Generation Like

In one of my classes, my teacher loves to make us watch PBS Frontline videos, which are usually god-awful with the exception of the most recent one.  It is called Generation Like and it was just recently released.  The video is about 50 minutes and I highly encourage watching it (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/generation-like/) or you could just read below… 

The premise of the video is about how social media has taken over our generation.  I usually do not agree with that statement except the video poses a good point.  It starts by saying that likes, follows, and retweets are truly the currency of our generation because when somebody likes something it becomes a part of his or her social identity.  When you like a page on Facebook everybody knows about it and it becomes a part of you.  Also, we feed off of those said likes, follows, and retweets.  We are at a point in our lives where we need the reassurance that people like what we are putting out there, which is exactly what a like, favorite or retweet does.

Although, social media has not only changed how we relate to people but it has also changed how we relate to brands.  We now have the ability to speak directly to the brands we like and if they are smart, they will respond.  The video states that social media has provided us with the biggest transformation in terms of communication with consumers in our lifetime.  However, what people do not realize is that we, the consumer are actually generating the content and promoting it.  We have taken the job of a marketing team and literally covered every aspect of it for them.

One example that I thought of when I was watching this is probably something everybody remembers.  During the 2013 Super Bowl, when the lights went out for an extended period of time Oreo got creative.  They posted the advertisement that said, "you can still dunk in the dark."  It seems like a small notion but it made a big impact.  It was released via social media and then it took off!  It was all anybody was talking about and it was such a simple move but it was so perfectly timed that it had a massive reach.  

I know I retweeted the ad because I thought it was pure genius, which proves that if I am really into something or I even slightly enjoy it then I will most likely post about it.  Yet another advantage that Oreo utilized is that social media gives us the ability to send information in a heartbeat.  It also makes the information accessible for anybody that is interested in viewing it.  We are creating social media campaigns and all that the companies have to do is maintain them.  We, the consumer, have somehow managed to become the marketer and we need to credit social media for that.

Social media has officially changed the way we communicate with not only humans but brands too.  What does that say about the future? What is next for social media and how will it continue to alter our society?  Those are obviously unanswerable questions and it seems that we will have to wait and see what social media holds for the future.