10 – Social media is a fad
Social media are an extension of the Internet and the Web, and are becoming embedded in our work and leisure time. If the Net is a fad, then so are social media – place your bets.
In the long-term, everything is a fad. Does that mean it isn’t helpful? The question is whether this particular fad has any value to us today. The argument I like the most is that social media (or Enterprise 2.0 or “this technology”) gives us an ability to return to the heart of what organizations should be about: people working with each other. Social media is a great way to help people connect and engage with each other, especially when they no longer share physical space.
Everything starts off as a fad.
I think the statistics speak for themselves, as presented in Erik Qualman’s video, Social Media Revolution (v2). A huge number of people are using these tools in their daily lives and it is having a significant impact on all types of activities – personal, business as well as learning.