Asking Minds

The inception of social media brought an abundance of changes with itself. With its remarkable impact in various ways, it has plenty to offer. I have read many articles debating whether social media is a boon or bane. We all know everything has its pros and cons. It now depends on an individual’s use which defines social media as useful or harmful.

Firstly, let’s know what exactly social media is.

Social media is not only a medium for communication but a wide platform to exchange information and ideas with the World. It has ample of opportunities if you know how to use it. Basically, websites and applications dedicated to forums, microblogging, social networking, social bookmarking, social curation, and wikis are among the different types of social media.

Now, I must include this information here that Google is not a social media platform. Well, many of you already know it while some are not aware of this. Google is a search engine where you use a keyword that best describes your question or topic to look for an answer and Google+ is its social media platform. There are many social media platforms but we will have a look at some most popular ones.

Widely used social media platforms –

• Facebook –

Five new profiles are created every second on Facebook. It is one of the most engaging social media platforms. Facebook might be famous for communication and interaction but it has undeniably more features than that.

• With the feature of creating pages and groups, Facebook provides you with an influential way of promoting your work, business, blog or anything worthy.
• It doesn’t matter if you and your loved ones are in two different corners of the globe, Facebook will keep you connected through its free message and audio-video call services.
• Facebook groups and pages are a significant way to not just promote but learn a lot. There are many groups and pages for several entrance exams preparations or daily news etcetera.

Twitter –

More than 500 million tweets are sent per day on Twitter. I read somewhere, “for speed, use twitter”. It is considered as the first source of news. Twitter is not only about trolls and fun, though we enjoy that the most. (Was it funny? Never mind)

• For those who are seeking knowledge, following trending topics will give you a treasure of it.
• During natural calamities or any such issues, Twitter act as a life-saving platform.
• Twitter will provide you breaking news before anyone. It’s wonderful for following news events, sporting events and weather events to name just a few.

• Instagram –

With more than 800 million monthly active users, Instagram is all the rage these days. Experts say it could reach a billion by the end of 2018. Instagram is all about visual contents and hashtags but for what are these content and hashtags used?

• For business, if you are targeting the under the 30’s audience, Instagram will serve you greatly. You just need to post appealing visual content and use perfect hashtags.
• Instagram is heaven for Photographers. There are renowned photographers on Instagram.
• Instagram can be used for photo editing as it provides you with some great filters. You can save your photos without sharing it.

YouTube –

Till date, more than 5 billion videos are shared on YouTube. It is one hell of a resourceful social media if you use it wisely. YouTube can not only entertain you but also can educate you.

• If you are a student who is having issues understanding a particular subject, YouTube can be your best friend. Search for topics and you are good to go. Check reviews before giving your time to a particular video.
• To know about the latest gadgets, phones, travel destinations and a lot more, you just need to follow some great and worthy channels.
• YouTube else from learning is an amazing platform for earning. There are people who earn in large numbers.

• Pinterest –

Launched in March 2010, Pinterest has managed to set its foot quite quickly and effectively. There are over 7.5 billion ideas on Pinterest. Yeah well, it is as beneficial as YouTube but in a different way. Pinterest is a social media platform with one of the most spectacular user interface.

• For learning through infographics and images, Pinterest is the best platform. There is everything you can ever think of.
• Pinterest is one of the prime social media platforms for bloggers to promote. Through Pinterest friendly images, bloggers can attract a fine amount of traffic.
• From DIY to drawing, cooking to traveling, Pinterest will not disappoint you.

Quora –

A very interesting and curious social media platform, Quora provides you answer to your every question. More than 4 million topics have been discussed on Quora until now. I read once, “The heart of Quora is questions”.

• Quora contains a lot of useless questions but if you use it wisely, it can be a perfect knowledge platform. People are willing to share knowledgeable content with you.
• You can ask questions on Quora and Quorans will love to answer it. You can get answers on Wikipedia or Google but Quora is much better if used effectively.
• If you have knowledge about something, you can answer other’s questions on Quora on that particular topic.

• LinkedIn –

40 million students and recent college graduates are on LinkedIn. It now has 3 million active job listings on the platform. LinkedIn can assist you very well if you know how to use it.

• LinkedIn is the preferred social network for professionals. For someone seeking a job, LinkedIn could be a great help.
• LinkedIn Groups is an effective feature as it helps you stay informed and keep in touch with people that share your interests.
• It is a very cooperative platform for companies looking for employees and for recruiters to connect with passive candidates.

Everything has its pros and cons so has social media. Now, it is you who needs to decide if you want to take advantage of its pros or cons. You can learn anything from social media if you use it wisely.

So, what do you think about social media? Boon? Bane? What?

“Social media is not about the exploitation of technology but service to the community.” – Simon Mainwaring

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