Comments on: The Buzzword Social Media Is DOA In 2010

By: Leo

Leo — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 07:58:40 +0000

i disagree, sorry.

“Social media” is not a “buzzword”, it’s a term assigned to a very specific kind of websites.

This kind of websites is defined in very certain terms: The website network where users can create their own profile and communicate with other users of the same network.

I just came up with this definition quickly right now, but of course it can be more precise and expanded, but that’s the major meaning of this term. When people hear and use this term, they now EXACTLY what what it means – a website similar to Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn etc.

The term “social media” maybe not exactly precise, but terminology is often being like this. A more precise term would be probably “social websites”. For example, what us “newspaper” – not everything is news there. Is newspaper a “buzzword”?

Your Forbes example doesn’t proof anything. No, you can’t replace “social media” with “internet” No, this woman did NOT get tired of internet in whole. She got disappointed in social media sites like Twitter and Facebook because of certain specific things she didn’t like about them.

Internet is much more than “social media”. The more I use the internet, the more amazing opportunities I find in any area of life and for my business. And yes it includes “social media”.

Now, the real buzzwords in my opinion are “GREEN”, “EVIRONMENTALLY AWARE” and “CARBON FOOTPRINT”.

By: Peter Lynch

Peter Lynch — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 17:43:36 +0000

Love the list. I really believe this buzzword is dead because it has been miss-used, more than over-used. Amazing how many “social media experts” there are out there.

I have a similar list on the 11 corporate jargons I think need to die in 2010.

http://www.businessandthegeek.com/?p=143

By: Mike Brewer

Mike Brewer — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:36:52 +0000

It seems to me that the social media buzzword was started by an older more -internet came along after we were into our developed years generation – as a way to frame the conversation.

For the younger generation – it’s just what they do – it’s not social media – its a way they communication. They don’t say, “social media me later” – they say, “Facebook me or send me a tweet on that.” Not unlike we might have said, “email me or send me a fax.”

I really like what Gary Vaynerchuck callls it: “It’s business” -

By: Andrew Eklund

Andrew Eklund — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:27:43 +0000

Excellent post. Unfortunately, there are still legions of people who love to hear that something is “DOA” and is therefore irrelevant. The point in your post, however, is much larger than that: the term “social media” is dead yet the concept is beyond alive and well. Many business people read these articles and say, “Great! Don’t have to think about that one anymore.” So, they fool themselves into yet another year of wishful thinking that the world is flat (not harkening back to Friedman, btw). I remember it with “ecommerce” or “web sites.” All were just as real as before they became buzzwords.

The fact remains that all of this — buzzword or not — isn’t a fantasyland. These buzzwords represent the incredible speed of innovation in communications and commerce. No more, no less. Language changes rapidly in this business not because of hucksterism but through innovation. If you grasp that, you’ve got it, and you’re focused on the right moving target.

Well done.

Andrew Eklund
CEO
Ciceron
@aeklund

By: Tom Gable

Tom Gable — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 13:09:28 +0000

The piece nailed what most industries, niches, technologies and areas of science encounter when they take on a new direction: what to call it? The approach often leads to using metaphors and evocative terms. With the Internet, the media started calling it the information super highway in 2004, right after the introduction of Netscape. Then, evocative descriptors evolved to include electronic malls, villages and portals, among others. You make a great point about Mashable changing tag lines to position itself for riding the latest trends.

In PR, or what some call reputation management, most look upon Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Flickr, YouTube, etc., as part of the communications tool kit or arsenal. Perhaps more importantly, they are valuable media channels to be used strategically as part of integrated PR and marketing communications programs the same way television, radio, magazines and newspapers fit within a traditional media mix. This may be oversimplifying the category (and it’s probably been used a thousand times by others) but why not Internet Media? That might even work at a cocktail party or networking event, where social media doesn’t, as noted above in different comments.