I took great pleasure in seeing the sour expression on the face of Simon Cowell when Rage Against the Machine took the Christmas Number 1 last night. That’s not because I am a particular fan of the winning song (I have to admit I don’t really care for it that much) but it was really good to see cheesy, commercialised, keep-the-masses-happy pop beaten by something alternative. However, it wasn’t just the fact that the alternative track won the coveted prize – it was how it won that provides the crowning message for 2009. Social media is a powerful force and it is a force that is changing the way we communicate, interact, express our opinions, learn, shop and connect.
The online movement for the Rage Against the Machine for Christmas Number 1 was huge and although not ‘coordinated’ in the traditional sense of the term, was driven by word of mouth, networks and the power of the crowd. This isn’t the first time this has happened this year. Earlier in the year we saw the embargo on the Trafigura story ripped to shreds by the crowd who saw a story that had to be told. The old fashioned stalwarts of censorship and only telling the people what those in power want them to know started to look shaky. The same can be said of the Iranian Elections which were followed and discussed around the world in a manner in which a closed country such as that one would never have sanctioned and would have prevented at any cost if they could.
These three incidents – three amongst many – show that the way people communicate and gather information and the way they express their opinion has been fundamentally changed by social media. Whether it is Twitter, Facebook, blogs, YouTube, podcasts or other social networks, many people are no longer content to sit and blithely accept what marketing, propaganda and PR tells them. This is a good thing, and it has far reaching consequences for our everyday life, whether in business, personal relationships or consumer activity. It means that to maintain an edge, it is all the more important to gain at least some understanding of social media for business and for communication.
And it warms my heart to know that I am not the only person who find the X-Factor objectionable…
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