Social Media: getting mainstram

When this blog started, more than 2 years ago, the terms Web 2.0 and Social Media were just beginning to attract executives's attention. Since then the Social Media have become a major issue for businesses and especially marketers. A real Social Media Tsunami spills out to all directions affecting the lives of individuals and changing the way business operate: in this blog the issues of customer empowerment, openness, transparency and public scrutiny of companies and their products have been often discussed. The Customer Generated Content (the cornerstone of the Social Media movement) poses again a threat - like the Internet in the 90s - again some of the established industries like advertising/communication, printing and press. At the same time the conviction of an increasing number of businesses that crowdsourcing is not a bad idea after all, opens new opportunities to creative amateurs to actively take part in the business process of product development and marketing communication. I am personally glad witnessing the increasing enthusiasm about the New Media among my students (both undergraduates and graduates) in the University and outside. Two research projects about the adoption of Social Media by individuals and businesses are under way in my department; I hope to post some interesting findings for the readers of this blog soon. I will also try to share with the readers of this blog some of my thoughts about the basics of Social Media in the next posts starting with the definition of the Social Media and the identification of it as components of Web 2.0. Coming soon