Social media continues to change the way we experience the world, especially the way we shop and interact with brands. What does the future hold for the world of social media shopping? Behold, The Internet of Things. The future of everything is directly tied to the Internet and how fast it connects to people, places, and things. What is the IoT? Well, put simply, it’s the ability of anything to be connected to the Internet such as coffee makers, fridges, a FitBit or products in a store. All you have to do is use your imagination to see what possibilities lay before us. The Internet is completely unfettered now. In the past, you had to be physically wired to a screen in a fixed location to access the net. The advent of mobile technology changed all that, and you can access the internet anywhere, anytime, with an array of devices large and small.

Who remembers ICQ and MSN Messenger? Back in my youth, that was the way friends and family generally stayed in touch virtually. In the early 2000’s things slowly started to change…let’s say for the better! Myspace, Hi5, and Friendster were introduced and it took the world by storm. People were able to generate personal profiles, share photos, music and more with friends and loved ones around the world. Facebook soon followed and eventually took over and blew away its fellow social media competitors and has managed to stay on top! Why? At first, its features were very much like its cousin Myspace. However, Facebook began to grow and develop with the changing times of the social network world and the development of technology. Youtube eventually came along as well. This platform took flight as being one of the first social media sites primarily focused on videos. Finally, people had a place to upload, store, and share videos with friends, family, and the rest of the world. Social Media platforms that are able to consistently stay relevant are those that were able to keep up with the social needs of its users. As accessibility became mobile, the platforms that still exist today are the ones who were able to adapt to that change. Many of us are glued to our mobile phones, so if your platform is not mobile-friendly, or just simply can’t keep up, it may just have a hard time getting off its feet. One great example is Friendster, the social media platform has decided to “take a break” last year in June 2015 as they “rethink their strategic priorities”.

Social media has come a long way since its debut with Friendster in 2002 and MySpace in 2003. Back then, no one could have predicted the exact future of social media, not even the most forward-thinking genius. Or have they? One young entrepreneur might have understood the importance of prediction and automation a while ago…

When someone says the words “social media” often the first thing that comes to mind are sites like Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. While these social networking services are definitely an extremely popular— and important—part of social media, the true definition of encompasses much more than just social networking. “Social Media is the future of communication, a countless array of internet based tools and platforms that increase and enhance the sharing of information.“ – SocialMediaDefined.com It is undeniable then that as social media continues to grow and adapt, it increasingly presents new opportunities for businesses to engage with their customers. Companies are always looking for new ways to market their products and sometimes the opportunity exists to reach to consumers in a way that puts them in control of the interaction.

Imagine for a moment a world without crimes.  Sounds like something right out of the movie ‘Minority Report’ right?  This movie starring Tom Cruise looks into the not so distant future 2054 A.D. when crime is virtually eliminated, thanks to an elite law enforcing squad called “Precrime”.  They did this using three gifted humans (called “Pre-Cogs”)  that have special powers who see into the future and predict crimes before they happen. [1] Even my favorite show Person of Interest plays into this obsession.  For those who haven not seen this show it’s about “The Machine”- a futuristic man made system used to predict violent acts through analyzing various government agency feeds, combined with data collected from various other sources, including video footage, phone calls,GPS, electronic transactions, e-mail, and social media helps its inventor to stop crime before it actually happens.[2] Please take a look. Yes these are fictional representations, however they are not a far stretch of what is actually happening today.  Are we really living in a police state where big brother is watching our every move?  This blog will highlight some of the technologies used by police forces around the world,, and  like it or not they are accessing your social media posts to  do so. “Big Brother is Watching You.” ― George Orwell, 1984 Researching this topic I have learnt that countries around the world are adopting technologies and software to further their pursuit to stop crimes before they happen. These proprietary systems are using public data though various social networks and running it through their algorithms to detect possible threats. Recently, there has been a huge wave of organizations predictive software.  The new approach to policing is that it has shifted from being good at reacting to crime to becoming better at predicting it. Here are just a few examples of technologies out there that are providing new arsenal for policing around the globe.  Honestly, I am not so convinced that these types of artificial intelligence systems can formulate an opinion about a person based on what they post on Facebook, I guess you can draw your own conclusions.

  Social Media screening of candidates has become common practice in today’s fast passed recruiting process. Is it ethical, or does this behavior infringe on ones freedom of speech, and how efficient is it really?

At this point, many people are likely using Snapchat just for fun. Business Insider reported in Summer 2015 that nearly half of the app’s users were under the age of 24 years old (while only 19 percent of Twitter users, and 16 percent of Facebook’s are of the same age demographic). That’s huge! So Snapchat possesses a massive chunk of the 18 to 24 year old age group, and while right now, many of those people are using it to share videos of their dogs, clips from the big concert, or shots using the face swap lens…at some point one could see them wanting more.  

Everyday there are creative people all over the world working towards building new futuristic inventions and making advances in the world of technology.  This week I will be exploring the Future of Social Media and its relation to these new inventions.  There are many different directions to go in, when talking about a topic like this, so I will try to give you as much useful content as I can. What do you think of when I say the words the evolution of social media? And more importantly what does the future hold for us with its use? With social platforms at our disposal,  company’s are changing the way they conduct business, thus impacting the way society functions.  Social Media is being used as a tool to aid in every aspect of the business chain yet one area that still hasn’t made much headway are the CEO’s of today and how they are using Social Media to interact with their customers. I will also share with you some insight about amazing advancements in the digital world and end with a brief discussion on the importance of providing true content when putting out posts.

  Through its innovative My Starbucks Idea, the company known for fresh roasted beverages, wholesome food on the go, and the decadent Iced Caramel Macchiato, is looking your way for their next great product idea.