In my COM 400 class, my group presented on the topic of how social media modified the magazine industry.
Prior to this decade’s enormous social media boom, readership for magazines was
simple. It involved paying for a subscription and getting a print copy of the
niche literature to your home or office. This was the extent of interaction between
the magazine and the reader. With only a goal of boosting readership, there was
no need for two-way communication of open discussion between the two parties.
That is, until social media completely changed the playing field.
We live in
an entirely altered universe where reading a print copy of a magazine is not
only becoming an ancient form of readership, but it is one of multiple options
for the subscriber. Magazine applications on smart phones and iPads are becoming an
easier way to get your subscription to you. But most importantly, social media
has opened the door for a wholeheartedly new engagement between the publication
and reader. The options for communication are endless: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Augmented Reality, Tumblr are just a popular few.
Our group began researching the usage and effects of social
media on the industry. With the help of Twitter, Google + and LinkedIn, we
coordinate a schedule to finalize a perfect presentation. PearlTrees and Google
Hangout were amazing supporters for furthering our communication and research.
Twitter proved to be a viable source for contacting professionals in the
magazine industry. We conducted interviews via social media outlets that would
help give us a strong backbone for our arguments.
During the
presentation, social media showed its particular strength when our entire
class tweeted/Facebook posted/Google Plus'ed up a storm along with our hashtag
#socialmags. When we handed out iPads to our fellow peers, they first hand experienced augmented reality and online publication’s connection to
Pinterest and other online blogs and Facebook pages. Magazines even tweeted back at
individuals in our class by the end of the presentation!
Once we
concluded our presentation, we were able to track how many people around the
world were paying attention to our presentation notes. Slideshare allowed us to
publish our final product online as well.
This group
project not only taught me how social media affects the magazine industry, but
how you can take a boring presentation to a whole new collaborative level.
Being able to share our thoughts with not only our class, but also the entire
world, proved to be an amazing experience. This class will forever change the
way I disseminate Powerpoints and information in formal educational/business
settings.
How often
to we take the time to look back on the enormous, virtual footprint we've left
ever since social media became a part of our lives? In order to do this, you
need to rewind back to a time where AskJeeves was a search engine was just as
valuable as Yahoo! or Google. Back to when AIM profiles were the grandfather of
Facebook. I remember how reluctant I was to join Facebook, thinking it was some
obsessive fad.
I
preferred MySpace because it allowed me to explore an uncharted world full of
underground musicians (well, that and the pretty backgrounds it offered), but
beyond that, I thought it less as a social media platform and more of a
"why does this half naked woman want to friend me?" platform.
Regardless,
I have always been reluctant to jump on the next big social media wagon—that is
until I discovered YouTube. I fell in love with the ability to visually
connect with a world full of compelling individuals. To the world, we are all sexless,
ageless persons with a unique voice. I still favor this platform to this
day, even though Facebook does preoccupy a lot of my time.
Eventually,
I involved myself in everything: Tumblr, Twitter, Blogger, 43 Things, Google+,
LinkedIn, Pinterest, StumbleUpon, etc. Some I love more than others, but I find
it vital to stay up to day with these sites in a professional, kind manner,
especially since we become such public individuals via the Internet (what shows up when you Google yourself?)
All of
our social media paths were different. We’ve grown up in an inimitable time to
be able to watch and be a part of this evolution. What’s your story? Share your
story in the comment section below!
