The future is NOW! and this realization calls for a bit of self-reflection. How far have we been dragged desperately clinging to the coat-tails of Mark Zuckerberg and his social media posse? Where are the new niches and opportunities for greater engagement, reach and visibility? How can companies differentiate themselves in an increasingly competitive social media space?

On February 4, 2005, YouTube started a revolution by giving us a seemingly endless stream of content, on demand. You could watch videos by celebrities, tutorials by up-and-comers, or movie trailers released by studios. Over the years, videos continue to be released, creating new stars and streams of content from global contributors. But no more is YouTube the only major player in the game. With over a billion users generating billions of views and hundreds of thousands of hours of content watched, it is only natural that other players would want to capitalize on this captive and attentive audience. Social media giants Facebook and Twitter are getting in on the action by promoting real-time engagement video capability aimed at engaging the attention of global audiences.