Written by Terri Reddout
Like Godzilla, there’s no way we can stop social media growth
As a child, I used to spend my Saturday afternoons watching Godzilla movies. Nothing could stop this monster. Not tanks. Not machine guns. Not weird green gas. Nothing. As I recall, the people of Earth never defeated Godzilla. He’d just get tired of all the destruction and mayhem and would quietly sink back into the ocean.
While pulling information for this blog I was overwhelmed with the growth of social media and how it’s infiltrated all aspects of our lives. It made me think of those old Godzilla movies. Like Godzilla, there’s nothing out there that can stop the growth of social media.
As a broadcaster, I immediately became aware of how social media democratized the spread of information. Now anybody can spread information about anything they want. Like in this video, Science of Godzilla, a young man expounds on the scientific flaws with the 2014 movie version of Godzilla.
I’m on Facebook… Like a billion others
According to Statista, nearly 3 BILLION people use Facebook. More that 2.6 BILLION people used Facebook in early 2020. That’s up from 1 BILLION back in 2012.
I’m not sure whether I’m Facebook user #884,592 or #993,395 or whatever number member I might be, but I did join Facebook back in 2008. My students encouraged me to do so. My rep became “cool prof who’s on Facebook.” (Not so cool anymore. Chances are your grandparents are on Facebook now. In fact, over 45% of people over age 65 use some form of social media. That’s up from 8% ten years ago.)
By 2010 I changed jobs. I worked at the WSU Research Center in Prosser and used Facebook to communicate with business colleagues.
Then, I went through Washington State University’s employee orientation. They told me I could get fired for checking my Facebook page! Amazing! They still thought of Facebook as solely personal use. Weird, since one of the things I planned to do is create a Facebook page for my organization in order to better communicate with our clients.
How things have changed. Now, I have two active FB accounts… one for my professional life and the second for my private life.
Today, I manage FB accounts for CentralNewsWatch, and CNW Alums, CNW Internal Communication (both closed groups). Before my sister closed her store, I ran her store Facebook page, Linda’s LaBella Casa.
In many of my classes I use FB as part of my teaching strategy. I don’t very much any more because so many of you don’t have active Facebook pages. Chances are you’re using Instagram or TikTok.
Turns out, I’m NOT the only one using social media. We all are. More and more each day. Think back five years ago. How did you use social media back then? Compare that with how you use social media today. Different, right?
Twitter tweaks me
The one form of social media that I’m having a hard time adopting is Twitter (now known as “X” thanks to Elon Musk). I joined early on and quit after having my phone light up with posts from my local sports guy wondering if it was okay to take a nap on Mother’s Day. I DON’T CARE. I just wanted scores.
Yet, everyone talks about Twitter. “We need to start a Twitter account.” “We’ll attract a lot of people with a Twitter page.” “Keep calm and tweet on.”
The truth is, Twitter came out with a bang and quickly hit a plateau. According to Pew Research (see chart above) Twitter is a sad seventh behind YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Linked-In and Snapchat.
Even Twitter admits it’s got some problems. Twitter use has stalled. After the first tweets people stopped checking back regularly and there wasn’t a significant increase in new tweets. In fact, a 2018 stock market announcement had Twitter admitting they had lost over one million users in United States. Part of the reason for the drop in users can be tracked to Twitter’s efforts to eliminate “fake” Twitter accounts. But, the same PC Magazine article says, teens tend to flock to SnapChat or Instagram rather than Twitter.
In a 2014 New York Times article Nate Elliott, a principal analyst for Forrester Research said, “The lack of growth there comes from Twitter’s relative lack of innovation. The experience on Twitter today is the same experience people have always had on Twitter.”
To Tweet or Not to Tweet… that is the question
Karole Honas and I have been friends for longer than most of you have been on this Earth. Karole recently retired after spending 30 years as a news anchor in Idaho Falls, Idaho. Before she retired, part of Karole’s job was to make daily Facebook posts on her television FB page. The consultants said it’s an important channel to connect with viewers. But, if Karole worked on the East Coast, the consultants would have Karole tweet daily.
Why? The consultants say west of the Mississippi River is Facebook country; east of the Mississippi leans toward Twitter.
According to Statista, Twitter usage falls far behind Facebook, YouTube, TicTok and Instagram. Geez, even Pintrest gets more action than Twitter. What is the big deal about tweet, tweet, tweets? (Rant complete.)
Everyone is a reporter
As the main broadcast news professor at Central, I teach students how to be reporters. The truth is, in this age of social media, everyone is a reporter. Social media has democratized communication. In this TED Talk video, social media theorist Clay Shirky explores some of the ways social media is… and will… make history because everyone is both a consumer and a producer of information.
Thanks for returning our hat, Pharrell
Arby’s is an example of some of the ideas Shirky talks about. They’ve adopted the concept that they don’t just broadcast messages any more… they respond to the messages others send out. And Arby’s has gotten quite good at it.
Arby’s hadn’t planned on making a post during the Grammys a couple of years ago, until musician Pharrell Williams showed up wearing this hat. Social media lit up with posts about how Pharrell’s hat looked like the Arby’s logo. Arby’s responded with this tweet.
In their blog, Arby’s estimates that one tweet equaled $22 million in exposure for the restaurant. And they kept the Pharrell hat social media posts going. Then, when Pharrell auctioned his hat for charity, Arby’s proudly made this post.
The Assignment
Go back to our Canvas page and look for the assignment that brought you to this blog. Follow the instructions.