becoming a necessity in

society today.

So now this brings us to the question, why has everyone become marketers?

Marketing establishes goods and services as unique and needed, so it is no wonder why

people have become obsessed with marketing themselves. In such a fast paced real world, the

cyber world allows users to keep up with their personal lives and update themselves to friends,

family and assorted other online acquaintances.

Compared to technology, social media use is much like the digital divide. Since it has

become such a necessity, to fall behind divides those that are still maintaining their social lives

and those that are not. Instead of being divided by those that have the ability to use it and not,

networking is divided between those that are willing to update and those that are not willing (or

those that do not matter in this culture shift).

For example, think about whenever the phone was first commercialized and every

household had one. Being the one household without a house phone is like not having a social

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network. More specifically, think about how important cell phones are to the society today. Not

updating or having a social media or social marketing device is like not having a personal phone.

Though it makes sense, it is still very interesting that marketing has gone from a

professional career to a daily necessity in every ones lives. The era of considering any social

encounter or action as anything other than a form of marketing yourself is over. Social media is

the pinnacle of this marketing era.

Social Mediation: Managing Multiple Platforms

A year ago there was only one platform required to stay in the social loop, but as of lately

users have increased the amount of networks that they are a part of. Users are dealing with new

challenges that they have never experienced before, such as where to post what without seeming

repetitive. Since issues like this have begun to arise, we are learning to become 'social

mediators'.

Social Mediation is the user management of multiple platforms and the difficulties

associated with them. Having more than one account with a specific social network is a new

occurrence which makes these issues a precedent. Mediating between networks has never

happened because social medias have only had transition stages until now.

Before Facebook became the capital of the World Wide Web, there were many other

networks fighting to be on the top. For instance, when MySpace users began flocking to

Facebook, there was a transition stage instead of mediation. Users did not make posts on both

networks, instead most gave up on MySpace and became strict Facebook users. Now that there

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are diverse social networks that specialize in different parts of social living, users are creating

accounts without disbanding from previous social medias.

The largest difficulty that social mediators are dealing with is how to update users

without seeming repetitive. This is very important because users maintain many of the same

connections on separate platforms. To solve issues like these, users must adhere to certain steps

in order to perform social mediation.

Step 1: Analyze the content.

- First you must decide whether the content of what you are broadcasting is generally

found on one platform instead of another. For instance, if a user’s content involves a connection

they have on a platform they would post it to that platform. Sometimes it is a simple decision,

other times this step requires more attention.

If a user wants to create a status update they can choose from multiple platforms to do so.

This case is becoming extremely difficult because almost every network allows users to make

status updates. To decide where content is finally posted, a user must determine which platform

is designed for the premise of the content. Recreational content will be posted to a different

network than business related content because of the premise of the platform and the audience.

Step 2: Examine the audience of your platforms.

-Next, users need to be attentive to the audience, or other users that are connected in their

network. This is important because the proper platform can be decided based on its audience.

Some content is meant for a large audience while other content is for a smaller audience.

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As well as step one, users analyze their audience on each platform and decide which

content belongs to which audience. If a user is connected with colleagues and work associates

they would not broadcast the recreational activities of their weekend. Users should refrain from

broadcasting intimate content to a large audience; this has become a large issue regarding

possible careers instigating platforms to learn about possible employees. In some instances this

step can be more difficult than the first; frequent users become knowledgeable of audience sizes

which makes this step simpler.

Step 3: Determine the Platform.

- Finally, users take their knowledge of the content and audiences and decide where the

post is designated; this is the actual mediation between social medias. Some users decide that the

content is proper for multiple platforms and must now make a decision of how to change it to fit

another platform. If users share common connections on many platforms the more diverse they

can create the content the more that it will not seem repetitive.

Now that social networking has entered into a mediation stage, multiple platforms will

continue to be added and users will continue to create many accounts. Difficulties in managing

platforms will continue to occur which will lead to the need of social mediation.