What is Social Media?

Up until now, I've talked a lot about social media - its various platforms, growing importance, and how to get started - but I haven't actually defined what it is.

My compulsive need to define things in a linear way can be attributed to years and years of schooling where the majority of text books start off with a broad subject definition and then gradually introduce supplementary concepts so that you can see how each topic is linked to the main subject area.

It's no surprise then that defining social media in somewhat absolute terms is next on my blogging to-do list. However, this is a much bigger task than I originally imagined.

So, I decided to write a poem while I continue to wrap my head around the phenomenon that is social media. Keep in mind that this is the reason I don't write poetry or fiction in the first place. 

Social media, social media, you’re the buzzword on the scene

Don’t know how to blog you if I don’t know what you mean.

Social media, social media, you put the masses in control

You let consumers play reporter AND the publisher role.

Social media, social media, you’re just so darn cheap

Now businesses and consumers can readily reap.

Social media, social media, you let me tweet, post and upload

This shift is forever, you’ve paved a new road.

Do You Believe in Magic?

You know the people with the really great jobs? The ones who actually love what they do? Yeah, those people. You know who I’m talking about. Perhaps you have encountered someone of this species, or have had the torturous pleasure of making friends with this type - the kind who willingly bring their work home and try to discuss work related things with you after 5 as though “work” is an interesting topic of conversation. Pfft.

They’re also the ones who make you feel inspired AND depressed all at the same time…as if life wasn’t complicated enough without having to smile and nod as you simmer those conflicting emotions bubbling deep inside. You may begin to tune out, to mentally deconstruct talents and achievements as nothing more than luck. “Why isn’t that me?” screams the voice inside. “What is this exclusive club where work is play and people are happy?”

But soon, the conversation will come to an end, and your glimpse inside this paradoxical world will begin to dim. And when that happens, it’s just you again…the unfortunate onlooker, miserable and unsatisfied without a key to this magical place.

So how do you get in?

That’s the question I asked myself about three months ago when I became fully aware of how much my “onlooker” status sucked. After all, I’m a Gen Y which means I’m ambitious with high expectations. So why should I settle for a job that doesn’t resonate with me or reflect who I am?

Could I have predicted that I would be sitting here – blogging – about social media? Lol, no wayyy. Technology was always a part of my life but it was never something that I indulged in for fun.

But I needed to get out into the job market and didn’t have a tremendous amount of time to dedicate. As a relatively new grad, I also didn’t have a large network of people to turn to – so I joined LinkedIn and fell in love…well, that is, until I joined Twitter and started blogging.

From the technology side, I may have been an unlikely match for social media, but people change, they evolve, they grow. Essentially, this social media thing is just an extension of my ever-present desire to connect and engage with others.

So if knowing what you want to do is half the battle, then don’t I deserve some credit?

But maybe that’s my Gen Y side talking – the need for participatory ribbons and pat on the backs. The reality is, there is no such thing as half a key even in the most magical of places.

But here’s a secret that the club doesn’t tell you - the magic is in the process. It’s in the groundwork and comes from the learning, networking, and anticipating. It’s the days where you can imagine without limits what life is like on the other side; what you will do, who you will know and where you will be. It’s the magic that pushes you to achieve.

And the key? Well, it’s just a trophy to be flaunted. And although golden and glorious, even the most acclaimed winners will tell you that trophies would hold no value if not for the magic and the story that made it all possible.