Seeing how I normally fail to be an early adopter of almost anything, free or not. I did not succumb to the pressures of ‘Facebook’ and ‘twitter’ until a much later date when compared to classmates [at the time, I was in High School]. It took me a while to even bother registering for the so-called ‘Facebook’, didn’t see the point of it to be quite honest, nor do I now. It seems to be a very addictive source for bored office employees, workers all around when on breaks to kill some time before returning to work.
Even still I maintain it isn’t as useful as some people try and claim. Paid advertising, sure Google makes money off of your browsing – not the local business that tries to get their word out with ‘fan pages’ or ‘like me’ links. Better than nothing I suppose. With that said, I am a Facebook user and definitely see the potential for marketing business, any exposure is good. I’ve used this means to promote business in the past [as a pro-bono project], on arguably the best and my favorite means of ‘social media’, the internet forum.
The internet forum is great, leaps and bounds better than Facebook when it comes to connecting to various people world wide that share the same interests as you [ie. automotive forums]. People you can relate to when it comes certain topics, and of course the potential to explore new perspectives and viewpoints in the debate forum. Either way, forum’s are ideal for getting one’s business name out, or simply meeting new people that can help you lead to connections. In short, forums have a very informal ‘LinkedIn-ness’ feel to them. Personally, I’ve gotten jobs, connections, made purchases, sold items off of forums. I’d like to see Facebook try and match that with it’s failed ‘marketplace’ section.
The second resource would be twitter, by default, I was introduced to it a long time ago, however I only created an account recently as my iPhone [or ios] web browser was no longer letting me read posts on the mobile twitter webpage and kept pestering me to get the app, and finally use it as it were meant to be on the iPhone. Alas, I had no choice but to make an account to follow those individuals that I find interesting.Now the shortcomings of social media sources like Facebook and Twitter are very apparent in the day to day use of the programs. Sure, the benefits have the potential to outweigh the negatives, but these applications are filled entirely with what seems like junk. Ads everywhere, little applets for games, people commenting on the latest pop-sensation, what does this all accomplish in the real world? How does this truly help business? Doesn’t seem like a good medium to the average user unless you’re into looking at funny pictures and being tagged in awkward pictures.
The potential these outlets have to spread and share news is great however, the masses don’t seem to care about enriching their knowledge of the [real] world around them and will much prefer to look at and be part of the unnecessary social world that is social media, people are wrapped up in the superfluous content. I suppose the best means to stay on top of the social media game is to follow real content and have it illustrated on my personal pages and share the things I feel are important. This is what raises the bar on my social media pages over others’ following silly content with no purpose other than to waste time.
Which brings me to the next point of news sources. Google nails it each and every time, the keyword search pulls up instant articles from many sources upwards to scholarly and peer reviewed materials. Outside of Google the other medium for local concerns once more is forums. The regular posters are the ones will typically put up new content concerning Ottawa and surrounding region shortly after something occurs, or at times prior to it being reported in the local news. With a vast group of users concentrated in one location on the web but varying physical locations around Ottawa, it makes for a ‘different’ kind of perspective on news since it happens in different areas and the geography behind a news story affects us all differently. It’s safe to say a local forum feels more like a family when it comes to discussing local issues and news since we are in the same general area but odds are one of those people on the internet forum will relate to the story much closer hence offering a better ‘inside’ perspective on the truth behind the story and how it affects them and city.
Algonquin College Social Media Certificate Program 
