Want the truth? Social media marketing is new, but social media is not new. That’s right — it’s been around for years, just not in a platform that was easy to access or use.
In 1998 I wrote for The Mining Company (you probably now known them as About.com) on the topic of Internet Conferencing, or what I like to call Internet communication.
We’ve been communicating online with other people for over a decade. I had even created a directory of acronym and I know it’s surprising but we used acronym like LOL, ROFL, ROFLMAPIMP, and even BRB — amazing isn’t it? We’ve used bulletin boards, chat rooms, and instant messaging. However, back then when you used those tools you were considered to be a “geek.” After all who is going to chat online with people they don’t know — that’s just creepy, right? Wrong, millions are doing it today and we’ve just called it “social media.”
I always find it rather humorous to see people react to this phenomenon of social media and in the back of my mind I think back of when I used to teach people how to use the tools to communicate online using tools other than email. Now social media has become “socially acceptable” and there are millions who use this medium daily — thinking it’s new.
We’ve even started creating lists and awards — lists of the most influential social media personalities, awards to those with the most tweet, and the media swarms these outlets to find new writers, speakers and even performers.
Now, I will admit that back in the day it was not easy for those who marketed to get in and share information about their products or services and new social media networks have made that possible. I will also admit that back in 1998 you couldn’t get “social” on your cell phone — but to say social media is new is to forget the history of where it came from — it has matured but it is not new.
I just wonder how many of you that use social media today would admit that truthfully you were intrigued by the geekdom of chat, bulletin boards and instant messaging a decade ago. Were you?
