Internet is an incredible technology that has been helping mankind in countless avenues of life. The super adaptable nature of the internet has allowed it to seamlessly integrate into countless different activities that we perform on a daily basis. This is because it is super quick in transferring information and data across large distances, and the whole world’s infrastructure is based upon sharing of data. That is why the internet is a tool that has gained quite a significance in our society in such a short period.
Internet is a relatively new technology that was put to practical use by average citizens some two decades ago. But in these two decades, the internet has grown significantly, so much so that almost half of the world’s population now uses it in their various day-to-day tasks. The increased usage is also because of how easily accessible and economical the internet service is today.
Considering the fact that it was something originally made for intelligence sharing purposes by DARPA, it feels amazing that today this is a technology used by everyone, even kids. That’s because the internet had the potential to replace all our traditional communication means as it was far superior in terms of both speed and reliability, while also being a cost-effective medium in comparison to its competitors.
And internet performed exactly how it was expected to while in most cases surpassing expectations performing extremely well and replacing all other communication mediums taking the sole responsibility of the world’s communication infrastructure. This was also another reason behind the increased usage of the internet as telecom companies realized that the future of communication belonged to the internet and they started investing heavily in this technology putting traditional services like telephones on the back burner.
This resulted in telecom giants entering the commercial internet market and pumping millions of dollars to increase the internet footprint as well as improve the technology. Today we see that the internet has spread across far and wide places, and offers blazing-fast speeds up to 1Gbps. Where back in the day, early internet connections were cloaked at 56kbps for dial-up connections. Not only this, but the cost of the internet has also drastically dropped over the years. Take an example of the third-largest cable company in the US, Cox communications. It is a company that has a record of providing cost-effective internet services to its customers and it’s only because of Cox internet prices that they have been able to garner 3.5 million internet customers. Since we have been emphasizing so much on the communication abilities of the internet, let’s talk about one of the most versatile communication tools of the internet, social media.
Social Media: The Most Versatile Communication Tool
Social media is one of those technological marvels in which the internet has played a huge part. The whole social media infrastructure is dependent on the internet while on the other hand social media platforms have also utilized the full potential of the internet to create shockwaves in the communication industry. These platforms have given voice to the average citizen, and through social media, anyone and everyone have the right to put their word forward and make the world listen to them.
Apart from that, social media has also been a great tool for communication. People can easily talk to anyone present on these platforms no matter the distance or geographical location. And the best part is that most of the social media platforms are completely free to use and users only need an internet connection to use them.
Advantages of Social Media
We have already discussed how influential and important social media is in the current landscape. However, here we will list down some of the key advantages of social media to further solidify this argument.
Economical Communication Medium
The core purpose of social media is to keep people connected, the rest of its benefits can be considered as additional perks. Social media platforms are developed keeping in view of building an online community where people from different parts of the world can interact. Modern social media platforms allow users to communicate through both voice and video calling.
Plus users can share their thoughts, pictures, and videos not only with their circle of friends but with the entire world as well. However, if you are not a fan of a huge crowd, these platforms also have the option to talk to certain individuals through private messaging. It all depends on the way you want to interact with people, whether in individual form or groups, with people you know or with the whole world, through text or pictures and videos. Social media gives you the freedom to do all that, and the cherry on top is that all this is free of any cost and only requires an internet connection.
News and Information Sharing
Another major benefit that social media has provided us is quick access to informational resources and daily news. Gone are the days when people used to watch news channels or read the newspaper to be aware of their surroundings. And to be honest, in this fast-paced world that is constantly changing, a piece of important news gets outdated even the next day when newspapers and channels cover it.
For this fast-paced society, social media is their go-to tool for any latest happenings and news. As anyone can use it to spread the word about what’s happening in their surroundings quickly and efficiently. Today most of our news comes from social media, and the best part about this is that social media platforms are free from any kind of censorship so users always get the real picture. Information sharing is quick and through social media, users can easily get any kind of latest news happening about any part of the world regardless of their own geographical location.
Business and Marketing
Social media has done wonders for the business overall. Ecommerce has been completely transformed ever since social media platforms launched. Now users don’t even need to create expensive websites to sell their stuff on the internet, all they need is a social media account. These social media platforms act as an incredible medium for businesses to meet relevant customers and allow them to directly target their niche-oriented clients.
Plus digital marketing is another sub-industry within social media platforms that empowers businesses with the necessary tools to target customers by their preferences and show them relevant advertisements for maximum revenue. The entire business community is shifting from traditional marketing tactics to digital marketing, and social media has a big role in that. Even if your business is offline you can still target customers on social media platforms and provide them with relevant contact details in order to allow them to contact you, and purchase your goods or services.