Socialnomics: is it a fad or a way of life?

Before I began to write my blog on social media and social change, I actually checked my Facebook first. Most of what people are talking about right now is the Super Bowl. A couple of weeks ago, it was SOPA and PIPA - people had blacked out their profile pictures and updated their status to "Stop SOPA and PIPA!" I will be honest...I had no idea the whole censorship bill was happening until I had logged onto Facebook that day. In the video The Social Media Revolution 2012 it states that we no longer search for news, but rather the news finds us. This is a powerful statement because it is so true. I hardly ever search for news. All I have to do is log on to Facebook and see what everyone else is talking about. Of course, this does not mean that I never inquire about issues on my own, but for the most part, I rely on my social media sites to inform me.

Like I said, I watched the video on the social media revolution. I sat stunned in my seat while I was watching. I mean, I knew social media was an enormous part of our lives, but holy shit (pardon my french). If Facebook were a country, it would be the 3rd largest...that is CRAZY. How can one site, an 8 letter word, be SO FREAKING LARGE? It blows my mind. I'm not going lie, I love this era that we're in and I love that I'm right in the center of it. The video Generation WE: The Movement Begins... talks about a new generation taking over the world: the Millennials or Generation We. They talk about how our parent's generation (the Baby Boomers) used to be the largest generation in the world. But in 2016, the youngest people in our generation will be of voting age which means we will have the largest generational voting block in the country - more than any that have preceded us. That means that our generation (Gen We) will have an unimaginable amount of power.

Think about it...

"We are more globally oriented, we are more ethnically diverse, we are more technologically adept, better educated, less politically partisan, and we are the first generation in American history to inheret a nation in decline...and we will not accept [it]."

- Generation WE: The Movement Begins...

I hate that older generations look at my age group as ignorant, lazy, individualists...C'mon. Some of the smartest people in the world right now are CHILDREN. Has anyone ever read the story about nine year-old M. Lavinashree who was the youngest person in history to ever pass the Microsoft Certified Professional Exam (June)? She doesn't sound ignorant or lazy to me at all. She's not the only one over there that has passed that exam, either. I will admit, when I sat down to do this blog I was more eager to watch the YouTube videos than read articles. I am a very visual person and I like to be entertained (a huge side effect of being born in this generation...blah blah blah). The videos are so much more powerful and that information sticks with me much longer, than something I merely read.

We are in a huge shift. I think many people are scared of it, but most of the world is embracing it to the fullest. What is wrong with being able to do things fast? Finding better and faster ways to obtain information doesn't make us lazy...it makes us genius. We have become the producers of content and we have become the source of power (R.A.). Author of "Can You Social Network Your Way to Revolution?" said in the blog, "Social networking, it seems to me, has quite clearly shifted the balance of power away from centralised power and authority." Our generation is taking control of our world, and we will only make it better.

"We don't have a choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it."

- Erik Qualman

(The Social Media Revolution 2012)

References

Generation WE : The Movement Begins... Dir. Eric Greenberg. YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 22 Oct. 2008. Web. 03 Feb. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vknHKTy1MLY>.
June, Laura. "Nine-year Old Girl Is Youngest Person to Become Microsoft Certified Professional." Engadget. AOL Inc, 23 Dec. 2008. Web. 03 Feb. 2012. http://www.engadget.com/2008/12/23/nine-year-old-girl-is-youngest-person-to-become-microsoft-certif
R.A. "Can You Social Network Your Way to Revolution?" The Economist. The Economist Newspaper Limited, 27 Sept. 2010. Web. 03 Feb. 2012. http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2010/09/information
The Social Media Revolution 2012. YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. 23 Oct. 2011. Web. 03 Feb. 2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eUeL3n7fDs>.