The ‘S’ Word

Over the last decade or so we have experienced a major sociological and technological trend in our world through the rise of ‘Social Media’. What was it that made this movement explode within a few years? Starting with SixDegree, in no particular order, we then had Friendster, MySpace, Orkut, Twitter, Snapchat, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube… the list goes on and on. So what was it that made ‘Social Media’ and ‘Social Networking’ a global phenomenon?

If you look at the core of the erupted volcano of social media/networking it seems at the heart of it is a human desire to ‘SHARE’. Share what? Images, opinions, information, data, life. When we see a beautiful sunset we want to share the view with someone – when we are getting married, we want to share the news (and the pictures). When the neighbour has annoyed us we want to have a rant that someone listens to (or reads). Some of us go all out and share with the world and others are more careful and only share with their close friends. But we all share. It is in our anatomy, in our core as humans.

Social media has given us a platform to do just that and we are doing it at staggering rates. In Aug 2015, over 1 billion people used Facebook FB +0.19% in a single day and Facebook users send on average 31.25 million messages and view 2.77 million videos every minute. We are also seeing a massive growth in video and photo data, where every minute up to 300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube alone.

And yet some say that social media is getting boring and is on the way out. I have had a few very interesting discussions on the PLC (Product Life Cycle) of Social Media and even arguments whether it is at its maturity or decline stage. It is a hard one to judge, considering the pace at which technologies are developing but at the same pace the technologies are being either accepted or declined by the consumers and users.

The most recent example is the example of Google glasses. I remember being at Google’s Headquarters to see one of the first demos of Google Glass before its release into the market and the confidence that was evident in the presentation by one of the top Google bosses. Before we go any further on this, you might know what happened to Google Glass. Nothing. It didn’t catch on. It wasn’t the “next big thing”.

So where are we heading with the PLC of Social Media? And more importantly what will be the next wave of socio-technological movement that will engulf us to an extent that we would love to ride along?

Maybe I am an optimist but I would put my money on the next wave that would involve ‘SHARING’ again but maybe this time sharing which has a more tangible impact, more than an exciting feeling that I get after posting my holiday photos to share with the world. Sharing that satisfies. Sharing that has an impact on other people’s lives and our status format might be changed from ‘What I am up to’ to ‘Why I am doing what I am doing’.

So before you write your comment, feedback or answer it might be considering these aspects. It is hard to imagine our lives without the social media or social networking but imagine how it would feel if we could bring more tangible purpose to our social media activities through changing lives, feeding the poor, providing shelter, fighting injustice. Imagine the world where you don’t have to be a multimillionaire to be known as a philanthropist?

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Author: Samar Riaz, Founder and Director at Uniondeb www.uniondeb.com