Week1 B: Social Media Use Today

    Social Media has become a very regular part of our lives and while it's original intention was to create platforms to connect with family, friends, and strangers their purpose has changed quite a bit today. Myspace and Facebook are two of the most prominent platforms that used ads to have their sites running but ultimately were used to keep connections with people. Today, many platforms still have ads to keep them running but also have many of their users that are sponsored, advertise their business, and gain monetary benefits from the platforms themselves for drawing  large audiences to the user and in turn the platforms. It's safe to say that many people flock to these platforms to create a brand from their personality to receive these benefits rather than showcase bits and pieces of their authentic lives.

    LinkedIn is the most prominent business-focused social media and this is most likely because the platform connects employers and employees with one another in a more traditional sense. Most people will want to appear as professional as possible to current and future employers; this would be the platform to think through your thoughts and feelings on a matter before posting because it could influence your career path. On the other hand, YouTube is a platform that your personality is a huge part of your business and can help boost your career. This platform has launched itself from a small website to upload your video memories or quick funny videos to to a video platform that hosts well-constructed and filmed videos for monetary gain. Many users on this website put plenty of thought into their content, script, equipment, filming, and editing that they would like to make a career from their videos to keep putting so much effort into what they are doing because it is time consuming.

    Platforms like Twitter and TikTok seem to fall more into the personal use category. These platforms have more short-form posts that allow individuals to create more diary-like entries that show off personalities. There are opportunities to create followings on these platforms for monetary gain but this really wavers on the creator popularity, content, and these opportunities can easily fall through from one post to the next. There's also a gray area when it comes to businesses on these platforms because they can advertise on them and follow trends to keep their names relevant but they will have to tip-toe a fine line between professionalism and relatability to not push their audience away. Creator's on these platforms can take up ads and also participate in things like the Creator Fund that pays their creators or engage in Super Follows which is a paid follow that gives access to more tweets from a user.

    The opportunities that social media has been able to bring to people along with its original purpose has had a huge impact on our daily lives. Some are consumed with growing their numbers and keeping their accounts relevant and profitable. Many others, from the moment they wake up to the time they go to sleep, are glued to their phones because of the plethora of content that is on social media. I fall into the second category and have to practice mindfulness to not constantly be on my phone checking out tweets or scrolling through TikToks for hours. My goals of growing my presence as an artist might help keep myself off of social media by keeping myself productive to put out content but it could also have me obsess over statistics behind the scenes. As of right now, I'm checking on my personal social medias to follow trends and using this spark new ideas so I can get to work.