2012: Reflecting on the year of social media

How time flies when you’re having fun! I’m currently at the business end of my final University semester and amongst crazily submitting assignments and preparing for exams, I thought I would use this post as an opportunity to reflect back. 

Over the past twelve weeks I have blogged about all things related to social media such as hot topics, new trends and examples. At first, I was very daunted by the prospect of blogging but I learnt very quickly that it’s not so bad after all and I think I have actually quite enjoyed this experience.

I find it amusing that although I used to spend a large quantity of my day wasting endless hours on social media websites passively taking in lots of information (such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and my personal favourite, Pinterest), I’ve only recently begun using these platforms to actually engage with others. I’ve also created a Facebook page for my workplace which has been another learning curve! 

So I’m not sure if it’s just me, because I have been studying social media and using it more than what I normally would, but I think that 2012 has been the year of social media. 

From the London 2012 Olympic Games to breaking news to trolls to Felix Baumgartner to the US Presidential Election to new online stores to memes, there’s always a topic worthy of conversation. As more people join social media websites and engage in conversation so too does the way in which marketers and businesses communicate with their consumers. 

I think this digital era is very exciting for users of social media, especially for marketers. What I find interesting is that although there is a lot of academic research that should be conducted on social media, the rate of this technology is growing so fast that research cannot keep up. 

I’ve definitely learnt a lot this semester, in particular about social media and look back with fond memories. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Wags (Social Media Lecturer) and those who I’ve had the pleasure of studying with at Monash University. Goodbye friends, all the best in the future!