Socialnomics-musings

Socialnomics- the term feels new and odd on the tongue, but after reading this book, I feel as if it will become a term that will become increasingly popular and commonplace. Hopefully, it will be a term that is used prolifically in schools- learning about the impact of "new media" has proved to be one of the most eye-opening and stimulating subjects in my graduate school experience. As Qualman points out, our natural inclinations as human beings and the "Braggadocian" nature of social media work hand in hand to make social media king in the new way of doing business in the 21st century.

While reading the book, I was struck by how this "new media" is in fact, bringing our society back to a way of consumer behavior that seems similar to buyer behavior before mass media was a common fixture in our everyday lives. It seems that consumer behavior is moving towards a more organic and community oriented direction. It is interesting to think that we are moving back to a way of consuming that relies heavily on input from family, friends, and neighbors, while at the same time expanding upon that traditional close network of people. The network that once contained a handful of people is now one that encompasses hundreds. We are moving back to relying heavily on word of mouth, but at the same time, are becoming savvier than ever thanks to the sophisticated social media tools at our disposal.

In addition to providing insight on how/why social media is changing our business world, I appreciated how Qualman gave copious and interesting examples of how to utilize social media to one's advantage while running a business. I particularly enjoyed the example involving Stride Gum and the "Where the Hell is Matt?" youtube sensation. I thought the example was very helpful in making readers understand the power of not only creating viral content, but recognizing it and supporting it in a way that does not hamper it's popularity.