Saying social media is powerful cannot give justice to how life and world changing it actually is. In U.S. history when we think about being able to reach the masses at a time we think of the start of the news paper, the Penny Press, and of course the telephone. Indeed these were all advances in technology and social change, these cannot come close to what the internet and social media have accomplished thus far.
In the video The Social Media Revolution 2012 linked at the bottom, it claims that the social media (facebook, twitter, myspace, linkedin, ect) is the number one use on the internet. So this means less people are seeking out information whether it be for news, weather, poltics, sports ect. So, this means that these news/information producers are going to have to actively seek out people to give this news to. The best and easiest way to do this is via social media outlets.
The same video as mentioned above provides a interesting quote - "Social media isn't a fad, it's a fundamental shift in the way we communicate". This is a very powerful statement, as well as a true statement. It is completely normal to add someone to facebook you just met in real life. In fact, it's more acceptable than asking for a phone number. I believe this is unfortunate, and not the best for interpersonal relationships, but it is the way our society is going. Why don't I agree with this? I don't agree with this because social media is taking away from the present. For example, when you are hanging out/spending time with a friend, then you get a text message from another friend, or you are surfing facebook during your conversation (we all have done it), you are essentially taking away from that present communication interaction with the friend you are with.
Another way social media is having an impact on society is customer affect. Since the news is now reaching us instead of us reaching the news, we are hearing about more than ever. This could be dangerous for business and a prime example of this is the recent Netflix price increase. According to the article on CNN How social media are amplifying customer outrage Netflix's facebook page got over 79,000 comments from disappointed customers concerning the price increase. This just shows that any type of news or event spreads faster now than EVER. This is an unfamiliar territory because the world has never had this instant non ending stream of information before. I'm sure there are dangers as well as benefits, but only time will tell how this change will effect the world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eUeL3n7fDs
http://articles.cnn.com/2011-07-22/tech/social.media.outrage.taylor_1_cottage-cheese-netflix-blog-social-media?_s=PM:TECH
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