Is social media now mass media?
June 25th, 2008 by Andy Merchant
 
Is the cross-over complete? Is social media now a part of everyone’s day-to-day lives, and does everyone now know what it is and how to use it? Has social media reached mass media status?
What I mean by mass media is TV, radio and the press etc that are common communications platforms. Mass media is traditionally one dimensional in terms of communication, and social media of course is the complete opposite.
Over the past couple of months, social media references seem to be wherever I look, being highlighted in varied aspects of everyday life. For instance, on the radio you hear musicians such as Maria Carey singing about YouTube and other social networks, mainstream TV programmes are mentioning the use of blogs in their storylines (Eastenders), and mobile phone company advertisements (billboards) with social networking features are now a powerful way of selling handsets. As I saw yesterday in Waterloo London train station, Vodafone has massive banners hanging from the terminal building promoting the social networking functionality on its handsets.
That’s just a few instances I have noticed, and I bet you have noticed some too!
Is social media mass media yet or just a flash in the pan?
Here is a little slide show with more on the subject.
Tags: , mass media, Social media, vodaphone
June 26th, 2008 at 1:58 am
Hi Andy
certainly food for thought.
I would say it is here to stay
and getting bigger each day.
David
August 13th, 2008 at 6:22 am
[...] a message to the general public, principally the national newspapers, radio, and television. Is social media now mass media? | Liberate Media - social media and online PR consultancy Is the cross-over complete? Is social media now a part of everyone’s day-to-day lives, and does [...]