Planning & Speed of Change

During the Q&A portion of a recent presentation, someone asked me to predict the impact social media will have and look out about 10 years.

10 years? Let's assume he only said five years. I'm helping out with a five year communications plan right now. This is a much more realistic time frame. Or is it?

Social Media Launch Dates
From youngest to oldest, here are some launch dates some for a handful of sites we spend much of our time on these days.

Foursquare: March 2009
iTunes App Store: July 2008
Twitter: July 2006 
YouTube: February 2005 
Facebook: February 2004
Flickr: February 2004
LinkedIn: May 2003 
This Blog:  July 2002 
iTunes: January 2001

If I predicted in 2005 that the year old Facebook would have half a billion members and a movie in theaters while the newly launched YouTube would have more searches on it than Yahoo!, you would have had me committed. YouTube is second only to Google in searches. And guess who owns YouTube?

When it comes to search, "All Your Base Are Belong to Us." When it comes to planning, we have to plan ahead, of course. But we have to be flexible and in a position to change as needed. This all simply reinforces the need for goals, measurable objectives and strategies BEFORE tactics. It allows for this flexibility whether you need to change in 10 years or 10 weeks.

Stay the course on achieving your goals regardless of the shiny new that is launched and driving all news, tweets and posts.

Metro Woman uploaded by Extra Medium

Comments

[Merubin]

Couldn't agree more. Don't get stuck on the platforms, or mistake the tactic for the strategy.

[twitter.com/MikeBoehmer57]

Drives home the importance of following bloggers like you and attending events by groups such as Cincinnati Social Media to stay abreast of the latest and greatest... because it's always changing.

[Hallie M.]

I definitely agree with being flexible. The problem as I see it is that so many people are already lagging behind. If clients/customers are just now getting their Facebook page, how can we expect them to keep up with us as we keep up with the hottest social media trends? Do you ever get the senes that were moving too fast with social media? Obviously there are plenty who can keep up but are we secluding too much of the population who just aren't there with us yet?

[Media Lists]

I also agree, social media changes so quickly. Although facebook is now almost as common as email. I saw on the feed someone wrote, "my grandfather just friended me on facebook, ha."

[Hillary_K]

Social media is constantly evolving and it is so hard to know what new social media platform will take off - so true: who would have predicted in only 6 years Facebook would have grown to half a billion users(including my less-than-computer-savvy mother - what?!) Seems part of a good strategy would be to resist jumping on every new social media trend/platform - goals can best be acheived by sticking with existing platforms that are currently generating conversations/communities concerning your brand/business because how many of your customers will be keeping up with all the new trends anyway?

[e.kath]

It is interesting how even over the past few years the need to be social media-savvy in the business world has become so important. In school now some professors even require students to open accounts on Facebook, Twitter, etc. to get them exposed to the different types of media outlets. In order to enter into the professional world, a proficiency in social media has become a necessity. It will be interesting to see which of these sites will stick around through the competition for users.

[Nicole Schaeffer]

What is next to come in the Social Media world? Every year something new is starting and when new platforms start social media expands and corporations have to invest more money to maintain a strong presence on each platform. But how many platforms does a corporation need? I know certain platforms are better for certain companies then others but when is it enough? However it is fascinating to see how rapidly Social Media has grown in just 10 years and I cant wait to see what happens in the next 10. I definitely think Social Media is here to stay and the next generations will grow up knowing everything about social Media. Its interesting to think when I was in middle school we learned computer basics in computer class and Social Media was not even a concept that was talked about. Today, I hope schools star classes that focus on Social Media because I think it will forever be a fundamental part of the personal and corporate world.

[Lacey]

Loved this post. I become more and more intirgued and interested in the different platforms of social media everyday. It is definitely a time of change and a time of RAPID change. The fact that the sites such as facebook, twitter, youtube, google are all less than a decade old (some only a few years) and took off to become the powerhouses of the internet and have such a HUGE role in people's everyday lives and functions. I think you made a good point in that we must be ready for change and ready to adapt to it, but we must have our goals, objectives, and strategies prior to tactics. Learning how to use social media in an effective, positive, and efficient way is very important as I believe that it will be here to stay and a very important tool to have as I continue to grow and learn in the world of social media, public relations, and marketing.

[Kevin Dugan]

Lacey: Thanks for your feedback. I think we now need to plan for change too...budget time and money to test and learn from a small amount of "new" -- as it applies to your business goals.

Nicole: If you focus your efforts, you can tune out the platforms that don't help you reach your business goal. Every single company does not need a Facebook page. I think as more platforms come on the scene, others may fall away too. This seemingly constant churn...along with focus...will help us maintain sanity and not get overwhelmed.

e.kath: To keep student skills relevant, I'm glad professors are forcing the issue and teaching social media. It's getting more and more critical for business.

Thanks to everyone for commenting. Great additions.

[Public Relations]

It's so interesting to see when these social networks began. They really haven't been around that long. And it amazes me how much they have changed our world in that short time. Analytics for many of these social networks seems have been and after-thought. But so was monetizing them :)! And I agree with your comments Lacey that not every company needs a Facebook page. Some do better than others in that arena. Each company has to determine where they should focus their efforts.