The "Business" of Social Media Won't Sweep Away Any Vital Communication Tools

The business side of anything is often “the ugly side” that is unseen. This is especially true when viewing a particular product or development from an idealistic standpoint.  While something may have a lot of proven populist and practical value and may indeed be popular (even wildly regarded), the realistic assessment that sometimes goes counter to the idealistic view is whether the “it” can work financially. Is it a good business model?  How will it react to sudden change in strategy such as a buyout or a merger? These are the questions some observers are beginning to ask about Facebook, You Tube and Twitter, and not necessarily as “social media tools” but rather as business entities, which they really are.

Here is an article from the San Francisco Chronicle’s web site suggesting that the whole issue (recently debated) of investing in social media sites  brings to mind the Internet technology bubble of the 2000s. The writer wonders if this, too, could be a bubble about to “pop?” It certainly is a legitimate question to be put on the table, but I do not believe for one minute any of these key social media tools will go away or stray far from their original iterations, no matter what happens from a business and economic vantage point.  These social media tools have become too critical to changing the way communications functions across the globe. 

Social media tools – at least these three leading the way - are legitimate “game changers” that have brought about watershed, historical changes in communications.  There is no turning back. While there are numerous lesser known social media sites that have a smaller and more niche-like reach than these three, and those sites may indeed lose their footing down the road, rest assured that Facebook, You Tube, Twitter and the concept of blogging are here to stay for the rest of time. Hands down. Quite simply they are a whole new way of communicating that rivals the invention of the telephone and the television.  They have transformed communications in general and they have revolutionized the Internet and made it something that a lot of us never envisioned – or even could – back in the 1990s when  “the Internet” was introduced to the masses.