Gazing into the future.

Today’s final social media tutorial left me with some food for thought. Where is the world of social media going and what does it mean for us? Social media is a constant part of our lives, I know I would struggle without technology- even for an hour. It is sad how reliant we are but it is reality and it doesn’t seem to be going away! I am constantly on my phone, I carry it with me all day everyday and it sleeps beside me at night. My phone is the first thing I see when I wake up and the last thing I see before I go to sleep. I use my phone probably at least every 30 minutes every day. I can’t imagine becoming more technologically involved but it certainly a part of the future. Some even say instead of homosapien’s are we becoming homolaptopicus!

Human relationships are becoming less physically dependant, long distant relationships are more common and people text instead of calling, IM instead of visiting. We are in essence, becoming cyborgs, are we are increasingly ‘always connected.’ Human beings are certainly becoming increasingly dependant on social communication. A person’s online connection can become emotional, it is becoming the main form of social interaction for many people. Your cyber social life can say a lot about your personality, it can say how popular you are how often you are ‘checked-in’, who you’re with and how well you can pose in your photos. Some people think they aren’t having fun unless it’s on Facebook. Will automatic check-ins be a feature in the future of social networking?

I think one aspect of the future that is certain is the decline in traditional occupations for example many service jobs will be replaced my machines eg ground staff at airports will no longer be needed as all check in will be done online. The role journalist’s play in media will change, as everyday people have access to the same tools journalists use just with their iphone’s! Everyday people can report news with their camera, voice recordings, video recordings ect all from their iphone’s. If the common person has access to all the same tools and can send news to media just as efficiently will there be the need for journalists in the future? There is even talk of robotic nurses in the future which I cannot comprehend as nurses are needed for so many things that a machine cannot provide like comfort, assurance and consolidation.

Social media is certainly dominating TV programs more and more, with the option to ‘tweet’ or ‘follow on facebook’ in the corner of many popular TV programs. Watching TV is a form of bonding for the modern family, and when a favourite TV show comes on it means family time! An example of social television is the upcoming channel in the UK 4seven, which is to be launched in July 2012.  4seven offers audiences the chance to catch up on programming from Chanel 4 broadcast during the previous seven days. The programs will be determined with reference to those creating the most buzz on social media.

People are becoming increasingly physically connected to social media for example the ‘nike running chip’ that you attach to your runners before exercising and you can upload the details of your workout to social media sites. The chip is a clever social marketing tool for Nike and is an example of how social marketing will become more predominant as a marketing tool.

E-commerce is certainly becoming more niche. With applications like instagram, pintrest and glancee the web is becoming more custom to each users needs and interests, thus the social marketing we are exposed to is generally related to our interest.

One thing that I will take away with me from LSM208 it to always think about the authenticity of friendships as social media plays a bigger, and bigger part in our lives. Facebook friends, and friends who you chat with online aren't genuine friends. Friends will take the time to call you up and ask to spend some time together face to face in the real world not in the cyber world. If you have a facebook friendship with someone who you wouldn't catch up with one-on-one or make a phone call to then it's probably not an authentic friendship. It doesn't mean you can't use social media to communicate with friends, social media great to maintain friendships with people overseas or friends you don't see all the time, however if you wouldn't chat to them outside the cyber world then perhaps it's not a true friendship. Sometimes people are completely different from the way they are perceived online, real life friendships are the best friendships!

I can’t predict what the future holds for social media, however I can speculate. I do predict a decline in traditional forms of advertising and marketing. I predict hard copies of newspapers and magazines will soon be a thing of the past. I predict many jobs will be lost to machines. And I predict an already increasing dependence on social media to maintain and develop relationships between humans.