Why We Love Social Media

There are many hypotheses as to what explains the public's obsession with social media. There are an equal number of great reasons why social media is so useful to so many of us. As to what it is that compels us to use social media is most likely the fact that it puts each of us in control of the information we consume.

Given the massive amount of information available online, social media allows us to build the relationships we choose but , also, to exclude the ones we don't want.




Blogging is the engine of social media. Subscribing to a particular blog is a personal choice. Many corporations, having become increasingly aware of the importance of social media for their own marketing efforts, are racing to develop their own presence on the more popular social sites. Facebook, MySpace and Twitter have changed the landscape for advertisers.

The traditional methods of outbound marketing are less effectual than ever and the actual return on investment is difficult to quantify. However, that's not true online. A person's ability to opt-in or join a particular group or 'follow" on some networks reflects that this new marketing approach is inbound and "permission-centric". Because of this, it is also more difficult for the average company to attract new clients. Many of these companies have sadly discovered that hosting a successful blog is a multi-faceted undertaking. The "Build it and they will come" mentality doesn't, typically, apply to blogs.

Operating a successful blog requires reading, writing and commenting. Most importantly, the blog needs to generate original and thought-provoking content that encourages involvement. Any worthwhile social media site, typically, allows the subscriber to choose the RSS feeds to which they subscribe, the friends they want in their buddy list, as well as the comments they choose to publish. Hence, it's harder to get your message heard when you have to get permission to voice it.

Unlike traditional forms of media, on social news and media sites, we can always turn on and off the content we choose. Having greater control is a very compelling concept and, nearly, a universal one, too.