Thursday

Social Media - Has Twitter, Facebook & YouTube become the message?



Ever since Marshall McLuhan came up with that brainteaser, "The medium is the message", communications and sociology students have killed millions of trees writing papers about how the media and television in particular, affected the messages we recieved.

His theory  held great attraction for those people who were "left hemisphere" thinkers. ( I'm currently reading the new biography of Pierre Trudeau who was rather smitten by Marshall McLuhan.)

Marshall McLuhan striking professor pose
Although I have heard this mantra so many times tin my life, it wasn't until my infatuation with social media happened along  that I began to comprehend the profundity of that theory. 

Now, I'm not your typical early adapter and I'm far from being a computer geek. What I learned about computers I learned through trial and error.  And believe me, when  your first computer was a Window 286, it was more like trail by fire.

What intrigues me most about social media is how it has changed not only the way we communicate but what we communicate.  As well, it is communication and we, the users are the content. (to paraphrase Marchall).

So, without having a Communications or Marketing degree, I have decided to bravely embark on an exploration of this social media phenomenon and, in spite of jumping into a very crowded pool, make a place for myself in the competitive world of social media consulting.

Looking back at my life, I have always been recognized the importance of communications; as a performer, as a director, as a restaurant manager as an arts administrator.  And to be very honest, it has been a few years since I have felt such passion about a subject. 

Communication is the basis of all human dealings; person to person; person to community, person to business and government.  What social media does via  technology is return communications to its primal function; the exchange of information with the emphasis on "exchange".

So that is what I will be exploring further on this "newraycom" blog.  As the name implies, it's a new me hopefully exchanging views on where social media fits into our professional and personal lives. I know I don't have all the answers, but each day brings more insights and each contact, new ideas.




 

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