I personally didn't know the magnitude and the power that social networks have nowadays. It wasn't untill I had this class and I started hearing all the time and everywhere the words "social networks". That made me think we are witnessing the birth and the evolution of a groundbreaking and upsetting way of communication!
The point is that we use the social networks but we don't know untill we fix our vision on them. The first step was the class of "participation in the Web" while I started realizing what was going on. But when I really knew that this was going to be our future and a huge part of my own career as journalist was in a conference about Coolhunting.
Coolhunting is something that really excites me and that was, in my opinion, the thing that "opened my eyes to the modern technologic world". In the conference, the coolhunter explained that social networks have become her main work platform and a stimulation of trends that inspire her. But the most important thing is that companies have realized they must advertise themselves and focus their work on the new social network society. These companies have made social networks (and the potential consumers who are users of those) one of their first goal.
Social networks are on everyone's lips! OK, we already know they are shaping social relations and creating a brand new way of communication. But I would have never thought that they were so alive even on journalism! In another conference I've been to, a woman from the PRISA group was talking about the content management of online media. She based a whole part of her speech on social networks! I realized that journalists must be aware and as analysts of this changing society and always adapting our work to social needs, we should make a journalism for the social networks. The woman said that a lot of journalist contents were being adapted for the social networks.
It is our sudden present but our future! Keep this in mind.
xoxo
mr. V