sixgroups.com blog

See this dense collection of facts why social media is a true media revolution. The video is inspired by the well known and truly eye opening  “Did you know” , which you have to watch too, if you haven’t seen it yet.

A quick sumup of key points if you’re lazy:

• 1 of 8couples in the US meet via social media
• Facebook added 100 Million new users in 9 months, it took radio 38years to reach that audience
• If Facebook was a country, it would be the worlds 4th largest
• Ashton Kutcher has more followers on Twitter than the entire population of Ireland, or Norway
• 25% of search results for the world’s largest brands are links to user generated content
• We no longer search for news or products, they find us through social media
• More than 1.5 billion items are shared on Facebook – per day!
• ‘Its a people driven economy’ – stupid (Erik Qulaman, 2009)
• The new paradigm: “Listening first, selling second”

Clay Shirkey about the new communication paradigms generated by digital communication & social media – brilliant.

Shirkey manages to picture and explain the impact of the internet on our social structures in easy words and with compelling examples.

“Internet is the first platform that allows both group-building/management & conversation”.

“Media that is good at creating conversations (e.g. phone) is no good at creating groups, media that’s good at creating groups (movies…) is no good at creating conversations. The internet is the first medium that has native support for groups and conversations at the same time (many to many pattern)”.

“The Internet also becomes the main carrier for ALL other media!”
Never thought about it like this before but it makes complete sense. The Internet is also a meta medium.

We kall now consumers become producers now, but I like Clay’s analogy on this one:
“It is as if you bought a book, they threw in the printing press for free”.

Using the last big Chinese earthquake as an example, he demonstrates why in a new media landscape, where the news is not only produced by so called “professionals” it will become increasingly difficult for countries to censor the Internet. “Media is produced locally, quickly, by amateurs and at an incredible abundance” which makes it practically uncontrollabel.

Times of classic  sender and receiver models are over, we are increasingly in an environment where media is global, social, ubiquitous and cheap.

“Convene your supportters, dont control them”
Never try to hide conversation, e.g. delete negative replies. They happen whether you like it or not. So deal with them appropriately.

“Media is less sending a message to an individuum, but about creating an environment for convening and supporting groups.”
Well, I guess that sums it up nicely. I couldn’t agree more