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.
These norms, however, are being made to exist side by side with what this new revolution is bringing about. Now, any number people may distribute given information to the masses. Everyone is now both receiver and distributor. Hence, these people are now known as content producers.
Several forms of this are common. One well-known one is ideas or concepts designed to be easily regurgitated so that they are easily repeated often to others. Another form is print media, which is designed to be reproduced to the masses. A third form is the movement at ground level of direct dispersement, including rallies, demonstrations, and public speaking. A fourth is the mass sharing of information from advanced search-capable Internet and mobile devices.
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, response time and relevancy are more impacted, whereas, the time lag in social media can be instantaneous. In industrial media it often takes hours or even days. However, it should be taken into account that as industrial media takes on more and more of social media’s tendencies, there might not be such differences much longer.
Fourth, permanence is treated very differently by the two. In mass media, after an article is printed and distributed, it cannot be changed. Corrections, retractions, and apologies may be necessary, but the article is unable to be altered. In social media, however, changes can instantly be made.
Another interesting note is how the two forms of media are similar. Both social and traditional media reach a small or worldwide audience. A blog post or other such type of social media communication can reach no one or everyone. A television news broadcast can reach the exact same range of people.
Of course, it is hard to predict the future direction of both social media and traditional media. One school of thought is that a hybridization of the two is occurring and will continue to. In this case, it is use of both mass and social media frameworks. In fact, this hybrid is already being used more and more.
Whatever the future brings, the social media revolution is not transient. It is here for good, even as its future direction is still not clear. Will hybridization continue evolving? Will mass media, as we know it, continue? Will the social media tool evolve to the point that it engulfs both the traditional and the hybrid? Keep abreast with your local media outlets as we go forward.
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