The Instant Relevance Age

Social media as a concept has revolutionised information sharing and growth of communities online. Being a largely wholesome pursuit, an appreciation of a softer side of marketing and more personal communication which Social Media embodies has been a positive influence for Businesses and individuals alike.

Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter provide not only instant communication (which is expected as a minimum in our digital age) but relevant and immersive methods of engaging with groups of people according to their relationship with you, or common interests. Personally I believe the point at which the internet was at its broadest has now passed. A content explosion spurred on by multiple social media platforms coming to maturity in the past 5 years is now coming into some form of order. Whilst it is exciting for a single internet user to behold a potentially limitless bounty of content, the time has come for relevance.

Increasingly content hosting websites across the globe and from all sectors are striving to provide a more personalised experience, acknowledging that users want information useful to them, not endless streams of data. BBC iPlayer allows users to save favourite programmes and makes recommendations based on these preferences. Twitter provides its lists function which facilitates the amalgamation of streams into a single interest area. Facebook groups currently provide the best forum for informal but closed information sharing within a like minded set of individuals. And of course Google have spearheaded their social media offering with the Circles concept, encouraging selective and tiered sharing of content to ensure maximum interest for those at both end of the exchange.

So as Internet users we can now enjoy a highly tailored yet rich immersion into content which we enjoy. Yet this is not without its price. By the nature of expressing and recording a preference we are placing more of our personality into cyberspace. For instance, if you were to take advantage of all the forums listed above, someone who gained access to your accounts would quickly be able to garner your friendship groups, your relationship with colleagues, and even your favourite television programmes. The increasing concerns surrounding identity theft highlight readily available photos, personal preference information, and location data to be serious exposures for the average internet user. This friendly infographic from mashable spells out the considerable cost of the new criminal pastime.

And the undercurrent of online persona has not gone unnoticed by society as a whole. The recent London riots have in part been attributed to the almost military grade communication mechanisms now available to the average phone user. The ability to secretly share instant group messages whilst on the move is a powerful tool and one that realistically has only just come into widespread existence. Whether or not it facilitated the recent mob violence it highlights the potential power of limitless social communication and might be a sign of things to come.