Social Media Impact Predicted 47 Years Ago

As both consumers and advertisers continue to explore the waters of social media, one thing is clear: the impact of social media was already predicted 47 years ago.

Try this on for size:

"...[I]f a new technology extends one or more of our senses outside us into the social world, then new ratios among all of our senses will occur in that particular culture. It is comparable to what happens when a new note is added to a melody. And when the sense ratios alter in any culture then what had appeared lucid before may suddenly become opaque, and what had been vague or opaque will become translucent.”

This is an excerpt from The Gutenberg Galaxy written by Marshall McLuhan….in 1962.

That’s right. 1962. Even more interesting, McLuhan made this statement in reference to the printing press. Yet his comments remain applicable today.

McLuhan theorized that the technology of communication has a greater impact than the actual message, and thus the technology shapes how we communicate, interact and organize. McLuhan is credited with originating the concept “the medium is the message.” He cited numerous development--from the creation of the alphabet to the invention of electronic media--as historic milestones that have shaped our civilization.

As the social media craze reaches more and more corners of the earth, he seems to be more prescient than ever. Social media is shaping the next generation of the communication landscape.

Social media has altered our sense ratios.

What's becoming clearer is our sense of time and value. The immediacy of social media has allowed consumers and respond and react to marketing messages in real time. And since word-of-mouth is so powerful within the social media channels, the content and the message must provide value for anyone to truly respond.

However, what's becoming less clear is our sense of reach and scale. Social media is not for everyone. Despite crazy growth rates for Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, some consumers have yet to plug in. Globally speaking, there are millions that don't even have access to the technology.

Given this clarity and opaqueness, it stands to reason why the social media movers and shakers are professing that the most successful social media messages are genuine, loving, positive and collaborative.

Andy Sernovitz, Guy Kawasaki and Chris Brogan among others all agree that the best way to utilize social media is to share valuable content. They claim that sharing good content--whether it be your own or attributed to another--is the best way to create a following.

Call it the karmic circle of social media: put out good stuff and get that in return.

In light of McLuhan's statement, there is still much to learn about social media particularly from a small business marketing standpoint. We see that companies like Gap are replacing big budget TV ads with Facebook campaigns. It's a risk, but one that Gap is willing to take. We've also seen instances like Johnson and Johnson who leveraged YouTube. Their risk, unfortunately, turned out poorly.

So yes, we are reaching clarity on some levels for social media, but other levels are still opaque.

For that reason, I recommend we all subscribe to the karmic cirle of social media. Let's put out good things and share useful and interesting information. This is truly the way to create and add value, which is a key component to your Marketing DNA.

In fact, it may be the only way to move your business the the next level.