tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13294342474751551842011-07-07T17:08:09.576-07:00Stephanie Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17709258528138583311noreply@blogger.comBlogger11100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1329434247475155184.post-58810028814876957442009-10-01T11:12:00.001-07:002009-10-01T11:12:23.152-07:00Social Networking, it's everywhere! But seriously.<br />"It's like a currency, if you don't use it you're going to be at a loss." One of the boys from the PBS video said this and as sad as it seems it's a pretty accurate depiction of my generation. We grew up using computers and surfing the web so it's only natural that we're so in tune with it now [maybe addicted is a better word]. But where is the line between recreationally using the internet and being full out obsessive compulsive? Even 7-year-olds have online communities where they can play games and talk to friends now. What happened to the good old fashioned play date? While writing this blog I've been back and forth and all over my facebook, twitter, e-mail, other blogs I read, etc., the list goes on and on. And that's just talking about interactive-type websites. I left out all the other fascinating websites I visit. The possibilities for social networking, communities, advertising...they're endless. Quite frankly, it's pretty overwhelming. The obsession with the internet has been affecting other forms of communication as well, cell phones are used for texting rather than phone calls, and social interactions skills [especially with older generations] are seriously lacking.<br />Media and communications have become exceedingly popular majors and areas of study, and not for no reason. To reach the masses it takes so much more than a radio or television advertisement anymore. If you want to actually reach people you need to span all media outlets. Targeting different demographics, especially the younger generations means experimenting with new forms of media. More specifically this means entering the 'blogosphere' and other online communities. President Obama's campaign was well aware of the power of this technology and used it to their advantage in last November's election. His team easily exceeded their projections in less than a month, which shows just how successful online marketing can be. Information sharing online is significantly easier than other marketing methods so people can pass things along very quickly, which in return helped donations go through the roof. Basically, if you can understand technology and how it influences people's lives you can steer that influence and attention anywhere.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/1329434247475155184-5881002881487695744?l=stephcs12.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>Stephanie Brownhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17709258528138583311noreply@blogger.com3