As the past year ends for most people, and as the new year picks up, many people are hopeful. Some more so than others. Some of the people that are focusing on a great New Year is the workers at Facebook, with their soon-to-be IPO, which they are hoping the company is valued at $100 B. And why not? Saw this on one of the news sites, but according to a ZDNet article, Facebook is now a primary cause for a third of all divorces in the UK. Communication methods are changing, and social networks are taking over the main avenue of interacting. Emails and texts still play a role, but more people are interacting with social media. But it does not need to be all about the negative aspects of the new communication streams.
For the end of the last year and going into this year, we are visiting family in another state. We have friends here and we always like to get together. When we set up the dinner re-union, it is done via Facebook. Not email, not texts, not even phone calls. Facebook is the main mode of communication and coordination. Everyone is part of the message, or post (all tagged so everyone can provide input), we all can comment and then we can go back to the message for reminders or directions.
Social Media has been around for a while now, but it is still in its infancy. Much like the internet boom and bust of the early turn of the century, we still have a lot to learn on this new front. We are still struggling to come to know what to do with all of these new avenues, and use them properly. We are most likely experiencing the same effects that happened when the telephone came to popularity and the TV took over.