Guest Blogging on Quotabl.es

14 October 2010

I love when a friend from your old school days pops in with a pleasant surprise. This week, Nicola Balkind thought of me when her bloggy employer, Quotabl.es, featured a week of social media guest blog posts inspired by the release of The Social Network. Turns out I had a lot to say! A snippet:

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It’s been a hard, fast turn to social media marketing. I hardly remember another form. Probably because the moment I entered the job market social media was already emerging as small businesses’ only chance at survival in the waning “economy.” It has since risen as the cost-effective, far-reaching marketing campaign that is actually demanded by consumers. We’ve put up with advertisements all our lives, from Saturday morning cartoon breaks to freeway billboards. Why not welcome them into our social life (online or otherwise) for the sake of convenience, and “free”?

The danger of social media is that it’s a portal to business networking near and far but its core is social; a vortex of entertainment that’s ephemeral as a dandelion. At times I wonder, why am I writing to this dear friend on Facebook when I could just as easily jet over to her apartment? Facebook and Twitter (my preferred platforms for microblogging) can suck up an hour of time with little to show for it; yet with systematic goals and schedules, they can be powerful tools for productivity. For the past two years I have made a living off social media and online marketing services. Even this blog post was solicited by a fellow tweeter. I have used online communication to promote what I believe in, and it has helped me access the larger international community that also relates to these causes. Social media isn’t just for Urban Outfitters; it’s for the studio painter, the graphic designer, and the independent documentary filmmaker, too... Read the complete post including 5 social media quotes on Quotabl.es.